Federated offers breast cancer tests in department stores
Associated Press DataStream - June 04, 1999 13:17
Jump to first matched term
Eds: First moved for Friday PMs.
By SUSAN SKILES LUKE
Associated Press Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - It's been more than a year since Janet Harris was screened for breast cancer. The 64-year-old grandmother, who still puts in a full work week, says that between grocery shopping and church activities, there's little time for things like regular mammograms.
"I called my doctor's office to try to make an appointment, and the earliest they could get me in was the middle of June," said Harris. "And they weren't open on the weekends."
Harris was among the first women to sign up for a mammogram at the St. Vincent Women's Center, which opened Thursday at the Lazarus department store in suburban Indianapolis. There, in a set of offices off the store's bathing suit department, women can get screened for breast cancer for an initial fee of $75, which can be charged to their Lazarus credit card.
The center also tests for osteoporosis for an additonal $25.
"I think this is a great idea," said Harris, her purse in one hand, a shopping bag in the other. She happened to be taking a spin through the department store on her lunch break when she noticed the center's big, pink sign next to the Ladies Lounge.
More than 43,000 women in the United States are expected to die this year from breast cancer, the second-deadliest form of cancer among women. The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 40 and over get mammograms each year.
The center is the first of its kind in Indiana, and the seventh to be opened by the store's parent company, Federated Department Stores of Cincinnati. Over the past 18 months, the chain has given up permanent floor space for similar breast-cancer screening centers in its stores in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Miami, Atlanta and Seattle.
Each is operated by a local hospital or health care company, and offers slightly different on-site screening services in addition to the mammograms. Test results are sent to both the patient's home and their regular doctor.
"The big message is convenience," said Ellen Fruchtman, a spokeswoman for the Federated's Rich's/Lazarus/Goldsmith's division, whose stores house five of the chain's seven centers. The division's five established centers screened 3,500 women last year, and detected six cases of cancer, she said.
"Now women can add a screening to their shopping lists," said Fruchtman, who declined to specify how much Federated has invested in the project.
But according to the National Retail Federation, such an investment pays off for retailers in the long run. After all, women are responsible for up to 80 percent of all retail shopping in the country, said Pam Rucker, a spokeswoman for the trade group.
"It pays off in goodwill to the consumer," Rucker said.
"If a retailer has a reputation as being a good corporate citizen, that could help instill good customer loyalty," she said.
That's not a new idea in the retail business, where stores for decades have been offering everything from free clothes to Bosnian refugees to space for child-safety education, Rucker said.
"It's just getting more notice now," she said. "The issues, the causes, are much more high-profile. Breast cancer gets a lot of notoriety."
And that can save lives, said Joann Schellenbach, a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society.
"Anything like this has to be viewed as a positive," said Schellenbach.
"It presents women with a convenient opportunity, and perhaps removes an excuse they may be making which is, I just haven't found the time."
________________
ALSO - as a fair minded person I must present
________________
Mammogram More Cost Effective Than Pap Smear, Seatbelts
Annual mammography screening for women in their 40s is more cost effective than pap smear tests for cervical cancer or installation of airbags and seat belts in vehicles, a Philadelphia, PA research scientist reports.
Stephen A. Feig, M.D., as part of a screening mammography panel held May 29 in Boston, MA at the Society of Breast Imaging's (SBI) 4th Postgraduate Course, reported the results. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Dr. Feig, an internationally-known mammographer and statistician, said the annual cost of mammography screening for women 40-49 is $9,000 per year of life saved. The cost per year for cervical cancer screening is $12,000 and for seatbelt and airbag installation it is $32,000.
These figures were calculated by dividing the number of lives saved and years of life extended by the cost of the screening or cost of the auto safety devices for the populations, according to Dr. Feig, director, Breast Imaging Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
For example, "Let's estimate that it costs $180,000 to screen 2,000 women once in their 40s," he said. "Among the women with breast cancers detected by screening one of them will have her life extended 20 years longer than if she found the cancer later, without screening. In this instance, the cost per 'saved' year of life is $9,000."
Dr. Feig said that annual screening for women in their 40s is important because breast cancers in that age group grow faster than in older women. By screening each year, he explained, cancers will be found at an earlier, easier-to-treat stage.
The ACR, the American Cancer Society and numerous women's groups and medical associations now recommend that annual mammography screening begin at age 40.
The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) is an educational organization comprised of members who specialize in mammography and breast imaging in general. It has some 2,000 members across the United States.
_______________
AND what does this suggest - last month say to prevent breast cancer get masectomy now say mammo scammo better than seat belts? que pasa no habla giberrola
_______________
Mammogram More Cost Effective Than Pap Smear, Seatbelts
Annual mammography screening for women in their 40s is more cost effective than pap smear tests for cervical cancer or installation of airbags and seat belts in vehicles, a Philadelphia, PA research scientist reports.
Stephen A. Feig, M.D., as part of a screening mammography panel held May 29 in Boston, MA at the Society of Breast Imaging's (SBI) 4th Postgraduate Course, reported the results. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Dr. Feig, an internationally-known mammographer and statistician, said the annual cost of mammography screening for women 40-49 is $9,000 per year of life saved. The cost per year for cervical cancer screening is $12,000 and for seatbelt and airbag installation it is $32,000.
These figures were calculated by dividing the number of lives saved and years of life extended by the cost of the screening or cost of the auto safety devices for the populations, according to Dr. Feig, director, Breast Imaging Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
For example, "Let's estimate that it costs $180,000 to screen 2,000 women once in their 40s," he said. "Among the women with breast cancers detected by screening one of them will have her life extended 20 years longer than if she found the cancer later, without screening. In this instance, the cost per 'saved' year of life is $9,000."
Dr. Feig said that annual screening for women in their 40s is important because breast cancers in that age group grow faster than in older women. By screening each year, he explained, cancers will be found at an earlier, easier-to-treat stage.
The ACR, the American Cancer Society and numerous women's groups and medical associations now recommend that annual mammography screening begin at age 40.
The Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) is an educational organization comprised of members who specialize in mammography and breast imaging in general. It has some 2,000 members across the United States.
[Contact: Michael J. Bernstein, Cynthia Schell]
01-Jun-1999 |
