A technologist looking at a routine mammogram on analog film through a magnifying glass. A digital mammogram is displayed on the computer screen beside it.
Health
January 29, 2008 04:24 PM
beingwell magazine Winter 2008
By: Leslie Plant
It’s a voice mail no woman wants to receive: “Hi, I’m calling from the family doctor’s office. We’ve received your mammogram report. Please call us back right away.”
If the woman happens to pick up the message, say, on a Friday or after hours, calls back and can’t reach someone, chances are little else will be on her mind until she can get through. Most likely, while she waits, she’ll worry.
Next, she could be told she needs a biopsy and an appointment will be scheduled with a specialist. More voice mail exchanges with another secretary. Another trip to another appointment at another office. More lapsed time, and even more worry, while she waits for those results.
Another day, a few weeks later. This time, a new voice on a voice mail message: “Hi, I’m
calling from the doctor’s office. We have your recent biopsy results. You’ll need to come in to talk to the doctor.”
Thankfully, this scenario is changing.
With the support of our community, Southlake is opening a new Breast Diagnostic Assessment Unit designed specifically with two congruent goals in mind, both aimed squarely at alleviating what women with suspicious routine mammograms or breast exams often find hardest to deal with: the wait and the worry.
The unit will offer these women a fast-tracked, centrally co-ordinated journey through the various steps of breast assessment and diagnosis, all in one warm, emotionally supportive
location.
“In the outside world, with the gaps and delays between the investigations, it might take a month to get to an answer,” says Dr. Catherine Mahut, surgical oncology lead of the Southlake regional cancer program. In contrast, she expects the unit will reduce the time between assessment and a finalized treatment plan to less than two weeks.
“Getting to these women early, getting a prompt diagnosis and jumping on it while it’s small and manageable is a huge advantage,” says Dr. Mahut.
The breast diagnostic assessment unit will open early this year in the new Medical Arts Building on Davis Drive, adjacent to the hospital’s relocated radiology suite, and will be part of Southlake’s $110-million regional cancer program, scheduled to open in fall 2009. The unit will be staffed by the general surgeons and the radiology group, supported by technicians and will have digital mammography and the equipment needs for biopsies and ultrasounds, all under one roof.
The patient scheduling role will also be centralized, with one co-ordinator managing and scheduling all the patients’ tests and specialists’ consultations.
Dr. Mahut sees this centralized patient scheduling role as integral to achieving the unit’s second but equally important goal of offering supportive care to women who may find themselves facing a diagnosis of breast cancer. “It’s one face, one voice, who the patient and the family connect with. One person has their finger on the pulse of what is happening with the patient.”
The physical space has also been designed to address patients’ needs, with a warm atmosphere, soothing colours, sand-blasted glass and modern, comfortable furnishings. Fireplaces are planned in both the family waiting area and gowned waiting area, which is restricted to women only. The conference room is large enough for extended family, should that be the patient’s wish. The unit will also have computer kiosks and information pamphlets in the waiting area providing additional resources.
While Dr. Mahut admits these emotional supports won’t change the eventual outcome, she thinks that is a moot point. “If the patient is feeling more supported at the time of receiving bad news, by putting all these services in place, her mind’s more at ease and the negative impact on her and her family will certainly be lessened.”
The unit’s comprehensive approach to delivering care is part of a trends toward more accessible cancer care. Dr. Mahut anticipates the breast unit will evaluate 10 to 20 women each week within its first year of operation and can be expanded as need arises. All services offered are covered by OHIP and the unit is available to anyone referred by a physician.
Dr. Mahut stresses the breast diagnostic assessment unit is for “women about whom someone — a professional — is worried”, because of a suspicious lump, abnormal mammogram or biopsy result. She recommends routine mammograms and, for women who are comfortable with this, regular breast self-examination.
In her experience, some women are uncomfortable with the idea of breast self-examination.
“…They worry about every little normal bump,” she says. For those women, Dr. Mahut believes the resulting false concern and investigations are counter-productive. “Having said that, breast self-examination is very affirming for those women open to that. I would never dissuade a woman from examining her own breasts but I wouldn’t push it on people who are feeling emotionally like that’s not something they want to do.”
With approximately 60 per cent of women aged 50 or older in Ontario receiving screening mammograms, Dr. Mahut sees this as an important reason why breast cancer mortality is not rising. Cancer Care Ontario’s goal for screening mammography for women aged 50 and over is 70 per cent. Women aged 50 and over can book their screening mammograms directly through the Ontario Breast Screening Program.
“There is no question that regular screening mammography, particularly from the age of 50 on, is critical to keeping survival from breast cancer in check,” she adds.
If that regular mammogram reveals something of concern, Southlake will have a solution that provides a fast-track to diagnosis, delivered in a caring, supportive way.
For more information on the Ontario Breast Screening Program at Southlake, call
905-895-4521, ext. 2665.