SVMC Presents 'Taking the Scare Out of an Abnormal Mammogram'
BENNINGTON, Vt. — If you're a woman over the age of 40, you may have been there: You get a call that your mammogram is abnormal, and you get scared. It's completely natural. The fear sometimes stops women from getting a mammogram in the first place or from coming back for the recommended diagnostic breast imaging.
What you need to know is that there is a long way between an abnormal mammogram and a breast cancer diagnosis. Information about the process of breast cancer screening, including what is happening behind the scenes, can help you cope with this unsettling news and move forward with confidence.
That's why clinicians from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's (SVMC) Imaging Department and the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center partnered to offer this special presentation, titled "Taking the Scare Out of an Abnormal Mammogram," from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 25 at the Manchester Community Library in Manchester, Vt.
While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps necessary to detect the disease in its early stages when it is most successfully treated. In "Taking the Scare Out of an Abnormal Mammogram," Dr. Terrell Coffield of Radiology Associates of Bennington, and Rebecca Hewson-Steller, a registered nurse and breast health navigator at SVMC Women's Imaging Department and the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the screening mammography process and the different ways radiologists use breast imaging to help women find breast cancer early.
Dr. Matthew Vernon, a radiation oncologist with the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, will be on hand to describe the treatment options available to mammogram patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer. Mammogram and ultrasound technologists will also be on hand to answer questions.
Coffield is board certified by the American Board of Radiology. He attended medical school at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He completed an internship at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio and his residency at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He's been a member of the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center staff since 1979.
Hewson-Steller is a registered nurse and has been certified as a breast patient navigator by the National Consortium of Breast Centers. In her work as a breast health navigator, she meets with patients to discuss abnormal test results and, when necessary, sees them through all of the stages of their diagnosis and treatment.
Vernon received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and his undergraduate education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He completed his residency at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics. He is board certified in Radiation Oncology and has served on the medical staff at SVMC since 2013.
The event is part of SVMC's observance of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. This event is supported by SVMC's Cancer Committee. Reserve a seat online.
Tags: breast cancer,
