Shannon Notestine, Mammography Technologist at the East Jordan Family Health Center, joined Good Day Northern Michigan on 9&10 News on October 22 to discuss the importance of screening mammograms and how 3D mammography helps detect breast changes earlier and more accurately.

🎥 Watch the full segment here: Good Day Northern Michigan – October 21, 2025

HDNW can help with screenings, vaccines

 The Northern Michigan Public Health Alliance and Health Department of Northwest Michigan (HDNW) are joining the nation in observing January as Cervical Health Awareness Month. The observance is a time to raise awareness about cervical cancer, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) disease, and the importance of getting screened.

• Cervical cancer is nearly 100% preventable with recommended vaccinations and routine screenings.
• HPV is a known cause of cervical cancer, as well as some anal cancer, throat cancer, and genital warts.
• HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), with 85% of people getting an HPV infection in their lifetime.

With the availability of the HPV vaccine, people can protect themselves against the virus that causes more than 90% of cervical cancers. An HPV test can also detect the presence of this virus before cancer develops. By regular screening with a Pap test (alone or in conjunction with an HPV test), your doctor can detect precancerous conditions in the cervix, or detect cancer in the early stages. When cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and good quality of life.

“Medicine has given us incredible life-saving tools in the form of highly accurate screening tests and safe, effective vaccines,” says Jordan Wyeth, HDNW Nurse Practitioner. “We have the means to prevent cervical cancer.”

The vaccine is recommended for individuals 9 to 26 years old. If your teen has not received the vaccine, talk to their doctor about getting it as soon as possible. When given as recommended and before exposure to this common virus, it is highly effective.

Help With Costs, Insurance

Most health insurances cover the HPV vaccine, including Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan plan. If you or your child do not have insurance that covers vaccines, contact HDNW for low-cost options.

HDBW cab also connect women to breast and cervical cancer screenings through the Michigan Breast and Cervical Cancer Control and Navigation Program (BC3NP). If you need cervical cancer screening or have an abnormal mammogram or Pap test and your insurance does not completely pay for follow-up tests, call us locally at 800-432-4121 to see if you qualify for help.

Cervical cancer can often be prevented or found early through regular screening. The CDC recommends that individuals with a cervix begin screening at age 21 using a Pap test, HPV test, or a combination of both, depending on age and health history. 

What should I know about radiation safety?
Before your imaging procedure be sure to ask your physician the following questions:

• Why is the test needed?
• How will having the test improve my care?
• Are there alternatives that do not use radiation and deliver similar results?
• Is the facility accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR)?
• Are pediatric and adult tests delivered using the appropriate radiation doses?

Why should I have my imaging exam done at an accredited facility?
When you see the gold seals of accreditation prominently displayed in our imaging facility, you can be sure that you are in a facility that meets standards for imaging quality and safety. Look for the ACR Gold Seals of Accreditation.

To achieve the ACR Gold Standard of Accreditation, our facility’s personnel qualifications, equipment requirements, quality assurance, and quality control procedures have gone through a rigorous review process and have met specific qualifications. It’s important for patients to know that every aspect of the ACR accreditation process is overseen by board-certified, expert radiologists and medical physicists in advanced diagnostic imaging.

What does ACR accreditation mean?

• Our facility has voluntarily gone through a vigorous review process to ensure that we meet nationally-accepted standards of care.
• Our personnel are well qualified, through education and certification, to perform medical imaging, interpret your images, and administer your radiation therapy treatments.
• Our equipment is appropriate for the test or treatment you will receive, and our facility meets or exceeds quality assurance and safety guidelines.

What does the gold seal mean?
When you see the ACR gold seal, you can rest assured that your prescribed imaging test will be done at a facility that has met the highest level of imaging quality and radiation safety. The facility and its personnel have gone through a comprehensive review to earn accreditation status by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the largest and oldest imaging accrediting body in the U.S. and a professional organization of 34,000 physicians.

from Health Department of Northwest Michigan

Take time to educate, participate, and encourage yourself and others

Each year, October brings breast cancer front and center. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it provides opportunities to promote screenings and the warning signs of this life-threatening disease. In addition, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan (HDNW) and the Northern Michigan Public Health Alliance recognize Oct. 13 as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day and Oct. 17-23 as Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week.

So, get out your pink, show your support by attending local events, and schedule those screenings.

Did you know that:

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. According to the Susan G. Komen organization, one woman is diagnosed every two minutes in the U.S.
• The two most common risk factors of breast cancer are being born a female and getting older.
• In 2022, an estimated 44,000 people in America died from breast cancer.

HDNW helps women—and men—be proactive in fighting breast cancer through education, awareness, and screenings.

“Our Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Navigation Program (BC3NP) provides low-income women access to mammograms and pap tests, both of which are critical screenings,” says Melissa Hahn, HDNW Director of Family Health. “If a woman is diagnosed, we will also work to help them qualify for a special Medicaid program through BC3NP to help with the costs of treatment.”

The program covers pap smears for women 21 to 64, mammograms for women 40-64, and MRIs based on personal and family risk. Over 75 services are provided through BC3NP, including:

• Diagnostic mammograms,
• Ultrasounds, and
• Breast biopsies.

“We are fortunate to be able to offer this program to area residents,” says HDNW Nurse Practitioner Jordan Wyeth, who has personally celebrated cancer-free status with women diagnosed with breast cancer in early stages at the health department. “Early detection and effective treatment are critical life-saving steps that we can all take and encourage.”

To see if you qualify for BC3NP or a type of insurance that can help cover screenings, call the local HDNW staff at 800-432-4121. To learn more about the symptoms of breast cancer, go to https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/symptoms.htm.

WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, after skin cancer. It is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. Cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body.

SYMPTOMS TO LOOK FOR?

• Some warning signs of breast cancer are:
• New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Pulling in of the nipple.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
• Any change in the size or shape of the breast.
• Pain in the breast.

These symptoms can happen with other conditions that are not cancer. If you notice any of these symptoms, talk to your health care provider right away.

WHAT CAN I DO TO FIND BREAST CANCER EARLY?

Breast cancer screening involves checking a woman’s breasts for cancer before there are signs or symptoms of the disease. A SCREENING MAMMOGRAM is a test that uses X-rays to create images of the breast. It’s the most effective screening test used today to find breast cancer in most women. Screening mammograms can find breast cancer early, sometimes up to 10 years before it could be detected by you or your doctor.

MAMMOGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Talk with a doctor about which screening tests are right for you.
• Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you’re at average risk.
• Have a clinical breast exam at least every three years starting at age 20, and every year starting at age 40.