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Given the coronavirus situation, how is your breast center handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies, and breast MRIs?
We are only performing diagnostic exams and biopsies.
All Diagnostic work still continues. Screening everything cancelled.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are continuing to perform our diagnostics, biopsies and MRIs(if not just for surveillance)
TJUH: No screening exams
Allowed diagnostic and interventional procedures:
1. Savi scout or needle wire localization for approved Tier one priority OR cases
2. Bi-rads 4c, 5 and 6 requiring diagnostic exams or procedures
3. Palpable mass or urgent clinical finding suggestive of cancer
4. Management of abscess
5. Consideration for Bi-rads 4a, 4b in very anxious patient
Screening has stopped ; mammo and mri
Work ups and core biopsies continuing
No cancer survivors or 6 month rechecks being done
Diagnostic requisitions triaged – urgent semi urgent not urgent ( Breast pain no mass , under 30 for example
Those we feel can be postponed we are notifying the patient and Physician of cancellation
Physician instructed to send another requisition with more detail if they feel it should be done
Only patient can come to appt
Screened at entrance to hospital and by phone when appt is confirmed
All screening mammograms and MRI exams are delayed until at least through 4/21/20. All non-urgent diagnostic breast imaging exams are also delayed during this same time-frame. We are continuing with breast diagnostic imaging for symptoms likely to be cancer or mastitis, as well as for our cancer patients that need imaging for management decisions. We are still performing biopsies for findings that are BI-RADS 4c or 5. Breast MRI exams are being done mostly for cancer patients to answer management questions (extent of disease or neo-adjuvant therapy follow-up).
My facility stopped performing screening mammogram on 3/17. We are still doing diags, biopsies and ultrasounds. We are screening all of our patients for any flu like symptoms. If they have any flu like symptoms, we are rescheduling them.
My team is wearing masks/gloves with every patient.
We looked at all diagnostics across the next 2 weeks and compiled into 2 days prior to out patient breast center closing for 2 weeks. Some patients opted to get worked in, some chose to wait until risk of COVID-19 decreased. A few urgent cases were performed since then. Ultrasounds, ultrasound biopsies and breast MRI being performed at the hospital as needed.
We are currently performing diagnostics (except short term follow up exams), breast biopsies and breast MRIs. Breast surgeries are still being performed for cancers and atypia.
Our Group has done several things:
1- Surgery- only essential surgery- attempt neo adj. tx until able to do surgery
– total mastectomy with recon. – do lumpectomy and resched. bigger case
– limiting clinic cases to new cancers and acute issues
-using tele-medicine visits as much as possible
2- Medical oncology- on treatment patients coming to clinic.
-seeing only new cancer patients
-using tele- medicine visits.
3- Radiation Oncology- on treatment patients coming to clinic
-Tele- medicine for follow up
We are trying to limit appointments and exposure as much as possible-
People are screen as they walk into the building (one entrance in use)
People are then screened again as they check in at the desk
Please are screened a 3rd time with the RN in clinic
My facility is still doing all diagnostics and biopsies. We have pushed screenings back until May.
We have closed completely.
We are continuing to perform diagnostic mammograms and US exams with the intent to perform same day biopsies instead of having them come back on another day. This reduces the chance that they are exposed twice from our department as well as us from the patient if they return on another day. We are also postponing some of the 6 mos f/u’s by weighing the risk vs. benefit of delaying their follow-up.
Our center postponed all screenings, but diagnostics and biopsies are business as usual. We don’t do MRI.
Screening: Rescheduled
Diag (symptom): performing these
Diag (follow-up): contacted referring provider to see about rescheduling
Diag (screen recall): Because we aren’t doing screens, there aren’t many of these at this point
Biopsies: Performing these
Screening breast mri: contacted referring provider to see about rescheduling
Screening diag MRI: performing these
Still doing diagnostics and bioipsies. No screening mammos or MRI’s. Doing MRI’s for cancer (follow up or newly diagnosed).
We have rescheduled all or screening exams but we are continuing all diagnostic,MR and biopsy’s.
Currently, because we are not at a “secure in place” situation our breast center is still performing diagnostic imaging studies and biopsies.
No screeners.
Postponing B3 follow ups.
Completing all pending biopsies ASAP as no COVID patients in our hospital yet.
Locs as needed.
Symptomatic diagnostics when the patient is insistent (which is always).
We are still performing breast biopsies and diagnostic mammograms and ultrasounds. We perform breast MRI’s for known breast cancers for staging.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
At the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Women’s Center, Tarzana, CA:
We are performing breast biopsies and diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, and breast MRI’s for known breast cancers for staging.
No screeners.
Postponing all B3 follow ups.
Locs as needed.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
At the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Women’s Center, Tarzana, CA:
We are doing breast biopsies and diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, and breast MRI’s for known breast cancers for staging.
No screeners
Postponing all B3 follow ups
Locs as needed
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are performing symptomatic diagnostic exams and same-day biopsies.
We are doing breast MRI for new cancer diagnosis only.
No screening mammograms or screening ultrasounds.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are performing diagnostic exams, biopsies, and new cancer diagnosis MRI.
No screening mammograms or screening MRI.
We will be consolidating the work into fewer workdays and closing some days.
Patient are screened for symptoms before entering the department.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
Our center stopped screening mammograms and screening MRI’s on 3/20/2020. We expect to have all diagnostics and biopsies from these patients done by 3/31/2020. In our 5 hospital system we will consolidated all diagnostics and biopsies to one site with a separate entrance from the hospital by 4/1/2020. Diagnostic MRI will continue at 4/5 sites. We will likely not offer MRI biopsies (we can almost always find an ultrasound correlate for significant lesions).
We have had a spoke and hub model for screening and diagnostic breast imaging in these 5 sites. Unfortunately, our diagnostic hub is in an outpatient building at the largest downtown hospital, and plans are underway to convert this whole building to a COVID19 unit, so the new diagnostic hub mentioned above is at an outlying location.
New patients with new symptoms of mass, infection, inflammatory changes, abscess, etc, must see a surgeon, and our imaging center will only accept diagnostic orders from surgeons. Most of us do ultrasound so we can weed out simple cysts, etc. ED will also triage breast abscesses.
We are still doing previously booked cancer surgeries. However we are transitioning many, but not all, new patients to neoadjuvant endocrine or chemo when appropriate. Exceptions include patients who are finishing neoadjuvant chemo, patients who progress on neoadjuvant chemo or endocrine therapy, and premenopausal patients with small luminal A receptor profile who have higher grade or higher KI67, or luminal B receptor profile who do not clearly meet criteria for neoadjuvant chemo, and in whom we have reservations about neoadjuvant chemo.
At this time we are in discussions about whether to defer simultaneous prophylactic mastectomy for cancer patients at high risk, genetically +, or intermediate risk patients wedded to CPM, as delay would mandate an arguably unnecessary second anesthesia, to be weighed against minimal additional use of PPE. At this tome we have plrnty if OR and ICU capacity; the situation is fluid and is likely to change as hospital resources become strained.
We have developed an alternative to ICU for Free flap reconstructions. Patients will go to the cancer floor where head and neck flaps go; nurses have experience checking vascular ones flaps and the nurse to patient ratio will be lower than is otherwise typical on that floor.
We are delaying all pure prophylactic cases, Oncoplastic repairs or delayed reconstructions when active cancer treatment, except endocrine therapy, is complete.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
All screening studies have been postponed. We’ve elayed diagnostics for 6 month follow up BI-RADS 3, annual follow up of women with history of breast cancer, and nonfocal breast pain. Biopsies are triaged. Localizations performed as needed.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are only seeing patients with problems. No screenings and only new cancer MRIs one day a week.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
From Las Vegas since Tues last week:
4 of 5 hospitals we use report critical PPE levels, all have COVID majority in ICUs
1 hospital stopped wire locs due to radiologist shortage
3 of our med oncs on self isolation due to + contacts or sx
1 breast NP back from 2 week quarantine because husband’s office partner tested +
No screenings, no short term F/u
Seeing all new cancers though I have done 2 interviews by phone (video pending) for new dx in quarantined pts. One finally tested negative. Saw her same day appt with med onc for DCIS to go on neoadj hormones after she came back -. During phone conversation husband screamed at me that I was trying to kill his wife by not operating on her immediately and he was going to sue and report me to BOM. Wife is scientist- she gets it.
Delaying all benign stuff incl ADH
Trying to keep all over 65s and especially 80+ out of the office
MRI for staging/tx planning only
No reconstruction
Screening all pts day before on phone, as they get off elevator for appt and taking temps. All staff screened for sx and take temp on arrival.
One visitor per pt on breast side. None on med onc side. Wait in car to keep waiting room less than 10 people unless in wheelchair.
We are almost halfway into the 30 day lockdown. Have already seen theft in both offices of disinfecting wipes, masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, gowns, and bottles water. LOCK EVERYTHING UP!
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We still functioning as normal screening, diagnostics, biopsies, and MRI. We have decreased our schedule, but mainly due to reschedules. We are screening patients before registration process begins.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are only doing diagnostic mammos, ultrasounds and biopsies at this time. No screenings and limited follow ups.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are only performing diagnostic exams and biopsies for people with symptoms.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are only performing diagnostic and biopsies at this time. We have closed mammography rooms and reduced staff.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
No screenings, finishing up any recalls and needle locs or Savi placements this week. Continue to do some scheduled and symptomatic diagnostic and biopsies. Screening all patients prior- travel and/or symptoms are sent home and rescheduled. Staff wearing mask and gloves.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
No screening mammograms, we are only performing diagnostic mammograms, US, biopsies and newly diagnosed breast cancer patients for breast MRI at this time. Limited staffing as well.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
Here in Beaufort S.C., we are still doing business as usual at our Breast center. We continue to perform all screening mammograms, diagnostics and biopsies. We have not changed our operating hours. Our tech staff has been cut down to working only 2 techs per day, we have 5 techs and they each work 2 days each week at this point, we are open 5 days a week. Everyone use precautions and stay safe.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We are at a hospital affiliated outpatient imaging center in northern New Jersey. We cancelled all screening mammograms, but we are still doing diagnostics, breast biopsies, and MRIs. We are only open 3 days a week instead of 6. We are having staff and patients wear masks. Staff also wear gloves.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
We have 3 facilities surrounding Hilton Head Hospital SC. We cancelled all screening mammograms as of March 24th. We are doing our normal Savi Scout localizations for our breast surgeon and only doing diagnostics that have a true problem. We are only doing procedures one day a week to avoid exposure to our technologist. The techs are cleaning the machines before and after every patient. They are wearing gloves to position and mask when in contact with the patients.
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org
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Stopped screening mammo,MRI, breast ultrasound about a week ago. Continue to do diagnostics/breast ultrasound for patients with a new problem. Also continue to perform breast MRI for problem/newly diagnosed patients (have not encountered how we will proceed with a breast MRI biopsy, We have not had any to date). No 6 month follow ups any modality. Biopsies being scheduled as usual. They just downsized our radiologist staffing to 2 days/week and some sights may close as of next week and consolidate all biopsies to one sight. Today our diagnostics were being read remotely. Surgeons schedules have been modified as well. Only cancer surgeries being done with same day needle loc. Dramatic reduction of staffing as well.
Hanover/York Pennsylvania
From NCBC we want to thank you for sharing your experience with us on how your breast center has been handling diagnostic studies, breast biopsies and breast MRIs during the Coronavirus outbreak.
We appreciate your participation. We will be responding to the comments that have come in through our up-coming newsletter and look forward to connecting to you again really soon.
Thank you for all you do, stay safe and healthy
Kimberly Bolin
Executive Director NCBC
Kimberly@breastcare.org