By LINDA TYSSEN

Staff Writer

VIRGINIA — Snuggle into a fluffy pink terrycloth robe, sip a cup of tea — and help prevent breast cancer.

At the new Liz Prebich Women’s Center in Virginia Regional Medical Center, patients get extra TLC to make not-everyone’s-favorite exam more pleasant.

The center, in the former emergency room space, was named to honor the county commissioner who battled breast cancer for 13 years until her death in early 2001.

“I think it’s wonderful. You’re looking at a women’s wellness center,’’ said Prebich’s husband, Tom Butorac. “Liz having breast cancer and working hard on awareness and prevention — I think she’s the perfect person for this. She had many treatments and wonderful help.’’ It’s good that more prevention and treatment options are becoming available in the immediate area, Butorac said.

Keith Harvey, VRMC administrator, said the center is “something we’ve been talking about for quite some time, developing an environment where it’s inviting and comfortable for the patients to come to.’’ The idea is to “remove the clinical feeling and make it a more healing, comfortable center,’’ Harvey said. “Prevention is such a key... Early detection is the key.’’ As for it being named in Prebich’s memory, Harvey said, “Liz was a wonderful person. She fought cancer all those years. It’s very fitting to have the unit named after her.’’

Services available at the center include mammography, ultrasound, DXA bone densitometry and stereotactic biopsy, a new procedure at VRMC.

“This is such a private thing for women,’’ said Linda Scipioni, manager of the imaging department. “Any little extra touch we can give them to make them feel special. We just generally want to treat people really nice. We all know someone who’s very close to us who has had cancer.’’

Immediate reviews of mammograms are available at the center. “If we need an extra view, it’s done right now,’’ said Scipioni. “There are so many cures, whether a lumpectomy or mastectomy. It can save your life.’’

The center is a suite, with a sitting room where patients drink tea from a pretty tea set. Prebich loved to drink tea and have friends join her, said Scipioni. The cozy bathrobes were a must, said Scipioni. “I don’t want them in this beautiful area and have them in those see-through, open-in-the-back gowns.’’ All the decorative touches and furniture in the center are in purple and pink. The reaction from patients has been positive, said Scipioni. “They think it’s just beautiful. As far as having the test, it’s still the same.’’

The hospital keeps up with the latest technology, which keeps changing and getting better, said Scipioni. Mammography can detect a tumor long before it could be detected by breast self-examination — it can find a lump a millimeter in size through computer-aided detection, or CAD. The center also offers DEXA bone-density testing and at some point may also move into women’s heart health.