Intermountain expands breast cancer appointments to Saturdays
Oct 4, 2023, 9:00 PM | Updated: 9:00 pm
FILE: Small pink ribbon pins are given out at St. Mark's Hospital in 2020 to mark the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — One of the ways that Intermountain Medical Center is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October is by making it more convenient for women in Utah to receive their annual mammogram screening.
During October, Intermountain has added Saturday to the list of days that women can make an appointment for a mammogram.
Radiologist Eugene Kim told KSL NewsRadio he hopes women will take that extra day of screening into account when deciding to get their annual check. He hopes people understand that the benefits of screening exceed worries about potential findings.
“We totally understand the anxiety and nervousness that screenings and mammograms can entail,” he said, “but the benefits of catching breast cancer early I think, far outweigh those fears and anxieties.”
The added Saturdays in October can also address another common reason women don’t get mammograms — the belief that they don’t have time and are too busy.
“We definitely understand that women get busy this time of the year, and we’re hoping that with some additional Saturday clinics … that will help alleviate some of the scheduling issues that could happen,” Kim said.
Further, Kim said an annual screening is extremely important for women over forty.
Recommendations for breast cancer screening
According to the CDC, the United States Preventative Services Task Force gives good information about mamograms. Women aged 50-74 with an average risk of breast cancer should get screened every two years.
Your risk of breast cancer increases if you have a family member who has had breast or ovarian cancer. This might come from a mother, sister, daughter, or multiple family members on either side of your family
Women between the ages of 40 and 49 should speak with their doctor about when to start mammograms. They should also talk about how often to get them.
More information:
- Could artificial intelligence improve breast cancer screening accuracy?
- Two sisters used genealogy, genetics to find their risk of breast cancer
- New research suggests breast cancer screenings should be done much earlier
- Certain breast cancer patients ages 65+ could forgo radiation therapy
