New health facility provides infrared breast screening

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents in western Jamaica can now access painless and radiation-free breast screening through a newly opened health facility. The Teshuva Wellness Centre, in Montego Bay is offering screening using infrared breast imaging technology.

The infrared technology, which is valued at $3.5 million, was showcased among the centre’s services and equipment during last week’s opening of the J$20 million facility at the Sagicor Commercial Centre in the city.

Oncologist Dr Andre Williams, the founder of Teshuva Wellness Centre, said the infrared technology has been approved across the world as an aid for breast cancer screening.

“The technology is not new, as it has been approved and used worldwide since 1982 as an adjunct, or supportive tool, to other types of breast screening. It has been proven across studies to be the most consistent risk predictor of breast cancer,” Dr Williams said during the opening of the centre.

“It is safe, it is proven. There is no pain or squeezing or contact with the machine, and there is also no radiation involved, and it may be used by women of all ages. It is not meant to be used as a replacement for a mammogram, but it is a very useful tool to be used with other breast screening techniques,” he said.

The Teshuva Wellness Centre, which was previously opened on September 17, 2018, was funded through a partnership with Sagicor Bank and the Development Bank of Jamaica.

In addition to the infrared breast imaging service, the centre provides weight and pain management therapy, vitamin and nutritional therapy, and medical oxygen treatment. It also provides cancer treatment based on referrals from other medical facilities, but it does not offer chemotherapy.