Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett Breast Center, a three-location affiliate of Gwinnett Medical Center, was recently awarded a full, three-year national accreditation.

The accreditation, awarded by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, signifies a facility’s demonstration of “a firm commitment to offering its patients every available advantage in their battle against breast cancer.”

Gwinnett Breast Center has locations in Lawrenceville, Duluth and Hamilton Mill.

“This accreditation indicates our desire to provide quality care with a truly patient-centered approach,” said Cindy Snyder, the manager of oncology services at GMC.

Standards that breast centers must exhibit proficiency in to earn accreditation include the following: center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement.

Receiving care at an NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient will have “access to comprehensive care with state-of-the-art services, a multidisciplinary team approach to coordinating the best treatment options, and, most importantly, quality breast care located close to home,” GMC spokeswoman Andrea Wehrmann said.

The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 200,000 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2009.