Think P nk - matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.commatchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/1140/assets/1QEZ... · Think P nk The Paducah Sun | October 12, 2011 | paducahsun.com A

Think P nkThe Paducah Sun | October 12, 2011 | paducahsun.com

A portion of all money from Think PInk goes to the American Cancer Society for local breast cancer programs

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Exploring chemo options before and

after surgery.Please see Page 5

Stories of Survival: Find out how they

battled breast cancer.Please see Pages 2, 4 and 8

New therapies show less side effects, better results.

Please see Page 9

ADAM SHULL | The Sun

Standing alongside one another is what Kandice Birney, left, and Neshia Stacy have learned to do while working together at Ferguson Enterprises, 5119 Heartland Drive. Stacy, a 16-year breast cancer survivor, never imagined she would again need support while helping Birney fight through breast cancer diagnosed in 2009.

Five years is the general standard, doc-tors told Neshia Stacy.

Go fi ve years cancer-free after chemo-therapy and radiation in 1995 to battle breast cancer, and she’d have reasonable assurance that the disease would stay gone.

That’s never a guarantee, however, a fact

Stacy learned through experience last Oc-tober when a mammogram found a small but aggressive tumor in her right breast.

More than 15 years after Stacy’s fi rst di-agnosis, she faced the battle all over again.

“I thought I’d gotten this beat for sure after 10 years,” Stacy said. “But I handled it better this time than I did when I was 45.”

Stacy, now 61 years old, said recovering

from treatment is more diffi cult this time around, but she is more comfortable and confi dent in the process.

A CT scan on Sept. 14 showed no signs of cancer.

This profi le wasn’t supposed to be about Stacy.

Working together, beating cancer twice

Two-year cancer survivor inspires 16-year survivor after recurrence

BY ADAM [email protected]

Please see SURVIVORS | 10

“We could share certain thoughts and concerns that you can’t always share with other people. It’s your friends and family who get you

through.”

Kandice BirneySurvivor

2 • Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • The Paducah Sun paducahsun.com

Tonya Keeling’s spirit is manifest in her breast can-cer scrapbook. The small, brightly-colored book is optimistic and candid. It’s titled after the device doc-tors used to help Keeling beat breast cancer.

It’s called mammosite radiation, but Keeling calls it glow worm. The moniker came from the tiny dots of radiation that went into her breast during treat-ment. On an X-ray, it looks like it’s glowing.

Keeling is a cancer survivor, and Keeling said she’s one of the most fortunate survivors she’s ever known. She never had to have chemotherapy, and her radiation sessions were twice a day for just 10 days. Keeling was diagnosed in 2006 after one of her yearly mammograms. Doc-tors did a biopsy and con-cluded she had early ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Keeling had a lumpectomy and then began her time with the glow worm.

“It blows up like a bal-loon,” Keeling said about the mammosite. “And you feel like you’re a chicken hibernating an egg.”

Doctors inserted the device on the side of her torso, and the balloon sat right next to the dots of cancer. After working in the medi-cal fi eld since 1978, Keeling, a nurse, said she was comfortable talking to doctors about her procedure. She now works as a coordinator for the transitional care unit at Western Baptist Hospital.

Her effervescent attitude didn’t skip a beat as she showed candid pictures of the procedure and explained how the de-vice felt. The mammosite stayed inside her during the entire process. Though she thought it would be

uncomfortable, Keeling said she quickly grew ac-customed to it.

After her short treatment stint in what radiation patients called “the vault,”

Keeling continued to take medication for fi ve years and meet with an oncologist every few months. She now has mammograms twice a year, as a precaution.Keeling promotes

yearly mammograms for everyone she knows. In her case, a bit of re-scheduling actually might have saved her life. Her 2006 mam-mogram was originally slated for September, but Keeling had to cancel the appointment. She re-scheduled and had to cancel again, until it was December before she fi -nally got in for the scan.

Because her cancer spots were so small, Keeling said if she had gone in September, the mam-mogram would likely not have picked up any signs of cancer.

“It could have been another year before I went back,” she said. “I feel like ... there was a reason why I had to postpone it.”

She likely would not have felt the spots with a self-exam. It’s just another reason why Keeling is in staunch support of regular mammograms.

Her connection to other survivors is a bond she is thankful for each day. And for anyone who has questions about the mam-mosite procedure? Go ahead and call Keeling, she’s more than happy to talk to you.

A glowing future following a short bout with cancerBY REBECCA FELDHAUS

[email protected]

Tonya Keeling, a registered nurse, holds up the scrapbook she made during her breast cancer treatment. Keeling called the book “Glow Worm” after the look of the device that helped doctors eradicate her cancer.

Glow Worm( above) was Keeling’s first real effort in scrapbooking. She now treasures the candid memento as a reminder of how lucky she is. Keeling took pho-tos of everything during her battle with breast cancer, including the mammosite device that helped doctors apply radiation only to the portion of her breast affected with cancer (below).

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“In 2000, I came to Crawford & Lundberg X-ray Clinic for my routine mammogram. My mother had been diagnosed the year before with breast cancer, so I knew my risk was higher. My mammogram came back abnormal. I was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer. It was very small, but thanks to my mammogram it was detected early. As an 11 year survivor my eyes have been opened and I no longer take the small things in life for granted.” -Terri Ramage, Breast Cancer Survivor

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paducahsun.com Think Pink The Paducah Sun • Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • 3


Dorisanna Hall, right, of Paducah enjoys a coffee drink with her granddaughter Kali Conner, middle, and family friend Kate Story at Etcetera Coffeehouse, 320 N. Sixth St. Caffeine may not be one of the common supplements to help fight breast cancer, but medical professionals have some suggestions.

The saying around the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is that if coffee prevented cancer then no doctor would ever suffer from the disease.

Put more scientifi cally, caffeine has shown no correlation to increased or decreased cases of breast cancer, according to Dr. Julie Means, a medical oncologist at the Vander-bilt-Ingram Cancer Center whom specializes in breast cancer.

Each month seems to bring new headlines about a readily-available, com-mon food item or exercise habit that holds newly discovered cancer-fi ghting qualities.

Though most medical professionals warn against accepting shallow, super-fi cial studies as fact, the over-exposure to stories about cancer-fi ghting foods and supplements shouldn’t lead people to devalue their role in pre-venting breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society advocates a healthy lifestyle with balanced eat-ing, maintaining a normal weight and regular exercise to combat cancer of every kind.

Its website, cancer.org, features a section titled “Complementary and Alternative Medicine” that helps sort out how to determine if a treatment or study is legitimate.

The site also details 11 complementary ap-proaches that the ACS has deemed acceptable ap-proaches to be combined with medical treatment, including acupuncture, art therapy, meditation and music therapy (see box for full list).

Some complementary approaches have substan-tial research behind them.

“There is a lot of re-search to show that people with vitamin D defi cien-cies are at risk for a lot of health problems,” Means said.

“When you combine the

defi ciency with breast can-cer, it seems that patients have a harder time fi ghting the disease and their prog-nosis is usually worse.”

A recent study that tracked aspirin use among 4,000 nurses for 30 years has convinced Dr. William Giese that taking adult-strength aspirin three times a week can help decrease occurrences of breast cancer.

Giese is a radiation oncologist at the Regional Cancer Center at Murray-Calloway County Hospital.

He said the study showed women who took anti-infl ammatory medicine, such as aspirin, had less of a chance of breast cancer returning.

For the last seven years Giese has advised patients to take hemp seed oil to take advantage of its omega fatty acids to pre-vent cancer.

Beyond aspirin and hemp seed oil, Giese said maintaining an appropri-ate weight with exercise is best to prevent and battle cancer.

Doctors: Be wary of the eye-catching headlines

BY ADAM [email protected] Treating cancer

Complementary approaches recognized by the American Cancer Society to help prevent or battle cancer, including breast cancer.

■ Acupuncture, which may help with mild pain and some types of nausea.

■ Aromatherapy that can alter mood or improve symptoms such as stress or nausea.

■ Art therapy, which can help people with physi-cal and emotional problems by using creative ac-tivities to express emotions.

■ Biofeedback, a treatment method that uses monitoring devices to help gain conscious control over physical processes that are usually controlled automatically, such as heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension.

■ Labyrinth walking. Involves a meditative walk along a set circular pathway that goes to the cen-ter and comes back out.

■ Message therapy. Some studies suggest is can decrease stress, anxiety, depression and pain while increasing alertness.

■ Meditation, using concentration and reflection to relax the body and calm the mind.

■ Music therapy, offered by a trained healthcare professional who can use music to promote heal-ing.

■ Prayer and spirituality. Recognizing something greater than the individual self.

■ Tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that can improve strength and balance in some people.

■ Yoga, non-aerobic exercise that involved a pro-gram of precise posture and breathing activities.

*Source: cancer.org/treatment

“When you combine the (vitamin D) deficiency with breast cancer, it seems that patients have a harder time fighting the disease and their

prognosis is usually worse.”

Julie MeansMedical oncologist, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

4 • Wednesday, October 12, 2011 • The Paducah Sun Think Pink paducahsun.com

Contributed photo

Victoria Seng, center, stands in front of the Biltmore House in Ashville, N.C., with her family 18 months after she completed her last chemotherapy session.

Victoria Seng teaches nursing classes at Uni-versity of Tennessee at Martin. Every semester, she has devotes a lecture to breast cancer and interact-ing with patients who have the disease. After Seng contracted the disease in 2006, she threw her lec-ture notes out and started from scratch.

“It wasn’t that they were wrong,” Seng said. “It was just that there are so many small things they don’t tell you in nursing school or in text books. After going through it, my lectures became much more personal, much more emotional.”

Seng was fi rst contacted by doctors in August of 2006 when a routine mammogram indicated a spot in her breast that con-cerned doctors. Another mammogram and an ul-trasound later, she was on an operating table getting

a biopsy. Her consultation with the doctor confi rmed what they had suspected: Seng had breast cancer and it had already begun to spread.

“They say that once a patient hears cancer, they shut down and don’t really hear much else,” Seng said. “That part is true. I don’t remember much. I remem-ber asking what would give

me the best chance of survival, and my doctor answered a mastectomy. There was no question; that was the route I was going to take”

After telling her hus-band and her two daugh-

ters, Seng underwent a mastectomy at Western Baptist Hospital. She re-covered, and began to get back to her routine when in 2008, a mammogram on her remaining breast showed an abnormality.

“My husband is a doctor, I am a nurse,” Seng said. “I have seen people live through this. My doctors began talking about more

tests, another biopsy, and I just stopped him and asked him to remove the breast. I didn’t want to live my life in fear that the can-cer would come back.”

After her second mas-tectomy, Seng was virtu-ally worry-free. She began teaching again, and got back into her routine. She retooled her lecture to give her nursing students a bet-ter understanding of some of the emotions women go through when they have breast cancer. She partici-pates in Fulton’s Relay for Life.

Last week, at 55, Seng had her fi rst meeting at Vanderbuilt Hospital. With her children older and her schedule a little more free, she is looking into breast reconstruction surgery.

“I wanted to go through this process as positively as I could,” Seng said. “In the end, it was about sur-vival, and giving myself the best chance to get through this.”

Teaching from experienceNursing instructor adapts lessons

after battling breast cancerBY CORIANNE [email protected]

“It wasn’t that they were wrong. It was just that there are so many small things they don’t tell you in nursing school or in text books. After

going through it, my lectures became much more personal, much more emotional.”

Victoria SengNursing instructor, University of Tennessee at Martin, and

cancer survivor

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The option of admin-istering chemotherapy before a lumpectomy or mastectomy both solves and creates a challenge for breast cancer patients.

For some with breast cancer, undergoing chemo before surgery can shrink

the tumor enough to avoid a mas-tectomy and al-low the patient to keep a normal looking breast,

said Dr. Mark Kelley, an experienced breast sur-geon at Vanderbilt Uni-versity Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

He said studies have shown the survival rates for breast cancer patients don’t change signifi cantly depending on whether chemo is given before surgery.

But some patients will respond well to chemo-therapy before surgery, and it will shrink the tu-mor that must be removed.

The challenge it cre-ates is more responsibility for the patient who must decide on their own what treatments may be best for them, Kelley said.

“In most cases in medicine and with cancer, you come to your doctor and you need ‘Treatment X’ because it’s the best and most effective option,” Kelley said.

“With breast cancer it’s different. We have many approaches and strate-gies. Those options are equally effective at curing the tumor but they all have relative advantages and disadvantages.”

“We’ll tell you all the good and bad points and you decide what you want to do. That’s very hard for some patients and under-standably so.”

Kelley said taking time with treatment decisions after diagnosis is key.

“That seems counterin-tuitive. Once you’re diag-nosed, (patients) feel the need to do something right away,” Kelley said.

“Take a deep breath and take some time to gather information and make an informed decision.”

Kelley said seeking sec-ond and third opinions will help build a consensus for decisions.

The American Cancer Society identifi es other factors to consider before starting chemotherapy that would apply regardless of its timing to surgery.

Just some of the issues the ACS recommends people consider while taking che-motherapy drugs are to:

■ Check with your doc-tor or nurse before taking vitamins or supplements. A medical professional can tell you if it’s OK to continue taking those with chemotherapy.

■ Inquire about alcohol intake. Small amounts of beer or wine may help you relax and help you feel hungry. But alcohol can also cause problems with some chemo medicines.

■ Learn as much as you can. If you exhaust cancer.org, or other helpful web-sites such as komen.org, you can call the ACS any time and any day at 1-800-227-2345.

Chemotherapy options before and after surgeryPre-surgery chemo can help avoid mastectomy


Contributed by Vanderbilt University

A station where patients receive chemotherapy drugs at the new Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Green Hills facility in Nashville, Tenn.

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During her radiation treatments for breast cancer, Keena Miller was always tired. Even just get-ting out of bed some days was hard.

“The fatigue, I can’t even describe it,” Miller said. “It was numbing. It com-pletely overtook me on the bad days.”

Miller, an exercise physiologist with Murray-Calloway County, had been working out regularly before she was diagnosed, but had to cut back and even eliminate workouts when she was undergoing treatment. Although she had never targeted her rehab expertise towards cancer patients, she is now working with Exercise in Cancer Recover, a program that helps cancer patients with workouts during and after treatment.

“Exercise is important because it helps people, not just physically, but mentally as well,” Miller said. “At the very least, people need some light stretching just to make sure their bodies don’t clench up.”

Most physical therapists emphasize that light exer-cise keeps cancer patients healthy and maintains fl exibility. While their may be some limitations, light walks or light weightlifting can benefi t an individual patient greatly.

“You don’t have to do these extensive, intense workouts,” Tony Bohan-non, a physical therapist with Western Baptist Hospital, said “Just get-ting up and doing things around the house is even enough. Walking the stairs a couple times or walking around the block helps.

It’s just good to get up and around.”

Both Bohannon and Miller recommend yoga for their patients, which

allows mild workouts with stretching involved. Most patients can not do exces-sive workouts due to treat-ment, but yoga provides

aerobic exercise and re-laxation at the same time. Miller says working out, even at home, changed her entire perspective on the

rehabilitation process.“You may be tired,”

Miller said. “There are those days. But you have to take advantage of the

good days. Whenever you feel right, just getting a small amount of exer-cise will help on so many fronts.”


Corianne Egan | The Sun

Although exercise does have to be cleared by a doctor first, light workouts with low weights and cardio generally help keep joints functional.

Exercise is essential for breast cancer patientsBY CORIANNE [email protected]

Chemotherapy is one of the best weapons the medi-cal community has against cancer. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most feared therapies. It’s aggres-sive in nature, attacking cells — both healthy and cancerous — in an effort to wrestle cancer into sub-mission.

Up until a few years ago, chemotherapy and radiation were the only effective treatments for cancer patients. That was until a new group of drugs, targeted therapies, hit the FDA-approved market. Unlike chemotherapy, which kills nearly every growing cell in the body, targeted therapies concen-trate on specifi c receptors of a cell that are causing the cancer to grow.

“Breast cancer is caused by different mutations in the cell,” Dr. Julie Means

of Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. “The medica-tions that are coming out now really help us focus in on each individual’s cancer and treat them based on their mutations.”

The newest batch of breast cancer therapies in-clude medicines like Her-ceptin and Avastin. These medications send antibod-ies to specifi c parts of the cell to control growth.

Along with the newly released targeted thera-pies, there are also other therapies on the horizon. Means is especially excited about an experimental medication called TMD1, which combines the antibody that focuses on a specifi c part of the cell with chemotherapy. TMD1 is in clinical trials.

One of the main ben-efi ts to targeted therapies is that they don’t have the negative symptoms associated with chemo-

therapy. While there are still fl u-like symptoms associated with the drugs, in most cases they don’t cause hair loss or extreme nausea.

Vanderbilt, one of the country’s leading hospitals in cancer research, also works with the My Can-cer Genome project. The online module allows doc-tors around the country input specifi c information about individual patient’s disease and comes up with information and treatment recommendations.

“My Cancer Genome gives doctors another tool to personalize therapy,” Means said. “And the fact that it focuses on each person’s unique mutation gives us a leg up.”

The program also shows what medications are rec-ommended to work with each person’s illness, as well as what medications are in clinical trials.

New therapies show fewer side effects, better results

BY CORIANNE [email protected]

Contributed photo

Targeted therapies, medicines that serve as antibiotics that go solely to a cells mu-tation, are the newest cancer treatments available.

•

• Learn about risk factors

• Get screened

• Support the American Cancer Society


As a mammogram technician at Murray-Calloway County Hospital, Cathy Seay has been diligent in making sure she got her yearly mammogram. She had only missed one, and the very next check-up she learned about calcifi cations in her breasts.

“I was moving, and the entire year seemed to pass by so quickly,” Seay said. “Then I am there and there is an abnormal-ity on the mammogram. It may have just been chance, but it was the one year I didn’t go.”

The calcifi cations were re-moved, and tests on them showed that they were cancer-

ous. Seay immediately under-went radiation therapy, but after a few months they found another section of cancer in her other breast. She had a double mastec-tomy and has been cancer-free

ever since.Seay was 37 when she went

through her breast cancer ordeal in 1999. Now, as a mammogram technician, she takes a lot of pride in her work and relates

well with her patients.“There are women who

dread having it done,” Seay said. “But it is so important. I know that, and I see a bunch of women each and every year who fi nd out how important it is as well.”

Seay estimates that she sees anywhere from 10 to 15 people a day, and also does work with the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program. Reach to Recovery pairs cancer patients with survivors to help them get through treatment.

“I let them know what to ex-pect,” Seay said. “We talk about everything from therapies to talking with their family. It really helps them to be aware that they

aren’t alone.”Through her work with

Reach to Recovery, along with her interactions with her own

patients, Seay has learned one thing: surviving is all

about having the right mind-set. Although she sees patients who are scared or concerned, she fi nds the ones who have a posi-tive outlook always seem to heal better.

“I have personally seen women who are angry or bitter and take those feelings with them,” Seay said. “Those women sometimes have complications or setbacks. The best thing to do is to just know, in your heart, that you are going to get through this.”

Contributed photo

Cathy Seay, mammogram technician at Murray-Calloway County Hospital, stands in her office. Seay found her breast cancer through her yearly mammography and advocates yearly checkups for all of her patients.

Survivor helps women through work, recovery programsBY CORIANNE [email protected] “There are women who dread having it

done. But it is so important. I know that, and I see a bunch of women each and

every year who find out how important it is as well.”

Cathy SeaySurvivor

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The Pink Glove Dance, a YouTube phenomenon launched in Oregon two years ago for breast cancer

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to help spread the word about breast cancer aware-ness and early detection.

The video is posted on http://pinkglove.co/5,

along with videos from other participants. Viewers can vote on their favorite simply by clicking “like” next to the video.

Western Baptist is ask-ing people to “like” their video because the top three vote-getters in the nation will receive a donation, up

to $10,000, in their name to the breast cancer charity of their choice. Winners will be announced Oct. 28 on pinkglovedance.com.

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In last year’s Think Pink! edition, Kandice Birney, Stacy’s co-worker at Ferguson Enterprises in Paducah, was featured for battling breast cancer fi rst diagnosed in 2009.

The idea was to revisit Birney’s story, and cel-ebrate her continued clean bill of health with sup-port from her family and friends.

It was Stacy being sup-portive and encouraging in ‘09 and ‘10 for Birney, who had given birth to a daughter just three months before her diagnosis.

In the last year, the roles reversed.

“We could share certain thoughts and concerns that you can’t always share with other people,” Birney said. “It’s your friends and fam-ily who get you through.”

Stacy said she prob-ably dealt with the news better than any of her family. “I really enjoyed not having any hair this time,” Stacy said.

The 15 years be-tween diagnoses gave Stacy a front-row seat to how medicines, procedures and attitudes involved with breast caner have changed.

She said her husband, Larry, knew more about the disease and was more supportive than scared this time. Stacy said more awareness and education about what women experi-ence, and more effective medicines, helped her cope more easily.

Stacy’s second road to recovery wasn’t always smooth.

She developed a blood clot in her left leg that

delayed surgery, and was fi rst diagnosed as an infection.

After a hospital stay, doctors discovered and treated the blood clot allowing Stacy’s

breast cancer treatment to continue.

Stacy and Birney are back to work, and thankful for it. But their stories re-

mind us that breast cancer, even when gone from CT scans, never really leaves.

“You’ve always got it in the back of your mind,” Birney said.

And that motivates them both to constantly remind women to get regular check-ups and mammo-grams.

“You just have to have those (mammograms) every year,” Stacy said.

SURVIVORS: Young woman provides support

CONTINUED FROM 1


Neshia Stacy’s beads tell her story of battling breast cancer for 16 years. Stacy was stunned a year ago when breast cancer returned after her first diagnosis in 1995.

When the word “cancer” comes to mind, treatments associated with it are usu-ally chemotherapy and radiation. While those two are still the most widely used forms of therapy for cancer patients, supple-mental treatments and complementary therapies are becoming more popu-lar among breast cancer patients.

Acupuncture, which uses small needles to promote general well-being, is also used as a supplement to cancer treatments. Dr. Barbara Mikicki, who works out of Integrative Medicine and Acupuncture in Reidland, says that the treatments relieve stress, which is a huge plus for patients with cancer.

“Stress relief really is a key in any treatment,” Mikicki said.

“When you have a dis-ease, stress just furthers its effects.”

Scientifi cally, acu-puncture is also shown to increase white blood cells, which help cancer patients in fi ghting the disease. There have also been instances of acu-puncture relieving the side effects of chemo and radiation.

“The nausea and the vomiting basically go away,” Mikicki said. “The increased white blood cells also make it so that your body can recover from chemo faster, which will allow you to get more treatments. It’s really benefi cial on multiple fronts.”

The National Cancer Institute also recommends

mind-body methods as supplemental treatments for any type of cancer. The idea is that once people changes their mental atti-tude, their bodies will heal better.

“Your natural reaction is to be upset,” Kathe Aydlotte, a cancer survi-vor, said. “But you get it in your mind to beat the

disease, and things really take a drastic turn. I was more positive, and also turned to prayer, and I felt comforted.”

Prayer is also looked at as an alternative method of treatment.

Some survivors are put on prayer lists through-out their treatment, while others work with

their pastor or members of their church on using their religious beliefs to heal.

“People don’t realize how truly mental their experience is,” Connie Watkins, of the Christian Science Reading Room, said.

“It’s really about your state of mind.”

Contributed photo

Acupuncture not only helps relieve stress, but has clinically been proven to raise the white blood cell count in a person’s body. Higher white blood cell counts can help a patient fight cancer, but can also help the body recover quicker from chemotherapy.

BY CORIANNE [email protected]

Holistic healing gains popularity in cancer treatment

“Your natural reaction is to be upset. But you get it in your mind to beat the disease, and things really

take a drastic turn. I was more positive, and also turned to prayer,

and I felt comforted.”

Kathe AydlotteCancer survivor

f

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A long time ago, breast cancer surgery meant the removal of either part or all of a breast, with sepa-rate reconstruction to go “back to normal.” Now, a new surgery technique that is gaining popularity has provided women with a one-stop experience, allowing one surgery to both eliminate cancer and reconstruct the breast.

Oncoplastic surgery combines surgery for breast cancer with plastic surgery. Doctors are able to reassemble the breast after they remove growths or calcifi cations. The popularity of oncoplastic surgery has drastically lowered the number of total mastectomies done in the United States.

Accredited doctors work with plastic surgeons and study techniques. The result is a surgeon who is able to remove cancerous areas of the breast, and rearrange tissue or recon-struct a breast in the same operation. As a result,

patients don’t have to undergo multiple surger-ies, and can reduce their recovery time.

“There are so many benefi ts,” said Dr. David Koelsch, chief of sur-gery at Murray-Calloway County Hospital. “Patients don’t

have to take as much time off of work, and there are less complications overall.”

The cosmetic benefi ts alone leave women with even, and mostly normal breasts. Surgeons are trained in preserving the nipple, as well as tissue rearrangement. An added perk to oncoplastic surgery is that patients have less scarring. Koelsh says that because doctors are trained in plastic surgery techniques, they are able to operate on breasts using minimal incisions.

“Most of the time, women are more happy with their breasts after the surgery than they are before,” Koelsch said. “We are trained to remove deformities.”

The procedure also al-lows women the comfort of only having to deal with one doctor, instead of multiple surgical teams. Koelsch says that although not all doctors are certi-fi ed to perform oncoplastic

surgery, he has seen the number of accredited doc-tors rise within the past fi ve years.

Along with oncoplastic surgery, doctors have also begun to investigate new surgeries on the lymph nodes.

Although the procedure is extremely new and has had some complications, removal of the sentinel lymph node, a lymph node that is closest to the breast and is all together less invasive.

Removing the sentinel lymph node, which is sta-tistically the most likely to have cancer, could bypass the need to remove ten or more lymph nodes. With such a small section of the lymph nodes removes, it cuts down the risk of lymphodema and other complications.

Koelsh says that the procedure may not be right for every patient he sees, but research shows that it could be another less invasive surgery that grows in popularity over the next few years.

New surgeries combine techniquesBY CORIANNE [email protected]

Koelsh

Too many women who have endured mastectomies have also en-dured lymphedema without getting help, according to Jadranko Franjic, physical therapist.

Franjic works at the Vanderbilt Lymphedema Therapy Clinic in Nashville, Tenn.

He said lymphedema is most com-mon among patients who experience trauma to their lymphatic system, such as cancer patients undergoing lymphatic node dissection or radia-tion therapy.

The removal of lymph nodes, which in part fi lter the body’s fl uids, means that the fl uid just beneath the skin doesn’t travel as it should, Franjic said.

Fluid retention, particularly in the arms and hands for breast cancer patients, can cause severe swelling, pain, skin ulcerations and impaired mobility.

“I do not like to scare people with the information that this is a life-long condition,” Franjic said. “This is

treatable and not everyone who has (a mastectomy) will get it.”

Franjic said between 20 and 25 percent of women who have part of their lymphatic system removed develop the condition.

Physical therapy exercises, com-pression sleeves and bandages along with limited strenuous activity can all combat lymphedema symptoms, Franjic said.

“It is most crucial to recognize the problem and talk with a physician to be educated about all aspects of the care,” Franjic said.

He said most physicians and on-cologists are better educated about the condition and work closely with physical therapists.

Many hospitals and medical cen-ters have grown to include a special-ized clinic for lymphedema therapy like the one at Vanderbilt.

Randy Spergin was recently named director of rehabilitation services at Murray-Calloway County Hospital. He said trained therapists special-izing in lymphedema work at the hospital’s new Exercise and Cancer Recovery program.

“Once you have lymphedema you’re always going to have it, but you can control it,” Spergin said. “Exercising is part of it. There are also types of messages and bandag-ing that can help.”

Keena Miller is an exercise physi-ologist at MCCH. “With lymphede-ma, there are two really key aspects

of it — catching it early and making sure you are informed,” Miller said.

“In this area, awareness is pretty well taken care of. Doctors tell their patients, the organizations around here have a ton of information, but the earlier we detect it, the easier treatment is.”

Tony Bohannon, a physical thera-pist at Western Baptist Hospital, said knowing more about the risks is key.

“What people don’t realize is that lymphedema can come back at any time, even after recovery,” Bohan-non said. “There is always a risk to develop it. Knowing what you are dealing with and what the warning signs are is important.”

Lymphedema is a lifelong, but treatable, conditionPhysical therapy can help ease swelling and discomfort


“In this area, awareness is pretty

well taken care of. Doctors tell

their patients, the organizations around here have a ton of

information, but the earlier we detect it, the easier treatment is.”

Keena MillerExercise physiologist at Murray-

Calloway County Hospital

Breast CancerResourcesMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

■ American Cancer So-ciety: cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer

Breast cancer overview, detailed guide, treatment decision tool, news, re-search and prevention. In-cludes local office locator.

■ Breastcancer.org: breastcancer.org/commu-nity

Discussion boards, blog, chat rooms, ask-the-expert online confer-ences, email updates, booklets, recom-mended reading and links, medical expense tax deduction information.

■ Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion (CDC) Breast Cancer and Mammogra-phy Information: apps.nccd.cdc.gov/cancer-contacts/nbccedp/contacts.asp

Includes locator link to places where you can get free or low-cost mammograms or Pap smears. 888-842-6355. Email [email protected].

■ FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Em-powered): facingourrisk.org

For women at risk of developing heredi-tary breast and/or ovarian cancer, informa-tion about finding medical and financial assistance and how to manage and live with hereditary risk factors. 866-824-RISK. Email [email protected].

■ HealingWell.com: healingwell.com/breastcancer

Breast cancer resource center includes message forums, chat rooms, e-mail, books, videos, newsletters, news, informa-tion and a resource directory.

■ KidsHealth for Kids Breast Cancer Infor-mation: kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/condi-tions/breast — cancer.html

Breast cancer information described in language that kids can comprehend.

■ National Cancer Institute: cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

Treatment, prevention, causes, clinical trials, cancer literature, research, screen-ing and testing. 800-4-CANCER. LiveHelp online chat available.

■ Susan G. Komen for the Cure: komen.org

Comprehensive information and links to your local affiliate office, including commu-nity-based education and screening and treatment programs.

■ Free housecleaning for those with breast cancer: cleaningforareason.org

This nationwide nonprofit coordinates free maid service for women who are undergo-ing treatment. Call 877-337-3348.

“There are so many benefits (to oncoplastic

surgery). Patients don’t

have to take as much time off of work, and

there are less complications

overall.”

Dr. David KoelschChief of surgery at Murray-Calloway County Hospital

So Much to Smile AboutSo Much to Smile AboutDr. William Walden, Dr. Scott Bridges

2 7 0 . 4 4 4 . 6 4 1 4www.paducahdental.com

TREAT YOURSELF TO SOMETHING SPECIAL!

Let us treat all women during breast cancer awareness month to an exam and tray teeth whitening

at a special price of $50.

“Oh My friend, its not what they take away from you that counts- its what you do, with what you have left”

-Hubert Humphrey

451 Jordan Drive, Suite B • 408-1286Behind Kentucky Oaks Mall & Cinemark Theaters

Our gift to You as you continue to Think Pink!!Think Pink!!

Buy One Exclusive Design Breast Cancer T-Shirt (at regular price $18.95)

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Whether you’re a breast cancer survivor, a caregiver, or just interested in learning more, commemorate National

Mammography Day at this special event.

11:30 A.M. TO 1 P.M.

Friday, Oct. 21Baptist Heart Center AuditoriumLunch provided; seating limited.Phone (270) 575-2895 to register.

SpeakersPeter Locken, M.D., and Jeffrey Triplett, M.D.

Radiation Oncologists, Western Baptist Hospital“The Medical Perspective”

Victoria Seng, Ph. D., R.N.Nursing professor from Fulton, Ky.

“The Patient’s View”

Betty Brown, R.T.R.Supervisor, Baptist Imaging Center

“The Mammogram Experience”

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