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SAMARITAN FOUNDATION
LAUNCHES CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY
EQUIPMENT
Lifesaving technology for women is about to get better
in Moses Lake. By the end of 2008, women will have access
to high-tech digital mammograms that provide greater
clarity.
Samaritan Foundation has established a capital campaign
to raise $421,027 to purchase Hologic Selenia Techmate
digital mammography equipment. The equipment will be
installed at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.
“The hospital foundation is extremely pleased
to be able to partner with Samaritan Healthcare to bring
digital mammography to the Columbia Basin,” states
Samaritan Healthcare Foundation Board President Mark
Roeber. “Breast cancer cuts across all social
and economic boundaries, and almost everyone you ask
knows someone whose life has been touched by this disease.
We feel an increased ability to detect breast cancer
at an early stage is very compelling since Washington
State ranks # 1 in the incident rate of breast cancer
per capita in the United States.”
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Hologic Selenia Techmate digital
mammography equipment |
SAMARITAN FOUNDATION
DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Digital mammography offers many advantages compared
to traditional film-based mammography for cancer detection.
Both use compression of the breast and x-rays to create
images of the inside of the breast. But this is where
the differences begin…
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- With digital mammography, the electronic image appears
within a matter of seconds onto a special high-resolution
monitor. The radiologist can review the images, adjust the
brightness, change contrast, and zoom in for close ups of
specific areas of interest. This manipulation of the image
is one of the main benefits of digital technology.
- Digital mammography has overcome some of the limitations
of conventional film-based mammography, increasing the detection
rate of breast cancer in mammographically dense breasts
by 11%.
- Digital mammography uses 40 – 50% less radiation.
- Instead of having to hand-deliver a film image to the
physician’s office, the radiologist can send the images
via broadband internet.
- Digital images give better visibility of the breast, particularly
near the skin line, chest wall, and in women with dense
breast tissue. (A woman cannot know if her breasts are dense
unless she has had a prior mammogram and was told by her
doctor.)
Contributions and pledges to the Digital Mammography Capital
Campaign (September 22, 2008) amount to $400,728. Your
support, either now or a pledge of support that can be paid
over a multi-year period, is greatly appreciated! Our goal
is to raise the remaining $20,299 prior to installing the equipment
in the fourth quarter of 2008.
If you would like to help with this worthy cause, please contact
Dave Campbell, Executive Director, at 509-764-2904.
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| © 2009 Samaritan Healthcare • 801 E. Wheeler Rd. • Moses Lake, WA 98837 • 509-765-5606 |
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