CARTI opens breast center for expanded cancer treatments, names medical director

CARTI, the Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute, announced the opening of The Breast Center at CARTI. From routine mammography screenings to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer and benign breast disease, The Breast Center will provide comprehensive breast care services and will open in June 2019 in Little Rock.

CARTI also named Stacy A. Smith-Foley, M.D. medical director of The Breast Center at CARTI.

“For the past 47 years, CARTI has been known for our team of expert physicians and their mission to provide the most leading-edge cancer treatments,” said Adam Head, president and CEO of CARTI, a statewide network of cancer care providers. “With the opening of The Breast Center, we’re expanding that by becoming the destination for breast health and preventive services. For the first time ever, patients can self-select to have their annual breast imaging services at CARTI. This expands our impact from only treating cancer patients to also seeing patients who have not and may not ever have a cancer diagnosis. This is a demonstration of our steadfast commitment to providing the highest level of care for our neighbors across the state and greater region.”

The Breast Center will feature leading-edge 3D screening mammography, high resolution breast MRI, more comfortable exams with the SmartCurve paddle and Mammopad, risk assessment and genetic testing, diagnostic mammography, ultrasound and breast needle biopsies.

In addition to offering screening and diagnostic services, The Breast Center aims to upgrade patient experiences with dedicated front door parking, personal iPad check-in, private dressing rooms and soft waffle-weave robes in each mammogram suite, and same day scheduling and results for diagnostic patients.

Smith-Foley brings more than a decade of clinical experience as a dedicated breast imager practicing in Arkansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina. She is a leader in her field as an active member of the Hologic Scientific Advisory Board, the Society of Breast Imaging and the National Consortium of Breast Centers. She is on the speaker’s bureau for Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc.

“I am honored to lead The Breast Center at CARTI,” said Smith-Foley. “Research shows that more women today are putting off getting their annual mammogram, with many citing clinical, uncomfortable experiences as their reason. Since we know that early detection is key in breast cancer, it was critical that The Breast Center featured a more personalized, anxiety-free setting that would make women feel more comfortable and encourage them to stay up to date on their annual screenings.”

Smith-Foley earned her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Board certified in diagnostic radiology with a subspecialty in breast imaging, she completed her radiology residency at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville, Tennessee. She completed her fellowship in breast imaging at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She earned her bachelors of science in biology from University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, where she now serves as a member of the UCA Foundation Board.