Breast surgeon brings her lifelong work and innovations to Chesapeake Regional’s new Breast Center

Dr. Catherine Z. Hayward

For 23 years, Dr. Catherine Z. Hayward has witnessed first hand the physical, emotional and financial effects of breast cancer on her patients.

There have been a lot. Breast cancer ranks second only to lung cancer as the leading cancer diagnosis for women. And most patients are not optimistic about their prognosis. Even today, with the many advances in the care and treatment of the disease, some still worry about their survival rate.

Hayward has devoted her career to finding a way to keep that from happening. A former assistant professor of surgery and director of the Short Procedure Unit at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Hayward is now championing her cause at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. Earlier this year, the board-certified surgeon became medical director of the Breast Center at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.

Since then, she has spearheaded an initiative to make the center a model of “one-stop” cancer care for breast cancer patients, offering the latest, most advanced techniques.

“Patients and their families commonly deal with four to five specialists during the course of their diagnoses and treatment,” Hayward explained. “We want to diminish the stress of coping with multiple providers in a complex system and provide them with all the latest treatment options available.”

Hayward’s arrival has catapulted CRMC’s plans to add such innovative techniques as mammosite surgery, digital mammography and MRI breast diagnoses. The hospital already had the latest technology in radiation therapy treatments, 3-D treatment planning and a specially trained oncology staff based at the Sidney M. Oman Cancer Treatment Center. An American Cancer Society Patient Navigator is also based at the center and plans call for a breast care coordinator to be added in October.

These new developments come at a critical time.

Said Hayward: “Data shows that about 360 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this next year in our area and we already have a higher than expected level of later stage breast cancer in our population. Our center is gearing up to quickly address the public and professional education issues that over time promises to decrease the incidence of later stage cancer in our community.”

Hayward is also excited about new treatment possibilities, now that scientists have discovered the existence of two genes that may cause a hereditary link to breast cancer. This can give physicians an important tool in detecting breast cancer early and, thus, preventing late-stage diagnosis, said Hayward.

Candidates for genetic testing include first-degree family member of those who diagnosed with breast cancer at an age younger than 50 or who had bilateral breast cancer, and males with breast cancer.

Those testing positive for the genes have nearly a 50 percent chance of contracting breast cancer by age 50 and about an 80 percent chance of contracting it in their lifetimes, said Hayward. Women are also at an elevated risk of contracting ovarian cancer, and men of prostate cancer.

With the knowledge, however, comes power, contends Hayward, since early detection means that that the disease has a higher chance of being eradicated.