No one ever wants to hear the words: “you have breast cancer.” For many women across southern Saskatchewan, those words are just the beginning of a journey filled with uncertainty, fear and difficult choices. On average, 84 Canadian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every day, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Dr. Marly Tcherni, a general surgeon at our Pasqua Hospital, sees those moments up close every day. One of the most heart-wrenching decisions for her patients? Whether to remove lymph nodes during a mastectomy to reduce the risk, even when there is no clear sign that cancer has spread.
However, the lymph nodes are the first place that cancer is likely to be found if it has spread beyond the initial tumour identified in a woman’s breast.
“Right now, we often ask women to make life-changing surgical decisions without knowing if their cancer has moved beyond the breast,” says Dr. Tcherni. “They have to decide before surgery, and we don’t have pathology results until after.”
However, that is changing. Thanks to an investment of over $100,000 by Hospitals of Regina Foundation, a new-to-Saskatchewan diagnostic system called a Magtrace is being introduced right here in Regina. This system uses a non-radioactive iron oxide liquid, called a tracer, which is injected into the breast and a specialized probe system to track the path of the tracer. It is designed to flow through the lymphatic system to precisely locate the areas most likely to contain cancer, if it has spread from a tumour.
“This platform gives us the power to delay the decision on whether or not to remove lymph nodes until after we have pathology results, easing the emotional burden on patients,” says Dr. Tcherni. “Now, we can make decisions based on facts, not fear.”
A simple injection, up to 30 days before surgery, helps doctors determine whether cancer has spread and reached the lymph nodes. This means patients and their care teams can make better informed decisions about surgery before going into the operating room. It is an important improvement in care, happening right here at home.
“Thanks to our generous donors, we are helping bring the latest breast cancer technology to our hospitals. With the Magtrace, we’re not only supporting improved treatment options for breast cancer patients, we’re also helping our medical teams provide the best care possible for women across southern Saskatchewan,” Lisa Green, senior vice-president, Hospitals of Regina Foundation
