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.”