Customer Spotlight: How cancer genetic testing is saving lives at Northern Light Mercy Hospital

Cancer genetic testing saves lives. That’s why two breast surgeons from Northern Light Mercy Hospital, Drs. Diane Stoller and Suzanne Hoekstra, were so adamant about bringing genetic testing to their community. Together, they spearheaded a high-risk program alongside their surgical practice. Find out how they got support to start and grow their high-risk program.

Feyi Ayodele & Dr. Stoller at City of Hope 2023

Dr. Stoller first trained at the City of Hope’s Cancer Genomics Education Program. While continuing her education at the NCBC National Consortium of Breast Centers conference, she learned how other high-risk programs leveraged platforms like CancerIQ to automate risk assessment and genetic testing workflows. Dr Stoller teamed up with Dr. Hoekstra to secure buy-in from health system leaders and bring CancerIQ into their breast center.

With the support of nurse navigator Dana Greer, their program has helped over 400 high-risk patients get tested for inherited mutations linked to hereditary cancer. But their impact goes beyond that: Thanks to their work, Northern Light has delivered action plans to support cancer prevention and early detection for hundreds of high-risk patients. Today, the health system is managing long-term care for over 95% of these patients. That includes ensuring over 500 women who need annual breast MRIs receive the appropriate care.   
 
Northern Light recently launched CancerIQ with Mercy Midwives, becoming the first health system in the CancerIQ network to offer comprehensive cancer risk assessment in this setting.

Learn more about how to get the support you need to start and grow your high-risk program here.