FACE | COMMUNITY MATTERS
A Look Back… With Eyes on the Future
Women’s & Children’s Hospital Turns 30, Takes a Look Back at the Past and Offers a Peek at Future Plans
Treating Breast Cancer Gets Personal An estimated 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life. More than 580,000 are expected to die in the United States from the disease in 2013 alone. The alarming statistics from the American Cancer Society resound in Acadiana, where few people can say that breast cancer has not touched their lives in some way whether it strikes a family member, friend or acquaintance.
Women's & Children's Hospital Groundbreaking Women’s & Children’s Hospital has become the home of many firsts in Acadiana over the past 30 years – first impressions made daily with each new baby. First hospital founded to serve the specific needs of women and children. First Emergency Department dedicated to caring for children. First pediatric subspecialty program designed to help patients heal at home without having to travel long distances. And, the future is bright with innovations and other firsts to come. “Acadiana families would travel the world to see that a loved one receives the excellent healthcare they need,” said Kathy Bobbs, Chief Executive Officer of Women’s & Children’s Hospital. “Fortunately, they don’t have to.” Tragedies Turn to Triumph Emily Quibodeaux, a first-time mom due to deliver earlier this year turned to Women’s & Children’s Hospital when her placenta tore and she started bleeding at just 24 weeks of gestation – well ahead of the typical 40 weeks. Dedicated, experienced healthcare professionals at the hospital, a short drive away, were able to stop the bleeding and save the life of the young mom and her unborn son. Quibodeaux, 23, of Bosco, a rural community between Cankton and Mire, stayed in the hospital on bed rest for several more weeks until further complications required her son, Rivers, to be born at 30 weeks of gestation. He weighed 3 pounds 5 ounces. Rivers spent one month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before the family went home. But, her story doesn’t end there.
8 FACE | AUGUST 2013
Leading the way in breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment for Acadiana families has been a driving force for Women’s & Children’s Hospital for the past 30 years. About 20 years ago, the mission took on new meaning for the Women’s & Children’s Hospital family. The hospital’s Elaine M. Junca Women’s Imaging Centre opened in April 2008. The center gets its name from Elaine M. Junca, a beloved colleague and friend to the Women’s & Children’s Hospital family. Elaine was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at age 37 and after after multiple rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments, Elaine entered remission. During a routine exam five years later, her cancer had returned. Elaine lost her battle with breast cancer in 2002, at the age of 46. Elaine M. Junca Women’s Imaging Centre continues the fight in her name, bringing accredited, award-winning, quality breast cancer detection and treatment services to the women of Acadiana in a spa-like atmosphere. The full-service breast imaging center offers digital mammography, the Aurora system for dedicated breast MRI and diagnostic ultrasound. In addition to diagnosing breast cancer and other breast diseases, the Centre’s team treats benign breast diseases, breast pain, and breast cancer in its many forms as well as genetic testing for breast cancer risk. Women of Acadiana have a familiar, trusted friend on their side to hold their hand and guide them through prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and other breast diseases. For the past 30 years, Women’s & Children’s Hospital developed services to aid area women at any stage of their journey. And, the hospital continues to research additional services that will meet the specific needs of generations to come.