Angel Medical Center CEO Column for October 2022 Think Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness is for Everyone

I want to start off this month’s column with a huge thank you to the community and our amazing staff for making the opening of our new community hospital a success. I enjoyed meeting many of you and those I did not get to meet, I’m hoping we can in the near future. Your continued support of your community hospital is the only way that we can continue to offer state-of-the-art technology and the services that you need close to home. If you have a need or concern, please reach out to the team here at Angel Medical Center (AMC) and we will ensure it gets addressed. The leadership team at Angel is here to serve this community — every person, every day.

Most people recognize October as a month filled with pink — from pink ribbon logos on clothing, food packaging, and every other product imaginable, to temporary NFL team uniforms, and even firetrucks swathed in pink. This is the visual cue we all recognize that signifies it must be October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. You might wonder why breast cancer receives so much attention. It’s because, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the disease is the most common cancer in women worldwide.  Even with all the progress that has been made in diagnosing and treating breast cancer, the statistics are still alarming. One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer this year, creating 338,900 new cases in 2022. The wonderful news? When detected early, at a localized stage, the 5-year survival rate for a woman who is diagnosed is an amazing 99%. 

This is ultimately the positive reason why there is so much emphasis on breast cancer — it is treatable and survivable, especially when it is discovered early. What are the best ways to detect breast cancer? The number one way is through routine monthly self-breast exams. Knowing your body is key to knowing if anything has changed or feels unusual, so it’s important to start doing self-exams early and be religious about taking the time to do them every month. A good tutorial on how to do a breast self-exam is on the breastcancer.org site, and women should start performing them at age 20.

The second important step in supporting breast health is for a woman to make sure she schedules yearly visits with her primary care practitioner and her OB/GYN, who are partners in everyone’s healthcare. Your practitioners may do a manual and visual breast assessment, as well as discuss when you should start receiving mammograms. If any abnormality is found, they are key practitioners who can connect you to an oncologist, a cancer specialist who can provide lifesaving treatment. 

There has been some disagreement in the larger community of cancer-related organizations about when to receive your first mammogram. Some, like the American College of Radiologists and the Mayo Clinic, advise starting annual mammograms at age 40, while others, like the American Cancer Society, recommend starting screening at age 45, with the option to start at age 40. This is something you should address with your doctor, but it’s important to know that one in six diagnoses are received by women in their 40s. Also, getting your mammogram for the first time at 40 as opposed to 45 is associated with a lower breast cancer death rate, and we therefore recommend starting your screenings at age 40.

AMC proudly offers the latest screening technology for detecting breast cancer to women in our community. We are equipped with 3-D mammography, ultrasound, and stereotactic biopsy procedures, which help your provider better locate an abnormality.  Angel also has a team of highly skilled radiologists that have specialized training in reading the studies. This allows them to deliver the best information back to your provider. We also have practitioners in the community who are focused on providing preventive care and information on lowering your breast cancer risk, such as primary care providers, oncologists, and OB/GYNs. 

The wide range of services that women in our community have when it comes to preventing, screening for, and treating breast cancer are second to none. Our goal, as always, is to keep care close to home, because home is where healing can begin. If you need more information about breast cancer or preventative diagnostic exams, reach out to your local practitioner or contact Angel’s mammography department at 828-369-4259. We are here for you. 

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that AMC is partnering with local law enforcement agencies to host a Crush the Crisis prescription medication take back event. Community members can anonymously and safely drop off any unused and expired medications for disposal here at AMC on Saturday, October 29th at 124 One Centre Court in Franklin, from 10am-12pm. Please note that we won’t be able to accept needles, syringes, lancets, inhalers, or liquids. Participating in this event keeps our community safer, and you can get more information by calling 833-582-1970. 

Clint Kendall, FACHE, MBA, MSN, BSN, RN, is Chief Executive Officer/Chief Nursing Officer of Angel Medical Center. He started his career as a nurse, and that perspective still informs his work and passion for the patient experience. Clint holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Nursing, and Health Care Management from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Western Carolina University. Clint has also earned the Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) certification, and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), and the American Nurses Association (ANA).