Supporting the Valley’s Tetons ♥ Teton Valley News - October 14, 2010 - Page C1
Part Two treatment
Page C2 - October 14, 2010 - Teton Valley News ♥ Supporting the Valley’s Tetons
Take control of your Breast Cancer risk and diagnosis St. John’s Oncology Department offers information on: Screening & Education
s #ERTIlED "REAST #ANCER .AVIGATOR IS AVAILABLE TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH YOUR TREATMENT PLAN s !MERICAN #ANCER 3OCIETY GUIDELINES FOR -AMMOGRAPHY s #OMMUNITY (EALTH )NFORMATION #() #ENTER s #ERTIlED 'ENETIC #OUNSELING
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October is breast cancer awareness month. Call 739-7531 to schedule your annual mammogram.
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Supporting the Valley’s Tetons ♥ Teton Valley News - October 14, 2010 - Page C3
Cancer statistics: are you aware? significance for me until I began to see my own numbers. Did you know In When I was the United States, 22 my dad died breast cancer is the of lymphoma. most common nonSeeing him sick and skin cancer and the suffering was one second leading cause of the most difficult of cancer-related things I’ve been death in women? through, but from An estimated 39,840 that experience I women in the United gained a greater States will die from understanding of breast cancer this how difficult it year. That number is can be on those far too many. Here suffering and on at the Teton Valley loved ones close News we want to do Scott Anderson to the person with our part to educate cancer. I gained a the community about better appreciation breast cancer and the importance of for treatment facilities, as I watched early detection. the employees work so diligently to I’m fortunate that neither I, help my father. I was thankful for the nor a close family member, have new technology that was available, been diagnosed with breast cancer. that helped his quality of life during The nationwide statistics had little
Scott Anderson Publisher
his last few months. It also made me aware of my personal cancer statistics. See chart on right. My statistics show cancer is part of my life. What are your statistics? We all have our numbers, and we all want and can see them improve. It’s encouraging to know that regular cancer screening tests increase the chances that if you do develop breast cancer it will be found early when it’s most treatable. Idaho has one of the lowest mammogram usage rates in the United States. We need to do our part to raise awareness. Who knows how many lives we can save by encouraging our loved ones to have regular screenings. That is why the Teton Valley News and Broulim’s have teamed up to help spread the word about cancer awareness. I encourage all of us to do our part and go into Broulim’s to make a donation; every dollar will help fight breast cancer.
My Statistics Females in my home: 3 Sisters: 4 Siblings diagnosed with cancer: 1 Number of people I personally know who were diagnosed with breast cancer: 7 Percentage of breast cancer victims who are male: 1 percent Percentage of grandparents to die of cancer: 25 percent Percentage of parents to die of cancer: 50 percent
St. John’s can help you navigate through diagnosis and treatment Judy Bayse RN, OCN, CBCN October is breast cancer awareness month. I encourage all of you to have your physical exams and mammograms. The earlier breast cancer is diagnosed the better the prognosis. Today, breast cancer is often curable and even when it is not; women (and let’s not forget men) often live many years — even double-digit years. We like to look at cancer as a chronic disease these days — much like diabetes. If a cure is not a possibility then our goal is to keep it in control. Quality of life is very important to all of us. So it is with breast cancer patients. Although breast cancer patients may require chemotherapy, and possibly radiation initially, it is often possible to keep the cancer under control for many years by simply
taking hormone in the oncology receptors — such department in Jackson, as tamoxifen or which we believe will aromatase inhibitors. help all our cancer The side effects patients. The purpose of these oral of this program is to medications are assist patients from usually easier the time of diagnosis to tolerate than through treatment chemotherapy. and continuing on Cancer treatment into survivorship. This has come a long way includes helping to over the past several decide where you want years. There are to have surgery, where many medications you want to be treated and other treatments and helping to make that help reduce those arrangements Judy Bayse the dreaded nausea. — be it in Jackson, Salt We encourage Lake or somewhere our patients to be else. The purpose is as active as possible and to live as to help you make a plan that will normal a life as possible. work for you and to support you St. John’s Medical Center has during this difficult time as much started a nurse navigator program as possible. We are very fortunate
Don’t forget to donate
to the Susan G. Komen Foundation when you visit Broulim’s throughout the month of October.
to have, at St. John’s, nationally certified oncology nurses as well as a nurse practitioner who has her PhD in oncology. Dr. John Ward comes to Jackson twice a month from the Huntsman Cancer Institute and is available to the oncology program 24/7. Our oncology staff also includes a geneticist who comes to Jackson from the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which is a great service to our patients whose breast cancer may be related to an inherited gene. There are several integrative treatments available which are a benefit to our patients — such as massage, biofeedback and acupuncture. Our goal is to help you as much as possible and to make this time as smooth as possible. We are of the belief that our patients are very special people and deserve the very best care. If you have any questions please call (307) 739-6195.
Page C4 - October 14, 2010 - Teton Valley News ♥ Supporting the Valley’s Tetons
Lessons for parents and children:
Beth Nolan-Vontz shares her story cancer. HER2 cancer is also less responsive than other types to local voices hormone therapy treatment. Beth’s lump was over 2 Lisa Nyren centimeters in diameter, and TVN Staff she found it in between annual mammogram checkups. She was 41. When Beth Nolan-Vontz was One of the first thoughts she had diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after learning of her cancer was “Oh in January of 2007, her kids were 1my gosh, am I going to see my kids and 3-years-old. graduate high school?” A strong believer in breast But Beth forged on with feeding, Beth had waited an entire treatment in Rexburg and had a year to get the lump she felt in her lumpectomy as well as 17 lymph breast checked because she knew her nodes removed. She also underwent doctor would tell her to stop breast chemotherapy. During all this, feeding her infant if it was cancer and however, Beth only missed two days she needed treatment. of work at High Peaks Physical A year later she went to the Therapy in Driggs. doctor and was diagnosed with a “If you sit around and don’t work, combination of intraductal and you worry,” she said. glandular breast cancer that was Beth didn’t have time to worry. HER2 positive. HER2 breast cancer Instead, she focused on her kids and tests positive for a protein called ensuring that they understood but the human epidermal growth factor didn’t become frightened by her receptor, which promotes the growth cancer and its treatment. of cancer cells. It can be an aggressive Her advice to newly diagnosed parents is to “turn it into a lesson for the kids.” Anticipating its hair loss side effect, Beth cut her hair short before chemo treatment, and her 1-year-old had a difficult time with that, she said. Later on, after starting treatment, Beth and her husband, Ed, were looking at condos to buy. While she Photo courtesy Beth Vontz was standing in Beth Vontz, left, with her daughter Devyn, son Xander and the kitchen of a husband Ed after her chemo treatment. condo talking to a
Photo courtesy Beth Vontz
A family photo of the Vontz family shortly after Beth Vontz’s chemotherapy treatment. From left to right: Ed, Devyn, Beth, Xander
real estate agent, Beth’s Beth urges others S daughter (in her arms) newly diagnosed to began pulling out clumps research their options. o of her hair and throwing it Visit the oncology onto the floor. departments and take L Although a little in the atmosphere there a n embarrassing, it didn’t before deciding on a a If you sit hurt, Beth said, and she facility, she said. went home and began to “You spend 5-7 around and R shave her head, but got a hours hooked up to a don’t work, better idea. machine there.” p you worry. Beth leaned over the Beth also encourages t sink and invited her kids others to review their i Beth Nolan-Vontz, to pull out her hair. insurance coverage. She r breast cancer survivor “You’ve got to turn actually switched to a it into [something] fun, better policy after being i especially with kids,” she diagnosed. said. Most importantly, however, is Neither one of her kids reacted being around friends and family who badly to Beth’s bald head after that. are supportive, no matter what. One of the most important things “You just have to have positive about cancer treatment for Beth was people around,” she said. that she felt good about where she If you would like to share your story of was going to receive her treatment. how you or someone you know has dealt “You’ve got to be comfortable,” with breast cancer, contact Lisa Nyren at she said. editor@tetonvalleynews.net.
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Supporting the Valley’s Tetons ♥ Teton Valley News - October 14, 2010 - Page C5
Cancer treatment options Lisa Nyren TVN Staff Cancer treatment depends on several factors. Different types of cancer respond to certain types of treatment. How advanced the cancer is when it is found is also a factor. A patient’s health and personal feelings about treatment are considered as well. According to the American Cancer Society, there are five main types of cancer treatment. They are: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapies and complimentary and alternative therapies.
Surgery This is an option if the cancer is localized or is mostly contained, according to the ACS. Lumpectomies are procedures where cancer masses are removed. Lymphadenectomies are when lymph nodes are removed, a procedure that commonly accompanies lumpectomies.
Radiation therapy According to the ACS, more than half of the people diagnosed with cancer undergo radiation treatment. The radiation targets a specific area and inhibits cancer cell growth. There are two types of radiation treatments: external and seed implants. External radiation is just like it sounds and is an outpatient procedure. It is generally given
several days in a row for a period of several weeks, depending on the severity of the cancer and doctors’ recommendations. Brachytherapy (seed implants) is a procedure where containers of radiation are implanted near the tumor. This surgical procedure requires a patient to be put under anesthesia. The seeds can be permanent or temporary. The permanent seeds are left inside the body. The temporary seeds, as their name indicates, must be removed after a given period of time. Brachytherapy offers a higher dose in a shorter amount of time than external radiation. The seeds are typically used for prostate, head, uterine and cervical cancers, according to the ACS. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is probably the most wellknown form of cancer treatment. It usually involves injecting a cocktail of drugs into a patient. The chemicals kill cancer cells, help stop cancer growth and inhibit the cancer from spreading. This treatment is administered in cycles, with an intense round of chemo followed by a few days of rest. Biological therapies Biological therapy is a form of treatment that works to strengthen your immune system and control side effects of other cancer treatments. Unlike chemotherapy that attacks cancer cells, biological therapy helps the immune system fight
Cancer treatments range from surgery to drugs to alternative therapies and beyond.
File photos
cancer. Biological therapy treatment types and dosages may vary depending on the individual. Common names for certain biological therapies include monocytes, lymphocytes, B cells, T cells and natural killer cells. Cancer vaccines are also a form of biological therapy. These vaccines are given after cancer is discovered. Some patients receive biological treatment along with chemo and/or radiation, and others receive strictly biological therapy. Complementary and alternative therapy Complementary treatments are not necessarily used to cure cancer, but to enhance a cancer patient’s quality of life. They serve to reduce stress and relieve pain or nausea, for example. Common complimentary therapies include meditation, acupuncture and massage. Alternative treatments are sometimes used in lieu of traditional treatment methods. They include the use of herbs, vitamins and special diets. While most oncologists won’t pressure a patient into receiving traditional therapies, chemotherapy and radiation are the most effective ways known to treat cancer, according to the ACS. For more information on cancer treatment visit cancer.org.
To contact Lisa Nyren e-mail editor@tetonvalleynews.net.
Bayse leads St. John’s oncology department with drive, compassion Lisa Nyren TVN Staff Registered Nurse Judy Bayse recently became an oncology certified nurse (OCN). This means Bayse is nationally qualified to counsel and help cancer patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. But Bayse has had a passion for helping patients all her life. She was a driving force behind St. John’s decision to add an oncology department to its medical center years ago, and she continues to lead efforts to educate Jackson and the surrounding community about cancer and St. John’s’ programs. “It’s just a way to help people
TVN Photo/Lisa Nyren
St. John’s Medical Center has a collection of wigs to offer oncology patients.
through the system,” Everyday life Bayse said of her new changes can aid responsibilities as an cancer treatment OCN. and overall Shortly after a wellbeing. patient is diagnosed, “Exercise, eat he or she sees Bayse. healthy and don’t If you know She gives them smoke,” Bayse someone who educational materials said. has cancer, about their specific There are treat them type of cancer and four main things helps make future that a cancer like a normal appointments with patient needs person. Just oncologists and from friends and be a friend. surgeons. She can family members, also get them in Bayse said. They Judy Bayse, touch with others are: support, a St. John’s oncology nurse going through similar strong faith (in battles with cancer. God or anything “Emotionally, it else), a positive really does help,” she said. attitude and a sense of humor. It After decades as a nurse, is important to remember that Bayse has seen cancer treatment cancer patients prefer not to be improve to the point that a handled with kid gloves. cancer diagnosis is no longer a “If you know someone who “death sentence.” has cancer, treat them like a “It’s more like a chronic normal person,” Bayse said. illness,” she said. And the worst “Just be a friend.” part for patients is generally the See related article on page C3. unknown. For more information about Bayse But Bayse maintains a and St. John’s Medical Center’s positive attitude that radiates TVN Photo/Lisa Nyren oncology department visit throughout the oncology tetonhospital.org. treatment room at St. John’s. A chemotherapy chair at St. John’s Medical Center. “We have a good time in Patients sit in these chairs for up to eight hours at a time to To contact Lisa Nyren e-mail receive chemo treatment. here,” she said. “We laugh.” editor@tetonvalleynews.net.
Page C6 - October 14, 2010 - Teton Valley News ♥ Supporting the Valley’s Tetons
Breast cancer breakthrough
An iron-regulating protein may just spare women from the fate of intense treatment Danielle Cadet Content That Works Features Breast cancer patients may be able to avoid invasive and toxic treatments thanks to a new study, published in the online version of the journal, “Science Translational Medicine”. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) found that low levels of ferroportin, the only known protein to eliminate iron from cells, are associated with the most aggressive and recurring cancers. The findings suggests that testing for ferroportin levels in women with breast cancer may one day help doctors to more accurately predict the likelihood of the cancer’s return, helping some women avoid treatments such as chemotherapy. “Ferroportin expression may help predict whether women who have had breast cancer will relapse or not,” said Frank
M. Torti, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at WFUBMC, and senior author on the paper and co-lead investigator for the study. Torti added that the results suggest that levels of ferroportin may eventually help guide therapy for breast cancer patients. Drawing on the hypothesis that iron may be altered in breast cancer and that the alteration might be important in the behavior of the cancer, researchers first found a significant reduction of ferroportin in cancerous cells compared to that of normal breast cells. After artificially restoring ferroportin to near normal levels in an aggressive breast cancer cell line, they noticed that these cells grew more slowly than the tumors formed by cells with depleted levels of protein. According to Suzy V. Torti, Ph.D., an associate professor of
biochemistry at Wake Forest Baptist and co-lead investigator on the paper, the reason for these findings is simple. “In the case of cancer, the ability to remove iron from cells is reduced by the depleted ferroportin levels, and as a result, iron accumulates in cancer cells. Cancer cells require iron, which allows the tumor to grow faster and perhaps become more aggressive. Because ferroportin can remove iron from the cell, when we put the protein back into the cell, the ferroportin removed the cancer’s growth stimulus. Our findings suggest that ferroportin is a substantial influence on the behavior of the cancer,” she said. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, of the National Institutes of Health, funded the study. © CTW Features
A small step forward
Researchers make a groundbreaking discovery of a therapy that slows tumor growth Danielle Cadet Content That Works Features Breast cancer researchers may have made a major breakthrough by discovering a revolutionary therapy that slows tumor growth in advanced breast cancer patients. According to a report in the July 6 issue of the medical journal “The Lancet” a novel therapy designed to attack tumors in patients with a genetic mutation in tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 slowed tumor growth in 85 percent of women with advanced breast cancer. “This is the first time that we have been able to take the genetic reason a person has developed cancer and make it a target,” said study co-author Susan M. Domchek, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and director of the Cancer Risk Evaluation Program at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “Most of the time we look at what is going on in the tumor itself and then figure out how to target it. But in this situation, the women all had an inherited mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene and we could exploit that weakness in the tumor.” She added that this strategy might cause fewer side effects for patients. The new agent, called olaparib, inhibits a protein called poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Both PARP and the BRCA proteins are involved in DNA repair. Although cells seem to be able to do without on or the other, a tumor that lacks a BRCA gene and PARP puts pressure on the cells, causing them to die. “If you put too much stress on the cancer cell, it
can’t take it and it falls apart,” Domcheck said. Since the non-tumor cells in a patient with an inherited BRCA mutation still retain one normal copy of the gene, they are relatively unaffected by PARP inhibition. Domcheck said this is particularly important from the perspective of cancer treatment. Although the results look promising, there is
still more to be done. Domcheck said additional trials will be necessary before olaparib or other PARP inhibitors in development will be ready for use in regular practice. She urges patients to join in clinical trials in order to further the research efforts and determine how to best use these drugs. © CTW Features
www.tetonvalleynews.net
Supporting the Valley’s Tetons ♥ Teton Valley News - October 14, 2010 - Page C7
Thrice as troublesome
Triple-negative breast cancer impacts African Americans’ chances of successful treatment Taniesha Robinson Content That Works Features Women with African ancestry may find successful breast cancer treatment options more elusive than others, according to a new study. Research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. links African ancestry to triple-negative breast cancer, a type that has fewer treatment options. The study shows that among women with triple-negative breast cancer, 16 percent are white Americans, 26 percent are African Americans and 82 percent are African. Triple-negative breast cancer garners its name from its clinically negative response to three specific markers that are used to determine treatment: the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor and HER-2/neu. “The most significant recent advances in breast cancer treatment have involved targeting these three receptors,” said study author Lisa A. Newman, professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School and director of the university’s Breast Care Center. “But these treatments do not help women with triple-negative breast cancer. Outcome disparities are
therefore likely to increase, because fewer African-American women are candidates for these newer treatments.” Of the breast cancer patients studied, 1,008 were white, 581 were African American, and 75 were Ghanaian. Not only were Ghanaian women more likely to test negative for each of the three markers, their diagnoses involved more advanced cancers with larger tumors and at younger ages than American women. Prior studies have shown that African-American women are actually less likely than white women to develop breast cancer, but those diagnosed are usually younger and more likely to die from the disease. Other studies have correlated hereditary breast cancer with racialethnic identity. “African ancestry might be associated with other links to hereditary predisposition for particular patterns of breast cancer,” Newman said. “We hope that by studying breast cancer in African and AfricanAmerican women we can identify biomarkers that might be useful for assessing risk or treating triple-negative breast cancer.” © CTW Features
Teton Valley News & Broulim’s have teamed together for
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Go into Broulim’s during October to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Join
these people who have already donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Broulim’s and the Teton Valley News would like to thank all those who donated to Breast Cancer Awareness last week. Kaitlyn Conner for Susan Conner Bette Vereloust Whitney Waddell Kadin Waddell Alisha Horrocks Jaymy Calilna Jane Mackay Peter Mackay Kimberly Day And Others
Please go in today to make your donation!
Page C8 - October 14, 2010 - Teton Valley News ♥ Supporting the Valley’s Tetons