Elevate Healthcare Blog

My friend was just 33.

She had painful, rope-like tissue on her upper-right breast and went to her doctor, who then ordered a mammogram out of an abundance of caution. After that, she had an ultrasound of the “lump” in question. Everything matched up—mammogram to ultrasound—to everyone’s relief. But something else had popped up on her mammogram, a mass that matched characteristics of cancer. The very next day, she had an ultrasound-guided biopsy.

Thankfully, the mass came back from the lab as benign.

Years later, she’s still grateful for the good news but remembers that vivid moment when, as she puts it, “I needed that person to be an expert in ultrasound, like I was in the most capable hands, and that they knew without a doubt what they were looking at. I needed that, more than ever.”

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In a perfect world, we would all be as vigilant as my friend about protecting our health – and thankful that our healthcare professionals had the expertise and tools to competently guide us through the journey.

But the real world of women’s health tells a much different story.

• About 1.5 billion women globally did not have access to preventive care in 2020.
• Fewer than 1 in 8 women around the world were screened for cancer in 2020.
• Every 13 minutes, a woman dies of breast cancer in the U.S.
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in the U.S.

(Source: CNN, “Women’s health got worse in 2021, global survey finds”)

Women “are always the last to take care of ourselves,” said Katie Schubert, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research, a U.S.-based activist group. “This goes back to a lot of those different burdens that women are taking on, both from the perspective of being a caregiver but also being a part of their community.”

So the question that arises whenever I think of my friend’s story—and so many like hers—is this: Who’s taking care of our women and protecting our health?

Because all too often, women wait

Nearly half of the women in the United States have skipped a preventative healthcare service, like a mammogram, in the last 12 months.¹ Women who have a high-risk genetic marker—like the BRCA gene, or a first-degree relative with breast cancer—may even need other types of screenings, like ultrasounds, to rule cancer out.

For most cancers, survival at one and five years is much higher if the cancer is detected early (at stage 1) than if detected later. A clear, accurate diagnosis also helps women move ahead with recovery.

How can we change that?

• Recognize that women’s health is everyone’s health. Healthier women contribute to a healthier world—to more productive and better-educated societies.
• Ensure healthcare professionals gain the skills, expertise and competence to accurately and confidently diagnosis women’s healthcare issues. Ultrasound plays a crucial role in this ability, as it’s used in many ways for diagnosis and treatment beyond the OB/pregnancy track.
• Equip learners and practitioners with the tools, equipment and proper training to practice those vital skills needed for competent sonography.

Women’s health journeys are different; the Vimedix simulator prepares learners for those moments that matter.

At CAE Healthcare, our commitment to women's health is unwavering. The latest enhancements to our ultrasound simulator, Vimedix, reinforce our dedication to this field.

With Vimedix, learners and practitioners can practice and perfect ultrasound techniques on dozens of new patient cases, the majority of them focused on women’s health. Eleven new cases alone are devoted to breast pathologies ranging from normal to various conditions, even implants. They include:

• Normal Breast
• Breast Abscess
• Breast Cyst
• Breast Multiple Cysts
• Breast Complicated Cyst
• Breast Fibroadenoma
• Breast Cancer

• Breast Implants
• Breast Silicone Leakage
• Normal Lymph Nodes
• Abnormal Lymph Nodes

An industry leader in women’s ultrasound simulation, Vimedix offers capabilities that are unmatched by other ultrasound simulators. As of now, it stands as the sole simulator equipped with breast pathologies. Additionally, it boasts a diverse range of obstetric and gynecological cases, enabling comprehensive diagnoses of women’s healthcare issues.

Moving from practice to proficiency with Vimedix, learners strengthen their ultrasound expertise to be able to competently deliver care, whatever the situation, when the moment matters most.

¹ Source: Health.com, “Nearly 50% of Women Skip Preventative Health Appointments—Here Are the Checkups to Prioritize”