From Pilot to Creation: What it is
The discovery of a suspicious lump in the breast is a very distressing moment in anyone’s life. Waiting up to six weeks (pre-Rapid Diagnosis Centre wait times) to find out if that lump is breast cancer can be agonizing.
What is a Rapid Diagnostic Centre?
Unique in Canada at the time, The Breast Cancer Rapid Diagnosis Pilot (now called The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre) launched in 2006 at The Princess Margaret by Dr. David McCready, Director, The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre, Gattuso Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology and Head of the Breast Cancer Program at The Princess Margaret.
With initial funding for the pilot provided by The Weekend to End Breast Cancer (WEBC) and Laugh Lines, the program allows a woman or man to be referred to the clinic by their family doctor. In one day, a patient can have a physical exam, a mammogram, an ultrasound and a tissue biopsy, if needed, and review the results with a surgeon. If the tests confirm that there is breast cancer, the patient leaves the clinic in one day with a treatment plan, and takes it back to their referring physician.
The pilot project had three objectives:
1. To provide diagnostic processes including imaging and pathology results for
patients with suspicious breast abnormalities within 24-hours.
2. To offer a caring and supportive environment through the diagnostic process.
3. To provide care using a multidisciplinary approach.
An evaluation of the Rapid Diagnosis Clinic pilot provided encouraging evidence: it had a positive impact on patients and reduced wait times for breast cancer diagnosis. The need for a clinic of this nature is clear: reduce wait times, decrease anxiety, improve support, find cancers earlier, and move towards treatment more quickly.
As of September 2009, a total of 526 patients have been through the Centre. In the early days, three patients per week participated in the program. As of June 2007, the Rapid Diagnosis Clinic increased that number to six patients per week. As of January 2010, the centre sees 12 patients every week. Unfortunately, many referrals are not being accepted at this time because the Centre does not have the capacity to see more than six patients a week.
What can I do to help make the Centre a reality?
$12.5 million is needed to expand the current clinic into a full-time Centre.
A total of $25 million was needed but Emmanuelle Gattuso and her husband, Allan Slaight, generously donated $12.5 million in May 2009. Emmanuelle is a breast cancer survivor with a firm belief in Dr. McCready’s dream. With the gift from Emmanuelle and her husband, a further $12.5 million is required to make his dream come true. To make a donation to the Centre, click here or call 416-946-6560 or Toll Free at 1-866-224-6560.
