Your 40th birthday is an important milestone in your health journey. If you have no personal or family history of breast cancer, it’s the age the American Can­cer Society and the Nation­al Cancer Institute (NCI) recommend you begin having annual screening mammograms. (The NCI advises women to have a mammogram every one to two years beginning at age 40.)

Your yearly mammo­gram is too important to entrust to anyone other than a nationally recognized practice devoted to your breast health—and that’s precisely what you’ll find at the Oak Ridge Breast Center. Located on the third floor of the Cheyenne Ambulatory Center at 944 Oak Ridge Turnpike, the Oak Ridge Breast Center is one of a few select centers in Tennessee to be named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the Ameri­can College of Radiology’s Commission on Quality and Safety and Commis­sion on Breast Imaging.

Thomas Lemond, MD, breast radiologist and medical director of the Oak Ridge Breast Center, leads a team that includes an all-female staff of so­nographers, technologists, and other personnel. A pa­tient navigator is available around the clock to help educate women who are diagnosed with breast can­cer about what to expect throughout their journey with the disease.

“Having a mammogram is a vulnerable, often emo­tional experience for wom­en. We do everything we can to make the exam com­fortable and quick, with the x-ray machine only briefly compressing the breasts as it obtains images of them,” says Shari Blattner, RT (M), manager at the Oak Ridge Breast Center. “We know waiting for the results of a mammogram can be stressful, so the ra­diologists interpret all im­ages within 48 hours of the exam and send reports to patients’ physicians within 72 hours. If a mammogram reveals a lump or other ab­normality, we notify the pa­tient’s referring physician the same day.”

New cancer patients can depend on the expertise and services of the Oak Ridge Breast Center’s part­ner institutions: the Com­prehensive Breast Clinic at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge and Thomp­son Cancer Survival.

Mammography and More!

The Oak Ridge Breast Center has received ACR certification for digital mam­mography as well digital breast tomosynthesis and all other imaging services it of­fers, including:

• Digital breast tomo­synthesis or 3D mam­mography captures images of the breast in slices which present a more three-di­mensional visual of the breast and is particularly beneficial for women with dense breasts.
• Ultrasound is a type of imaging that can be used to better examine an ab­normality detected during a clinical breast exam or mammogram.
• Cyst aspiration is an image-guided procedure performed to drain fluid from a breast cyst.
• Ultrasound-guided core biopsy, directed by ultrasound, removes core samples from an abnormal area of the breast using a needle.
• Stereotactic core biopsy, directed by mam­mography, removes a small sample of breast tissue without surgery.
• Breast magnetic res­onance imaging (MRI), a type of imaging test that can reveal more details of the breast’s anatomy than other imaging exams, is conveniently performed on the lower level of the Chey­enne Ambulatory Center at the Methodist Outpatient Diagnostic Center.
• MRI-guided breast biopsy is one of several types of breast biopsy providers can perform to extract a sample of breast tissue to check for the pres­ence of cancer.

The Breast Center also offers dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, a radio­logical exam that measures bone density and is used to diagnose osteoporosis.

Don’t Delay

If you’re age 40 or older and haven’t had your first screening mammogram, don’t wait another day to schedule. Breast cancer is easiest to treat when de­tected in its early stages. By taking time to be pro­active about your health, you won’t just be helping yourself—you’ll be helping the people who love and de­pend on you, too. To make an appointment for a mammogram at the Oak Ridge Breast Center, call (865) 835-3760.