Breast Cancer Screening During Pandemic Saves Lives
10/19/2021
Merit Health Woman’s Hospital offers minimal-contact mammography and one-dose radiation treatment for early-stage breast cancer
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Merit Health Woman’s Hospital reminds women not to delay their regular mammography appointments. According to a recent study in Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), even the six-month delay in mammography services during COVID-19 shut-downs in early 2020 is expected to result in an increased number of breast cancer deaths within the next 10 years. By detecting cancer in its earliest stages, women achieve better overall survival, require fewer treatments, and may qualify for less invasive treatment, such as intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), a novel therapy that allows all radiation to be administered in just one visit.
“Don’t let your hesitation about COVID-19 delay your screening. Once a tumor advances past a certain stage, cancer survival rates go down, treatment options become more limited, and hospital visits become more extensive,” said Phillip Ley, M.D., FACS, surgical oncologist at Merit Health Woman’s Hospital.
At Merit Health, in accordance with CDC recommendations, all staff is masked and regularly tested for COVID-19; appointments are spaced to minimize interactions between arriving and exiting patients; physical distancing is maintained between staff and patients whenever possible; equipment and surfaces are cleaned and disinfected after each use; and patients are pre-screened for COVID-related symptoms before appointments. In addition to these safety precautions, Merit Health Woman’s Hospital’s breast cancer screening technology includes 3D mammography, contrast-enhanced mammography, breast MRI, and breast ultrasound.
“In a pre-pandemic world, immunosuppression would be considered a fairly low-risk situation for patients undergoing treatment following breast-conserving surgery,” said Dr. Ley. “However, the persistence of the coronavirus – coupled with the emergence of new strains and an expected autumn surge – drives home the importance of breast cancer treatments that don’t weaken a patient’s immune system.”
Merit Health Woman’s Hospital is the only hospital in Mississippi to offer IORT, a single dose of targeted radiation delivered from inside the breast during surgery immediately following the removal of the tumor while the patient remains asleep. Following the procedure, no further treatment is needed for the majority of patients, eliminating weeks of out-patient treatment and potential exposure to the coronavirus.
About Intraoperative Radiation Therapy
Single dose radiotherapy, also called IORT, administers the radiation dose from inside the breast at the time of surgery, precisely where it is needed. This allows the radiation oncologist to deliver a much higher dose at one time, avoiding unnecessary radiation to vital adjacent organs such as the lungs and heart. For eligible candidates, this procedure can be offered as an alternative to external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), sometimes referred to as whole breast radiation therapy, which treats the entire breast from the outside for up to six weeks following lumpectomy.
To learn more about this treatment, visit our breast care page.
References
“Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast Cancer Mortality in the US: Estimates From Collaborative Simulation Modeling,” JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 14, 2021
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