Dr. Wende Logan Young, founder of the Elizabeth Wende Breast Care clinic, received the New York State Senate Commendation Award this summer.
After leaving the University of Rochester Medical Center at the age of 40, Logan Young opened the nation's first clinic dedicated to breast care in 1975, naming the clinic in honor of her mother. The clinic is known for reshaping how breast cancer is diagnosed throughout the United States.
"Dr. Wende Logan Young is a true trailblazer and a local hero. When she saw that patients were slipping through the cracks, she risked everything to build a better way, and in doing so, she changed the standard of breast cancer care not just in our region, but across the country," New York State Sen. Pamela Helming said
in a statement.
Helming presented Young with the award during a South Bristol Town Board meeting. The New York State Senate Commendation Award is one of the highest honors a senator can grant. The award acknowledges individuals making an impact through significant community contributions, leadership and sustained commitment.
Elizabeth Wende Breast Care clinic is a recognized leader in breast imaging, intervention and research, including services like bone density screenings. Recognized internationally, the clinic is one of the largest freestanding breast imaging centers in the United States and the largest single-site breast imaging center in New York State.
Wende Logan-Young, founder of the Elizabeth Wende Breast Care Clinic in Rochester." id="91387154007">
Dr. Stamatia Destounis, a breast imaging specialist who joined Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in 1993, worked alongside Logan Young for decades. She is now chair of the American College of Radiology's Commission on Breast Imaging and serves on its Board of Chancellors.
These excerpts from an interview with Destounis have been lightly edited for length and clarity:
"Wende was a radiology resident at the University of Rochester, and she became very interested in women's health and also breast cancer detection. It was in the 70s, there was really not that much going on, imaging-wise, with mammography in the very early days. She wanted to be very proactive and do it her own way — working closely with different vendors and companies that were building early mammography models and also early ultrasound. She left the university to open her small office. And her family helped her because she had small children at the time … and she went ahead to slowly build the practice of where they were doing imaging for the patient, and she was examining every patient, and talking to every patient that came in with any concerns.
The practice continued to get larger. We had more and more patients coming to us with concerns in the breast or just for screening or they had a family history of breast cancer, or needed a second opinion. Patients came in from all over the Upstate New York area, the Southern Tier, even Pennsylvania. Our practice grew as we hired more radiologists that were subspecialized in imaging. We transitioned to digital and MRI. We were using computer aid detection very early on after we did some research that got published about how computer-aided detection can help us find cancers earlier. We did stereotactic needle biopsy, so the patient did not have to go to surgical excision (for a biopsy). So a lot of changes happened, and Wende got to see a lot of those changes before she retired.
She was just thrilled that things were moving so well for patients, and we were able to find cancers that were tiny and make a real difference in patients' lives.
Dr. Young really taught me to be a good communicator and to listen to patients and also understand that there is a very worried person that comes in and they want answers, and our role is to help them alleviate their anxiety, diagnose what's going on, give them good results, if they're good results to give, and also when there are bad results, give them with empathy. For Wende, the patients were first always and that's a motto that has remained in our practice."
— Genae Shields is the Business and Development Impact Reporter, working on mobility stories that focus on how people get around Rochester. As a member of the local community, Genae enjoys learning about emerging businesses and changes that impact Rochester's BIPOC and LGBTQ neighborhoods. She also enjoys supporting local artists and nonprofit organizations. Reach out at gshields@usatodayco.com or on Instagram:@genaebriphoto for questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you for your continued support!
— William Ramsey contributed reporting for this article.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Breast care pioneer Wende Logan Young honored by NY Senate
