HOUGHTON — Getting an abnormal breast screening report is scary. And confusing. You’ve had a mammogram or an ultrasound or MRI, and it’s come back “abnormal.” What do you do next? How can you find out what this means? Is it cancer?

A new program just started in July at Aspirus-Keweenaw can ease women’s minds, answer their questions and help them navigate the complexities of the health care system.

Three highly trained breast health nurse navigators assigned to the Keweenaw are guiding women through the next steps, answering their questions, making sure they get accurate information, helping them find an oncologist and make needed appointments.

Aspirus-Wausau has used breast health nurse navigators for 14 years. Now Aspirus has expanded the program to serve women in the Keweenaw closer to home.

“When a woman finds out she needs a biopsy, we take over,” says Carla Bahr, lead breast health nurse navigator for the Keweenaw. Bahr has worked in oncology nursing for 29 years. “We try to alleviate their fear,” she says. “We explain the findings and help them develop a plan of care. Then we coordinate care for them and help them connect to other services they need.”

Bahr and her colleagues, Stephanie Ostrowski and Amy Price, reach out to women who have received abnormal breast screening findings. “We try to reassure them,” Bahr explains. “There are many conditions that look like potential breast cancer but aren’t. Only 15 to 20 percent are cancer.

For the 75 to 80 percent with benign breast diseases, the nurse navigators can provide information about their conditions and help in dealing with them.  “For the other 20 percent of patients, a nurse navigator becomes especially important as they navigate a cancer diagnosis and the many options and decisions that accompany this reality,” says Bahr.

“Navigating health care is hard, especially for someone facing a new breast cancer diagnosis,” says Amy Price, another nurse navigator. “We’re here to help with that process. As navigators, we can help patients coordinate appointments and additional testing, either close to home or elsewhere based on a patient’s individual preference. We have intimate knowledge of the breast cancer journey these women are about to embark on, and we’re here to make that process a little easier for them.”

The nurse navigators provide accurate information to counter the misinformation so often found on the internet. They address women’s emotional, medical and financial concerns and help them find appropriate resources.

Since the breast health nurse navigators began working in the Keweenaw in July, 12 women have participated in the program. But numbers are expected to grow. “We have the capacity to handle the Keweenaw’s current and future growth,” says Bahr.

Only Aspirus patients are automatically referred to the breast health nurse navigators. Women whose screenings are done by other health care providers can be referred by their doctors to the Aspirus program.

At the moment, the nurse navigators assigned to the Keweenaw are based in Wausau, Wisconsin, so they work by phone. Eventually, a nurse navigator may be working here.

“We are excited to be able to provide nurse navigation services for the Keweenaw area,” Bahr says. “I’m very passionate about this work. It’s a wonderful thing.”