New machine offers weapon in the fight against breast cancer.

Byline: Julie Grady

CLINTON - Clinton Hospital is ahead of the pack when it comes to mammograms. Only 30 percent of hospitals nationwide can boast digital mammography equipment. The top of the line machinery was unveiled during a pink ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.

Clinton Hospital is a member of UMass Memorial Healthcare.

"This is a terrific day for women's health," said John O'Brien, president and chief executive officer of UMass Memorial Healthcare. "Out of 68 locations, our very best technology is right here."

Digital mammography equipment makes less noise and is more efficient. Plus, without the need for film, there's no more threat of losing or damaging cartridges. You can even send it electronically across the network, hospital officials explained.

Dr. Jonathan Arnow, a Clinton Hospital radiologist, said the machine improves the process on three levels: Reception, display and storage.

"It's a higher energy X-ray," he said. "There's less radiology and it's faster. The patient spends less time with the machine."

Radiologists will also have an easier time dealing with the new addition, as opposed to its older counterpart. Arnow said each technologist can adjust the display, such as contrast and clarity, to their liking.

"You can optimize the image," Arnow said. And, a better image makes for better detection.

The images, which are generally clearer than they would be on film, become even more precise when viewed on the state-of-the-art high resolution monitor, much like high-definition TV.

"We get one chance per year to try and detect early cancer," he said. "That's one chance to get it right."

According to Arnow, a shaper view makes for a more accurate diagnosis.

Don Easterbrooks, the radiology manager at Clinton Hospital, took the time to thank his mammography technologists for all of their hard work in reformatting the aesthetic of the ward.

"They really put this room together," he said as he presented Lisa Boodry, Bobby-Jo Broeckel and Paula Connor with pink roses; Kathleen Kelly could not attend the presentation. "They turned our dark room into the new waiting room," Easterbrooks added.

Teresa Tronerud, the director of the hospital's pharmacy and a breast cancer survivor, agreed that they did an excellent job in redecorating.

"It's absolutely beautiful," she said. "To see what those women did in there, the warmth, the comfort. There's definitely a woman's touch."

In 2005, Tronerud had to unexpectedly battle with breast cancer.

"I was only 36. I had no symptoms and no family history," she said.

Typically, mammograms are required testing for women 40 and over, but after Tronerud's doctor suggested one might be beneficial, she didn't hesitate. And, it's a good thing; doctors said that if she had waited until that golden age, she wouldn't have survived.

"I had to get a bilateral mastectomy (both breasts), but I was OK with that," the mother of two said. "You do what you have to do."

Doctors said that there was a 70 percent chance of recurrence in the other breast, so to Tronerud it was "a no-brainer."

The timeline from diagnosis to biopsy can be quite a lengthy one, as it was for Tronerud. She had her baseline mammogram in May 2005 and underwent her biopsy later in June.

"There's lots of waiting," she said. "You receive a letter that there's a potential problem and a week goes by before you can do anything about it. It was a very emotional time."

Tronerud did not have her test at Clinton Hospital One positive about the Clinton Hospital - a small, 41-bed establishment - is that patients won't have to undergo the anxiety of waiting, she said. Plus, according to Tronerud, time is a factor when diagnosing.

"It's nice because if they can schedule it, patients can have their mammograms and, if there are any problems, they can get an ultrasound and a biopsy all in one day," Tronerud said. "It's one of the benefits of a small place with good local care."

Luckily, the cancer didn't spread to Tronerud's lymph nodes, eliminating the need for chemotherapy.

"Yes, it's scares me that I didn't have it (chemotherapy). It could come back," she said. "But, I'm glad that I didn't have to endure that on top of everything."

Tronerud, now cancer free, is very proactive in breast cancer awareness, which is one of the reasons she attended the pink ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"It's just absolutely amazing," she said of the unveiling.

"We want to have people from all over central Massachusetts come here to get their screening," O'Brien said. "It's the best in our system."

O'Brien said Clinton Hospital is a national contender for high technology and high compassionate care on a local level.

"At UMass, we're very privileged," he said. "We're getting stronger and stronger every day." A lot of patients like Tronerud, who went through all the bad times, only to come out fighting.

"When you have to sit down on the couch with your 10-year-old son and say to him, `Mommy has cancer,' it's the worst," she said. "I just told him that I can't make any promises, but to fight and to do everything that I can to be here."

Tronerud will be participating in Relay for Life this year with her entire family.

The mammography technologists will be on hand at Clinton Hospital Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Don Easterbrooks, left, Clinton Hospital's radiology manager, Dr. Jonathan Arnow, a radiologist at the hospital, and Sheila Daly, the President and CEO of Clinton Hospital, gather around the new digital mammography machine at its unveiling last Friday.

PHOTOG: Item photo/JULIE GRADY