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Winter 2009 AAD, AAMC Breast Center: Working Hand-in-Hand
About Anne Arundel
Diagnostics Imaging
Anne Arundel Diagnostics Imaging (AAD) is a leader in diagnosing breast cancer and was recently certified as Maryland’s first Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The award is based on the high breast imaging standards and practices that AAD’s Breast Imaging Center has delivered since its inception in 1996. Fewer than 200 of the 8,800 certified breast imaging centers in the United States are currently designated as ACR Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence. AAD, which opened in 1985, also was the first diagnostic center in the region to adopt digital mammography, and the AAMC Breast Center was the first facility in Maryland to earn voluntary stereotactic accreditation in 1996. Mark Radowich, M.D., medical director of AAD and one of the five certified breast radiologists at AAMC, said, “We’ve always prided ourselves on delivering the highest quality care for patients in our community. Receiving this award should reassure them that, in deed, they are receiving the highest quality care.” Anne Arundel Diagnostics Imaging offers a full range of imaging tests, including MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-rays as well as mammography in several locations. With little history of cancer in her family, Susan McGuire nevertheless was alarmed when she found a lump in her breast during a self exam last March. She called her ob-gyn practice immediately and got an appointment for the next day. After examination, the ob-gyn sent her to Anne Arundel Diagnostics Imaging (AAD) at Shipley’s Imaging—close to her home and job in Millersville—where she received a mammogram and sonogram. Ms. McGuire said the technologists at her regular mammogram appointments usually are chatty. “In the back of my head, I knew something was wrong when the only sounds I heard were, ‘Click and silence. Click and silence. Click and silence.’” An AAD radiologist, concerned at what he saw, wasted no time recommending a follow-up biopsy at AAD’s Breast Imaging Center in Annapolis. The result of that test turned Ms. McGuire’s life upside down, she said. The diagnosis was breast cancer: infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Radiologists at AAD’s Breast Imaging Center work hand-in-hand with the AAMC Breast Center, where Susan McGuire was referred for consultation. After a treatment plan was developed at the weekly breast tumor board, which is made up of an interdisciplinary team of medical specialists, Ms. McGuire was treated with chemotherapy, followed by surgery. Ms. McGuire said that during her treatment she spoke with AAD radiologist Daina Pack, M.D. “Dr. Pack was very informative, kind and patient, and extremely helpful in guiding me to make decisions that were difficult to make at the time,” she said. Now back on her feet, Ms. McGuire is thankful for the skilled professionals at AAD and the Breast Center who so quickly diagnosed and treated her Stage I cancer. |
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