Northside Physicians Share Cancer Screening and Treatment Trends With Community

A standing-room crowd packed Northside Hospital Cherokee on March 23 with questions, and six physicians from the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute spent an hour answering them. The town-hall-style session, titled "The State of Cancer Care in 2026" and presented by Cancer Support Community Atlanta, covered cancer screening, evolving treatment options, and survivorship, giving Cherokee and Forsyth County residents a direct conversation with specialists they might otherwise only encounter in a clinical setting.

The panel arrived as Northside pushes a new "Built to Beat Cancer" campaign across its regional network. Lynn Jackson, president and CEO of Northside Hospital Forsyth and this year's recipient of the Georgia Health Care Executive of the Year award, heads a system that has recently added free risk assessments to every mammogram appointment, a step designed to surface elevated cancer risk in patients who may not know it exists.

That shift toward individualized screening is central to how Northside's breast imaging program operates. Dr. Lynn Baxter, section chair of breast imaging at Northside Radiology Associates, leads a department that factors in family history, genetic mutations, and prior radiation therapy when determining whether a patient needs only an annual mammogram or a supplemental breast MRI. Northside follows American College of Radiology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidance recommending annual mammograms beginning at age 40.

For Forsyth and Cherokee county residents ready to act on what the panel discussed, Northside's scheduling line for both campuses is 404-851-6577. Patients who cannot cover the cost of a mammogram can reach the system's Breast Care Fund at 404-531-4444. The Screen Atlanta Mobile Mammography program, which brings screening beyond the hospital campus, takes appointments at 770-667-4400.

The March 23 event was one data point in a broader pattern: community cancer education forums at Northside routinely fill their venues, a signal that early detection and treatment access remain top-of-mind concerns north of Atlanta. Additional educational events and health screenings are listed on Northside's community calendar at northside.com.