MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — St. Luke's Elmore is now offering 3D mammography technology, providing earlier and more accurate breast cancer detection screenings for residents in Mountain Home and surrounding rural communities.
The new mobile 3D mammography unit will be available in Mountain Home the first week of every month before traveling to increase access for patients throughout the Magic Valley.
"Because of 3D mammography, I was able to catch it really small," said Lori Bott, a breast cancer survivor and board member with St. Luke's Foundation.
Bott was diagnosed with breast cancer two and a half years ago.
"I was told 2 and a half years ago that I have breast cancer. I have very dense breast tissue, and they were able to find a 1.1 sized tumor," Bott said.
She credits early detection with helping her avoid more intensive treatments like chemotherapy or radiation.
The new technology aims to make these crucial screenings more accessible to rural communities where residents might otherwise delay care due to travel concerns.
"Now they can get it right here, they may not prolong it because they don't want to go to Boise and just blah blah blah," Bott said. "Now they can get it in their local hometown. It's huge, huge, it's gonna save lives."
In addition to the new mammography technology, St. Luke's Elmore is expanding access to cardiac screenings by bringing in more echo ultrasound machines to help detect cardiac diseases in rural communities.
"People put it off. They think 'Oh, it's going to be okay, it's nothing I need to worry about,' and so this helps making sure that people get that routine care, where they need it, where they are," said Lisa Melchiorre, COO and Chief Nursing Officer at St. Luke's Elmore.
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