{"id":11175,"date":"2021-10-25T14:31:26","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T18:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/radiology\/?p=11175"},"modified":"2021-10-27T14:27:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T18:27:38","slug":"mammography-techs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/radiology\/2021\/10\/25\/mammography-techs\/","title":{"rendered":"Mammography Techs Comfort, Connect and Save Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UVA

The Northridge Mammography team. Left to right: Melissa Gaines, Kathy Repich, Marie Barnett, S. Lynette Narciso, Edie Swetnam, Deborah Berry and Donna Marshall.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

October is <\/span><\/i>Breast Cancer Awareness Month<\/i><\/b>, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. To help mark this month, we\u2019re highlighting UVA Radiology\u2019s <\/span><\/i>mammography technologists<\/i><\/b>. This remarkable group guides patients through all aspects of their mammograms – from answering their questions to prepping them for their exam; positioning them in the mammogram machine to taking the actual images.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s estimated that 1 in 8 women<\/strong> will have breast cancer during their lifetimes. If that cancer is detected before it spreads outside the breast, the five-year survival rate is over 99%. That\u2019s where mammograms come in: they are the best way to detect breast cancer early. The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the outcome.<\/p>\n

Most women will have annual mammograms for at least part of their adult life. Annual screening mammography is offered to all women beginning at age 40 and continuing as long as a woman is in good health. Women at high lifetime risk of breast cancer may start screening at an even earlier age.<\/p>\n

Mammography technologists are specially trained to operate mammography scanners and create the images that radiologists use to diagnose breast cancer. But they do so much more than just operate the machine. For most people getting mammograms, a mammography tech is the only person they may interact with before, during and after their exam.<\/p>\n

Many people experience anxiety or apprehension about the results of mammograms, or discomfort from the physical exam. Or they might not know why yearly mammograms are important for their health. Patients come to rely on mammography techs for support, comfort and connection during an uncomfortable and potentially nerve-wracking time.<\/p>\n

For techs, that close bond with patients is what makes their job special.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Breast Care Center mammography team. Back row, left to right: Brenda Graves, Emily Barnhill, Margaret Gianakouros, Rebecca Griswold, Christine Shachtman. Middle row: Sarah Groot and Linda Lilly. Front row: Emily Herndon, Elizabeth Wilson, Hilary Hamblin and Jonathan Nguyen, MD.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

A Uniquely Close Connection<\/h2>\n

At UVA Health, mammography technologists work in two main locations: the newly opened Breast Care Center<\/b><\/a> on Pantops, and at Mammography Northridge<\/b><\/a>. Mammograms are also performed on the UVA Mobile Mammography<\/b><\/a> coach, which brings breast cancer screenings directly to communities across the state.<\/p>\n

Mammography techs are mainly responsible for performing mammograms. But they also perform bone density scans and some ultrasounds. If a patient needs a biopsy, a tech will help prep the patient and assist the doctor during the biopsy, too. \u201cEven if a technologist is not performing a biopsy or an exam themselves, they are doing everything else.\u201d says Rebecca Griswold<\/b>, Mammography Supervisor at the Breast Care Center. \u201cThey have to keep on their toes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mammography techs are with patients the entire time they are at UVA. They bring patients back to their exam room, help them prepare and explain what they should expect during the exam. They perform the actual imaging, and afterwards explain how and when patients will receive their results. They also prepare patients for any additional screenings or exams they may have that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a tremendous amount of patient interaction,\u201d Lorie Hubbard<\/b>, Interim Chief Mammography Tech at the BCC, says. \u201cFor screening exams, the tech is actually the only person a patient interacts with. And we are so close to our patients the entire time.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s why I like breast imaging so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

They do this over and over again each day. All told, the two main UVA mammography sites perform about 30,000<\/b> mammograms a year, or about 120 a day. And that\u2019s with a team of just 14 technologists! That means that each team member performs over 2,000<\/b>\u00a0mammograms annually.<\/p>\n

\"UVA<\/h2>\n

Comforting Patients at an Uncomfortable Time<\/h2>\n

But the numbers only tell part of the story of the impact that mammography techs have.<\/p>\n

Many women dread mammograms because of the compression needed to get good-quality images. Mammography techs are acutely aware of this and do their best to make patients as comfortable as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a super comfortable exam, physically,\u201d Lorie says. \u201cThe patient is exposed and you have to touch their breasts and compress them, which can hurt.\u201d Compression holds a breast still and reduces the radiation dose needed, so it\u2019s important for both a patient\u2019s health and the quality of the imaging. But it\u2019s not an enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n

Listening to and talking with a patient beforehand can help. \u201cWe explain that a certain amount of compression is needed to get a diagnostic exam,\u201d says Lorie.\u201dIf you explain to a patient that you need it, they often can tolerate it more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca Griswold agrees that explaining what\u2019s happening is helpful for patients. \u201cMost techs talk with patients as an exam is happening. They tell them exactly what is happening as they move into the machine, for example. That explanation is really important: you can change their expectations and make them less apprehensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnically speaking, the breast is a pectoralis muscle,\u201d continues Lorie. \u201cSo if you physically get a patient to relax, you get a better picture. Then you don\u2019t miss anything. So our job is to literally help a patient feel relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding Cancers and Saving Lives<\/h2>\n

Mammography techs don\u2019t all start out in mammography; they might come from diagnostic radiology, or CT. But once they arrive in mammography they tend to stay in their role for the rest of their careers.<\/p>\n

Both Rebecca Griswold and Marie Barnett<\/b>, Supervisor of Northridge Mammography and the Mobile Mammography, emphasize that their teams have had very little turnover, even during the tumultuous COVID period.<\/p>\n

Lorie Hubbard, who has been a mammography tech for 31 years, explains why she thinks that is the case: \u201cMammography is unique. Most of the techs are here because we want to find breast cancer and we want to save lives. It\u2019s a different kind of dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donna Marshall<\/b>, a tech at Northridge who has spent the entirety of her 42-year career at UVA Health, including the last 21 years in mammography, agrees that mammography is a place where techs can make a unique difference:<\/p>\n

\"UVA<\/h2>\n

\u201cA lot of what we do is educating the patient.\u201d Donna says. \u201cSometimes we might be the only person who does that. Some women come here because their doctors tell them they should, and they know they should, too. But sometimes they don\u2019t realize why it\u2019s so important, or how everyone\u2019s bodies differ, or how family history and age play into the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen going over their history and talking about mammograms, it opens up the conversation to all kinds of questions.\u201d she continues. \u201c\u2018Why are you asking me that?\u2019 or \u2018I didn\u2019t know that.\u2019 If nothing else, at least the patient has gotten a better sense of why mammography is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Donna, Lorie, Rebecca, Marie, and all their colleagues, mammography goes beyond just a job. It becomes a kind of calling, a deeply held belief in imaging\u2019s ability to help people.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a woman is getting a mammogram and a cancer hasn\u2019t even made a mass as big as the woman can feel – say, the size of a grain of sand.\u201d says Rebecca. \u201cIf you convince that one woman to get a mammogram, you save her life. That\u2019s why we are here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Taking Care of Patients and Each Other<\/h2>\n

Behind the scenes, the mammography teams show their colleagues the same respect, cooperation and kindness that they show patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very blessed to lead a team like this,\u201d says Marie, the supervisor at Northridge. \u201cWe\u2019ve been very cohesive as a team, stepping in and filling in. No one has ever said that something is not my job. It\u2019s been a true team effort all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

When screening mammograms were paused in summer 2020 because of COVID, mammography techs were relocated to the ED and other areas of the hospital. They were happy to step in and help care for patients.<\/p>\n

More recently, the Breast Care Center has stepped in again in the midst of global supply chain troubles.<\/p>\n

With breast biopsy supplies in high demand, many hospitals are having trouble acquiring them. In some places, patients are being told they cannot receive their biopsies. But UVA has been able to work with their supplier to acquire sufficient supplies, and has created partnerships with other hospitals to bring patients here to UVA for biopsies. It\u2019s a perfect example of how an attitude of cooperation and a devotion to patient care permeate the entire team. And it shows how attention to detail, behind the scenes, makes patient care better.<\/p>\n

Donna Marshall calls the mammography team \u201ca well-oiled machine. Everyone knows their role and everyone does it. That means everything runs very smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients see it,\u201d Donna continues. \u201cA lot of times they will tell me \u2018I don\u2019t go anywhere else that treats me as well as you do here.\u2019 Appointment times, getting in and out quickly, being treated well: that has something to do with how many of us (techs) have stayed here for so long. And how well we treat each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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