If new hospital equipment can offer patients even a bit of comfort, long time Mammography Technologist Bonnie Cote is on board.
“You get them on the table and it’s comfortable, you can talk with them and just ease them into it. You get them relaxed a lot better because they’re just sinking into the comfort of those nice cushions on there,”said Bonnie Cote, head of Chinook Regional Hospital’s Mammography Department. “When they’re more relaxed you get better samples as well and it’s easier to target. It’s just a win-win.”
Over the past few months southern Alberta women having to undergo a breast biopsy have been forced to go to Calgary for the exam.
The hospital’s biopsy equipment was on its last leg. Outdated technology from 15 years ago was providing doctors with inconclusive images and an unclear diagnosis, and two out of every ten biopsies were being sent to Calgary for a second opinion.
“Often times the calcification’s we would see at the clinic, women would come to the hospital here and we’d no longer be able to see the calcification’s because the machine is almost older than me,” said Dr. Michael Lane at CRH.
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Thanks to the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation that’s no longer the case.
“The table cost $226, 000. It is a significant cost but it’s something we believe will have such a good impact here at the hospital,” said the foundation’s Executive Director, Jason VandenHoek.
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But it’s more than offering patients a shorter commute. Cote says offering the biopsies locally also gives patients peace of mind, waiting a few days for their appointment, rather than weeks to get in at a Calgary hospital.
“They’re so anxious when they hear the word cancer and if we can do it first try, get really good sample, they have the results right away to stop that anxiety. If we tell them we can’t find it and we’ve got to do something else, their anxiety is just way too high,” said Cote.
Patients lie face down on the table, which can be raised or lowered according to the radiologists needs.
“It’s reliable and it’s efficient and overall the quality is just dramatically improved,” said Dr. Lane.
The hospital says the table went into operation last month and they’ve been able to perform biopsy procedures on eight women in that time.
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