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Middlesex Hospital has opened a new Breast Cancer Center on its campus in Middletown to treat more high-risk women and allow them to meet more often with a surgeon.
The Integrated Breast Cancer Center is combining and expanding several care options that are already available at the Cancer Center on Saybrook Road.
"Our goal is to detect breast cancer at an early stage, when it is treatable and curable," said Dr. Andrea Malon, Medical Director of the Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center and New Breast Center. integrated. "This new center helps us get the best care for women. We evaluate and treat everyone, but we want to be sure to reach high-risk women. "
Malon said women may be at high risk of breast cancer because of their family history, genetic factors or a prior diagnosis of cancer.
"The key is early detection, and it starts with women going to see their health care providers," Malon said.
New facilities include a molecular breast imaging device, a 3D mammogram and other advanced technologies.
The three leaders of the center visited The Courant this week to discuss the importance of early detection as the country celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, and one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, they said.
New efforts at Middlesex Hospital reflect a generation of advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer that dramatically improves the accuracy of care and the chances of curing women's cancer.
"When I had my medical degree, with a diagnosis of cancer, many people had the impression that it was a death sentence," he said. Dr. Kristen Zarfos. "Raising awareness is not only about detecting early, but also about dispelling the fear of exams. We all see patients die of breast cancer and we never want to downplay what it means, but women can live with even stage 4 breast cancer with different treatments and medications. "
Three surgeons working in the same facility will give patients easier access to diagnosis and treatment than in the past.
Planning for exams, mammograms and consultations with a surgeon the same day is a priority in the new center, said the hospital.
"Patients are able to quickly see a surgeon, so we relieve a lot of anxiety," said Dr. Chia-Chi Wang, oncologist surgeon.
According to Wang, the standard recommendation for women over the age of 40 is to have an annual mammogram, but each person should consult their doctor to determine the best timing for the risk factors.
As surgical procedures progressed and early detection increased, mastectomy rates declined, she said. More women than ever are recovering and living comfortably after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
In the United States, more than 3 million women are breast cancer survivors, compared to about 1.3 million in the late 1990s, hospital officials said.
Trish Hatin, director of radiology and head of mammography at the new center, said the team had recently had a patient whose mammogram had tested negative for the cancerous tissue, but that the woman was at high risk of breast cancer. as a second method of detection.
Ultrasound showed a problem area that did not appear on the mammogram. The patient had an analysis a few days later on the breast molecular imaging device, one of a kind in Connecticut, and then a biopsy after a few days.
This series of audits and consultations would never have been possible in such a short period of time, while the center's services were more segmented, the doctors said.
"Being able to have answers, not just technological, but to women's issues and concerns, is something that can give them a peace of mind, and that's invaluable," Zarfos said.
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