University Hospitals Portage Medical Center transport volunteer Jim Fleming was assisting a woman wearing a scarf when she shared that she had it on because she’d lost her hair to cancer. Fleming had returned to volunteering after beating breast cancer, and his badge photo pictured him post-treatment.
“I said, I’ve been there. I’m also a survivor, and here’s what I looked like. I showed her my badge, and I said, You look better than I do — that took the edge off,” recalls the now-82-year-old Hudson resident and former 14-year UH volunteer.
Fleming’s personal cancer journey and volunteer role inspired him and his wife, Judy, a retired UH nurse, to donate $187,000 toward the purchase of UH Portage’s first stereotactic machine, which performs extremely precise diagnostic biopsies. It’s a part of the hospital’s new Breast Health Center that opened in July 2023.
“They’re biopsing things that are 3 and 4 millimeters,” says Dr. Claudine Siegert, chair of surgery at UH Portage and medical director of the Breast Health Center. “When you find super small millimeter size abnormalities on the mammogram — that is when we want to be detecting breast cancer — not waiting until it’s a large mass we can feel.”
When Siegert came to UH Portage in October 2018, it was a goal to invest in better and more advanced breast health care in Portage County. Now more equivalent to other UH facilities, the Breast Health Center boasts advanced radiology, mammography, ultrasound and operating equipment. This includes two new diagnostic ultrasound units to detect abnormalities better.
With the help of a new, secondary 3-D mammography unit and an extra technologist, the Breast Health Center has performed about 1,000 more mammograms since its inception.
These investments led to hiring new breast care coordinator Colleen Dallke, who is a registered nurse. She follows up with mammogram patients after abnormal results. With her help, UH Portage has decreased the amount of time from abnormal mammograms to biopsies from an average of about 23 days to eight days. Dallke has helped coordinate breast care appointments for nearly 1,000 patients.
The Breast Health Center includes a newly renovated female waiting room, which is separate from the male waiting room. One percent of breast cancer patients are male, such as Fleming. He was diagnosed at 65 in 2008. He endured a mastectomy and surgery to remove 17 lymph glands — and received four rounds of chemotherapy. Around 2020, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and had the upper lobe of his right lung removed. He is thankful to have beaten cancer twice and enjoys giving back.
“It’s always nice to help somebody else,” he says.
Fleming and Siegert emphasize the impact of the center is profound. The team at UH Portage is increasingly detecting breast cancer early and educating patients.
“Early detection is key for survival,” Siegert says. “If we can find breast cancer early enough in its early stages, it is typically about 95 percent curable if treated appropriately. We’ve made some great strides.”
by Mal McCrea
by Mal McCrea
