Breast Center
St. Mary's Breast Center provides a comprehensive breast cancer treatment program that includes a state-of-the-art imaging center and breast cancer management team to guide you through the process.
Physicians and staff at St. Mary’s Breast Center want you to find peace of mind in knowing you are doing everything possible to maintain good health and detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. The Breast Center offers the latest technology in diagnostic services and treatments for breast cancer, while providing compassionate care and support for patients.
Services at St. Mary’s Breast Center include:
- All digital mammography with computer-aided detection, including 3-D digital tomosynthesis
- Stereotactic biopsy
- Sentinel node biopsy
- Breast MRI and biopsy system
- Breast ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsy
- Dexa scans
- Comprehensive breast cancer management team
- Interdisciplinary breast cancer conference
- Personalized care provided by certified breast navigators
- Oncology counseling
- Mentoring program in which newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are paired with breast cancer survivors for support
- Hereditary cancer risk assessment program
- Dietary guidance and education
- Breast cancer support group
- Lymphedema treatment program
- Access to innovative clinical trials and research in affiliation with Edwards Cancer Institute
- Breast reconstruction program
- Hidden Scar™ approach to cancer removal (nipple-sparing mastectomy or lumpectomy)
St. Mary's Breast Center uses a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
Why Should You Get an Annual Mammogram?
Screening mammograms save lives! Routine monthly breast self-exams, annual physical exams by your physician and regular screening mammograms are the best ways to detect breast cancer in its early stages.
Women should begin having yearly mammograms at age 40, unless family history dictates having one earlier. If family history includes a mother or sister who was diagnosed, mammograms should begin 10 years before the mother or sister’s age at diagnosis.
Nearly 50 percent of the women in our tri-state area who meet the criteria for a screening mammogram are not taking the time for this life-saving technology. We are committed to changing that statistic.
To schedule a screening mammogram, call 304.526.1492 or 304.526.8221.
Why Choose 3-D Mammography?
St. Mary’s Breast Center offers the latest technology in breast cancer detection with 3-D mammography, which can detect cancer in its earliest stages, giving women more treatment options.
The 3-D mammography process converts digital breast images into very thin slices, allowing the radiologist to see breast tissue in much clearer detail. This is especially important with dense breast tissue, which can often show up as white on a regular digital mammogram, thereby obscuring the cancer.
A 3-D Mammogram:
- Is a very similar procedure to a traditional digital mammogram
- Takes about the same amount of time as a digital mammogram
- Emits more radiation than a digital mammogram, but at levels safely below the American College of Radiology guidelines
A patient can request a 3-D mammogram or a physician can order it. Not all insurance providers cover the cost of 3-D mammography. For more information, call the Breast Center at (304) 526-8221.
Research and Clinical Trials
Clinical research studies are key to developing new methods to prevent, detect and treat cancer. St. Mary’s Regional Cancer Center gives thousands of patients across West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio close-to-home access to innovative research studies in the treatment and epidemiology of cancer, as well as studies in the prevention and early detection of cancer. The membership also allows St. Mary’s patients access to national cancer studies available from the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network Groups.