New breast cancer screening technology comes to Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s

A brand new breast cancer screening technology is now at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton that is set to reduce timelines for diagnosis and the development of treatment plans.

The new technology is set to make St. Joseph’s a “one-stop-shop for breast cancer screening and detection.”

The sale of the Hamilton and District Senior Citizens’ Home RAMYBNAS In. resulted in the over $1.6 million donation that funded the purchase of two state-of-the-art pieces of diagnostic imaging equipment.

The 3D digital tomosynthesis machine is a 3D mammogram to create a more accurate and detailed representation of the breast.

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This technology can be used to resolve any abnormalities found on mammograms and is more sensitive to the detection of breast cancer when used for screening. It is often used for patients with a prior or family history of breast cancer or dense breast tissue that can make lesions more difficult to spot.

Further, it will allow for healthcare professionals to accurately target and biopsy an abnormal area seen on a mammogram.

This contrast-enhanced mammography allows for healthcare professionals to more accurately assess which lesions need to be biopsied and which are likely benign, thus reducing unnecessary procedures.

Before the arrival of this technology, patients would often have to return to the hospital for a breast MRI to stage their cancer post-biopsy. The use of contrast-enhanced mammography will now allow for the same staging information to be obtained immediately.

Ultimately, health officials say there will be fewer repeat visits to the hospital, a shorter timeline for diagnosis and treatment planning and reduced levels of stress and anxiety for patients.

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“This gift and the equipment it’s helped our Hospital to acquire will save precious time
and help save lives,” says Dr. Colm Boylan, Chief, Diagnostic Imaging, St. Joseph’s
Healthcare Hamilton.

“With these new technologies, we’ll be able to better detect breast cancer at its earliest stages so that we can provide the diagnosis and treatments our patients need, sooner.”

One in eight women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

St. Joseph’s is home to two sites of the Ontario Breast Screening Program at its King and West 5th Campuses and performs more than 17,500 mammograms annually.

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