Latest in Breast Cancer Detection Comes to Valley

The latest in technology is now available for breast cancer detection in southwest Riverside County with the opening of the Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta Women's Diagnostic Center.

An open house was held Thursday for the facility, which takes up approximately one-fourth of the second floor in the Professional Office Building adjacent to the medical center on Baxter Road.

While LLUMC-Murrieta opened in April 2011, hospital spokesperson Kathryn Stiles said the Women's Diagnostic Center was awaiting full licensure from the state. They received it in late 2011.

The center is owned and operated by LLUMC-Murrieta and is integrally linked to imaging at the main hospital, Stiles said.

Among the services the center offers are latest in mammography, breast ultrasounds and MRIs. In addition, the center's PET/CT scans can be used for pinpointing the location of cancer at a molecular level before making treatment recommendations. PET/CT scans can also distinguish between benign and malignant tumors.

With consultation rooms and imaging in the same location, staff members described it as a one-stop shop for women or men facing breast cancer.

Members of the community were offered tours of the facility. Among those who came out were representatives of Temecula-based Michelle's Place Breast Cancer Resource Center. Michelle's Places acts as a support service for those suffering from breast cancer, and encourages screening for all women.

Carole Conrad, a board member and volunteer for Michelle's Place, was grateful the center was now open, therefore they can refer women for treatment.

"I am so glad they are here," Conrad said. "The area needed this."

Elvia Broussard, an advisory board member for Michelle's Place who also acts as a translator for women who don't speak English, spoke highly of the early detection capabilities of the center's PET and CT equipment.

"It is exciting to see this breast care center," Broussard said. "When we find breast cancer, the first question is: 'where else is it?'"

Murrieta resident Leasa Stephenson has been waiting for the center to open, and plans to book an appointment. Stephenson, who suffers from neurosarcoidosis, said she has been driving one hour each way to Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda for imagery. She was also excited that LLUMC-Murrieta now accepts her insurance, AETNA, as of Jan. 1.

"Their equipment here is top of the line," Stephenson said as she toured the rooms. "They can detect things here that can't be detected with older equipment. That is most important—to detect even the tiniest thing."