Wine Women Woods Raises $110,000 for Digital Mammography
Wine Women & Woods 'Tee Off For the Cure' was another resounding success, with $110,000 raised for the digital mammography unit at VJH.Funds will purchase an Ultrasound Machine and bed for the unit. This piece of equipment completes a four-year project to modernize and digitize the monitoring of breast health for women in the North Okanagan, Columbia, Shuswap and the Nakusp area.If the doctor feels a lump and the mammogram shows dense breast tissue, an ultrasound may be able to find the lump within the dense breast tissue. Ultrasound is also a good tool to obtain additional information about the characteristics of a lump. It can determine whether a lump is a fluid-filled cyst or solid. Without an ultrasound, physicians must diagnose the characteristics of a mass by sticking a needle in it to see whether it contains fluid.This does not always work well, since it is hard for a small needle to get fluid out of a cyst that has thick walls or that contains very thick fluid. An ultrasound is also useful in helping the radiologist interpret a mammogram. On a mammography screen, both fluid and solid tissue appear the same white colour.Using ultrasound, the radiologist can look more closely at the area and determine if it is a cyst or solid tissue. Ultrasound is a good tool for diagnosing young women who have breast cancer symptoms.Currently, VJH has 3 general and 2 Eco-cardiogram exclusive ultrasound machines. When a Radiologist sends a mammography patient for an ultrasound, there is often a wait-list for an appointment and this delay requires the patient to return for subsequent appointments. Having an Ultrasound Machine exclusive to the Mammography Unit will eliminate the need for additional visits and the anxiety that may accompany these tests because the ultrasound can be done immediately when the Radiologist requires more information.
Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation goes out the to organizing committee, the volunteers, sponsors and supporters of this amazing event!
pictured left to right: Joanne Willis, Marlene Bradshaw, Sue Beaudry, Dana Stauber, AJ Eathorne, Donna Cain, Gloria Morgan, Kathy Coverly, Joanne Robertson