Think Pink Wednesday, October 16, 2019 A Supplement to The Intelligencer And Wheeling News-Register
Triadelphia Students Help Make Warrior Quilts
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To kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Wheeling Hospital teamed up with Jim Robinson Ford-Lincoln Inc. to help Triadelphia Middle School students learn how they can support a loved one undergoing medical treatment. Diana Tucker, English teacher at Triadelphia Middle School, and Kyla Morris, nurse navigator at Wheeling Hospital, led the session at the school. Students also decorated patches of encouragement and support that will be used for Warrior Quilts through Neighborhood Ford Store’s Quilt for the Cure volunteer program. Pictured, from left, are Gabi Fisher; Tucker; Kerrigan Moses; Morris; Wyatt Fisher; Zariah Lewis; Robinson sales representative Mike DeArdo; and Josiah Renshaw-Pervall.
WVU Cancer Institute To Launch Moonshot Initiative MORGANTOWN —The WVU Cancer Institute will begin enrolling its first patients in a National Institute of Health Beau Biden Moonshot Initiative trial on Oct. 25 as part of a consortium of six U.S. health care systems with the goal of integrating the use of patient-reported outcomes into the routine practice of oncology. The aim of the SIMPRO (symptom management implementation of patient reported outcomes in oncology) Research Center is to assess how real-time feedback from patients can help providers improve symptom management and reduce the need for emergency department visits and hospital readmissions. The first phase of the trial will be open to patients who have undergone thoracic, gynecologic, or gastrointestinal surgery. The second phase, in early 2022, will focus on cancer patients who require a change of their chemotherapy regimen. “Here at the WVU Cancer Institute, we serve patients who not only live across our state, but beyond its borders,” said Dr. Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, breast surgical oncologist at the WVU Cancer Institute and co-principal investigator on the project. “These patients often have to drive hours to reach our facilities. This trial will allow us to learn how we can implement technology to help them man-
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Men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer will work with healthcare professionals as they begin and advance through treatment.
DR. HANNAH HAZARD-JENKINS age their symptoms and prevent complications during their recovery at home, possibly preventing the need for emergency room visits or hospital admissions.” Eligible patients will automatically be given access to an app called eSyM through MyWVUChart, WVU Medicine’s patient portal, and will receive a notification of their ability to participate. Patients will use eSyM to answer survey questions, which will be incorporated into their MyWVUChart account. Because eSyM will be housed within MyWVUChart, the pa-
JOHN MANKINS tient’s responses will be logged into Epic, the hospital’s electronic medical records system, where providers will be able to see the patient’s reported symptoms and react if necessary. Providers will be alerted through Epic if patients report severe symptoms. All WVU Medicine patients are given access to MyWVUChart and are encouraged to use it to send questions and concerns to their providers. Patients are also able to attach files or images to their own message. Please see MOONSHOT, Page 2
Working With Your Health Care Team Cancer is the second leading cause of death across the globe. According to the World Health Organization, cancer was responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. That statistic highlights just how serious a threat cancer can be. While cancer claims the lives of millions of people each year, a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. In fact, five-year survival rates for various cancers detected in their early stages are very high. For example, the organization Cancer Re-
search UK notes that more than nine in 10 bowel cancer patients will survive the disease for more than five years if it’s diagnosed at the earliest stage. Five-year survival rates are similarly high among patients diagnosed with early stage breast and ovarian cancer. Men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer will work with various healthcare professionals as they begin and advance through treatment. Please see PROS, Page 2