Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital , is passionate about spreading the word regarding the incredible importance of yearly mammograms in the role of early detection of breast cancer . Dr . Smith wants her message to our community to be " Let us help save your life ! We want you to live out your beautiful , most healthy life ."
Dr . Smith is an advocate for promoting yearly mammograms as well as consistency in using the same imaging location for each test . Dr . Smith ' s passion for this cause comes from her experience of seeing the lifesaving results of quality imaging with consistent comparisons year after year , along with early detection from annual testing .
Kelly Hawthorne , Medical Oncology Breast Cancer Nurse Practitioner for Markey Center in Lexington , is another source of wisdom for those in any stage of a diagnosis of breast cancer . She is passionate about helping people through the process from early detection , active treatment to survival post-treatment years . Hawthorne says sometimes those first few days or weeks following detection of breast cancer , before treatment plans are established , can be the most difficult . " Waiting for appointments and plans and worrying about the future unknowns can be emotionally as hard , if not harder , than the actual treatments ," she said .
Both Hawthorne and Simpson stress the importance of leaning on others for support and especially finding a supportive listener who often is better suited for the role if he or she is not a close family member or relative . Both nurse navigators say patients often avoid sharing true feelings with family and close loved ones for fear of over-burdening them . Having someone to lean on who is trusted and maybe even neutral can be key to allowing the patient to be honest and to feel supported .
Friend4Life is a unique organization with the goal of just such a support plan for cancer patients . ( See side bar for resources on page 15 )
All three ladies mentioned here — Hawthorne , Simpson and Smith — agree on some key " good news " factors specific to breast cancer . First , the five-year survival rate for a new diagnosis of breast cancer that is only in the breast tissue ( and hasn ' t spread at all ) is 99 %, while the chance of survival if the cancer has only spread to the lymph nodes is still very high at 86 %. These numbers are truly amazing and are a big part of what Dr . Smith means by , " Let us help save your life ."
Dr . Smith knows that having a mammogram on a yearly basis is the key to early detection of breast cancer . Furthermore , she points out that current technology allows for 3-D Mammography imaging which is highly effective in reducing the number of unnecessary call backs for more evaluative testing ; 3-D Mammography is also now helping radiologists spot some breast cancers which were previously not detected with 2D Imaging . This is excellent news for all women and especially those with above average breast density . Of course , none of these statistics matter if a person doesn ' t take the time to get that annual Mammogram .
Another piece of " good news " for women in south central Kentucky is that everything they need for testing , diagnosis and excellent care for breast cancer is available to them here in Pulaski County . That includes the latest technology with excellent imaging , the shared knowledge of best practices from across the country and the ability to treat women with chemotherapy and radiation treatments which are standard treatments offered in excellent breast cancer care across the country .
Smith , Hawthorne and Simpson agree that it is critical to spread the word that excellent breast cancer care is available near home . So many people hold off on testing , or follow up appointments to establish care , for fear of expense and time away from home and work — not to mention the burdens they imagine family might have to endure .
With updated technology and resources so close to home , per Dr . Smith , " every woman should be getting a yearly 3D Mammogram at this point in our history ." To underscore her belief in this , Dr . Smith shares her own personal experience in the differences between her most recent mammogram compared to testing of the past .
Just five years ago , said Dr . Smith , mammograms were less pleasant
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October 2024 SEKY - Southeast Kentucky Life • 13