(MENAFNEditorial) As part of Mafraq Hospital's commitment to improve women's health, the hospital's Ana Rosa program which is led by Acting Chair of Radiology and Chief of Women's Imaging at Mafraq Hospital - Dr Rola Shaheen, recently teamed up with the Radiologist-in-Chief Dr Derek Muradali and his provincial MRT, Mrs Joanna Glazier, at Ontario Breast Screening Program –Canada, to conduct a workshop aimed at improving breast screening reporting standards in Abu Dhabi. Mafraq Hospital is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA).
Breast cancer is the leading cancer in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and accounts for 25% of all cancers. It is the second killer for women after cardiovascular diseases. Detection of breast cancer at an early stage and effective early treatment is the best tool currently available to reduce deaths and increase number of women surviving breast cancer diagnosis.
Mafraq Hospital's Ana Rosa health education and screening initiative was launched in 2012 to raise awareness and help with early detection and prevention of women's health problems. Part of the Ana Rosa program also focuses on ensuring standardized screening and assessment protocol to ensure that women in the community have access to high-quality breast screening services.
The recent workshop was conducted by regional and international breast screening experts, including Dr Rola Shaheen and guest speakers, Dr Derek Muradali, Mrs Joanna Glazier from Ontario Breast Screening Program in Canada, and a team of breast radiologists, physicists and technologists from SEHA. It was successfully attended by over 70 UAE healthcare professionals involved in breast screenings - radiologists, technologists, physicists and nurses.
On the need for improving quality of breast screening programs in the capital, Dr Shaheen said, "It has to be done correctly right from the beginning. It is important that people who undergo screenings are made comfortable throughout the process and during follow ups. Therefore, it is equally essential for breast screening professionals to follow standardised screening and assessment procedures."
One of the key objectives of the workshop was to maximise the number of small cancers and cancers detected, while minimising the number of unnecessary recalls and investigations. A woman may be 'recalled' following a screening mammogram if an abnormal or suspicious finding is detected. Fortunately most of the recalls from screening mammograms turn out to be due to benign causes. Dr Shaheen added, "We realize that calling back a patient to further investigate an abnormal finding after a screening mammogram is associated with a very high level of anxiety and fear on the patient's side. Therefore, as breast radiologists, we need to tune our skills to avoid unnecessary call backs as much as possible, without compromising the quality of care by missing out a potential cancer. It is a fine balance that comes with experience and proper training."
Currently, the international average recall rate from initial breast cancer screening is seven per cent to nine per cent, while call backs from additional annual screenings are about 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
"In the UAE, there is a high recall rate of nearly 30 per cent. Therefore, breast imagers need additional training which helps them become selective in the cases they call back for additional workup" she added.
The workshop also included hands-on training for 30 radiologists on screening and examination, 40 technologists to improve positioning and for breast physicists on how to manage quality imaging.
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