Kadlec Regional Medical Center now has additional tool to detect breast cancer

People scheduling mammograms with Kadlec Advanced Breast Care are now offered a free, personalized breast cancer assessment for early detection and prevention called Prevention 4ME.

Kadlec Advanced Breast Care is part of the Kadlec Outpatient Imaging Center.

Prevention4ME, a survey-based assessment, intends to proactively detect a patient’s cancer risk early, as well as determine eligibility for enhanced breast cancer screening and/or genetic testing.

This screening tool, which was developed by Providence Genomics, gives patients and their providers an individualized assessment of possible risk for developing breast and other hereditary cancers. This tool is free, and is available to both women and men, ages 18 and up, when they schedule a mammogram, breast ultrasound, or breast biopsy appointment at Kadlec.

“Our hope is that we can find more people out there in the community who are at high risk for cancer and get them screened. We strive to help them be proactive in their breast care health,” said Kellie Kraft, Kadlec Breast Imaging Nurse Navigator. “The goal is to treat the cancer earlier and earlier, or even better yet prevent it from happening in the first place.”

Kadlec is the second facility in the Providence family of organizations to offer Prevention4ME. Kraft noted that this new program meets Kadlec’s goals of providing patients with their risk assessment as an accredited Breast Center of Excellence. This distinguished accreditation is awarded by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), acknowledging those facilities and programs that take early breast cancer detection and prevention to a higher level of care.

How it works
Once a patient schedules their mammogram, biopsy, or other breast diagnostic examination, they will receive an email with a link to the Prevention4ME assessment. This email should arrive approximately a week before their appointment time. Kraft recommends that patients watch for this important email to avoid it being lost in their spam or junk folder. When patients get an appointment reminder or check in for their appointment with MyChart, they will receive a reminder to fill out the assessment if they have not already done so.

It is important to note the assessment is only available prior to the appointment.
The assessment will ask questions about personal and family health history and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Afterwards, patients instantly receive a personalized cancer risk assessment – not just for breast cancer, but for many other common hereditary cancers as well.

This report also details next steps, including the opportunity to receive saliva-based genetic testing, if eligible. The saliva test is covered by most health insurance plans and can be done at the mammogram appointment.

Once the saliva test is completed, the genetic counseling team at Kadlec will follow up with the patient about the results of their saliva test.

Identifying cancer risk through Prevention4ME helps patients and their health-care team create a more personalized care plan to support early cancer detection and even prevention. For many people, their care plan will remain the same; however, for high-risk patients, their health-care provider might recommend more frequent screening or other approaches to early cancer detection and risk reduction.

“Some people are a little anxious to take the assessment, but the majority of people I’ve talked to are excited,” Kraft said. “This is a tool that educates them about their risks and gives them the knowledge about recommended next steps.”

The team at Kadlec Advanced Breast Care recommends doing a self-breast exam monthly and scheduling a screening mammogram every year. People can schedule mammograms through MyChart or by calling the scheduling department at 509-942-2655.