When Dr. Luis Gonzalez talked about staying up to date on
medical procedures and techniques, Connie Johnson stood up, shook
his hand and said “thank you.”

Johnson, a Derrick City resident, has benefited from Gonzalez’s
most recent addition to his office – a Vacora System “Bandage”
Needle Biopsy procedure. Gonzalez is the first physician in
Bradford to have this new advanced breast biopsy technology, which
he does at his office located at 181 Interstate Parkway.

Considered the world’s smallest biopsy vacuum, all components of
the new system are integrated in a hand piece that is easily
managed by the physician. Gonzalez said this is important because
tumors can be located close to the chest wall and the physician’s
ability to control the needle is critical for patient safety.

The new technology also allows a needle and vacuum technique to
take larger samples of breast tissue.

For Johnson, this new procedure meant a diagnosis of breast
cancer, even though a mammogram revealed nothing a few months
earlier.

When Johnson found a lump in her breast during a self
examination in December, she took the necessary steps to ensure a
proper diagnosis.

Johnson had a mammogram and ulstrasound, both of which showed
nothing unusual. She saw Gonzalez, a Bradford surgeon, who
monitored the lump and who also thought Johnson was in the
clear.

“It decreased in size,” Johnson said. “All the signs (pointed
to) it wasn’t anything to worry about.”

Before she was to see Gonzalez again, Johnson realized that
something was wrong.

“It got sore,” she said. “I couldn’t lay on it. It got
hard.”

Thinking it could be attributed to something else, they waited
until her next regularly scheduled appointment.

“I was suspicious,” Johnson said. “There was something there
that shouldn’t be there.”

In July, however, she didn’t have the same symptoms as the month
before.

“It was God’s way of showing me there was something wrong,”
Johnson said.

That’s when Gonzalez scheduled the needle biopsy for the
beginning of August.

“Sure I was a little nervous. Just mention biopsy …,” said
Johnson. But Johnson was no stranger to cancer, having gone through
it with her husband and mother-in-law.

The new biopsy procedure, considered the world’s smallest biopsy
vacuum, includes all the components into one hand-held piece. The
system uses patented technology that allows a needle and vacuum
technique to take larger samples of breast tissue.

A small incision was made and the area was numbed; there was no
anesthesia.

Johnson felt only a pinch from the needle in the procedure which
lasted about 20 minutes.

“That’s about all there was to it,” she said. “I was
amazed.”

She added the worse part was the waiting. “I think it’s a
wonderful procedure. It’s quick, no anesthesia.”

Lettie Lapp, a LPN in Gonzalez’s office, said no patient had
ever said they wouldn’t go through the procedure again.

Plus, the procedure is done in the doctor’s office.

“It’s more comfortable here. Definitely,” Johnson said.

The procedure is not the only thing that’s quick. A patient gets
results quickly, too.

For Johnson, the diagnosis was what she feared – cancer.

“I am thrilled to death we caught it early,” she said, adding it
hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes.

“I have to have chemo(therapy) and radiation, but that’s a small
price to pay when your lymph nodes are clear.”

Johnson praised the procedure – saving a patient from having to
go through surgery which causes “a whole lot of anxiety for
patients.”

“I am really excited about it and proud of it,” Gonzalez said.
“It’s a big step for women and for men, too.”

The procedure allows patients the comfort of knowing they don’t
have cancer or start immediately with steps to treat it.

Fifteen percent of the mammograms taken don’t show the tumor.
That, however, should not deter people from getting mammograms,
Gonzalez said.

“They need to be a little more aggressive. Don’t be content with
a mammogram,” Gonzalez said. “It’s definitely very important for
everyone.”

Gonzalez has seen patients ranging from 23 to 97.

People should have a mammogram every one or two years after the
age of 40 if there is no family history of breast cancer. After 50,
they should have it every year.

“It’s not unusual to feel a lump,’ Gonzalez said, adding most
lumps end up being cysts. “Don’t panic.”

But do make sure to get it checked out, the surgeon said. And
don’t stop if a mammogram comes back negative, yet you feel there’s
something amiss.

“Don’t be 100 percent happy with a normal mammogram,” he
said.

That’s what propelled Johnson.

“Something. A little voice said even though things look normal,
something is not normal,” Johnson said.

Johnson credits her self breast examination and early detection.
If someone doesn’t know how to give themselves a breast exam, they
should call their doctor.

“I can’t say enough about it,” she said. “It’s very
important.”