Advancing breast health through expanded services

Oct. 19, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Sanford Health.

The Edith Sanford Breast Specialty Clinic is expanding services to give women at all stages of breast health enhanced care.

These expansions in care include same-day imaging services for patients who need further diagnostic exams and direct connections to specialists for women with a higher risk for developing breast cancer.

“A woman can come here for any breast-related concerns she may have,” said Colleen Schmidt, a nurse practitioner and breast health specialist. “If she’s worried about getting breast cancer, we can work through that with her.”

Same-day answers

Meeting with a genetic counselor is often the first step for patients at the specialty clinic.

By taking an in-depth look at family history, a counselor can calculate a patient’s lifetime risk of getting breast cancer. If that assessment score is higher than 20 percent, Schmidt equips patients with prevention strategies such as lifestyle changes and teaches them how to do a self-breast exam to watch for symptoms.

As a certified MammaCare Clinical Breast Examiner, Schmidt is specially trained to identify lumps or tissue thickening, which, if found, could lead to imaging recommendations for an ultrasound or mammogram that same day.

“We want to start doing same-day imaging because we know that they’re feeling anxious and peace of mind is everything,” Schmidt said.

High-risk, full-circle care

For patients with a significantly higher risk of breast cancer, the specialty clinic helps them make decisions that fit their needs – bringing breast care full circle in one place.

There are experts and resources are available to any woman feeling concerned.

“I can’t emphasize enough that you can self-refer to our clinic if you’re worried about something or worried about your lifetime risk,” Schmidt said.

Furthering cancer survivorship

Enhancing breast care for all patients also means being a source of support when breast cancer is detected and requires extensive treatment.

“We know that every woman handles the emotional and physical recovery of breast cancer differently,” Schmidt said.

When patients begin their journey, they meet with providers to create a personalized survivorship care plan, learn about additional resources and get connected with other supportive services such as the intimacy clinic and physical therapists.

‘Never ignore anything’

Schmidt’s journey treating a variety of breast conditions began after she joined the Sanford Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic team as a nurse practitioner in 2014.

There, she saw a lot of patients needing breast cancer surgery who were high-risk for developing the disease from an inherited gene mutation.

“Those patients were wonderful, and I just kind of gravitated toward them in the breast health area,” she said.

She joined the specialty clinic team earlier this year with a goal focused on three things: to help women feel informed, empowered and at ease.

To that end, she always gives her patients this advice:

“You should be proactive about your breast health, never ignore anything and listen to your body,” Schmidt said.

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Advancing breast health through expanded services

The Edith Sanford Breast Specialty Clinic is expanding services to give women at all stages of breast health enhanced care.

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