Intermountain Health Expanding Access to Mammography Screenings and Streamlining Women’s Cancer Care

For more than 30 years Utah has ranked near the bottom nationally for breast cancer screenings. In the United States, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Annual mammograms are the first and most important step in detecting cancer early when it’s most treatable and that’s why breast cancer experts at Intermountain Health are urging women to get screened annually starting at age 40, or earlier if they have a family history of breast cancer.

Intermountain Health is helping in the fight against breast cancer by improving access to screening tools and streamlining the cancer treatment process, so women don’t have to wait long periods of time in between appointments.

“We know women may skip their screenings because they have extremely busy lives or are taking care of family, while for some a mammogram can seem scary because you don’t know what a doctor might find,” said Eugene Kim, MD, system chief of breast imaging at Intermountain Health. “Getting an annual mammogram can give women peace of mind and ensure they’re healthy far into the future.”

To improve access, Intermountain Health deploys two mobile mammogram units in Utah.

The mobile mammography unit in southern Utah covers rural hospitals without mammogram equipment so women don’t have to travel far for their annual screening. The unit in northern Utah covers clinics and businesses with large numbers of female employees who want to be screened.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say there are some women alive today because they were screened using one of our mobile units and caught their cancer early,” said Jen Leonce, mobile mammogram coordinator at Intermountain Health. “Breast screening is the best prevention because if we catch things early there are more options for the patient to fight the cancer.”

In addition, Intermountain Medical Center in Murray will be open every Saturday in October for mammogram screenings to help women who are too busy during the week to get an appointment.

In Salt Lake County, other Intermountain hospitals will be open on at least one Saturday a month through next year. These programs have already shown success in getting women screened without having to take time off work.

One of the most significant ways Intermountain has streamlined cancer screening process is with the option of same day biopsy. If doctors discover a suspicious mass during a mammogram, they can perform a biopsy right then and get it to the lab to determine if it’s cancerous.

In the past, women would have to wait and schedule another appointment for a biopsy. The entire process could take weeks, leaving women with anxiety and worry over the results. If it was discovered to be cancerous, the appointment for their surgery could be further in the future.

“A breast cancer diagnosis can be devastating, and we want to make sure women get on their path to healing as soon as possible,” said Dr. Kim.

Thanks to advancements in technology and procedures there are more options for treating breast cancer, which are less invasive than those of the past. Studies have shown when caught in the early stages breast cancer has a much higher cure rate.

Also, new surgery techniques allow doctors to cut less breast tissue while removing a tumor. In some cases, women will only need radiation treatments to resolve their cancer.

Even treatments like chemotherapy have become more precise and don’t always have the same side effects of past cancer treatments.

“A lot has changed with cancer treatment over the last 25 years and it’s helping patients live longer, fuller lives,” said Dr. Kim. “At Intermountain we make sure patients have the guidance and help they need at every step along the way with our team-based approach.”

To schedule a screening mammogram, call 801-906-2700, or visit intermountainhealthcare.org/mammogram

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.