The Women’s Pavilion at Barrow Regional Medical Center, Winder, is offering patients exclusive parking spaces in front of the hospital.
The specially-marked white and pink ribbon spaces allow patients to go directly to Suite 230, where they can register without having to go anywhere else in the hospital. Patients are also given plush white robes they can change into in a private dressing room.
The features are some being highlighted by Barrow Regional Medical Center during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. In 2009, an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States, along with 62,280 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. Invasive means that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
To reduce the risk of cancer, patients should change their daily lifestyle by limiting their alcohol intake, exercising regularly, staying at a healthy weight, eating lean meat (poultry, fish) and a colorful array of vegetables and breastfeeding at least several months after the birth of a child.
To detect breast cancer, women can:
•Do a breast self-exam once a month to look for lumps or changes in the breast. A woman will know her own body the best, and as with most cancers, the earlier the disease is detected, the higher the chance of survival.
•Get a clinical breast exam by a medical practioner. Women in their 20s and 30s should have an exam done every three years; women age 40 or older should have an annual exam. A clinical breast exam is an opportunity for women to discuss changes in their breasts, early detection testing, and any factors in the woman’s medical or family history that suggest a possibility of breast cancer.
•Get an annual mammogram. Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
At Barrow Regional Medical Center, before a digital mammogram is performed, the mammography tech places a foam pad called a MammoPad on the paddle of the machine, which will lessen the discomfort many women feel during the mammogram.
While the MammoPad helps to decrease the pain, it also allows the mammogram machine to take a better image of the breast for the radiologist to read. Also, with digital mammograms now available at The Women’s Pavilion, the exam time is often decreased because patients do not have to wait for film to print. If another image needs to be taken, the tech can see on the screen right away.
To schedule a mammogram at The Women’s Pavilion at Barrow Regional Medical Center, call 770-868-5173. Patients may schedule their bone density exam at the same time. The Women’s Pavilion also offers sterotactic breast biopsies and ultrasounds.
