LAYTON—Utah ranks 44th in the nation for breast cancer screening rates and less than 65% of women age 40 and older in Utah get an annual mammogram, according to Intermountain Health. In an effort to curb those numbers, Intermountain Health Layton Hospital recently opened a new mammography suite that will offer both screening and diagnostic mammograms.

“We included everything except mammo when we opened,” said Lindsay Cutler, imaging department manager at Intermountain Layton Hospital. “Even back then that was something the Chief Nursing Officer really felt passionate about, having women’s imaging here at Layton Hospital. It was something we always wanted to work toward.”

Cutler said they knew it was a huge need in the area and community. “So over time just with growth and really looking at the data we saw the huge demand and need for the service for patients.”

If women are able to have a mammogram done close to home and try to squeeze it into their busy life and they don’t have to travel far, it will make a positive impact on those numbers, she said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to see more patients in the community to have their screening done.”

The hospital works in close collaboration with Intermountain Health McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden for expansive breast ultrasound and breast biopsies, said Cutler. “But here at our facility we offer screenings.”

 A screening is really quick, she said. “A patient can be in and out in 15 minutes or less. We have a really great staff here that helps make patients feel really comfortable, really safe. We’re really trying to create a space where patients feel that their privacy is protected and overall just feel safe and taken care of.”

Screenings are done four days a week, Cutler said. “Then on the fifth day we do diagnostics. What that means is oftentimes if something comes back from that screening that we feel the radiologist needs a closer look at we have the patient return to do additional images.”

It may include an ultrasound on top of a mammogram that’s completed, she said. “If it’s determined that they need some further testing then we schedule them for a biopsy which is performed at either McKay-Dee or one of our neighboring Salt Lake facilities.”

Cutler said they’ve tried to make very easy access for patients to be able to come in and have a screening. “Sometimes we recommend patients come in on their birthday or a date where they can just keep it in their mind. Maybe your birth month or every December.”

It’s a comprehensive program that Intermountain has focused on, she said. “If you catch something early there’s a higher likelihood of having early treatment and a higher likelihood of beating it. So that’s our goal.”

Preventative breast imaging is the best way to catch those things, said Cutler. “We’re just really excited to have this close in our community and hopefully make it easier for busy, busy moms, busy women, busy patients to be able to get in.”

There’s always a lot of questions on why women are hesitant, she said. “One is lack of convenience. People are busy and they have some time constraints. A lot of times there are real stereotypes of ‘is it going to be painful?’ There’s a lot of anxiety around the actual screening process and what the outcome will be.”

Intermountain has really tried to create an easier process to remove some of those barriers, Cutler said. “Hopefully with this new space and the goal of trying to make an impact we’ll be able to get more women in the door.”