Providence Receives Grant to Launch Breast Health Registry Database

June 26, 2008

PORTLAND, Ore. – Providence St. Vincent Medical Center will soon launch a new breast health registry, thanks in part to a $125,000 grant from the Safeway Foundation.

Every year, more than 20,000 women receive mammograms at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center — more than any other health care facility in Oregon or Southwest Washington. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she may see as many as 10 care providers during her course of her care.

The Providence Breast Health Registry will allow a patient’s providers to access her entire treatment history in one central location. “This will help improve a woman’s quality of care as each of her providers can see what medical experts are doing,” said Christina Gougoutas Fox, M.D., co-medical director of The Ruth J. Spear Breast Center and director of women’s imaging at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

The registry will help experts answer questions such as:

• When is it effective to use screening MRI?
• How can we identify and care for patients who may be at higher risk of developing breast cancer because of genetic predisposition?
• Why do Providence stage 4 breast cancer patients have a greater than national average survival rate?

This grant is a result of Safeway’s 2007 breast cancer campaign in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Providence Portland Medical Center also received a significant grant to establish the Safeway Breast Cancer Research Laboratory. Safeway’s campaign raised more than $1 million thanks to donations from its customers and employees.