Health officials say now’s the time to catch up on breast cancer screening - WIBW

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TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Even before COVID, some women avoided breast cancer screenings because they feared the process. The pandemic seemed to bring another reason to put off the exams.

The American College of Radiology notes a 37 percent decline in screening mammograms during the COVID pandemic. A recent study from the group found the numbers have not bounced back.

The numbers are a worry for health care workers, like Stormont Vail’s director of medical imaging services Connie Wagers, who hope to catch cancers early.

“It’s much easier to treat (cancers) when they’re small and they haven’t gotten bigger into breast tissue,” Wagers said.

Wagers says reduced virus numbers and even more stringent regular cleaning measure are easing anxieties about any pandemic-related health risks. But some women may still fear what the screenings involve. That’s why Stormont staff walked 13 NEWS through the process of what women can expect when they go in for a mammogram or breast MRI.

Becky Lackey has been a mammography technician for 40 years.

“It’s really important that my patients come in, they have a good experience, and they want to come back every year and have that screening,” Lackey said.

Lackey says women who come for a mammogram will check in, answer a few questions, change into a gown, then go into a room with the mammography machine. She said a breast is positioned on a plate and another plate is lowered, compressing the breast.

“It is tight for a little bit,” Lackey said, adding she’s always watching her patients for reactions. “When you say it’s uncomfortable, I pay attention. I may say well let me just reposition you.”

The scans compile a three-dimensional view of the breast, repositioning to take four to six scans in all. Lackey says the patient generally stands in one position, but may reach around the machine in order to get all the muscles and lymph nodes into the armpit area.

“The whole procedure is over in a matter of five minutes max,” she said.

If you have dense breast tissue, are at high risk for cancer, or have a new diagnosis, doctors may send you for an MRI.

MRI technologist Shannon Green said the MRI captures slices of images for a very detailed image of the breasts.

For this exam, you’ll get an IV to deliver contrast material.

“The point of contrast would be to highlight the abnormal areas of the breast,” Green said. “The patient would come into the room. They are laid faced own, kind of in a Superman position, we would describe it. The table raises. They do slide into the scanner.”

Green said the exams sometimes are done in an open-sided machine, but the machine also may be more enclosed. In either case, the patient will lie still for 45 to 60 minutes.

“We try really hard to be comforting and compassionate. We try to talk them through it and let them know it will be okay,” she said.

If cost is holding you back, still make the call. The Shawnee County area has the Race Against Breast Cancer to provide free mammograms to those in need. Stormont’s employees even raise money for it every year.

“The employees see the importance of providing mammograms for people within our community who can’t afford them,” Wagers said.

The hope is all woman over 40 - earlier if you have family history or a genetic risk - come in every year for a visit, that could save their life.

“We want to find your breast cancer early,” Lackey said. “We don’t want you coming in here and telling us, ‘I have a lump,’ and then we have a cancer that’s much larger than we would have found if they’d had it done every year.”

Breast cancer awareness is the focus of the Saturday, Oct. 15 “Walk with a Doc” program. People are invited to wear pink, and take a one-mile stroll with Wagers and Dr. Hashmi. They start at 9 a.m. from the east side of Lee Arena on Washburn’s campus.

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