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Healthwise Maui

EDITOR’S NOTE: Physicians, providers and administrative staff who practice at Maui Health System hospitals and clinics answer questions from the public in Healthwise Maui, which will appear regularly on Thursdays. Maui Health System operates Maui Memorial Medical Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center Outpatient Clinic, Kula Hospital & Clinic and Lana’i Community Hospital and accepts all patients. To submit a question, go to the website at mauihealthsystem.org/contact.

Q: I heard that if you have a heart attack on Maui you have to be flown to a hospital in Honolulu. Is that true? Doesn’t that take too much time?

Dr. Colin Lee, co-director of interventional cardiology, Maui Memorial Medical Center: Eight years ago, that was the case. Maui was sending 30 to 40 heart patients to Honolulu each month for urgent and emergent cardiac procedures. And you’re right, it wasn’t ideal. Not only are there risks to flying patients, it made it hard to meet national guidelines of treating heart attacks within a 90-minute window.

That’s why we started a program at Maui Memorial Medical Center to treat heart attacks here on the island. Before 2010, local doctors were only able to diagnose a heart attack and treat it with medication. But since we started the program, we’re now able to clear blockages in patients’ arteries using stents and balloons — minimally invasive procedures that involve threading a catheter into the body through an artery in the wrist or groin. And we also work closely with Maui Memorial Medical Center’s two heart surgeons in cases where patients need more serious interventions, such as bypass surgery.

Treating heart attacks on Maui means patients get the help they need much sooner — and that has the potential to save lives.

Q: I need to stop smoking since I had a heart attack. But it’s hard to quit since my husband still smokes. What can I do?

Dr. Colin Lee, co-director of interventional cardiology, Maui Memorial Medical Center: Can you bring your husband to your follow-up appointments? I often meet patients with their families to talk about how lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and eating healthier can help keep them from having another heart attack. And there’s an upside, as family members may also decide to make those lifestyle changes, too. If we can get your husband to quit smoking together with you, then you’ll both be healthier — and it might just save both your lives.

Q: I’ve heard any woman can get a mammogram at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Is that true? Do I need a referral from my doctor?

Dennis McKeon, director of diagnostic imaging, Maui Memorial Medical Center: Anyone can get a mammogram. It’s actually federal law. The Mammography Quality Standards Act says that any woman who wants to be screened for breast cancer can self-refer. That means you don’t need a referral for a screening mammogram, you can just pick up the phone and call our imaging department at 243-3012 to make an appointment. Let the receptionist know you’re self-referring, and they’ll ask you who your doctor is so we know where to send the results. Maui Memorial accepts all other forms of insurance.

And if you don’t have insurance, we can still help. The Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation will pay for your screening mammogram at the Malama I Ke Ola Health Center (formerly known as the Community Clinic of Maui). You can call the clinic at 871-7772 to make an appointment.

When it comes to breast cancer, it’s clear that screening saves lives. Thanks to early detection, 63 percent of breast cancers today are diagnosed while they are still small and localized. These cancers have a five-year survival rate of 97 percent. When you catch and treat it early, you have a higher likelihood of going into remission and curing it.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American women, and it’s the second leading cause of cancer mortality behind lung cancer. So don’t let insurance or scheduling be an excuse for not getting a mammogram.

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