SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Unless a woman has a family history of breast cancer, they should start annual screenings for starting at age 40.
For one Aberdeen woman, she’s been consistent in getting her mammogram yearly.
That consistency led to her cancer being caught early.
In this Avera Medical Minute, learn why this patient is encouraging others to stay up to date on their screenings.
Yearly mammograms are a priority for Karen Hofer, but during her screening in May of 2023, she got some unexpected news.
“I got a call and said they needed to do an ultrasound, so I went in and did the ultrasound, and a couple of days later they called me and said we need to do a biopsy,” said Avera patient, Karen Hofer.
“I went from mammogram to being told that I was positive for cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma.”
That diagnosis left her with a lot of questions about what she should do next. Fortunately, the team at Avera was there for her every step of the way.
That included Cari Price, who is a breast navigator.
“A breast navigator gets to walk with the patient through their cancer journey, which starts from their initial diagnosis through survivorship,” said Price.
“In my role, I called her on the phone and just explained a little bit more in detail, gave her some education.”
“It was just like they answered every question that I had and kept me informed, let me know what they were doing,” said Hofer.
Her case was also presented at the multidisciplinary tumor board to help determine the best treatment option.
“That’s a group of experts, specialists, medical oncologists that focus just on breast cancer. Radiation oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, radiologists. The case is reviewed by them, then they give us treatment recommendations, and we follow through on that,” said certified nurse practitioner Christopher Nelson.
“Because she was an early-stage breast cancer, she required radiation, she had a lumpectomy.”
Karen had her surgery and did radiation in Aberdeen, meaning she didn’t have to travel far for her treatment.
“I didn’t have to find a place to stay, I didn’t have to leave the day before, or those kinds of things. I came in, I drove myself on the morning of my surgery, and then had my family meet me here so that they could take me home,” said Hofer.
“If we can keep our patients here in Aberdeen or close to that area, that’s very important,” said Price.
“At the cancer center here, we really have a comprehensive system for patients, especially with breast cancer patients. They can get most of their care here, a lot of the time, all of their care here, everything from screening to diagnosis to treatment, and then follow-up care can happen here in Aberdeen,” said Nelson.
Karen is now in remission. She credits that to prioritizing her mammograms each year.
“To have that history of doing mammograms and doing them consistently is so important, make sure you get your mammogram, make sure you get them early, make sure that you follow up every year,” said Hofer.
Karen will continue to follow up with her care team to make sure her cancer doesn’t come back.
To learn more about breast cancer services, go to avera.org/medicalminute.
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