Nurse assisting breast cancer patients
Lisa D. Penn recently outlined her role as the newly hired breast health nurse “navigator” at the Uniontown Hospital to members of Bosom Buddies, a breast cancer support group. Penn, a registered nurse, explained that her responsibility is to serve as an advocate for breast cancer patients and to encourage women to receive mammography screenings in an effort to diagnose the disease in its earliest stages and to save lives.
“Breast cancer patients can use me for emotional support or I can refer them to a support group like this one,” Penn said. “I also can navigate them through the latest treatment options and help them make complicated decisions about whether surgery, chemotherapy or radiation is the right treatment for them.”
As part of her job, Penn said she also is responsible for encouraging Fayette County women to receive mammography screenings on a regular basis to prevent breast cancer or catch the disease in its earliest stages when treatment is more successful.
Penn plans to take her message to senior citizens centers, schools, employers and doctors’ offices to try to increase awareness about mammograms and explain how the screening provides early diagnosis and saves lives.
Through this program, Penn explained that free vouchers for mammography screenings will be provided to women who don’t have health insurance or are unable to afford the screenings.
Penn said she is concerned because there has been a slight decrease in the percentage of women undergoing mammography screenings throughout the nation.
From 1987 through 2000, Penn said there was a rise in the number of screenings. In 2000, about 70 percent of women were receiving mammograms.
“It leveled out for a year or two and then it began to decrease gradually, and now the number of women receiving mammograms is about 4 percent less than it was in 2000,” Penn said. “I know that’s not a big drop, but it’s certainly a trend that we’re very concerned about.
“Women are getting diagnosed later, which means that the disease has spread and it’s more difficult to treat,” she added. “That’s basically what this program is about – educating doctors’ offices and making sure that all women over the age of 40 are receiving mammograms on an annual basis.”
Penn told about 20 women who gathered to celebrate the third anniversary of the founding of the local Bosom Buddies chapter that she recently underwent a scare when she had to have a suspicious lump removed from her breast.
“I was lucky because it was benign, and it wasn’t cancer,” she said. “But it was really scary. A lot of the women in my family have lumps in their breasts, and I’m very concerned for them. It’s really so important to have mammography screenings on a regular basis, so lumps can be caught and biopsies can be done to determine whether they are cancerous.”
Karen DeiCas, director of community relations and development at Uniontown Hospital, said the hospital was recently awarded a $65,000 grant from the Pittsburgh affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation that will fund the new, full-time professional nursing position and program.
When announcing Penn’s appointment to hospital employees, Gary Macioce, the hospital’s vice president of operations, said Penn will be responsible for leading the hospital’s efforts in the community to increase screening mammography utilization among Fayette County women.
“With the recent installation of two new, state-of-the-art digital mammography units, the hospital has complete, convenient screening mammography capacity available to provide this service,” Macioce said.
Penn earned her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Waynesburg College and a certification in school nursing from California University of Pennsylvania. She has worked in various nursing positions at Lafayette Manor in Uniontown and Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant.
Most recently, she worked as a diabetes specialist and sales representative of Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
The purpose of the newly created position is to:
– Encourage screening mammography among Fayette County women.
– Increase breast health awareness among women.
– Increase mammography referrals and breast health awareness among physicians in the Fayette County area.
– Provide the community with breast health information and education.
– Help newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with their diagnosis.
– Help navigate breast cancer patients during their diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare.
– Provide information, education and psychological support to patients.
– Serve as a breast health resource to physicians and patients.
For more information about the program, call Penn at 724-430-7529 or 724-366-3653 or e-mail her at penn@utwn.org.