Nite of Hope to support new screening equipment

Last year, the Richmond Hospital Breast Screening Mammography program provided 14,500 screening procedures for women in our community and approximately 2,000 diagnostics, which are further procedures for symptomatic women and investigation of abnormal findings. B.C.’s five-year survival rate of 88 per cent for breast cancer is among the best in the world and Richmond Hospital is number one in B.C., consistently the most productive site in the province with a 63 per cent participation rate. But we still need greater capacity in Richmond to support higher rates of screening to achieve or exceed the provincial target of 70 percent.

Dr. Lynette Thurber is a radiologist who has worked at Richmond Hospital for 35 years and saw the screening program introduced over 25 years ago. As the primary breast cancer radiologist she has seen tremendous advances in both attitudes towards breast cancer and the technology used to screen and diagnose it. Richmond Hospital is currently upgrading space to add a new digital mammography unit replacing the outdated analog machine, which required film. Technology is constantly improving and just as consumer cameras no longer require film, diagnostic imaging has evolved too and Richmond Hospital needs to keep pace.

“We are honoured to have the Nite of Hope Richmond, on behalf of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation B.C./Yukon Region, fundraising for a state-of-the-art dedicated breast ultrasound machine.”

Dr. Thurber has high praise for the individuals and the Nite of Hope committee members who are helping to fund diagnostic imaging at Richmond Hospital. “It’s always a constant struggle to have enough money to stay at the forefront with state-of-the-art technology. It advances so quickly, and governments can only do so much. There are so many competing interests for health care dollars…To have the help of community members, it’s invaluable.”

More information about Nite of Hope – Richmond

With files from Richmond Review