Graham Hospital accredited for digital mammography: Graham Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in Digital Mammography as the results of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR, headquartered in Reston, VA, awards accreditation to facilities for the achievement of high practice standards after a peer review evaluation of the practice. Evaluations are conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the adequacy of facility equipment. The surveyors report their findings to the ACR’s Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report. The ACR is a national organization serving more than 323,000 diagnostic and interventional r4adiologists, radiation oncologists, and nuclear medicine and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. Mammography is performed to screen healthy women for signs of breast cancer. It is also used to follow up on findings from screenings or to evaluate a woman who has symptoms of breast disease, such as a lump, nipple discharge, breast pain, dimpling of the skin on the breast, or retraction of the nipple. Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early. A mammogram is the best test for breast cancer. Mammography is important because it can detect cancers before you can feel them with your fingers. Scientific evidence confirms that annual screening mammograms, beginning at age 40, reduce death from breast cancer. While mammograms successfully find most breast cancers, like all medical tests, mammography is not perfect. A mammogram may show abnormalities that are not breast cancer, or not show an abnormality that is breast cancer. Sometimes, the doctor will use ultrasound or MRI to further examine an abnormality and evaluate the next best step. Other times, a woman may find an abnormality not found on her mammogram. If you find anything unusual, call your doctor right away. Do not wait. A mammogram may be scheduled by calling 309-649-5142 between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Graham Hospital School of Nursing Library
