Lake City Medical Center Installs Digital Mammography

Brown, second to right, stands in front of the new digital mammography machine with technologists, from left to right, Anne Olson, Karen Malone and Katie Gates.

 

Digital mammograms to screen for breast cancer became available at Lake City Medical Center – Mayo Health System (LCMC) on March 24, 2009.  Anna Brown, long-time patient of LCMC, has the distinction of being the first patient to have a digital mammogram on the medical center's new digital mammography machine.  This exciting venture is thanks to, in large part, community support for Project Pink.

Through Project Pink, LCMC raised a significant amount of funding to help purchase the digital mammography machine. It is the best technology available for breast imaging, and it replaces LCMC’s 10-year-old film-screen technology.

Tom Witt, M.D., president and chief executive officer of LCMC, says it is proven that digital mammography can detect smaller masses in women with dense breasts than conventional film-screen. Smaller masses signify cancer in its earliest stages.

“Early detection of breast cancer is the key to surviving and can mean the difference between a curable or terminal prognosis,” explains Dr. Witt.

In addition, digital images are generally better than film because they can be manipulated much like images on a digital camera for a better view, and they are easily transferrable if further evaluation is needed. Along with digital mammography, LCMC will install computer aided detection (CAD) software. It will assist radiologists in reading mammograms by highlighting suspicious areas on the image.

Dr. Witt says “we are thankful to our community for helping ensure we can offer such high quality breast cancer screenings close to home now.” 

Community support included individual and group donations, as well as participation in

fundraising events such as a talent show, rose sale, volley for the cure, 5K walk/run, bowling and golf. LCMC also received a $100,000 grant from the Minnesota Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In addition to raising funds for a digital mammography machine, Project Pink, a collaborative effort among LCMC, the Minnesota Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Minnesota SAGE Screening Program and the American Cancer Society, focused on breast cancer awareness, and education for at-risk, underserved, minority and uninsured or underinsured women. Awareness efforts, including direct mail to thousands of women targeted by age, distribution of new literature in multiple languages, and hosting of several educational sessions in the community, took place throughout 2008.

“We believe our awareness efforts have been successful,” says Dr. Witt. “147 more women had a mammogram in our facility last year then in 2007. While the fundraising portion of Project Pink has ended, the awareness portion will continue indefinitely.”

LCMC plans to look for opportunities to host additional educational sessions, and there is a possibility of starting a support group for local breast cancer survivors.