Rally Fore the Cure raises over $13,000 for AMGH Foundation

Rally Fore the Cure charity golf tournament presented a cheque of $13,357 to the AMGH Foundation, dedicated to the mammography unit. (L-R): Jimmy Trieu, President and CEO Huron Health System, Kimberley Payne, Executive Director of AMGH Foundation, Judy Lajeunesse, Committee Member, Barb Lassaline, Committee Member, Anne McIsaac, Committee Member, Jayme Eadie, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Liane Grecco, Medical Radiation Technologist, Katie Howard, Manager Diagnostic Imaging and Cardiorespiratory, Kelly Desson, Committee Member, Tracey Peters, Committee Member.

Rally Fore the Cure’s 24^th annual charity golf tournament raised over $13,357 for the mammography department at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital (AMGH).

These funds directly support improvements of imaging to detect breast cancer, serving all of Huron County.

Recently, AMGH installed a brand-new mammography machine in November 2024. According to Wendi Allinson, Lead Mammography Technologist at AMGH, the group of radiologists that work with AMGH are happy with the image quality.

In May of this year, AMGH finally obtained its license for the machine to operate with tomosynthesis, which gives radiologists and technologists a 3D image of the breast instead of the standard 2D image.

Tomosynthesis produces nine, low dose images in a series of around nine seconds. They are then reconstructed into a 2D image allowing the radiologist to view the breast tissue in thin slices, like a CT scan.

This technology helps better visualize and differentiate between normal and abnormal tissue, potentially reducing the overlap of breast tissue that can obscure tumors in 2D mammograms. It is the same radiation dose as the 2D mammogram.

Having the ability to do tomosynthesis in Huron County saves residents from having to travel outside the county for this 3D imaging.

Currently, the new 3D technology is being used on women who are being called back in for additional imaging or are having follow up imaging.

According to Allinson, in the future, all mammogram screenings will move to 3D. This is a work in process with OHIP, Ontario Breast Screening and the radiologists in Ontario.

With this upgrade to the mammography department at AMGH, the unit would like to begin doing contrast mammograms, which requires an expensive license.

“Our department is ready for this new technology, as our mammogram technologists are already CT contrast injection techs, and we have an injector waiting for just this reason,” explained Allison.

“Contrast mammography entails us placing an IV in your arm, injecting a contrast media (just like in CT) then perform a mammogram.”

The contrast will highlight abnormal blood vessels and hyperactive tissues that can happen when cancer develops.

It is another tool to help detect breast cancer in early stages.

“I feel it is important to keep the rally’s organizers and participants up to date on what you are raising funds for, and how it is greatly helping out the entire community,” added Allinson.

“The mammography technologists at AMGH again want to give everyone a huge thank you and know that we appreciate your hard work with this rally.”

This was the biggest tournament to date with 96 golfers, and this is the largest donation made by the tournament in its 24-year history.