Page 5 - Island hospital Heartbeats_Winter2018

1st in Skagit County!
3D mammography

now offered at Island

he Diagnostic Imaging (DI) Department at Island Hospital is
Tnow offering 3D mammography, a first for Skagit County. This
new unit produces a three-dimensional view of the breast tissue that
helps detect breast cancer in its earliest stages, when it is easier to treat
and more curable.
While performed the same way as traditional mammography, 3D
mammograms are beneficial for women with dense breast tissue as it
provides a clearer image for radiologists. In addition, the new unit less-
ens the risk of a false positive, so there will be far fewer callbacks for a
second mammogram. One of every eight women will develop breast cancer. If caught
“We selected the Hologic Genius TM 3D Mammography unit for its early, the five-year survival rate is almost 100%. There are various
ranking and reputation in the industry. The unit also has significant guidelines suggesting when women should start screening and how
upgrade capabilities,” said DI Director Ray Ould CNMT. “We have often they should screen, but all medical groups agree that screening
several add-ons already selected once they are available.” saves lives. Although the risk for breast cancer increases with age,
The Genius 3D TM exam younger women are at risk: One in six breast cancers occur in women
• is the only mammogram that is Food and Drug Administration- age 40-49. Although any level of screening is better than none, it is esti-
approved as superior for women with dense breasts compared to mated that screening every other year will miss up to 30% of cancers
2D mammography alone. relative to annual screening. The American College of Radiology rec-
• finds 20-65% more invasive breast cancers than 2D. ommends an annual screening mammogram beginning at age 40, and
• reduces callbacks by up to 40%.
“We are very proud to be the first hospital in the county with 3D these are the guidelines nearly all insurance companies follow. The
mammography,” said Island Hospital CEO Vince Oliver. “This is made majority of insurance plans will cover screening mammography due to
possible with the recent passage of the property-tax levy as well as Ray its exceptional preventative health value.
Ould’s outstanding efforts to bring this service here in a most cost-effi- To schedule your mammogram call the Island Hospital Diagnostic
cient manner.” Imaging scheduling line at (360) 299-4288.
Best treatments for the most common symptom

by J. Michael Jones MPAS-C accompany many illnesses. In those cases, head- patient is best served by focusing on
ache serves as an alarm system, warning us that getting better rather than to continue
eadache has been something is wrong or to intentionally disable us
Hcalled the most so that we rest while we recover from that illness. the endless pursuit for the “cause.”
common symptom. A study, When headaches reoccur, it is usually not warn- When a car alarm goes off, the first
which appeared in Lancet ing of something else wrong but because the thing you do is to look for a burglar.
Neurology (Vol 7, Issue 4, headache alarm system, itself, is broken. We call But when it continuously goes off, and
April 2008), reported that, no burglars are found, then you must
worldwide, 47% of people these primary headaches. focus on fixing the alarm.
have headaches of some Primary headaches, such as migraine, are the Ÿ The second approach is trying physical
type. Around 15% of people most common disabling headache condition. A measures. These include everything
suffer from the most common severe type of genetic mutation within the headache alarm sys- from massage and acupuncture, to
headache, migraine. About 3-4% of people have tem is usually responsible for most migraine dis-
headaches on more days than not. More women orders. Five migraine genes have been found so nerve blocks and Botox. Some of the
have migraine than men because of the added far. Other factors, including head or neck injuries, newer physical measures include
neurological stress of the cycling of estrogens. It can start headaches, or make them worse. wearable or implantable electrical
therefore affects women during the most pro- Our goal of headache treatment is to reduce nerve stimulators and devices that
ductive years of their lives. Headache disorders in the frequency by 80% and to find ways to stop send a magnetic pulse into the brain
general, cause more disability than all other neu- the headaches that do start. There are four paths to stop a migraine (TMS).
rological diseases because they are so common, to getting headaches under control: Ÿ The third category of treatment is
ranking 7th on the World Health Organization’s Ÿ The first step is making sure there is dietary. We wish that a particular diet
list of reasons for disability. not an underlying cause. A good head-
The symptom of headache is a normal and would mitigate headaches, but the
healthy part of our natural defense system. It is ache clinician can quickly rule out evidence from research is, unfortu-
often part of the constellation of symptoms that these other causes. Once an underly-
ing cause has been ruled out, the continued on page 22
Winter 2018 | Heartbeats | 5