Mercy’s Breast Care Center takes a comprehensive approach to women’s health—physical, emotional, and spiritual. The center’s seasoned team of radiologists, oncologists, and surgeons specialize in detecting breast cancer in the earliest stages, when it is most treatable. Should a biopsy or interventional procedure be necessary, the procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis, in the caring, comfortable, and private environment of the Breast Care Center.

Breast cancer is high on many women’s list of concerns, and rightly so – the disease strikes one in seven women and has no cure. Breast cancer has a long list of risk factors, but it can develop in any woman, even the young and otherwise healthy. Early detection of breast cancer is critical. Treatment is more effective if it can begin before tumors grow larger and stronger, or before the cancer begins to spread.

Experts agree that regular mammograms are the best way for women over the age of 40 to catch breast cancer when it is most treatable. For high-quality screening, Chicago women need look no further than Mercy. Mercy uses the latest protocols to aid in early detection, including R2, a computer-aided detection system for mammograms that draws attention to subtle changes in breast tissue.

Serving Those in Need
Because Mercy serves a diverse population and community, we are at the forefront of institutions aggressively addressing disparities in cancer care. Nowhere is this more evident than in our work with the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP). Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and the Illinois Department of Public Health, the IBCCP offers free mammograms, breast exams, pelvic exams, Pap tests and cancer treatment to uninsured and underinsured women. As a lead agency for IBCCP and the only Chicago-area hospital participating in the program, Mercy provides exams, diagnostic screenings and biopsies and coordinates treatment for women diagnosed with cancer.

Screening is available to all women—regardless of income level—and all women are welcome and encouraged to contact Mercy for an appointment. To learn more about IBCCP, call 312.567.2619 or visit www.cancerscreening.illinois.gov.