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When women experience these                                                    WOMEN’S HEALTH
symptoms, they should seek medical
evaluation immediately.                      Any time you have changes to your breasts, bring it
                                             to the attention of your doctor. If it’s nothing, you’ll
   Suffering breast pain? Dr. Dale offers     get peace of mind. If there’s something going on,
encouragement to you. While scary, it’s      you’ll be better off getting it diagnosed and treated
likely a sign of a minor problem. Breast
or nipple pain is rarely associated with                      early, no matter what it is.
early-stage cancer. It’s often caused by
stress, lifestyle changes or even caffeine.  —Paul Dale, MD, Chief of Surgical Oncology at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center
                                                               and Director of the Atrium Health Peyton Anderson Cancer Center
   Don’t get fooled though. You should
never write off your symptoms.               FROM NURSE TO PATIENT

   “It’s a bad idea to think your            In 2009, registered nurse Teresa               breast care was new to VanHorne, she
symptoms will go away on their own,”         VanHorne, RN, BSN, CBCN, followed              immediately took to it. She was where she
Dr. Dale says. “Ignoring what your body      doctor’s orders. At the young age of 45,       belonged. Inside the Breast Care Center,
tells you could allow cancer to grow         she went in for what she thought would         she was home.
and spread.”                                 be a routine mammogram.
                                                                                               Today, VanHorne uses her past to give
DON’T WAIT FOR SYMPTOMS                         After her screening, she was called         hope for the future.
                                             back. Something was seen in the
Unfortunately, more women are now            mammogram, and they wanted to run                 “I love telling my story to patients,” she
experiencing advanced cancers. Dr. Dale      additional imaging tests. Soon after, she      says. “They’re so relieved to know that I
blames the problem on the COVID-19           got the diagnosis every woman dreads:          survived and am doing fine. It lets them
pandemic.                                    She had breast cancer.                         know they can beat breast cancer and that
                                                                                            it’s not a death sentence.”
   During the pandemic, many have put           “My future flashed before my eyes,”
off their annual exams. They may have        VanHorne says. “I began planning my               Beating cancer like VanHorne did means
postponed their annual mammogram or          funeral, thinking this was a death sentence.”  finding it early. If you missed your last
felt a lump, but they feel nervous about                                                    mammogram due to COVID-19 concerns,
visiting their doctors. As a result, small   A SCARY STORY BRINGS COMFORT                   VanHorne urges you to schedule it now.
tumors can turn into large growths. Left     VanHorne was wrong. Because she                To help more women do just that, Atrium
untreated, growths spread to nearby          was screened early, the cancer hadn’t          Health Navicent has launched the Return
lymph nodes. Cancer that would have          grown much and was still contained             to Screening campaign.
been easy to treat now requires more         in a small area. Following surgery,
intensive therapy.                           VanHorne underwent six weeks of                   As part of this initiative, mammogram
                                             radiation therapy.                             technologists at Atrium Health Navicent
   Appropriate screening helps you                                                          are reaching out to women who missed
avoid this. At Atrium Health Navicent,          Fast-forward seven years. Still in          their mammograms in 2020. Through
mammography gives a clear view of            remission, VanHorne was ready for a            the Return to Screening campaign,
what is happening in a woman’s breast.       change. That’s when she left her previous      Atrium Health Navicent hopes to help
With 3D mammography, women have              employer and came to work at Atrium            women schedule their mammograms
access to an even better diagnostic tool.    Health Navicent.                               so they can get back on track with their
It gives fewer incorrect diagnoses and                                                      screenings.
is particularly helpful in women 65 and         With 14 years of infusion experience,
older. Need a second look at a suspicious    she continued work in that field at Atrium
area? Breast ultrasound is available, as     Health Navicent. One day, she filled in
is molecular breast imaging, a new tool      at the Atrium Health Navicent Breast
used to examine dense breast tissue.         Care Center, a Facility of Atrium Health
                                             Navicent The Medical Center. Though
   No matter which tool is used, they all
have the same purpose.

   “Our goal is to diagnose cancer
before symptoms arise,” Dr. Dale says,
“and we have all sorts of great tools to
do just that.”

       READY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ONE OF THE GREATEST TOOLS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER?
CALL ATRIUM HEALTH’S CENTRALIZED SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT AT 478-633-7020 TO SCHEDULE A MAMMOGRAM.

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