Women's Information Network
Against Breast Cancer

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Posted by Betsy Mullen on 4/13/2001 from 64.12.106.53:

In reply to: cysts - dr says do nothing posted by chris on 4/2/2001 from 216.244.12.8:

I hope and trust that this message finds you well and that the following information is helpful to you. Please know that I continue to hold you in my thoughts, and if we can be of further assistance to you in any way, please let us know.

My best regards,
Betsy

It would be very helpful to know what type of health care coverage you have, so we can work within your coverage. It is always a good idea to see board certified specialists. It is also a good idea to check out National Cancer Institute (NCI)- designated cancer centers. You can visit their web site for a full listing of centers by state at:

http://nci.nih.gov/cancercenters/centerslist.html
There is a NCI-designated cancer center, which is a comprehensive cancer center, in the state of Colorado which is:

The University of Colorado Health Science Center
Paul A. Bunn, Jr., M.D. is the Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center
4200 East 9th Avenue, Box B188
Denver, Colorado 80262
Telephone number: (303) 315-3007
Fax: (303) 315-3304


The following information is on our web site’s resource links page (http://winabc.org/resources.html), but in case you have not seen it; here are some good resources:

National Consortium of Breast Centers, Inc. (NCBC): http://www.breastcare.org
This site will assist individuals in finding a center or a breast professional in their area. The NCBC "finds with today's mobility, our national database of women's breast health facilities that work with us professionally helps women locate information about services in their (new or home) area.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Patient Information and Referral Service: http://nccn.org/patient.htm
Established "to 1) facilitate informed decision-making for patients and their families; and 2) provide information to patients, their family members, providers, and other health care consumers about the NCCN institutions' programs and services. The NCCN and the American Cancer Society recently partnered to translate the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines into a patient-friendly resource outlining appropriate treatment. All of the major cancer sites (areas in the body) will be translated. These new guidelines, Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Patients, will offer cancer patients and their families the reliable, specific and easy-to-understand information they need to help them make timely and well-informed decisions."
Breast Cancer Patient Guidelines: http://nccn.org/patient_guidelines/
breast_cancer/breast/Page1.htm

The following information is also on our web site, but in case you have not seen it; here is some good information regarding evaluating health plans’ quality of breast care/breast cancer services:


Ten Key Questions
Every Woman Can Ask Her Health Plan to Identify Exemplary Breast Care

1. Does your health plan have an aggressive and effective system to remind and encourage patients to receive important breast cancer screenings?

Because there is no know way to prevent breast cancer early detection through mammography, clinical breast exam and self examination are the most critical lines of defense women have against the disease – more than 90 percent of women whose cancer is detected and treated in its early stages are cancer—free after five years. Health plans must develop systems for ensuring that members know about and utilize breast cancer screening services.

2. Does your health plan have a comprehensive tracking system to ensure that every patient’s?

Because breast cancer becomes increasingly serious as it progresses, "timeliness" is as important as "quality" when it comes to treatment. It is imperative that health plans develop safeguards to ensure that the full-range of breast cancer is delivered as quickly as possible and that no step in any patient’s treatment falls through the cracks.

3. Does your health plan have an effective tracking system to monitor physician practices?

Managed care plans are in a unique position to develop systems for tracking an individual physician’s practices. This process allows doctors to compare the therapies they utilize to those used by others, and it provides a means for health plans to identify physicians whose practices fall outside established guidelines, better ensuring that all practitioners are utilizing the most up-to-date treatments and procedures.

4. Are your health plan’s breast care centers accredited by the American College of Radiology and certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and have all radiologists received advanced level mammography certification?

It is essential that mammography be of the highest possible quality. Effective mammography can discover a tumor up to two years before a doctor or patient would otherwise know it was there. Bu mammography can discover a tumor up to two years before a doctor or patient would otherwise know it was there. But mammography can fail to do its job due to poor technique in taking, processing or reading the films; inadequate record keeping and reporting of results; and lack of effective quality controls. The FDA has posted a list of certified breast care facilities in each state on its web site at http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/faclist.html.

5. Does your health plan make breast care more accessible to low-income women by conducting community-based outreach?

It is critical that plans raise awareness about the importance of mammography and other breast care services and make them more accessible to women living in poverty. Breast Cancer runs across ethnic lines but death rates are much greater among women of low socioeconomic status, in part because the cancer is often detected at later stages when it is more aggressive and deadly. Health plans should build programs that consider key cultural and economic issues that might otherwise impede a program’s effectiveness.

6. Does your health plan provide breast cancer patients access to important mental health and emotional support services?

As with any life-threatening disease women diagnosed with breast cancer are forced to face their own mortality and balance feelings of anger, depression and hope. But unlike most other illnesses, breast cancer also conjures up lifelong personal and societal issues surrounding femininity, sexuality and body image. It is important that health plans offer breast cancer patients the support they need to deal with the effects of the disease on their body, their mind, and their spirit.

7. Does your health plan provide patients with a Breast Care Coordinator to offer additional support, helping them to evaluate treatment options, monitor treatment progress and identify additional services?

Beyond having to deal with the physical and emotional effects of the disease, women with breast cancer also have to make their way through complicated medical information and make tough decisions about treatment options. Most patients need help. Health plans should provide a designated staff person-such as a Breast Care Coordinator-to help women decipher information, track their treatment progress and offer general support.

8. Does your health plan supply breast cancer patients with important treatment information in an easy-to-understand format?

In order to make informed choices about their health, women rely on their health care providers to supply information they can understand and use. It is important that health plans develop a standard set of materials that deal with the full-range of issues about which women with breast cancer must think and offer it in a variety of easy to use formats. It is also important that materials are written in the language and literacy level appropriate for the intended audience.

9. Does your health plan invest in research programs to evaluate the effectiveness of pairing alternative therapies with traditional medical treatments?

It is important for health plans to explore additional methods for providing care to breast cancer patients. Plans are in a unique position to test the effectiveness of, and allow their members to take part in, supplementary programs. Often, these "extra" programs yield incredible results: For example, it has been proven that group psychotherapy programs work as an effective companion to medical therapies, and may even increase survival times.

10. Does your health plan gauge patient satisfaction and program effectiveness by conducting opinion surveys among patients with breast cancer?

One of the most important steps health plans can take to better serve women, is to ask them for their input. Too often, programs that seem worthwhile to health plan staff, actually provide little benefit to patients. Using patient satisfaction as a key means of measuring the success of a program will help health plans provide more comprehensive service to breast cancer patients.


*Source: American Association of Health Plans; Best Practices in Women’s Health, Identifying Exemplary Care, 1998.



Elizabeth ("Betsy") Mullen
Founder, President/CEO
WIN Against Breast Cancer
Main Office:
536 S. Second Avenue, Suite K
Covina, California 91723
Telephone: 626-332-2255 Fax: 626-332-2585
San Diego Office:
Telephone: (619) 284-4900 Fax: (619) 284-7900
Web Site: www.winabc.org

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