ANCHORAGE — Blood tests let patients know if they have a vitamin B deficiency. Blood testing provides windows into whether a person has diabetes. But until recently, no blood test could tell if a person has breast cancer.
New technology available for the first time in Alaska should help ease anxiety for women tested for breast cancer by providing clearer answers during cancer screening. Dr. Karen Barbosa at Alaska Breast Care Specialists on the Alaska Regional Hospital campus is the first in the state to offer the protein-based blood test for detecting breast cancer.
Barbosa also introduced to Alaska patients another technology called BioZorb, which is used during a lumpectomy. She is the only accredited Breast Fellowship Trained Surgeon in Alaska, which means she has achieved a unique specialization and expertise in the treatment of breast cancer from detection to radiation/chemotherapy and surgery.
“I’m really excited to bring these new technologies to Alaska,” she said. The technology is “so cutting edge, even many doctors don’t know this exists. We want to get the technology not only out to patients, but to let doctors know it exists.”
Read the rest of this article here: http://www.alaskajournal.com/2017-04-26/first-blood-test-breast-cancer-detection-reaches-alaska
• Naomi Klouda is a reporter for the Alaska Journal of Commerce and can be reached at naomi.klouda@alaskajournal.com.
