BELLA VISTA -- The Breast Center has opened a clinic in Bella Vista in the Town Center next to Harps, and the organization hopes to reach more women for their annual mammograms.
"Our overall mission is providing hope through early detection with personalized care," said Dr. Katherine Rankin, a partner in the Breast Center, which has clinics in several locations around Northwest Arkansas.
Rankin said all patients take a risk screening quiz. If they are found to be at increased risk, the staff develops an individualized care plan. Patients may need genetic testing, or they may need an additional dedicated breast MRI in addition to their mammogram. If they have dense breast tissue, they will need a screening ultrasound, she said.
In the past, technology was "pretty basic," Rankin said, and only mammograms were offered, but now the Breast Center tries to offer more.
"If we can catch women at an increased risk that had a young relative [with breast cancer] in their family, they may need to start screening before 40," she said.
She added primary care providers are welcome to send patients to the Breast Center for risk assessment to come up with a plan if they have a family history of breast cancer.
"We do 3-D mammograms and that really has improved breast cancer detection. It detects 40% more invasive cancer," she said.
For women under 40, sometime between the ages of 35 and 40, ideally around 35, is a good time to have a baseline mammogram, Rankin said. She explained every woman's breast tissue is so different from one another that it is good to have a baseline to compare.
"If she's going to get [a mammogram] every year at 40, we are looking for subtle changes from year to year, long before it's a lump she or the doctor would ever feel," she said.
Most of her patients who do get breast cancer go on to live long, rewarding lives, as long as it can be detected early, she said.
"It's a bump in the road, but most of our patients do fantastic as long as we can detect it early," she said.
Rankin said the partners in the Breast Center decided to open a clinic in Bella Vista because they felt the area was underserved and hoped it would be a more convenient location and prevent a barrier to patients coming in to get their screening mammograms.
The Bella Vista location has two dressing rooms that have doors that open from one side into a hallway and on the other side directly into the exam room.
"We have been designing our recent clinics that way for improved patient privacy," Rankin said. "They don't want to be in a big waiting room sitting next to each other in their gown. The tech is able to bring them directly into the exam room and then back into the dressing room. Most patients have commented that made them feel more safe."
She added the staff at the Bella Vista clinic is made up of "really kind, compassionate ladies that will hopefully help that population and make them feel comfortable."