Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas has just launched a breast cancer risk-assessment program to help better identify women at high-risk for breast cancer. The service is a far-reaching program that proactively works to assess women who are coming into the hospital for routine mammograms or breast exams. Even though these women may not have signs of cancer yet, some will undoubtedly fall into the high-risk category, which is determined by a computer questionnaire. Those at higher than average risk are then offered enrollment in the hospital's high-risk surveillance program, which puts together a team of expert cancer-killers ready to spot the first signs of disease -- even though most of these high-risk women won't have cancer yet. That's the point: get them in the program ASAP, before they get cancer.
In the program's very first week, 100 women were screened and 11 of them (more than 10 percent) were determined to be at high risk for breast cancer. Now these 11 women can participate in the hospital's high-risk surveillance program, which just may save their lives. And they most likely wouldn't have known they were at high risk without this wonderful new program.
Kudos to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas for being so proactive in the fight against breast cancer and saving lives!!