Your Breast Health Starts with You
Comprehensive Breast Care at McLaren Flint
During this time, many people are putting off life-saving health appointments due to the ongoing pandemic. Patients can be assured that McLaren Flint continues to provide safe care and encourages everyone to keep scheduled medical appointments and reschedule appointments that were canceled earlier in the year. Important health appointments, such as an annual mammogram, can catch cancer in the early stages resulting in better outcomes.
Our comprehensive breast care team works together, from prevention, to diagnosis, to treatment planning, throughout treatment and through recovery and survivorship. If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, know that we're giving you your best chance at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint and McLaren Proton Therapy Center.
Get Screened
For preventative measures, women should receive annual mammograms beginning at age 40. McLaren Flint offers the latest in mammography technology. The Geniusâ„¢ 3D Mammography system is clinically proven to significantly increase the detection of breast cancers, while simultaneously decreasing the number of women asked to return for additional testing. It is also the only 3D mammography exam approved by the FDA as superior for women with dense breasts.
"We have picked up cancers very early with the Geniusâ„¢ 3D Mammography Exam," said Linda Lawrence, MD, board-certified radiologist and medical director at the McLaren Flint Imaging Center. "With women consistently being screened annually, we have a better chance of seeing the cancer at its earliest stage with 3D mammography.
All women should make sure they are familiar with their breasts. If something looks or feels wrong, make an appointment with your health care provider.
"I talk to patients about monthly self-breast exams. It's important that they do their own exams once a month so that they know their breasts are normal," said Ashley Richardson, DO, breast surgeon at McLaren Flint. "If something seems abnormal - such as an indentation in the skin, an inverted nipple or a palpable mass - those signs can be a marker of a cancer."
Additional signs of cancer could be an enlargement or swelling of one breast compared to the other, a breast rash and nipple discharge.
If you have a strong history of breast cancer in your family, especially a first-degree relative who has had the disease, you should have your first mammogram ten years prior to the age your relative was diagnosed.
You can learn more about McLaren Flint and McLaren Fenton's 3D mammography exams and schedule your appointment today at mclaren.org/flintfenton3Dmamm. To schedule your appointment over the phone, call McLaren Flint Imaging Center at (810) 342-3800 or McLaren Fenton's Imaging Center at (810) 496-2430.
When it comes to cancer diagnosis, McLaren Flint's comprehensive team offers a multi-disciplinary approach. Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Richardson are among the clinicians who attend the weekly breast conference, which also includes Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint radiation, surgical and medical oncologists. These physicians, also known as the patient's cancer care team, discuss each patient's cancer diagnosis and develop an individualized treatment plan.
Next: