As part of our celebration of 10 years of the Nassif Community Cancer Center, our team members will give an inside look into the services available to our patients and how they can help them along the cancer journey. Next up is Therese Michels, manager of St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health, sharing more about the role of St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health.
What services does Breast and Bone provide?
We provide screening and diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasound, ABUS (Automated Breast Ultrasound), bone density, breast biopsies and breast needle localizations.
What positions make up the Breast and Bone Health team?
Our team includes 12 mammography technologists, 1 breast ultrasound technologist, 4 front desk staff, 3 care coordinators and 1 volunteer.
Describe Breast and Bone Health’s relationship/partnership with the Nassif Community Cancer Center?
When one of our patients get diagnosed with cancer, our care coordinators will transition that patient to the Community Cancer Center for their care. This is usually done by making an education appointment with the patient, going over their diagnosis and giving them a tour of the Community Cancer Center and what services they can provide.
How has B&B advanced over the last 10 years?
We have expanded from two campuses to three (PCI, Marion and Westdale), brought on new technology with ABUS, opened all three campuses with walk-in mammograms from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., offered late night mammograms, offer prone or upright biopsies with the technology we have purchased, and now offer less invasive procedures for needle localizations by performing those with Magseed.
Hear From Our Experts
Breast Cancer Screening
PODCAST EPISODE: 141
Therese Michels, manager at St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health, joins Dr. Arnold to discuss mammogram recommendations, dense breast tissue, mammogram technologies, how the pandemic affected breast cancer screening and more.
How do you see services and technologies advancing in the next 10 years?
I see technology becoming more advance with mammography, increasing awareness of breast density (and the additional imaging we can provide for this), and continuing to look for ways to improve the ability for the patient to have a convenient appointment, especially with the ever increasing busy lives everyone leads.
What is your favorite thing about working at Breast and Bone Health?
Definitely our team. It takes a very special personality to work with our patient population, to have empathy for a test that may bring worry and anxiety within a patient, and to have the ability to see those needs, as the patient may not verbally say what those are. Each individual that works here has to have a passion for what they do, as the patients will pick up on these areas if you do not. I do believe we have that at Breast and Bone, and frankly one of the best teams in the area. Our consistent comments from patient surveys always reflect on the excellent care this team provides, and that is something each of them should be proud of.
Therese Michels
R.T.(R)(M)(BD)
Therese started at St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health in 2001 and worked there until 2009. In 2015, she returned to Iowa and the St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health team.
