Tiana New, an inmate at the Riverside Women’s Correctional Facility in Boulder, Montana, recently had her first mammogram thanks to an innovative program that Intermountain Health St. James Hospital has taken on the road.  

“I was nervous at first,” New said. “But the women on the bus were so kind and made me feel very welcome.” 

The bus is the Intermountain Health Mobile Mammography Unit from Intermountain St. James Hospital in Butte, and caregivers took the unit to the correctional facility earlier this month to provide 3D mammograms for the inmates. 

“Being able to provide those services while they are incarcerated really gives our female population an opportunity for early detection for breast cancer,” said Todd Boese, health services manager for the Montana Department of Corrections. “We are incredibly grateful to be supported by Intermountain Health St. James Hospital to provide this service to the 50 women here.”  

The mammography bus is designed to provide the latest mammography screening technology in a confidential, comfortable environment.  

“We have had back-to-back appointments scheduled each time we visit Riverside,” said Jerri Doyle, director of Oncology Services at Intermountain St. James Hospital. “It is part of our mission to ensure that all women have access to screening for breast cancer because we know that early detection saves lives. We are proud to provide the service to women and bring care to the prison.” 

With 80 stops and screenings across seven counties in Montana annually, this marks the second visit of the Intermountain St. James mobile mammography bus to Riverside this year, with plans underway for another. 

“Seeing other people do it encourages other women to get their mammogram,” said Sandi Cantrell, an inmate at Riverside. “Cancer shows no prejudice – it's out for all of us, and I am very blessed that they bring this care directly to us.” 

Driven by its mission to serve the vulnerable and help people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain St. James Hospital launched a mobile mammography program in 2023 to better care for the women of southwest Montana. 

The program removes barriers to screening by making it faster and more convenient for women to have a screening mammogram, the key to lifesaving, early detection of breast cancer.   

“Some of the girls here have denied the care, so being able to show them that it’s a safe space with our best interest at heart is huge,” said New. “I am incredibly grateful to the team at Intermountain St. James for providing us with kindness and access to these screenings.” 

In addition to the outreach in Boulder, the Intermountain Health Mobile Mammography program based in Billings has been providing outreach services to the women’s prison in Billings quarterly, since 2016.  

“We know how important these screenings are for women, so we’re thrilled that we can offer these services to our patients in Boulder,” DOC Health Services Bureau Chief Cindy Hiner said. “We appreciate the kindness and care of our DOC medical staff and the St. James medical staff who make this a seamless experience for the women receiving this important preventative care. The DOC works hard to ensure inmates are receiving the best care possible at all our secure facilities.” 

Intermountain Health is committed to helping patients live the healthiest lives possible, and for women this includes proactive and preventive breast care. Most women talk to their doctors about starting to get annual mammograms around age 40. Unfortunately, some women are at higher risk for breast cancer than the average and would benefit from earlier or more complete screening. 

The High-Risk Breast Cancer Program at Intermountain St. Mary’s Regional Hospital is now available to patients in the Grand Valley to help identify those at higher risk for breast cancer, and then provides education and resources to help them minimize their risk. 

“We’ve designed and implemented a comprehensive, patient-centered program where our breast health experts identify ways to reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer from the perspective of multiple healthcare professionals representing different disciplines. We work together to protect each individual woman the best we can, given her genetics, family history, and lifestyle,” said Alicia Swink, MD, medical oncologist with Intermountain St. Mary’s Regional Hospital. 

The program helps women and their primary physicians take the guesswork and logistics out of appropriate breast cancer screening and risk-reduction strategies. “We’ve all seen friends, family, and certainly patients struggle to understand their own risk of breast cancer, and how to get help managing that risk,” said Lucas Gilbride MD, breast radiation oncologist with Intermountain Health. 

“The threat of breast cancer for every woman is hard enough to think about and manage; we want to simplify the process to help patients understand and manage their risk,” he added. 

"Early detection of breast cancer is crucial, said Joyce Sekharan, MD, breast surgeon and medical director for the Breast Program of Cancer Centers of Colorado at Intermountain St. Mary’s Hospital, “Stage 1 breast cancer is associated with a 99% survival rate. One in 8 women get breast cancer; however, early detection strategies are proven to be extremely helpful.” 

“Many breast cancers may be completely preventable, and we’re helping women identify and change the risk-factors they can. For those breast cancers that cannot be prevented, catching the disease early is key to curing the cancer. We’re making sure women at higher risk of breast cancer are closely monitored by breast cancer experts, so any disease is caught early, at a curable stage,” she added. 

Many women may think they’re at normal or low risk for breast cancer if they are young or have no significant family history of breast cancer; unfortunately, statistics show this may not be the case. 

“We strongly encourage every woman to discuss what her individual risk might be, with her primary care provider starting in their 20s to see what she can do to minimize that risk. We’re here to help make recommendations that protect the patient and support her provider in watching over her throughout her life,” said Dr. Swink. 

Katie Lemas, the hospital’s certified genetic counselor, is a key leader of the High-Risk Breast Cancer Program. 

“Were learning more and more about how our genetics predispose us to breast and other cancers. If we know a woman has a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, we can better protect her through enhanced screening, medication, and a personalized care plan. Knowledge is power – what we know about, we can influence or even change altogether. Every woman should have the opportunity to know what factors she can control,” said Lemas. 

The High-Risk Breast Cancer Program is available to all women of any age with a concern of developing breast cancer. Patients can self-refer or be referred to the program by their gynecologist, family physician, internal medicine physician, or other primary care provider. 

“Once in the program, we perform breast cancer risk assessments, genetic counseling and testing (if indicated), surveillance screening, risk-reduction education and lifestyle interventions,” said Page Kanopsic, nurse practitioner with Intermountain Health. 

“We partner with women to find the best way to stay healthy; we help them change the things they can for better health, and do our best to protect them from factors that cannot be changed. We’re with them through every step,” she continued. 

The High-Risk Breast Cancer Program provides a community where women can go to discuss their health and concerns and provides support for women as they face any anxiety about healthcare. 

“This program is about giving women the power to take control of their own health and their own risk. There is nothing inevitable about breast cancer; we can change the trends and decrease the number of women who are affected by the disease. We can do this together and are proud to offer this program as a comprehensive hub for women at risk,” said Dr. Sekharan. 

Patients can access the program virtually or in person at Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. Interpretation services are available. For more information, call 970-298-7500. 

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Durante más de 30 años, Utah se ha encontrado cerca del último lugar a nivel nacional en cuanto a la realización de mamografías para la detección del cáncer de mama. En los Estados Unidos, a una de cada ocho mujeres se le diagnostica cáncer de mama en algún momento de su vida.

Las mamografías anuales son el primer paso y el más importante para detectar el cáncer de manera temprana, cuando es más tratable. Por eso, los expertos en cáncer de mama de Intermountain Health aconsejan a las mujeres que se realicen un examen anual a partir de los 40 años, o antes si tienen antecedentes familiares de cáncer de mama.

Intermountain Health ayuda en la lucha contra el cáncer de mama al facilitar el acceso a las herramientas para su detección y simplificar el proceso de tratamiento para que las mujeres no tengan que esperar largos períodos de tiempo entre citas.

“Sabemos que las mujeres pueden saltarse sus exámenes debido a que tienen vidas muy ocupadas o están cuidando a sus familias y, además, una mamografía puede resultar aterradora para algunas mujeres porque no saben qué podría descubrir el médico”, comentó Eugene Kim, MD, jefe del sistema de imagenología mamaria en Intermountain Health. “Realizarse una mamografía anual puede dar tranquilidad a las mujeres y garantizar su salud a largo plazo”.

Para facilitar el acceso, Intermountain Health implementa dos unidades móviles de mamografías en Utah.

La unidad móvil de mamografías en el sur de Utah llega a hospitales rurales que no cuentan con equipos de mamografía para que las mujeres no tengan que viajar largas distancias para realizar su examen anual. La unidad en el norte de Utah llega a clínicas y empresas con una gran cantidad de empleadas que desean hacerse una mamografía.

“No es una exageración decir que hoy hay mujeres vivas gracias a que se realizaron exámenes en una de nuestras unidades móviles y detectaron el cáncer a tiempo”, afirmó Jen Leonce, coordinadora de mamografías móviles en Intermountain Health. “La prueba de detección del cáncer de mama es la mejor prevención, porque si lo detectamos a tiempo, hay más opciones para que la paciente pueda enfrentarlo”.

Además, Intermountain Medical Center en Murray estará abierto todos los sábados de octubre para realizar mamografías, lo que ayudará a que las mujeres que están demasiado ocupadas en la semana puedan conseguir una cita.

En el condado de Salt Lake, otros hospitales de Intermountain estarán abiertos al menos un sábado al mes hasta el próximo año. Estos programas han logrado que las mujeres se realicen mamografías sin tener que interrumpir su jornada laboral.

Una de las formas más importantes en que Intermountain ha facilitado la detección del cáncer es ofreciendo biopsias de forma inmediata. Si los médicos encuentran una masa sospechosa durante la mamografía, pueden realizar una biopsia de inmediato y enviarla al laboratorio para determinar si es cancerosa. 

Antes, las mujeres tenían que esperar y programar otra cita para realizar una biopsia. Todo ese proceso podía tardar semanas, lo que generaba que las mujeres estuvieran ansiosas y preocupadas por los resultados. Si se descubriera que era canceroso, la cita para la cirugía podría programarse para mucho más adelante.

“Un diagnóstico de cáncer de mama puede ser devastador, y queremos asegurarnos de que las mujeres comiencen el proceso de recuperación lo antes posible”, dijo el Dr. Kim.

Gracias a los avances en la tecnología y los procedimientos, hoy en día hay más opciones para tratar el cáncer de mama que son menos invasivas que en el pasado. Los estudios han demostrado que, cuando el cáncer de mama se detecta en las etapas iniciales, tiene una tasa de curación mucho más alta.

Además, las nuevas técnicas quirúrgicas permiten a los médicos extraer un tumor conservando más tejido mamario. En algunos casos, las mujeres solo necesitarán tratamientos de radiación para combatir el cáncer.

Incluso tratamientos como la quimioterapia se han vuelto más precisos y no siempre presentan los mismos efectos secundarios que los tratamientos contra el cáncer que se realizaban en el pasado.

“El tratamiento del cáncer ha cambiado mucho en los últimos 25 años, y eso está ayudando a las pacientes a vivir vidas más largas y plenas”, dijo el Dr. Kim. “En Intermountain, nos aseguramos de que las pacientes reciban la orientación y el apoyo que necesitan en cada etapa del proceso, gracias a nuestro enfoque colaborativo”.

Para programar una mamografía, llame al 801-906-2700 o visite intermountainhealthcare.org/mammogram

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