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PEARLS Program Helps Women Determine Personal Breast Cancer Risks
The NCH Breast Center has developed PEARLS – Prevention and Empowerment through Assessment of Risks and Lifetime Surveillance. This program, available to all women for a nominal fee, provides a comprehensive analysis of her hereditary background and personal lifestyle. This information is then used to calculate a personal risk of developing breast cancer and devise a plan for future screening.
PEARLS appointments take approximately 90 minutes, most of the time spent in a one-on-one session with a Breast Health Specialist who will ask a series of questions about family health history, lifestyle, eating habits, etc. On the basis of the provided answers, a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer during the next five years will be categorized as average, medium or high. These women also receive copies of their “family pedigree”, a genetic family tree which can be used as a valuable take-home tool.
Sample family pedigree. Relatives with a color associated with their name have a personal history of cancer, breast cancer noted with red.
If personal risk is determined to be high and further testing is advised, The Breast Center will provide a precise plan of action, complete with a recommendation for genetic testing. If breast MR imaging is specifically suggested for high-risk screening, this can be done at NCH using state-of-the-art MR technology, providing high-risk patients with another screening option. Certain women with an especially high risk of developing breast cancer should get MR imaging studies along with their yearly mammograms, this now an American Cancer Society guideline. To learn more, please click on this link. You may also call 847.618.5880 to learn more about the PEARLS program or to schedule a consultation.
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Anxiolysis Data From NCH Pediatric Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG) Program To Be Presented At 2008 RSNA Meeting
In an effort to reduce the unpleasantness associated with VCUG examinations, NCH has been offering parents the option of giving their children oral midazolam prior to the procedure since early 2006. VCUG can be a stressful test for both pediatric patients and their families. Anxiolysis with oral midazolam can minimize patient discomfort and also provides an antegrade amnesic effect. Despite these benefits, some still consider its use controversial, and it is not offered routinely at any of the academic medical centers or dedicated pediatric hospitals in the Chicago area.
Data from our program show that the use of oral midazolam does not adversely affect the ability to diagnose vesicoureteral reflux, obtain voiding images or allow for complete bladder emptying. Most importantly, its use at NCH has been completely safe to date, with none of the nearly 150 children who have received it having any adverse events, not even the need for supplemental oxygen.
Radiographic image of the right kidney in a 5-year-old girl who received anxiolysis shows a duplicated collecting system with reflux into both the upper pole (Grade II) and lower pole (Grade IV) moieties.
An abstract detailing our findings has been accepted as an oral paper presentation at the 2008 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting, generally considered the most prestigious venue for the presentation of diagnostic imaging research. To see the complete abstract, please click on this link. For further information or to schedule a pediatric patient for VCUG, please call 847.618.5866.
For more information about Northwest Radiology Associates, the services we provide, and how to contact individual radiologists, please visit our web site: northwestradiologyassociates.com.
If you wish to be added to our distribution list, or if you have any questions or comments, please email: ckalbhen@northwestradiologyassociates.com.
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