Maria Radford will never forget the year her life changed.
“Within the course of that single year, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, I underwent two months of chemotherapy, and I had 25 radiation treatments.”
By the end of the year, Maria completed her treatment and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief – she was now a cancer survivor.
The reality is that women are five times more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer – with little opportunity or awareness of how to proactively screen for cardiovascular disease.
When Maria was referred to Women’s College Hospital, for her follow-up mammograms, the team found a buildup of calcium in her breasts.
“A correlation exists between calcium deposits in breast arteries and similar deposits in the arteries of the heart, which results in an increased risk of heart disease,” says Dr. Paula Harvey, Director of the Cardiovascular Research Program at WCH.
Maria was invited to participate in the BEACON (Joint Breast Cancer & Cardiovascular Screening in Women) Research Study, a trailblazing initiative being conducted at WCH. The study is led by Dr. Elsie Nguyen, Dr. Paula Harvey, and Teresa Bianco with the goal of decreasing preventable deaths due to heart disease through innovative new methods of early detection and prevention.
Their research has shown that a calcium buildup discovered in the breast during mammography should trigger a CT scan to determine if calcium deposits are also forming in the arteries of the heart.
“I thought the study was a great idea and I agreed to participate,” recalls Maria. “Another motivating factor was the fact that my mother and father both died of heart-related illness. I was interested in doing whatever I could to prevent this from happening to me, and to find out my level of risk.”
By combining these two types of screenings, the BEACON researchers are demonstrating innovation and resourcefulness by exploring creative new ways to improve patient care without putting additional strain on the healthcare system. By taking a more integrated approach to patient care, proactive screening could mean the difference between life and death for some patients.
While heart disease in women remains vastly under-researched, the hope is that by creating a joint breast cancer and cardiovascular screening program, women and their healthcare providers will be better equipped to understand and integrate preventative healthcare to improve health outcomes for women.
Dr. Harvey commented, “The BEACON Study is an example of the groundbreaking work that’s being done at Women’s College Hospital and is a great example of the type of forward-thinking research that will benefit generations to come.”
“Five, ten years down the line,” Dr. Harvey continued, “…we hope that when women receive their annual mammogram reminders from the Ontario government, they’re also receiving a reminder to get screened for cardiac disease.”
As passionate advocates for women and their wellbeing, The Sir Thomas Cropo Foundation Inc. supports The BEACON Study as standing out and leading the way on critical research that has