REDLANDS, CA-- Stater Bros. Charities and the Inland Women Fighting Cancer
(IWFC) awarded Redlands Community Hospital Foundation (RCHF) with a $100,000
grant to purchase a Savi SCOUT system, a wire-free breast localization
system to improve breast cancer biopsy and lumpectomies for patients.
Peter Van Helden, president and CEO of Stater Bros., Nancy Varner and Annie
Sellas, founders of the IWFC, presented the check to Jim Holmes, president
and CEO, RCHF board members and staff.
The Savi SCOUT wire-free breast localization system is the first and only
non-radioactive implant that uses micro impulse radar technology to provide
real-time surgical guidance during breast surgery. Placed up to 30 days
before surgery by a radiologist, a tiny reflector is inserted into the
breast. During surgery, the system’s hand piece accurately detects
the location of the reflector – and the tumor. The ability to strategically
plan the incision can result in less tissue removed during surgery, a
shorter procedure, more precision, easier recovery, and better overall outcomes.
Previously, women needed to arrive several hours before their operation
to have physicians thread a wire into their breast (known as wire localization),
and then wait. The Savi SCOUT system eliminates the wait time and the
discomfort of the wire.
“Redlands Community Hospital completes an estimated 5,800 mammograms
annually and nearly 400 breast biopsies, one-third of them positive for
cancer,” says Jan Opdyke, president of the RCHF. “The support
we receive from Stater Bros. Charities’ gives us the opportunity
to provide access to some of the latest technology and improve our patients’
comfort and outcomes.”