Breast Cancer Awareness UPMC Altoona introduces radar-guided biopsy technology

Randy Griffith, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 1—ALTOONA — Working in the Station Medical Center in downtown Altoona, UPMC Altoona's breast cancer team is backed up by the experts with UPMC Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

UPMC Altoona Station Medical Center at 1516 Ninth Ave. is a few blocks from the main hospital and offers plenty of parking.

The facility includes the office of breast surgeon Dr. Tyshaun James-Hart along with the Magee-Women's Specialty Center imaging program.

There's a telemedicine connection for assessing family risk of cancer with Magee's genetic counselors in Pittsburgh.

Radiologist Dr. Lauren Deur leads diagnostic efforts, reading all the screening mammograms and doing follow-up imaging with ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging.

She also does image-guided biopsies through a small tube that takes samples of suspicious lesions.

This year, the Altoona hospital became the region's latest to introduce seed localization to pinpoint tumors during breast conservation surgery.

Deur can place the "reflector" at the tumor a few days before lumpectomy surgery. She positions the device with the same image-guided technology that she used to biopsy the lesion.

On the day of the lumpectomy, the surgeon activates the reflector and uses a sensor to pinpoint the targeted tissue using non-radioactive radar.

The reflector is removed during surgery.

Traditionally, lumpectomy patients had to come to the hospital a few hours before their surgery for the radiologists to feed a small wire into the breast to mark the lesion. The rest of the wire is left protruding through the skin until the surgery.

The women's health facility features a separate waiting room and changing area to prepare for a trip to the imaging suite in the same building.

Nurse navigators lead patients through the care process, coordinating appointments and consultations. They can connect patients who receive breast cancer diagnoses directly with a breast surgeon.

The navigators also can connect those without enough insurance with programs that cover screening and treatment costs.

For Cambria County patients, the Altoona hospital offers 3-D mammography at UPMC Outpatient Center, 152 Zeman Drive, off Route 22 near Ebensburg.

Randy Griffith is a multimedia reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5057. Follow him on Twitter @PhotoGriffer57.