Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in this country (other than skin cancer). Each year, more than 211,000 American women learn they have this disease.
Guidelines for Early Detection
The American Medical Association, The American College of Radiology, and The American Cancer Society recommend the following three-step approach to supporting good breast health:
Mammography - Beginning at age 40, women should have a mammogram every year.
Breast Self-Exam - Beginning at age 20, women should examine their breasts every month.
Clinical Breast Exam - Women ages 20-39 should have a breast exam performed by their health care provider every three years. Women ages 40 and older should have a breast exam performed by their health care provider every year.
What is a Mammogram?
Mammography is a low-dose X-ray of the breast. Sarah Bush Lincoln offers mammograms in two ways. Digital mammography is available in the Mammography Department and on the mobile mammogram van. It offers women and technologists greater ease and comfort than traditional (film) mammography. Since the X-rays it produces are reviewed for quality in "real time" while women are still in position, they are repositioned less frequently and called back less often to retake images that are of poor quality. Completed images are then sent electronically to radiologists who view, magnify and digitally manipulate images to accurately diagnose breast tissue.
Women also benefit from the iCAD system for each mammogram read at Sarah Bush Lincoln. iCAD (or intelligent computer-aided detection) is a computer program designed to recognize patterns of calcification and tissue density of the breast. It can detect 23 percent of breast cancers an average of 14 months earlier than screening mammography alone. However, it does not replace the radiologists who interpret the films.
Sarah Bush Lincoln also offers Mobile Mammography. The primary reason women report that they do not receive mammograms is access. The mobile mammography unit travels to area county health departments, businesses and SBL's extended campus clinics to provide access to women living in those communities, thus eliminating the issue of access. The mobile mammography unit travels to the following counties: Coles, Jasper, Moultrie, Clark, Cumberland and Douglas.
To schedule a mammogram either at the Health Center or in the mobile unit, call SBL Central Scheduling at (217) 258- or 348-2588.
Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Mammograms often detect breast changes before women notice symptoms. The following symptoms, however, should be reported to a physician:
A painful lump or thickening in your breast or surrounding tissue
Any thickening or swelling that persists
Nipple inversion or retraction
Skin dimpling or puckering
Any spontaneous discharge from the nipple
Breast Prostheses and Mastectomy Bras
In Home Medical of Sarah Bush Lincoln offers Mastectomy Services to help pave the road to recovery for many women by helping to restore their appearance and renew their self-confidence following breast surgery. In Home Medical is located at 300 Coles Centre Parkway, Mattoon, and at 903 N. Maple in Effingham. Fitting appointments can be scheduled by calling 1-800-345-3191.
With access being cited as one of the main reasons women don’t have regular mammograms, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s Mobile Mammography unit was put in place with help from BankCheck, a collaborative effort between nine area banks; the Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Women’s Health; a rural Health Initiatives Partnership Program grant from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine; and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Together they help to support a van which provides mammograms and cholesterol assessments. For women who have not been regularly receiving mammograms and health screens, the mobile mammography unit travels to area county health departments, businesses and SBL’s outlying clinics to provide access to women living in those communities.
The mobile mammography unit travels to the following counties: Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, and Moultrie.
The mobile mammography van offers mammography on digital equipment, and is performed by a registered technologist
15 First Neighbor Bank in Greenup
17 Women's Expo at the Arcola Center, 107 W. Main
20 Preferred Bank in Casey
21 Pinnacle Foods in St. Elmo, 11 am - 2 pm
22 Coles County Health Dept.
24 SBL Arthur Clinic<
30 Jasper County Health Fair at the Sunrise Community Center in Newton, 10 am - 2 pm
31 Moultrie County Beacon
4 George Saliba, MD, in Newton
5 SBL Family Medical Center in Mattoon
6 Mattoon Medical Center (near Cross County Mall by Premiere Video)
7 SBL Charleston Family Practice
10 SBL Sullivan Clinic
11 Agri Fab
12 SBL Casey Clinic
13 SBL Arcola Clinic
14 Altamont Medical Clinic - John Opilka, MD
17 SBL Arthur Clinic
21 Lucas Grocery in Oakland
24 SBL Neoga Clinic
25 Jasper County Health Dept.
26 Simonton Windows in Paris, 2 - 7 pm
27 Cumberland County Health Dept.
28 SBL Toledo Clinic
Free blood screenings, at the health department locations only, if women fast after midnight (please drink water on that day). Dates and locations are subject to change.
For more information or to make an appointment for a mammogram,
call Central Scheduling at 258- or 348-2588 or 1-800-639-5929.