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North Country Hospital Supervisor of Diagnostic Imaging, Susan Maxwell, RT(R)(M), and Mary Jean Grime RT, (R)(M) with new digital mammography unit.

North Country Hospital Now Offers the Newest in Mammogram Quality and Comfort

The Radiology Department at North Country Hospital is pleased to announce that they now provide the latest in high tech, full-field Digital Mammography equipment. The FDA-cleared a foam breast cushion, called MammoPad, which creates a softer, warmer mammogram that eases the discomfort many women feel when they get a mammogram. MammoPad has been clinically demonstrated to reduce discomfort for most women. North Country Health System, Inc. is a certified Softer Mammogram Provider, a distinction awarded only to an elite group of healthcare facilities.

What is a Mammogram?

A mammogram is a special x-ray of the breasts. Mammograms can show tumors long before they are large enough for a woman, or her health care provider, to feel. Some women fear the results, but many fear the actual test itself. Many women have heard mammogram stories and others have experienced discomfort which prevents them from getting this important diagnostic test.

What is digital mammography?

Digital Mammography takes an electronic image of the breast and stores it directly in a computer. Digital Mammography allows improvement in image storage and transmission because images can be stored and sent electronically. Radiologists also can use software to help interpret these images. Digital Mammography has been shown to provide image quality that is as good as film-screen mammography, and actually better for some women.

Discomfort Discourages Testing

The American Cancer Society reports women can greatly reduce their risk of death from breast cancer if they receive yearly mammograms. Mammograms identify lumps that a woman’s self-breast exam would not find until an average of 1.7 years later. For this reason, both the society and the American College of Radiology recommend that women 40 and older receive mammograms yearly.

Yet, despite the urgency of this message, nearly 40 percent of American women do not get their regular recommended mammograms. Studies have shown when having a mammogram their discomfort is a major reason many women do not return for an annual screening.

The recent development of the MammoPad and Digital Mammography could help reverse this trend. Many women report that the discomfort from having a mammogram has greatly decreased in health care settings that offer the combination of MammoPad and Digital Mammography equipment. This combination is recognized in healthcare as essential to optimizing mammography and breast health. North Country Hospital is pleased to be able to offer patients this important enhancement.

“We want to give our patients the best service,” says Susan Maxwell, RT(R) (M), Supervisor of Diagnostic Imaging. “In our small community, we now offer state-of-the-art technology plus MammoPads for increased comfort.”

In addition to the new digital mammography unit, the waiting room area in the mammography suite has been changed so that the patient can go from a more private waiting room directly to the exam room without passing through hallways. This increases privacy and further promotes patient comfort.

Radiology Open House

North Country Hospital would like to invite the community in to see the Mammography suite and new digital mammography unit on Sunday, September 16th. Everyone is invited, and refreshments will be served. You don’t need to be a woman in need of a mammogram to come to visit…children, spouses, parents, friends, anyone who has a woman they care about…early detection of breast cancer can make the crucial difference between life and death. Regular mammograms are the only scientifically proven way to reduce breast cancer deaths.

In offering both MammoPads and Digital Mammography, North Country Health System, Inc. provides the latest in imaging quality and comfort technology. For more information, call Sue or Kelley at 334-3210 ext. 434

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