By: Dr. Laurie S Evans, PC, FACS, Medical Director, Tri-Cities Cancer Center Breast Center

It is my pleasure and honor to share this exciting news and development in our community. Many years ago I narrowed my practice of General Surgery to a Breast Only practice. For many years, there were no other providers in the area that specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease.

Now, I am happy to announce that there are many providers from all the sub specialties including surgery, radiology, pathology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, as well as physical therapy, genetic counseling, research, nurse navigators, chaplains and patient support groups ready and willing to provide the most up to date comprehensive care to our community. It is a very challenging time when a patient is given a diagnosis of cancer. The language alone much less the circuitous and often frustrating endless appointments makes stepping up to the plate to fight cancer all that much more daunting.

Achieving a level of care that gives our Breast Center a three-year full accreditation with the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) assures that our community is receiving the highest standard of care for patients with diseases of the breast.

A coalition of professional organizations, the NAPBC, works together to provide the most efficient and contemporary breast care using scientific evidence about what works best for patients. The NAPBC monitors compliance to standards at each accredited breast center. The NAPBC Board is composed of leadership from many medical disciplines and upholds nationally recognized quality performance measures for breast cancer treatment. It is administered by the American College of Surgeons, which for more than 100 years has led national and international initiatives to improve quality in hospitals.

I sincerely want to thank each and every person involved in this project that helped bring this quality program to fruition. There are only five such centers in the State of Washington and we are the only center East of the Cascades! Job well done!