What Every Women Needs to Know

Click here to watch a video about our excellent mammography service.

Click here to watch a video on the numerous services availiable from GHS to treat breast cancer.

While women may wish their breasts were a different size or shape, they realize that what’s most important is the health of their breasts.

For good breast health, every woman needs to know the anatomy and function of the breast so that she can recognize early signs of possible abnormalities. That’s important because abnormalities may indicate cancer, and discovering cancer early increases the likelihood of a full recovery.

Tour our site to learn about breast composition, development, and typical changes from puberty to pregnancy to menopause. You’ll also find information about upcoming seminars, lunch-and-learns, and other events where you can learn more about breast health.

What Every Woman Needs to Do

A woman’s best partner in the pursuit of breast health is her physician. Every woman needs to …

Find a doctor with whom she is comfortable
Have regular checkups

For many women, an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), serves as primary physician. OB-GYNs are specially trained both in the diagnosis and management of breast disease.

The OB-GYNs at Greenville Hospital System are highly skilled, experienced, and caring professionals who see you as a person, not just as a patient, and who partner with you to keep you in the best health possible. These GHS practices welcome new patients:

Greenville Ob Gyn Associates

Memorial Medical Park................... 295-4210
Patewood Medical Campus............. 454-2750
Simpsonville Medical Campus.......... 454-6500

Greer OB-GYN

Greer Medical Campus................... 877-7434

Piedmont OB-GYN

Greenville Memorial Medical Campus. 455-1270
Maxwell Pointe, Simpsonville........... 234-0226

Premier Women’s Care

Powdersville/Easley area................ 220-4209

University Medical Group–Department of OB-GYN

(providing gynecology, urogynecology, obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, breast health, and fertility services)
Greenville Memorial Medical Campus. 455-1600
Patewood Medical Campus............. 455-1600

For more information about these practices, visit www.ghs.org or call 1-877-GHS-INFO (447-4636).

Every Woman Holds the Keys to Breast Health

The keys to early detection of abnormalities—breast self-exam, clinical breast exam, and screening mammography—are most effective when all three are part of an overall approach to prevention:

Breast self-exam (BSE). A monthly breast self-exam is a good way to become familiar with what is normal for your breasts—and to detect a change if it occurs. The best time to perform the exam is a week after your period ends. If you no longer have periods, pick a day of the month that’s easy to remember, such as the first. All women over the age of 20 should get in the habit of regular BSEs.

To learn more about breast structure and function, click here.

Click here for the steps to ensure the proper breast self-examination.

At your next doctor’s visit, show him or her how you perform a BSE and ask for feedback.

Clinical breast exam (CBE). In addition to your own BSE, you should also have an annual breast exam conducted by a physician. Professionals who are experienced at detecting lumps or other abnormalities may find something you miss. As with BSE, the best time to schedule a CBE is in the week following the end of your period. If you no longer have periods, pick a date that’s easy to remember, such as your birthday.

Studies show that regular breast self-exams, combined with an annual exam by a doctor, improve the chances of detecting cancer early.

Screening mammogram. A mammogram is a low-dose X-ray of the tissue inside the breast. Mammograms are used to screen for and diagnose breast cancer by detecting tumors and other changes in the breast tissue, often before symptoms of breast cancer are evident. By the time symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread.
Mammograms can identify abnormalities even before a lump is felt in the breast. Mammograms also are the only reliable method of locating abnormal precancerous growths in the milk ducts, which can signal the very earliest stages of breast cancer.
It is critical that mammograms be interpreted by a certified breast-imaging physician. GHS offers the expertise of fellowship-trained and board-certified breast-imaging physicians.

Screening mammograms are available at a GHS location near you:

Greenville Memorial Medical Campus
Greer Medical Campus
Patewood Medical Campus
Simpsonville Medical Campus

All mammograms performed at any GHS location are read by physicians with specialty training in breast imaging and biopsies.

Age guidelines for a screening mammogram

Ages 35 to 40: Women should have a mammogram to set a baseline to use for comparison in the future.

Age 40 or above: Women should have a screening mammogram every year.

A doctor may recommend a woman have a mammogram at an earlier age if there is …
A family history of breast cancer (especially pre-menopausal breast cancer in a sister or mother)
A record of prior biopsies of the breast for benign disease

The presence of other risk factors

Even if a woman has no symptoms, it is important to have yearly mammograms after age 40. Next to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women, causing more deaths than any other form of cancer in women under age 55. The good news is that breast cancer has a very high cure rate when it’s diagnosed early, with 96 percent of women surviving five years or more. To schedule a mammogram, contact your physician.

Diagnostic mammogram vs. screening mammogram

A diagnostic mammogram, for women or men who have signs or symptoms of breast disease, differs from a screening mammogram. During a diagnostic mammogram, more pictures will be taken to carefully study the breast condition. In some cases, special magnified images or views are taken to make a small area of altered breast tissue easier to evaluate.

When the Diagnosis Is Cancer

GHS offers patients a unique approach to cancer treatment through its Breast Multidisciplinary Center (MDC), a collaboration of the GHS Cancer Center and Cancer Centers of the Carolinas. The MDC allows a patient to accomplish in one morning visit what previously may have taken weeks. Under the collaborative format of the Breast MDC ...

On the morning of the visit, the patient is seen by a team of specialists, including a surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, radiologist, pathologist, and nurse navigator (a patient’s personal guide throughout the diagnosis and treatment process)
The team meets to discuss treatment options, determine the best course of action, and recommend a treatment plan
A physician and nurse navigator then present the recommendations to the patient
The patient, in consultation with the referring physician, decides how to proceed and leaves with a treatment plan in place
The nurse navigator is available around-the-clock to the patient and the patient’s family through the entire course of treatment and recovery

The MDC is a natural conduit to link patients with the hospital system’s Clinical Research Unit, where ground-breaking research trials are under way seeking effective treatments for cancer.

Mammogram locations

Greer Medical Campus

313 Memorial Drive • Greer

Mammography screenings:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tuesday............................ 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Simpsonville Medical Campus

727 S.E. Main Street • Simpsonville

Mammography screenings:
Monday-Thursday............... 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Friday..................................... 8 a.m.-noon

GreenvilleMemorial Medical Campus

890 W. Faris Road, Suite 150 • Greenville

Mammography screenings:
Monday-Friday........................ 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Patewood Medical Campus

200 Patewood Drive, Building A • Greenville

Mammography screenings:
Monday-Thursday................... 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday................................... 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Diagnostic procedures:
Monday-Thursday................... 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday..................................... 8 a.m.-noon

A physician referral is required.

To schedule an appointment at any location,

please call (864) 455-7774.