Methodist Health System | Methodist Dallas Medical Center | Shine | Winter 2015-2016

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34 SHINE Winter 2015–2016
COMMUNITY
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WOMEN’S HEALTH
TAKINGOUR SHOW
“For the last 15 years, I’ve been getting
my annual mammogram on a mobile
unit,” says Dianne Stallman with a
casual tone — like she’s talking about
a visit to the grocery store rather than
a medical screening.
“I can walk right outside of
my office, get screened in a really
comfortable setting, and make it back
in less than 30 minutes,” says the
57-year-old Fort Worth resident.
In less than a workday lunch break,
Methodist’s mobile mammography
unit allows women like Dianne to be
proactive about their health. In her
case, it saved her life.
Catching cancer early
Dianne was religious about her annual
mammograms and never missed
her appointments on the mobile
mammography unit.
January 2014 was no different, but
this time, Methodist called her back
with news that she needed to come in
for further testing.
“I’m one of those people who
doesn’t beat about the bush,” Dianne
says. So she went in for testing at
the Breast Center at Methodist
Dallas Medical Center, where it was
discovered that she had two small
tumors connected to one another,
much like a dumbbell.
Because of Dianne’s due diligence
and Methodist Dallas professionals,
the tumors were caught just barely in
stage II. But the tumors needed to go.
Martin L. Koonsman, MD, FACS,
former medical director of the Breast
Center and recently named president
of Methodist Dallas, performed an
oncoplastic breast reduction surgery
and successfully removed both tumors
while still conserving the shape of
Dianne’s breast.
“It was a team approach between
reconstructive surgeons and breast
surgeons to create an outcome that
was both cosmetically sound and
completely functional for Dianne,”
Dr. Koonsman says.
Taking a big step
“The thing that made me feel so
good was that the Breast Center team
truly cared about my emotional and
physical health, but also my financial
health,” Dianne says.
“I am my only financial support,
and they made sure I didn’t miss any
more work than I needed to,” she
adds, praising the nurses who worked
past closing time to accommodate
the chemotherapy and radiation
treatments that would help ensure
that the cancer never returns.
“The very fact that y’all made it
possible — I did it!” Dianne says.
Dianne is now cancer-free and
in remission. Thanks to Methodist’s
mobile mammography service,
she gets to take her life back on
the road again.
Methodist’s mobile
mammography unit is a Breast
Imaging Center of Excellence
through the American College
of Radiology and one of the
few units in the region to be
accredited by the National
Accreditation Program for
Breast Centers.
DIANNE STALLMAN IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW
Early detection made a big
difference for Dianne Stallman —
and mobile mammography makes
screenings convenient.
WHERE YOU’LL FIND US
Visit
to find locations where you can visit our
mobile mammography unit. You can also
schedule a visit to your church or business
by calling 214-947-3621.