Since its inception in 1998, Breast Health Services has continued to play an important role in Lexington Medical Center's oncology program. The goals of the Breast health program are to facilitate a patient's rapid entry into the hospital system whenever a breast-related abnormality is detected, to provide the patient with education and emotional support during the diagnostic and treatment periods and to provide a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of breast disease. The program is unique in that the hospital offers a streamlined five-day detection-to-diagnosis for the problems that are suspicious for possible breast cancer. This is achieved by the assistance of our Breast Health Specialist, a registered nurse who is board-certified in oncology and who has received additional training specific to the needs and issues of this patient population.

The Breast Health Specialist serves as the liaison between the patient and all other members of the health care team, working to expedite necessary testing and follow-ups, as well as providing one-on-one education and emotional support for the patient and her family. The Breast Health Specialist is available to the patient twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and carries a beeper which is never turned off to ensure that patients always have a resource. This close contact with the patient enables the Breast Health Specialist to assess potential areas of concern or need, such as finances, transportation, understanding for treatment options, and coping.

Treatment of breast cancer is delivered with a multidisciplinary approach, as demonstrated by the weekly pre-treatment conferences in which every patient who has been diagnosed within the previous seven days is presented. This enables all disciplines involved in the treatment of the patient an opportunity to come together and review all test results while collaborating on a specific plan of care. In this manner, the patient is given the benefit of multiple "second opinions" free of charge and without suffering the inconvenience of being seen in different offices.

The Breast Health Specialist maintains contact with the patient throughout the duration of the active treatment phase and is always a resource for the patient and family in the future. Patients and families report that having access to one nurse who can assist in educating and supporting them dramatically decreases the anxiety and stress. The success of this program has challenged us to reassess our current methods of delivering care to people with other types of cancer and see what opportunities for improvement may exist there also.

The success of this program has been nationally noted, and has served as a model to multiple institutions from all over the country.