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Breast Cancer Services

Breast cancer is a malignant or potentially life-threatening tumor. Not all breast lumps or tumors are malignant. According to the National Women's Health Information Center, most lumps are benign or non-cancerous, although any unusual lump should always be examined by a doctor.

Men can develop breast cancer; however, the disease by far occurs more in women. In fact, it's estimated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

For more information about breast cancer, including risk factors, types of breast cancer and treatment procedures, visit our Health Library. Don’t forget to print out the risk worksheet to help determine your risk for breast cancer.

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Spotlight on Health

The Latest Developments in the Treatment of Breast Cancer – 96.1 JOY-FM, August 1, 2011

Download this thirty-minute radio program to hear from featured guests Dr. Ronald Bauer, a Catholic Health surgical oncologist whose practice is limited to breast surgery, and Candice Gerrity, a nurse practitioner and Certified Breast Cancer Navigator for Catholic Health.

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Breast Health Navigator: Support for Women with Breast Cancer

For most women, a diagnosis of breast cancer brings with it a host of medical questions and concerns, along with a variety of emotional issues.

To help you better manage your breast cancer care, Mercy Hospital's  Breast Cancer Patient Navigator Program provides a specially trained nurse practitioner to guide you through the many phases of breast cancer, from diagnosis and treatment through post recovery.

Services Available to Persons with Breast Cancer

Our breast cancer navigator, Candice Gerrity, RN, MSN, FNP, provides free consultation services and connects you to follow-up care and additional support.

She can:

• Guide you through the healthcare system
• Help you find ways to pay for healthcare if you don’t have insurance
• Direct you to health care services for further treatment
• Help you keep track of and find ways to get to your appointments
• Help you get your questions answered
• Help you obtain genetic testing BRCA 1 & 2

The benefits of the program include improved and more timely access to healthcare services and information, fewer delayed and missed appointments, and increased satisfaction with your healthcare experience.

Available to All Women with Breast Cancer

Catholic Health’s Breast Cancer Patient Navigator Program is available to all women who have been recently diagnosed, are already living with the disease, or have had a recurrence of the disease.

No Cost to You or Your Insurance Company

Catholic Health’s Breast Patient Navigator Program is a complimentary service; there is no cost to you or your insurance company to use this program.

More Information

For more information about this free service, contact Candice Gerrity at (716) 698-9464 or email us.

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Ask the Expert

• Is breast cancer preventable? Nurse Practitioner Gina Lafountain responds.

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Mammograms

A mammogram is a special x-ray of the breast. Mammography can detect lumps and other forms of breast disease that may be too small to be felt by an experienced examiner. This early detection is your best opportunity for a total cure. X-ray equipment dedicated exclusively to performing mammograms is used. This allows us to use x-ray levels that are three to nine times lower than normal x-ray levels.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women have a baseline mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40 and receive a mammogram yearly after age 40. Women at high risk should have mammograms more often. Risk factors for women include:

• Increased age
• If she has never had children
• If she had her first child after age 30
• Cigarette smoking
• High-fat diets

Remember, however, that 80% of breast cancers occur in women with no risk factors. One in eight American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Another woman is newly diagnosed with the disease every three minutes. Three steps to early detection are:

• Breast self exams every month beginning at age 18
• Clinical breast exams by a healthcare professional every three years between the ages of 18 and 39, and every year from age 40
• Screening mammograms annually from age 40

Mammogram Locations

Click here for a list of Catholic Health facilities that offer mammograms.

Groundbreaking Treatment at Sisters Hospital

The Breast Cancer Program at Sisters of Charity Hospital was the first in Western New York to perform partial breast radiation following lumpectomy. The procedure uses a new “balloon” device that delivers exact amounts of radiation to the cancer site. This procedure spares the healthy breast and surrounding tissue.

More Information

  Call our HealthConnection line at (716) 447-6205, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday - Friday
 Email us