Page 18 • Barre Gazette • October 3, 2019

Public Notices

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Barre Conservation Commission

Notice is hereby given in accordance with the Massachusetts General L aw, C h a p t e r 1 3 1 , Section 40, The Wetlands Protection Act, that a pub-lic hearing will be held on a Notice of Intent for gravel operation adjacent to the Ware River at prop-erty located on Nichols Road, Assessors Map H, parcel 369.

From: Prince River Associates71 Worcester RoadBarre, MA 01005To be held on Tuesday,

October 8, 2019 at 7:45 p.m. in the Conservation Commission Office on the 3rd floor of the Henry Woods Building, 40 West Street, Barre, MA 01005.

Ronald Rich, Chairman10/03/2019

Quabbin Regional School District to

participate in Tiered Focused

Monitoring Review of Special Education,

Civil Rights and English Learner EducationDuring the week of

November 18, 2019 the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Public School Monitoring (PSM) will conduct a Tiered Focused Monitoring Review of Quabbin Regional School District. The Office of Public School Monitoring visits each district and charter school every three years to monitor compli-ance with federal and state special education and civil rights regulations. Areas of review related to special education include student assessments, deter-mination of eligibility, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team pro-cess, and IEP development and implementation. Areas of review related to civil rights include bullying, student discipline, physical restraint, and equal access to school programs for all students.

In addi t ion to the onsite visit, parent out-reach is an important part of the review process. Representatives from the Office of Public School Monitoring will conduct a one-hour parent orien-tation, ideally, to occur during a scheduled SEPAC meeting. Quabbin Regional School District is respon-sible for setting the date and time, location, and informing parents of the meeting. This meeting is scheduled for October 15, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Professional Development Center at the Quabbin Regional School District Central Office at 872 South Street, Barre MA.

The review chairperson from the Office of Public School Monitoring will also send all parents of stu-dents with disabilities an online survey that focus-es on key areas of their child’s special education

program. Survey results will contribute to the development of a report. During the onsite review, the Office of Public School Monitoring will interview the chairperson(s) of the district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Other onsite activities may include interviews of district staff and administrators, reviews of student records, and onsite observations.

Parents and other indi-viduals may call Michelle Hennessy-Kowalchek , Public School Monitoring Chairperson, at (781) 338- 3704 to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommoda-tion, such as translation, to participate in an interview, the Department will make the necessary arrange-ments.

Within approximate-ly 60 business days after the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the district with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regula-tory requirements and areas in which the district requires assistance to cor-rect or improve practices. The public will be able to access the report at www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/.10/03/2019

Snowplow Contractor Wanted

T h e T o w n o f Hubbardston is seeking a private contractor(s) to plow and sand Mile Road, Streeter Road and Plum Tree Lane in Hubbardston for the 2019-2020 Winter Season. The Contractor will be responsible for keeping the road plowed and treated with sand/salt mixture. Minimum equipment required: 3/4-ton truck with plow and 1.3CY sander. Sand/salt mix to be provided by the Town of Hubbardston. Contract period will be 12/1/19-3/31/20. Insurance Certificate and Workers Compensation insurance is required from the success-ful bidder. The bid opening will occur on Wednesday October 24, 2019 at 1:30 P.M. at the Hubbardston DPW garage. The Town of Hubbardston reserves the right to reject any or all bids, and to waive minor informalities in the bids, or to accept the bid deemed best for the Town. Bids need to be marked sepa-rately for either Mile Road FY20 Winter Season or Streeter Road and Plum Tree Lane FY20 Winter Season and can be mailed to Hubbardston DPW 7 Main St. Unit # 6 Hubbardston, MA 01452 or hand delivered to the Hubbardston DPW garage located at 68 Worcester Rd. Hubbardston MA 01452. Please feel free to call with any questions you might have.10/03, 10/10/2019

NOTICEERRORS: Each advertiser is requested to check their advertisement the first time it appears. This paper will not be responsible for more than one corrected insertion, nor will be liable for any error in an advertisement to a greater extent than the cost of the space occupied by the item in the advertisement.

CROSSWORD ANSWERS

Baystate Medical Center offers SpaceOAR HydrogelSPRINGFIELD – Men undergoing

radiation therapy for prostate cancer now have an option to minimize the troubling side effects that often accom-pany treatment.

Baystate Medical Center, through its Baystate Regional Cancer Program, is the only hospital in Western Massachusetts to offer SpaceOAR Hydrogel to its prostate cancer patients. The absorbable hydrogel – created by Boston Scientific – temporarily cre-ates space between the prostate and the rectum, reducing the radiation dose delivered to the rectum during prostate radiation therapy.

“Today we can target tumors in the prostate and elsewhere in the body with greater precision than ever before, sparing surrounding normal tis-sue. However, radiating the prostate presents a greater challenge because the rectum sits so close to the pros-tate,” said Dr. Michael Yunes, chief, Radiation Oncology, Baystate Regional Cancer Program.

By ac t ing as a spacer, the SpaceOAR Hydrogel pushes the rectum an inch or more away from the prostate. It allows for better targeting of radia-tion treatment while preserving healthy tissue and minimizing side effects such as rectal pain and bleeding, diarrhea, urinary symptoms, and even reduces erectile dysfunction. It is available for use at Baystate for many patients when receiving external beam radiation ther-apy. 

“Our ability to add space between the rectum and the prostate is a real

game changer. We can essentially reduce the rectal side effects of radia-tion to almost zero. It is truly amazing to see how much of a difference this added space makes in the dose to the rectum which is clinically significant. Patients are happier and have a much easier experience,” said Dr. Yunes.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), SpaceOAR Hdrogen is made of two liquids that when combined form a soft gel material that is mostly made of water. Because of the water content it is called a hydro-gel. It can be safely used in the body without causing injury or a reaction. It stays in place, separating the prostate and rectum for about 3 months, then after 6 months the hydrogel is naturally absorbed into the body without any side effects and then removed in the urine.

At Baystate, the outpatient proce-dure is performed by Interventional Radiology and takes approximately two hours. Doctors use local, regional, or general anesthesia and the injection site will be numbed before SpaceOAR Hydrogel is injected as liquid through a small needle inserted between the rec-tum and the prostate. At the same pro-cedure, before the gel is inserted, three gold seeds are placed in the prostate to help guide the radiation treatments as accurately as possible.

“I am very honest with my patients. I explain that the benefit is so large, that if I or anyone in my family were to have a new diagnosis of prostate cancer, I would not want them treat-ed with radiation without SpaceOAR.

Not all patients are candidates, there-fore, a clear discussion is required with your radiation oncologist and urologist before considering this option,” said Dr. Yunes.

In a three-year follow-up study con-ducted by Boston Scientific, patients were asked to report on their quality of life for bowel, urinary and sexual functions. These patient-reported out-comes show that SpaceOAR Hydrogel patients experienced significantly fewer long-term rectal side effects, were more likely to maintain sexual function, and showed significantly reduced decline in patient-reported urinary and bowel quality of life.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. This year some 174,650 new cases of prostate cancer will be diag-nosed and 31,620 men will die from the disease. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. Risk factors include age, especially for men over 50 and a fam-ily history of prostate cancer. African-American men and Caribbean men of African descent are at greater risk for prostate cancer.

Early prostate cancer usually results in no symptoms until the cancer has advanced and may cause: problems uri-nating, blood in urine or semen; erectile dysfunction; bone pain and/or pain in the lower back, pelvic area, hips or thighs.

While early detection is key in most cancers, there is limited evidence that

screening all men for prostate can-cer yields reductions in prostate can-cer deaths. Types of screening include a digital rectal exam (DRE) or pros-tate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. All men should discuss with their pri-mary care provider whether prostate cancer screening is appropriate and worthwhile for them.

The main treatment options for pros-tate cancer patients today include close monitoring of the cancer and treating it at the time of progression or when it causes symptoms, surgery called a prostatectomy to remove the prostate and radiation therapy using various techniques.

The five-year survival rate for local-ized prostate cancer that has not spread outside the prostate is nearly 100 per-cent. For those cancers that have spread outside the prostate, such as the lung, liver or bones, it is 30 percnt.

“At the Baystate Regional Cancer Program, we discuss all options with our patients. However, we endorse and offer the most common radiation treatment approaches which include external beam radiation therapy with either standard fractionation with eight weeks of daily treatment, or the new hypo-fractionated radiation therapy treatment of five-and-a-half  weeks of daily treatment. We are investigating other alternatives as they arise,” said Yunes.

For more information on the Baystate Regional Cancer Program, people may visit baystatehealth.org/cancer.  

Awareness of breast cancer in men is importantSPRINGFIELD –If you are a man,

you are not exempt from developing breast cancer.

This year an estimated 2,670 men in the United States will be diag-nosed with breast cancer and 500 will die from the disease, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Still male breast cancer is rare with less than 1 percent of all breast can-cers developing in men. Black men have the highest incidence rates at 2.7 out of every 10,000 men, followed by white men with 1.9 diagnoses out of every 100,000 men.

“I have only seen eight cases of male breast cancer in the past 20 years,” said breast cancer surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Brady of Baystate Medical Center.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and an opportunity to raise awareness about the impor-tance of finding breast cancer early when it is most treatable.

“I believe we have done a good job over the years in getting the word out

to women about breast cancer and the importance of screening mammog-raphy. But, for men, not so much,” said Brady, of the Baystate Breast and Wellness Center.

“While the chances are slim, men still need to know that developing breast cancer in their lifetime is a possibility. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness among men and as a result they tend to ignore any breast lumps. When they do finally decide to visit their doctor, often when the tumor has grown significantly, and that is why men have a higher mortality rate,” she said.

Early detection is “key,” noted Brady, who along with the American Cancer Society offers the following symptoms of breast cancer men should be aware of:

A lump or swelling, which is often (but not always) painless

Skin dimpling or puckering Nipple retraction (turning inward) Redness or scaling of the nipple or

breast skin Discharge from the nipple.

The standard of care for treatment of men with breast cancer remains mastectomy with lymph node evalua-tion through sentinel lymph node biop-sy (checking two to three lymph nodes under the arm). Men may still benefit from chemotherapy or hormonal thera-py, depending on the characteristics of their specific breast cancer.

Overall, the 5-year survival rate for men with breast cancer is 84 percent. However, for men diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer, the 5-year sur-vival rate is 100 percent.

Factors that can raise a man’s risk for developing breast cancer include:

Age – most men are diagnosed with breast cancer in their 60s

Family history of breast disease – One out of five men who develop breast cancer has a family history of the disease

Inherited gene mutations – men with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene

Elevated levels of estrogen associ-ated with liver disease, low-doses of estrogen-related drugs, and the rare genetic disease known as Klinefelter’s

syndrome Testicular conditions. “A percentage of men with breast

cancer have inherited a gene muta-tion that causes the breast cancer, and this gene mutation can be passed on to his children. Most breast cancers are not caused by this gene mutation, and researchers continue to work on establishing cause and effect so we can avoid risk factors and prevent the disease,” said Brady.

Similar to all cancers, leading a healthy lifestyle may be the key to prevention, such as:

Maintaining an ideal body weight Eating healthy Restricting alcohol consumption Exercising regularly. For more information on the Baystate

Regional Cancer Program, visit bay-statehealth.org/cancer, or to request an appointment call 413-794-9338.

Baystate Health will hold its annual Rays of Hope – Walk & Run Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer on Oct. 27. For more information, visit baystate-health.org/raysofhope.

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