Baton Rouge General Opens High-Risk Breast Clinic at Mid City

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Baton Rouge General (BRG) has opened a High-Risk Breast Clinic at its Mid City campus, providing specialized care to women at risk for developing breast disease and who are underinsured or uninsured.

From screenings and prevention to surgical intervention, the clinic is led by Dr. Everett Bonner, surgical breast oncologist. Dr. Bonner holds a fellowship in Surgical Breast Oncology from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center. A New Orleans native, he graduated from LSU School of Medicine and completed a surgery residency at Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, Ga.

“While hospitals focus on another COVID surge, we have to press on for patients with other diseases, like cancer, as we help them fight for their health in a healthcare world that’s short on staff and resources,” said Dr. Bonner. “By opening this clinic, we’re helping break down barriers to care and ensure that all patients with breast cancer or at high risk for the disease have access the same high-quality care and expertise.”

Risk factors for breast disease include:

• Family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
• Patients who are over 50, as breast cancer risk increases with age.
• Those with genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2.
• Patients who started a menstrual cycle before the age of 12 and started menopause after 55.
• Patients with dense breasts.
• Those with a personal history of breast cancer or non-cancerous breast diseases.
• Previous treatment using radiation therapy.
• Obesity after menopause.
• Patients taking hormones for more than five years (those with both estrogen and progesterone)

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer screenings, including mammograms, were largely put on hold to prioritize urgent needs and reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in healthcare settings. Baton Rouge General physicians were early advocates for a return to screening as soon as it was allowed, assuring the community that it was safe to come in for mammograms and other routine screenings. As a result, BRG did not see the overall steep decline in screenings as many other hospitals across the nation.

The High-Risk Breast Clinic is located within the Family Health Center at BRG’s Mid City campus, at 3401 North Blvd., Suite 200. For more information, call (225) 381-6620 or click here.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with over 600 licensed beds between three campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General is affiliated with several medical school programs, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter @BRGeneral and Instagram @batonrougegeneral.

###