Breast cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States. 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
Detecting, treating, and defeating breast cancer takes a team—JCMG’s Comprehensive Breast Care team. Our team is here to be by your side all the way from detecting breast cancer to eradicating it.
The first step to detecting breast cancer is knowing how to perform a self-examination. Whether you find something or not, ensuring you’re up to date with a mammogram is the next step. Speak with your primary care provider or gynecologist about scheduling a mammogram.
Mammography is considered to be the gold standard of breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Early detection of breast cancer by mammography has been shown to decrease breast cancer deaths by 30%.
Mammography is considered to be the gold standard of breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Early detection of breast cancer by mammography has been shown to decrease breast cancer deaths by 30%.
The American College of Radiology recommends yearly screening mammography for average patients. High risk patients may require earlier mammograms and possibly other exams. Some organizations have slightly different recommendations. Please talk to your provider about when you should start screening.
Jefferson City Medical Group offers state-of-the-art 3-D Hologic full-field digital mammograms. 3-D mammography has been shown to significantly increase breast cancer detection in women less than 50 years of age, women with dense breast tissue and pre- or perimenopausal woman of any age.
Our digital mammography is performed in conjunction with computer aided detection (CAD). Use of CAD has shown to increase the detection of breast cancer by greater then 20% over mammograms interpreted without CAD.
Our radiologists are all board certified and have more than 100 years of combined experience in interpreting mammography. In addition, we offer the full gamut of imaging procedures (ultrasound, Breast MRI) and image-guided biopsy techniques to meet your breast imaging needs.
JCMG Mammography is accredited by the American College of Radiology and Food and Drug Administration.
To schedule your mammogram at JCMG today, call your primary care doctor. If you have a primary care provider, you can instead call JCMG Radiology at (573) 556-7755 to schedule a mammogram and your report will go to your primary care provider.
Please feel free to contact JCMG Radiology for any and all questions regarding mammography or your medical imaging needs.
Once diagnosed with breast cancer, JCMG Oncology will be your go-to source for information and treatment. Oncology will determine which treatment methods are best for your case, and will coordinate between all the various clinics who will have a hand in defeating your breast cancer: primary care, imaging, radiation, surgery, and/or plastic surgery.
The are many surgical treatments for breast cancer, including lumpectomy and mastectomy surgeries. JCMG Surgical Specialists are able to perform these surgeries
A lumpectomy, also called breast-conserving surgery, is an operation to remove the cancer and some normal tissue around it, but not the breast itself. Part of the chest wall lining may also be removed if the cancer is near it. This type of surgery may also be called lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, segmental mastectomy, quadrantectomy, or breast-sparing surgery.
Total mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast that has cancer. This procedure is also called a simple mastectomy. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may be removed and checked for cancer. This may be done at the same time as the breast surgery or after. This is done through a separate incision.
Modified radical mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast that has cancer. This may include removal of the nipple, areola (the dark-colored skin around the nipple), and skin over the breast. Most of the lymph nodes under the arm are also removed.
If a patient is going to have a mastectomy, breast reconstruction (surgery to rebuild a breast’s shape after a mastectomy) may be considered. Breast reconstruction may be done at the time of the mastectomy or at some time after. The reconstructed breast may be made with the patient’s own (nonbreast) tissue or by using implants filled with saline or silicone gel.
JCMG Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery performs breast reconstruction surgeries, and will work closely with JCMG Oncology and General Surgery to ensure a smooth process.
Once the clearly cancerous cells are removed, unfortunately the journey isn’t over yet. After the surgeon removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy after surgery, to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called postoperative therapy or adjuvant therapy.
Chemotherapy (also called chemo) uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemotherapy for breast cancer is usually systemic, meaning it is injected into a vein or given by mouth. When given this way, the drugs enter the bloodstream to reach cancer cells throughout the body.
Chemotherapy may be given before surgery to remove the tumor. When given before surgery, chemotherapy will shrink the tumor and reduce the amount of tissue that needs to be removed during surgery. Treatment given before surgery is called preoperative therapy or neoadjuvant therapy.
JCMG has a Chemotherapy Infusion suite on-site right next to JCMG Oncology. Call our Oncology department to learn more: (573) 556-7718
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:
Hormone therapy (also called endocrine therapy) slows or stops the growth of hormone-sensitive tumors by blocking the body’s ability to produce hormones or by interfering with the effects of hormones on breast cancer cells. Hormones are substances made by glands in the body and circulated in the bloodstream. Some hormones can cause certain cancers to grow. If tests show that the cancer cells have places where hormones can attach (receptors), drugs, surgery, or radiation therapy is used to reduce the production of hormones or block them from working. This is called ovarian ablation.
Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Your doctor may suggest biomarker tests to help predict your response to certain targeted therapy drugs. Learn more about Biomarker Testing for Cancer Treatment. Several types of targeted therapy are used to treat breast cancer.
