TORONTO — North York General Hospital (NYGH) has announced a $2-million pledge from Charlotte and Lewis Steinberg, enabling it to buy the most advanced mammography technology available.
Charlotte and Lewis Steinberg
This state-of-the-art digital mammography with tomosynthesis technology is the latest innovation in breast cancer screening and diagnosis, improving the chances for early detection and identifying breast cancer tumours as small as a few millimetres.
“We are excited to add this technology to our diagnostic capabilities,” said Dr. Elizabeth LaMere, chief and medical director of medical imaging.
“In addition to the benefits of digital mammography, tomosynthesis is a technique that has the potential to improve detection of cancers and reduce false positive findings.”
Having been approved for use in Canada in March 2009, North York General Hospital is the first Ontario hospital to purchase digital mammography machines with tomosynthesis, which offer improved tumour detection in younger patients and/or patients with dense breasts. The machines are a state-of-the-art Hologic Selenia Dimensions system.
Digital mammography with tomosynthesis complements standard mammograms and digital mammograms as an important tumour diagnostic tool. Research shows the potential benefits to patients include fewer unnecessary biopsies, fewer recalls and faster, more accurate diagnoses.
“This technology is an important step forward in helping to improve early detection of breast tumours, which in turn will help improve quality of care,” Lewis Steinberg said. “We are delighted to be able to support North York General Hospital’s breast cancer services in this way.”
With this gift for the purchase of three digital mammography machines – two with tomosynthesis imaging technology and one with biopsy capability – the Steinbergs have become the largest individual philanthropic donors in North York General Hospital’s history.
“In these turbulent economic times, the Steinbergs generosity inspires us all to embrace the health of our community,” said Charles Beall, chair of the North York General Hospital Foundation’s board of governors.
Tomosynthesis takes multiple angled low-dose images of the patient’s breast in an arc pattern, which are then reconstructed into a series of up to 100 thin (one millimetre), high-resolution slices that can be displayed dynamically, creating a three-dimensional effect. This approach eliminates tissue overlap and noise found in currently employed digital and traditional mammography.
“We are deeply grateful for the continued support and exceptional generosity of Charlotte and Lewis Steinberg,” said Bonnie Adamson, the hospital’s president and CEO. “Our staff are committed to providing the highest level of care to our patients and their families. This new technology will further enhance our ability to offer superior breast cancer screening and diagnosis.”
The three digital mammography machines will be operational by this fall. This additional imaging technique will improve diagnosis and detection of breast cancer for all patients referred to the hospital for assessment, which last year totalled almost 9,000 people.
This includes patients referred by their family physician for routine screening, patients referred through the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) at the hospital’s Branson site, as well as those referred for a diagnostic assessment, encompassing patients referred to the BMO Financial Group Breast Diagnostic Centre, which opened at the hospital’s Leslie Street site in 1997.
This centre was one of Canada’s first centres for rapid assessment breast patients, offering a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis of breast cancer.
The Steinbergs have a long history with NYGH and have supported many important programs at the hospital, including the Charlotte and Lewis Steinberg Emergency Department and the genetics program, and have provided funding for the breast services’ first sentinel node machines.
Lewis Steinberg said that he and his wife decided the new technology would be a tremendous asset to the hospital and they wanted to do what they could to help. “These are critical times, and a lot of people are cutting back on donations. We hope to be a good example.”
In recognition of the Steinbergs gift, North York General Hospital’s breast services will be named Karen, Heather and Lynn Steinberg Breast Services.
