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Hilton Head Island is an oasis in South Carolina in many ways, not the least of which is for its access to exceptional health care.
When it comes to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, women in Beaufort County are lucky to have the very best in care from three top-notch hospitals. We thought a fitting way to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month would be to give readers a peek at the very latest and greatest in breast health services in the Lowcountry.
Hilton Head Regional Health Care
When it comes to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, only one thing is truly important, says Dr. Virginia Herrmann, medical director for the Hilton Head Hospital Breast Health Center.
“It’s not the place, it’s the people who really make breast care.” said Herrmann, who is the only dedicated breast surgeon and surgical oncologist in Beaufort and Jasper counties. “And we have worked so hard to make this a great team.”
The six-member team at Hilton Head’s Breast Health Center includes Herrmann, who is a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist with more than 25 years experience caring for women with breast cancer. It also includes Dr. Jennifer Cranny, a board certified, fellowship-trained radiologist who is a dedicated breast imager; and Maureen Wood, an oncology nurse specialist with over 10 years of experience caring for patients with breast disease.
“We don’t just have general radiologists reading our mammography,” Herrmann said. “We have someone dedicated to breast imaging.”
The team’s collective expertise and level of excellence have just been acknowledged by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The program, which is administered by the American College of Surgeons, has awarded the Hilton Head Hospital Breast Health Center a three-year full accreditation, making it the only NAPBC-accredited breast center in all of Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties.
“It was a real team achievement, and we are very proud to offer this level of care to women in our area,” Herrmann said. >>
Beaufort Memorial Hospital
Beaufort Memorial Hospital has turned the dreaded breast check-up into what they hope is a relaxing, anxiety-free experience with its new Women’s Imaging Center. The $1.3-million facility has been designed to appeal to women’s sensibilities with calming interior colors, soft lighting and comfortable furniture.
“This is not your typical sterile waiting room with 10-year-old magazines,” said Breast Care Coordinator Ronda O’Connell, RN. “We put a lot of thought into the design to make the experience more enjoyable.”
Every detail, from the art on the walls to the soothing music playing over the speakers, was chosen with the healing arts in mind, working closely with the hospital’s own Healing Arts Committee. Changing rooms were designed to open into individual examination rooms, providing patients with more privacy.
“We want women to feel catered to, not like they’re going through an assembly line,” O’Connell said.
In addition to digital screening mammograms, the center offers digital diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasound, bone density scans, ultrasound breast biopsy and stereotactic breast biopsy. With a radiologist on-site to read the images instantly, patients are able to get preliminary results before they even leave the office.
“We found through focus groups that women like knowing the results of their tests when they walk out the door,” O’Connell said. “It provides them with peace of mind.”
St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System
For more than a year, Dr. Lorraine Champion has been using a new protocol for breast cancer radiation treatment at The Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion Radiation Oncology Center Hilton Head/Bluffton, which is part of St. Joseph’s/Candler in Savannah. Although the new program cuts the length of radiation treatment nearly in half, there are age, breast size and other restrictions placed on who could be offered this streamlined treatment schedule.
But now Champion and her colleagues are part of a national clinical trial for the new treatment protocol, which means just about any woman with early-stage breast cancer in the area can now take advantage of the shorter treatment schedule.
“I just think it’s very exciting,” Champion said. “I’m very willing to treat with the short course of radiation, but not all U.S. doctors are willing to do this. So this trial is to show that this treatment’s just as good as the six-and-a-half-week treatment.”
Another new clinical trial at St. Joseph’s/Candler measures the effect of using the diabetes drug metformin on breast cancer survivors. Early trials showed women who used the drug for more than five years had a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
That trial is studying how the drug will prevent recurrence and promote survival in early-stage breast cancer survivors. Women who have completed their breast cancer treatment will take the drug or a placebo for five years.
By Robyn Passante
