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Picture of a mammogram room with full field true digital mammography equipment.
Picture of a mammogram room with full field true digital mammography equipment.

Marshall Browning Hospital Enhances Women's Services


Du Quoin, Illinois - August 3, 2012 - Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin is significantly enhancing its women's health technology in an effort to provide women in Perry County and the surrounding area with the best breast health services available.

Marshall Browning Hospital recently installed state-of-the-art, full field true digital mammography equipment. The service will provide added convenience for patients who can now have this service provided in their hometown hospital. The arrangement will also enhance collaborative efforts with SIH's Breast Center in Carbondale for follow-up care.

In April, Marshall Browning Hospital brought on board a new radiologist group. This means that the same radiologists who are reading x-rays or scans for all of the Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) facilities are now reading procedures performed at Marshall Browning Hospital. In essence, when a patient has a digital mammogram performed at Marshall Browning Hospital, radiologists who specialize in breast studies at the Breast Center in Carbondale will interpret the mammogram.

The full field true digital mammography system uses no film but instead creates a digital image that is stored electronically. In addition, this system includes computer aided detection (CAD) software that assists the radiologist in identifying problem areas and in making a diagnosis. Full-field true digital mammography allows a significant clinical dose reduction compared with computed radiography and screen/film mammography - with a significantly higher detectability rate of lesions and microcalcifications.

Edwin A. Gast, CEO of Marshall Browning Hospital, said the hospital's radiology staff is ensuring that Marshall Browning Hospital continues to provide the best care to its community. "Our mammography team put so much of their hearts into this project and are to be congratulated for achieving their dream," he said. Digital mammography is the latest technology in the fight against breast cancer. For many women, this sought-after technology is more effective than traditional film-based mammography in detecting breast tissue abnormalities allowing for early breast cancer detection and treatment. This front line technology uses a powerful computer to create superior, high quality images of the breast, thus increasing the physician's ability to detect cancer and other abnormalities. The increased productivity of digital mammography will enable Marshall Browning Hospital to accommodate more patients, while the new technology attracts two new groups of women: older women who had avoided mammograms in the past and younger women with dense breasts.

"Because your chances of surviving breast cancer are closely tied to how early you find the disease, early screening is essential. We know how busy women are and we are committed to providing convenient appointment times for their busy schedules. We are also very excited to be working closely with the radiologists at the Breast Center in Carbondale who will be reading all of our mammograms," commented Kimbra Schafer, Radiology Director at Marshall Browning Hospital.

To further enhance mammography services at the hospital, the mammography exam room has been remodeled to increase patient comfort and privacy.

The mammogram program at Marshall Browning Hospital is accredited by the American College of Radiology and the technologists performing these procedures have received their mammography certification from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).

Routine digital mammography appointments can be scheduled by calling 618-542-1073. A physician referral is not required for an annual screening mammogram for women 40 years and older.
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