St Luke's University Health Network

A Better

HEALTH

MAMMOGRAM

and the

E C N E I N CONVE e v r e s e D Woman at

Volume 9| Issue 1

Local Living 55

HEALTH

For many women, making the time to have an important health screening like a mammogram can take a backseat to the demands of everyday life. St. Luke's Quakertown Campus has improved access to quality women’s imaging services in the community, offering same and next day appointments and multiple locations in and around Quakertown, together with the experience of St. Luke’s board-certified radiologists and specially trained radiology technologists.

Diagnostic Breast Imaging Close to Home Mammograms are still the most effective screening tool to find breast cancers, saving millions of lives through early detection. However, when a routine screening mammogram shows something abnormal, follow-up diagnostic testing becomes necessary.

Thanks to its longstanding relationship with GE Healthcare, St. Luke’s is able to offer the newest advances in breast screening to women in Bucks and Montgomery Counties and just recently introduced 3D mammography with SensorySuite® technology at the St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging Center in Quakertown.

St. Luke’s Individualized Breast Screening Program St. Luke’s takes an individualized approach to breast screening.

What’s the right test for you? If you’re 40 or older, yearly screening mammograms are an essential part of your health care. However, some women may benefit from additional breast screening to supplement mammography.

St. Luke’s tailors breast screening based on individual risk factors to develop an individualized screening program that results in earlier detection. A combination of carefully chosen exams may lead to a decrease in the amount of unnecessary return visits and biopsies and a significant increase in early cancer discovery.

St. Luke’s offers a Better Mammogram and a Better Experience Low-Dose 3D mammography delivers the quality of a 3D image while limiting the X-ray exposure to an amount equivalent to a 2D mammogram. A 3D mammogram provides images of the breast in slices from many different angles, and can find smaller, invasive cancers better than traditional 2D mammograms. This can prove beneficial to the 40% of women with dense breasts, which can hide cancer on a 2D mammogram and may cause cancer to go undetected.

Mammograms are performed within the calming surrounds of the SensorySuite. The SensorySuite is designed to provide a more relaxing mammography experience for women allowing them to choose the environmental ambiance. In the suite, sights, sounds and smells of the seaside, garden or waterfall encourage a sense of well-being and calm, which aid to reduce some of the awkwardness a patient may feel during a mammogram.

Same and Next-Day Appointments Near You St. Luke’s Quakertown is committed to enhancing our patient’s experience and encourages women to safeguard their health and get screened. Same and next-day appointments for low dose 3D mammography with SensorySuite are available at St. Luke’s Upper Perkiomen Outpatient Center, 2793 Geryville Pike in Pennsburg and now at the St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging Center at 121 S. 11th Street in Quakertown.

At St. Luke’s we recognize how concerning an abnormal result can be which is why we established St. Luke’s Regional Breast Center in Center Valley, the first facility of its kind in the region to provide diagnostic mammograms or higher-level breast imaging exclusively. Women requiring follow-up diagnostic breast care due to an abnormal mammography result may be offered an appointment the same or next day.

Designed with women in mind, St. Luke’s Regional Breast Center provides advanced diagnostic breast imaging services in a serene nurturing environment and the comfort of private spacious changing rooms. The Center is staffed by certified technologists and breast health nurses as well as radiologists who are dedicated to breast imaging and who provide verbal results to patients during the appointment.

Should the results of diagnostic breast imaging indicate the need for a biopsy, same-day biopsy is offered with the results provided in real time. Patients also can take comfort in knowing breast health nurses are there to guide them through every step of the diagnostic process, providing support, answering questions and coordinating any additional appointments or follow-up care that may be required.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR WOMEN WITH DENSE BREASTS Having dense breast tissue can increase a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer, and women diagnosed with dense breast tissue should speak with their physician to learn if supplemental breast screening is appropriate for them.

Automated breast ultrasound, or ABUS, is an advanced technology available at St. Luke’s Regional Breast Center that can benefit the 40% of women with dense breast tissue for whom mammograms alone may not always be enough to find breast cancer. A radiation-free option, ABUS uses sound waves to create clear, accurate 3D ultrasound images of the breast tissue.

The screening process is comfortable for most women. A layer of lotion is applied to the breast; then, a sheer membrane covering the transducer is firmly positioned on the breast. The scanning process takes less than 60 seconds, with the screening complete in 15 minutes.

WOMEN’S IMAGING LOCATIONS NEAR YOU: St. Luke’s Upper Perkiomen Outpatient Center 2793 Geryville Pike, Pennsburg, PA St. Luke’s Quakertown Women’s Imaging Center 121 South 11th Street, Quakertown, PA St. Luke’s Regional Breast Center 5848 Old Bethlehem Pike, Center Valley, PA

For an appointment, call St. Luke’s Central Scheduling: 484-526-1000 or 1-800-801-7745 Hours: Monday through Friday, 7 am to 7 pm; Saturday, 8 am to noon Physician referral is required for breast services.

Low Dose 3D Mammography with Sensory Suite Schedule your exam!

Same and next-day appointments available!

Low dose, two locations near you Low dose 3D mammogram is available at St. Luke’s Upper Perkiomen Outpatient Center and St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging Center in Quakertown.

St. Luke’s Upper Perkiomen Outpatient Center 2793 Geryville Pike, Pennsburg, PA St. Luke’s Quakertown Women’s Imaging Center 121 South 11th Street Quakertown, PA

A better mammogram: A 3D mammogram provides images of the breast in slices from many different angles, and can find smaller, invasive cancers better than traditional 2D mammograms. This can prove beneficial to the 40% of women with dense breasts, which can hide cancer on a mammogram and may cause cancer to go undetected.

A better experience: 3D mammograms are performed with the calming effect of the GE SensorySuite, to ease anxiety and soothe the senses.

To learn more, call St. Luke’s InfoLink at 1-866-STLUKES (785-8537). www.sluhn.org

Same and next-day appointments are available.

To schedule, call St. Luke’s Central Scheduling toll-free: 484-526-1000.