New Amsterdam hit the ground running in Season 4, and Max and Helen are poised to move across the Atlantic to start new lives together… if everything somehow goes according to plan, which isn’t always the case at this hospital. In a new clip, Helen makes a discovery about the hospital’s breast cancer screenings that is definitely unwelcome, but also incredibly important, particularly during October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Take a look at the clip above, and then keep on reading for some comments from actress Freema Agyeman and executive producer Erika Green Swafford!
In true Dr. Helen Sharpe form, Helen doesn’t intend to leave any issues unresolved in the oncology department before she departs for London, and in the process learns that her coworker is one of many people who received a letter concerning “dense breast tissue” found during mammograms but had no idea that she was supposed to follow up and get an ultrasound or MRI. And if somebody who worked in oncology for a decade and a half didn’t realize what the letter was telling her about her health, it’s safe to say that plenty of other people were in the same situation.
It’s an important message not only for Helen to share with her coworker and that she’ll seemingly aim to share with as many people as possible in the episode, but also one for viewers watching from home who may not have the information they need about breast cancer screenings. While Helen clearly has an uphill battle in finding all the people who have had screenings at New Amsterdam, the show itself is spreading awareness. Freema Agyeman, who has been playing Helen Sharpe from the very beginning, opened up about the episode’s message during Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
I am so pleased to help shine a light on this important topic and I share Dr. Sharpe’s steadfastness about breast screenings! I hope that we can raise awareness and effect some positive changes in breast health.
New Amsterdam is uniquely positioned to help spread awareness on this important topic, as a hit show in primetime with an incredibly capable oncologist as a major character, played by a woman. The show has used its platform to spread the word on important issues before, even in Season 4 already, so this storyline during Breast Cancer Awareness Month is ideally timed. New Amsterdam executive producer Erika Green Swafford shared her own thoughts on using the show to spread an important message, complete with some illuminating statistics:
Women with dense breast tissue make up 25% of the US population. Shedding light on this will hopefully help them make better informed decisions regarding their breast health and begin a larger conversation about making breast screenings more appropriately comprehensive and accessible to all.
It’s a wonderful goal for the episode to spread awareness not only to viewers, but possibly even help usher change in screenings for real people who could use more access as well as more knowledge about their own health. Even if not everybody can have access to a physician like Dr. Sharpe in real life, her message and what this New Amsterdam storyline will deliver can only do good.
The episode, called “Seed Money,” airs on Tuesday, October 12 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, and will also see Max facing the problem of working with Michelle Forbes’ Dr. Veronica Fuentes, who made it clear in the previous episode that there’s some history there that seems pretty unpleasant. Be sure to tune in to see more of the breast cancer screening storyline, as well as what’s in store for Max and the others.
