Mary Washington House Event Honors Medical Community on Front Lines against Breast Cancer

FREDERICKSBURG, VA, Nov. 20, 2015 -- Mary Washington, the mother of our nation’s first president, suffered from breast cancer before and up to her death in 1789 at her home at present day 1200 Charles Street in downtown Fredericksburg . Recently, members of the local medical community who diagnose and treat breast cancer, along with representatives of the Washington Heritage Museums, gathered in her garden to honor the modern-day medical professionals who are working together to ensure that fewer patients die of the disease.

The second annual reception honoring medical professionals on the front lines of the fight against breast cancer was sponsored Wednesday evening, Oct. 21, 2015, by the Imaging Center for Women, a partnership of Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg (RAF) and Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC). The event highlighted the collaboration of physicians and other medical professionals from RAF, MWHC, and area medical groups who work together to detect and treat breast cancer and support patients.

Those honored also toured the Mary Washington House and were treated to delightful music and refreshments in the garden, which is surrounded by a white fence adorned with pink ribbons that residents have tied on its posts in October to pay tribute to loved ones with breast cancer.

“In Mary Washington’s day, physicians and healthcare providers could mostly offer only comfort measures to patients with breast cancer,” noted RAF CEO Ed Swager. “Today, the Imaging Center for Women can offer highly advanced mammography, ultrasound and biopsy testing to detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages, guided by the expertise of diagnostic radiologists who are breast imaging specialists.”

“We are working together with our community’s excellent oncologists, radiation treatment specialists, surgeons, interventional radiologists, other medical and support professionals and Mary Washington Hospital to provide care that prolongs and saves lives,” added Dr. Roni Talukdar, medical director of the Imaging Center for Women and a board-certified, fellowship-trained breast imaging specialist with RAF.

About Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg

Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg is the largest provider of medical imaging services in the Fredericksburg , Virginia , region, including Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. The group’s 29 radiologists and two vascular surgeons serve patients at two hospitals ( Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital ), four imaging facilities (Medical Imaging of Fredericksburg , the Imaging Center for Women, Medical Imaging at Lee’s Hill, and Medical Imaging of North Stafford), and RAF’s interventional radiology practice, Virginia Interventional & Vascular Associates. The practice’s radiologists also interpret all imaging studies for Stafford Hospital Imaging in Woodbridge . For more information, visit rafimaging.com.