Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi - (Page 5)

Every year thereafter Arnold scheduled her annual mammogram, and every year she got a good report— until February 2008 at age 49. On that occasion, the mammogram revealed calcifications in her left breast. Another stereotactic breast biopsy followed, and she received her diagnosis on Valentine’s Day: cancer. “Very tiny calcifications like mine show up on a mammogram like little grains of salt. My tumor was so small, it would have been a long time before it could have been felt on a physical exam,” Arnold says. “I firmly recommend getting a screening mammogram every year at the same place so the doctors can compare the mammograms from one year to the next. That way, you can see when there’s any change.” After an MRI to check both breasts for any other tumors, Arnold met with a surgeon to discuss her treatment options. A self-proclaimed “worrier,” Arnold opted for a bilateral mastectomy, or removal of both breasts, with immediate reconstruction. Because her cancer was detected so early and had not spread beyond the duct, neither chemotherapy nor radiation therapy were necessary. Three years before her cancer diagnosis, in December 2005, Arnold had left her 11-plus year career as a surgery nurse at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo to work at NMMC’s Breast Care Center. Having faced cancer herself helps her help others. “I have always sympathized with people when they find out, but now I can empathize with them because I know how they are feeling,” she says. “There is no easy way to deal with breast cancer, but it seems to help people feel better to know there is life beyond breast cancer.” Watch Out— Breast Cancer Warning Signs • Lump, hard knot or thickening • Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening • Change in the size or shape of the breast • Dimpling or puckering of the skin • Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple • Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast • Nipple discharge that starts suddenly • New pain in one spot that doesn’t go away Information on breast cysts, dense breast, breast pain and microcalcifications is available at www.nmhs.net/ breast_care.php. Screening guidelineS In 2009 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel comprised of independent medical experts, released new recommendations that women between ages 40 and 49 should not receive mammograms to screen for breast cancer. Like many other doctors nationwide, radiologist Susan Shamburger, M.D., tells her patients to ignore the new guidelines. “I am sticking firm with the American Cancer Society and American College of Radiology recommendations that are tried and true,” Shamburger, who works at NMMC’s Breast Care Center, says. “The early mortality from breast cancer has decreased by 30 percent since 1990, and earlier detection is the major reason why. Screening mammography is the only imaging modality that has been proven to reduce mortality from breast cancer.” Shamburger also credits advanced screening tools—digital mammography and breast MRI—in Coming to a Neighborhood Near You north Mississippi Medical center recently rolled out a new Mobile Mammography unit that provides area communities with convenient access to mammography services. The colorful, comfortable new unit features the latest in digital mammography equipment and replaced the original unit that had been on the road since 1994. Mammograms performed on the Mobile Mammography unit are interpreted by radiologists from the nMMc Breast care center. To view the Mobile Mammography schedule, visit www. nmhs.net/mobile_mammo.php or call 800-THE DESK (800-843-3375) to make an appointment. Vim & Vigor • Fal l 2010 5  http://www.nmhs.net/breast_care.php http://www.nmhs.net/breast_care.php http://www.nmhs.net/mobile_mammo.php http://www.nmhs.net/mobile_mammo.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Lean On Me
Inside Look
What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet?
See the Future
The Female Factor
Take a Bite Out of Stress
Starring Role
Shouldering the Pain
Train Your Brain
What Now?
Choose Your Own Adventure
Community Report
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi

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