Every year during the month of October, the staff at Lackey Memorial Hospital shifts in to high gear to spread the word on the importance of awareness, early detection and treatment for breast cancer. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the hospital in Forest Paints the Hospital Pink in its efforts to educate local women about the disease.
Lackey has made it a priority to offer patients the opportunity to have the most technologically advanced screenings available at a discounted price in order encourage more people to be proactive in their own healthcare.
The latest research from breastcancer.org reports that about 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. That equates to an estimated 266,120 new cases diagnosed in 2018 that led to 40,920 deaths.
An alarming statistic about breast cancer is that 85 percent of women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of this disease.
One of the most important facts to know about breast cancer is; early detection can save your life. “Being proactive in your own healthcare is the first step in the fight against any diagnosis,” said Michea McLemore, Lackey Memorial Hospital Director of Radiology. “We are all so busy that we tend to put things off, and medical screenings are one of the things most often put off.”
There will be an estimated 331,530 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in women during 2019, but because of the push to bring Breast Cancer Awareness to the forefront there are 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the United States alone.
This is a disease that can be beat, but it is imperative to catch the development of breast cancer as early as possible and that is why proactive screenings are important. The slogan, “early detection is the best protection” is one of the reasons there are so many survivors.
“As we reiterate Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Lackey, this is the month to think of yourself and take that important first step by scheduling a screening,” McLemore said. Lackey Memorial Hospital is equipped with one of the most advanced radiology departments available including state-of-the-art digital mammography.
Unlike traditional film mammography, digital mammography can result in identifying smaller problem areas and offers patients a faster exam time to fit into their busy day.
The visible presence of breast cancer awareness has steadily grown throughout the first two decades of this century. These days, especially during October, you can find hot-pink reminders everywhere from hospitals to professional sporting events down to the high school football teams right here in Scott County.
Lackey Memorial Hospital Administrator Sydney Sawyer is at the head of Lackey’s push to bring better awareness to the local area. This is more than a professional push for Sawyer, he has personal experience with this disease.
“My mother is a breast cancer survivor. In her case, early detection was vital in her battle. That is just another reason why we are so proud to offer mammography services to our local community — it allows us the ability to offer family and friends access to the technology that could literally save a life,” Sawyer said. “Here at Lackey, we are always striving to improve access to top-of-the-line healthcare in our community. Our radiology department is one great example of how Lackey offers the latest medical technology, a trained and experienced staff that you know and trust and convenient access to healthcare here at home.”
The growing visualization, continued education and stressing the importance of annual screenings and early detection have helped decrease the incidence rate in the U.S. Lackey has been, and remains to be, a very active leader in working with the community to spread breast cancer awareness and urging everyone to be proactive in the fight against breast cancer.
Lackey Hospital has earned the American College of Radiology Accreditation in mammography. The ACR accreditation represents the highest level of image quality, patient safety and is only awarded to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards.
“To achieve this accreditation, our facility’s personnel qualifications, equipment requirements, quality assurance, and quality control procedures have gone through a rigorous annual review process and we have met the specific qualifications,” McLemore added.
Lackey Radiologic Technologist Clara Embrey’s focus area is Mammography. She spends every day screening local women for detection of breast cancer, and educating all of her patients about the disease.
Strict requirements mandate that mammographers must be registered technologists having earned an associates degree in Radiologic Technology. Embrey not only meets those standards, she exceeds them by utilizing her formal education and 23 years of experience in being caring and very thorough when performing every mammograph at Lackey Memorial.
“Clara has been performing mammograms since 1996 and she does not realize what an asset she is to the Lackey Radiology Team,” said McLemore. “Her true concern for patients’ health and well-being is abundantly clear every day.”
“The most important fact know about breast cancer is that early detection absolutely saves lives,” Embrey said. “Our whole goal here at Lackey is to fight this disease, and the earlier we catch it the better chance the patient has to join the millions of others that have beat breast cancer. Being proactive about your health by getting annual screenings as part of your preventative healthcare is so important and could be the key to saving your life.”
In addition to scheduling yearly screenings anyone can perform self-checks constantly in the privacy of their own home. If you believe that you have found something it is time to take immediate action.
Embrey urges anyone that believes they have found something to take action rather than doing nothing at all. “If you think you have found something yourself, go directly to your health care provider as soon as possible,” she said.
Lackey is offering a 20 percent discount on all breast cancer screenings throughout the month of October. Women can also become self-aware of the information that is really being stressed during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Knowing this information can truly make all the difference. The imperative messages include:
• Know your risk — talk to your family to learn about your family health history, talk to your doctor about your personal risk of breast cancer.
• Get screened — ask your doctor which screening tests are right for you if you are at a higher risk, have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk, have a clinical breast exam at least every three years starting at age 20 and every year starting at age 40.
• Know what is normal for you — see your health care provider if you notice any of these breast changes: lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area; swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast; change in the size or shape of the breast; dimpling or puckering of the skin; itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple; pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast; nipple discharge that starts suddenly; new pain in one spot that does not go away.
• Make healthy lifestyle choices — maintain a healthy weight, add exercise into your routine, limit alcohol intake, limit menopausal hormone use, breastfeed if you can.
If anyone has any questions or needs any additional information they are urged to contact Lackey Memorial Hospital Radiology Department. They will be happy to assist you and guide you from there.
