National Breast Cancer Awareness Month by Sequim Gazette

2 • Wednesday, October 7, 2009

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette

Table of Contents

What can you do? �� 3 Digital mammography, close to home �� 4 First Federal Community Dividend program ��5 OMC Digital Mammography ��6 The facts on breast biopsy ��7 Mad Hatters Tea ��8 How to perform a breast self-exam ��9 Allies in the fight against cancer �� 10 Treatment options �� 11

Early detection saves lives! Olympic View Publishing Co. LLC P.O. Box 1750, Sequim, WA 98382 Phone: (360) 683-3311 • FAX: (360) 683-6670 • e-mail: patc@sequimgazette.com

“National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Tab” is a special section of the Sequim Gazette and is dedicated to the memory of Sequim Gazette production manager Shawn Arrington. © 2009 by Olympic View Publishing Co. LLC. Publisher: Sue Ellen Riesau • General Manager: Steve Perry Circulation Manager: Bob Morris • Special Sections Editor: Patricia Morrison Coate Cover Design: Robert Morris • Page Design: Cathy Clark

Of personal interest By Julie Speelman Sequim Gazette Coordinating this special section celebrating the 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been part of my job. Speaking with businesses, organizations and individuals about breast cancer awareness has been my pleasure. Seeing this life-saving information reach women across the peninsula is my personal passion! My mother has been fighting cancer since her diagnosis in September 1992. Over the past 17 years, she has been through approximately 100 doctor appointments, 45 rounds of chemotherapy, 37 CT scans, 12 rounds of radiation, 10 surgeries, 2½ transfusions and one bone marrow harvesting. Our family has been by her side every step of the way which means we have met many doctors, nurses and seen many different facilities. In June 2008, my mother required a series of blood transfusions. Instead of getting in the car and driving to Bremerton or Seattle, we just drove down Fifth Avenue to Olympic Medical Center’s Thomas Family Cancer Center. We were not shown into a crowded room filled with beeping machines and a jungle of IV poles but instead to a private room with a door (not a curtain), extra chairs for me and my father, a laptop computer and television.

This was all very nice, but the biggest luxury this room provided was privacy. It is hard enough to keep your strength and dignity with all the procedures and side effects that come with cancer and its treatments, but to have to endure these procedures and treatments in front of a bustling room full of people is especially exhausting. This privacy helped to preserve my mother’s dignity, strength and connection to us by her side. The staff at the Thomas Family Cancer Center was outstanding. My mother was not Patient X in Room 4, she was “Alice.” The nursing staff treated her with respect and the dignity she had fought so hard to keep. When one of the treatments lasted longer than expected, several nurses stayed after business hours without complaint or hesitation to assist her. I want people who live here on the Olympic Peninsula to realize the quality of staff and facility available to them right here. Over 17 years, I have seen many hospitals, treatment centers and doctor’s offices and I can tell you first-hand that we are very fortunate to have the Thomas Family Cancer Center right here in Sequim. My hope is that this section will encourage women to pick up the phone and make an appointment for a mammogram. It could be the call that saves their lives!

Sequim Gazette

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 • 3

What can you do? By Julie Speelman Sequim Gazette Susan G.Komen is a name synonymous with breast cancer awareness, fundraising and research. At the age of 33, Komen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died three years later after enduring surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Her sister, Nancy G. Brinker, promised she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. She began Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1982 and today, it is the world’s largest grassroots network

of breast cancer activists and survivors. “We are pursuing funding f rom Komen for education and outreach,” said Tara Lock, director of Olympic Medical Cancer Center. “We send a letter of interest yearly and apply for a Komen grant when we are invited.” Passionate Pink for the Cure is a program through Susan G. Komen for the Cure. It is a fundraising program that inspires breast cancer advocacy while honoring those affected by the disease. Individuals, organizations, businesses or groups can register for Passionately Pink for the Cure for free. You simply set your goal, choose your event, build your team and send the donations. Ideas and materials are provided when you register. You will receive a toolkit including brochures, thankyou note cards, sample e-mails,

paycheck stuffers, a corporate matching gift form, a donation reply form and breast health information. To learn more or to register your team, visit http://ww5.komen.org and select “Passionately Pink for the Cure” under the “Get Involved” menu. The Olympic Medical Center Foundation offers ways to support local cancer patients and facilities. The seventh annual Harvest of Hope Winemaker’s Gala will be Saturday, Oct. 10, at the SunLand Golf and Country Club, presented by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The gala’s theme is “An Evening in Barcelona” and will include a four-course dinner, live auction and raffle drawings to benefit the patients of the Thomas Family Cancer Center at the Olympic Medical Center Sequim campus. In 2008, the fundraiser netted $105,000

FOUNDATION with the proceeds going to the cancer center. Other donor opportunities through Olympic Medical Center Foundation include personalized brick pavers, trees with donor recognition, benches or renovated room naming rights. Donations of cash, stocks, real estate or planned gifts can be directed to the department of your choice. For more information about the Harvest of Hope or other donor opportunities through Olympic Medical Center Foundation, call Sara Maloney at 417-7144 or visit the Web site at www.omhf.org.

4 • Wednesday, October 7, 2009

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette

Digital mammography, close to home Women make many excuses to avoid having a mammogram. • I did a self-exam. That should be good enough. • I have no family history of breast cancer. • I hear it’s painful. If you’re over 40, don’t let excuses stop you from getting this important annual screening. With the introduction of digital mammography at Olympic Medical Center, women have access to the fastest, most accurate defense in the fight against breast cancer. Routine mammograms, along with breast self-exams and clinical breast exams, are essential in the detection of lumps in breast tissue. Digital mammography is the most advanced form of breast screening and OMC is the only facility on the North Olympic Peninsula to offer this technology to patients. “Our goal is to provide the best information and services to help women prevent breast cancer,”says Deby King, director of diagnostic imaging at Olympic Medical. “Offering women digital mammography locally is key to achieving that goal.” Going digital Standard mammograms utilize X-ray machines, with film images that take time to develop. Digital mammography speeds the process with the use of computerized high-quality digital images of the breasts — available almost instantly — and eliminates the need for film. Digital mammograms produce high-resolution images much faster than traditional methods, allowing radiologists quickly to view images on a computer screen.

“The best gift a woman can give herself is to have an annual, high-quality mammogram. With the availability of digital mammography at Olympic Medical Center, women have access to the most advanced tool in the fight against cancer. There’s no reason to fear these screenings. They could save your life.” Connie Lehman, MD, PhD, board-certified radiologist and director of breast imaging for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

receive a mammogram once a year beginning at age 40 — earlier if she has a family history of the disease. “Olympic Medical Center’s compassionate mammography staff understands that every woman has a unique breast tissue density and a varying threshold for discomfort,” says King. “Every effort is made to communicate with patients during the exam to ensure the procedure is as comfortable as possible.” Special thanks to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Dr. Connie Lehman for their contributions to this article. For more information on the SCAA, visit www.seattlecca.org. To schedule your mammogram at Olympic Medical Center, call 565-9003. Courtesy of Olympic Medical Center’s Living Well magazine, Summer 2009

According to internationally renowned fall into a certain category,” says Lehman, board-certified radiologist Connie Lehman, who has led clinical trials at the National MD, PhD, director of breast imaging for the Cancer Institute. “Women who are under Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, physicians age 50, have very dense breasts or are precan change the contrast and adjust the or perimenopausal should receive digital brightness of a digital image or zoom in for mammograms as their breast tissue often is a closer examination of a specific area. In more difficult to read.” A gift to yourself addition, Lehman, also professor and chair of radiology at the University of Washington The Amer ic an Cancer S ociet y School of Medicine, states this advanced recommends every woman technology detects the tiniest tumors, leading to the most accurate early diagnosis and treatment available. Early detection is important because the earlier breast cancer is diagnosed and treated, the more likely treatment will be successful. Benefitting you Digital mammography provides: • Ability to create quality images of dense breast tissue • Sharper images in much faster time • Lower doses of radiation in each scan • Shorter time in compression, so many women feel less discomfort “Clinical trials support the fact Dr. Lilly Rezvani, a radiologist with Olympic Medical Center in Sequim, studies two digital mammography views from a screening that digital mammography is manager program. Not only does digital mammography provide better resolution for radiologists like Rezvani, the computer-aided Photo by Patricia Morrison Coate the best option for women who detection program also identifies questionalble areas on the mammogram.

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Sequim Gazette

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

In a calculated effort to lower the occurrence of advanced breast cancer in Clallam and Jefferson counties, First Federal awarded Olympic Medical Center $375,000 from the First Federal Community Dividend Program in May. “First Federal employees and its board recognize that having a healthy community means having accessible, state-of-the-art health care options,” said Rhonda Curry, assistant administrator of strategic marketing

and communications at Olympic Medical Center. OMC, in partnership with the Olympic Medical Center Foundation, will use the funds to execute a three-tier program to reduce the number of severe breast cancer cases on the Olympic Peninsula. “This gift is a generous contribution toward digital mammography and breast health screening and education,” Curry said. “Through a partnership with the OMC Foundation, we also can use a portion of the funds to provide free mammography screenings to women in our community who need them.” Each year, First Federal allocates money from its Community Dividend Fund to programs that benefit the community. These programs must support one of three areas: housing, economic development and/ or community development through capital projects. The total capital purchase of digital mammography

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for Olympic Medical Center is estimated at more than $1.12 million. “We are thrilled here at First Federal that we can make such a great impact on breast cancer by providing funding for this project,” said Kendra Waggoner, community development officer at First Federal. “When detected early — normally through a regularly scheduled mammogram — there is a 95-percent recovery rate from breast cancer,” Waggoner said. “Women who don’t receive mammograms run the risk of breast cancer being diagnosed at a point when there is only a 50-percent chance of recovery — and we know that only half of women over 40 in Clallam County are getting their annual mammograms.” “With this gift from the Community Dividend Program, our goal is to increase the percentage of women who get annual mammograms. The program exists not only to help support our community through housing and economic development, but through capital initiatives that provide our community with services it needs to stay healthy,” Waggoner said. For more information about First Federal’s Community Dividend Program, visit www.doinggoodfeelsgood.com. To learn more about Olympic Medical Center, visit www.olympicmedical.org.

6 • Wednesday, October 7, 2009

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette

Digital Mammography Olympic Medical Center has kicked off a program to work toward increasing the breast health and screening for Olympic Peninsula women through digital mammography. Kacey Eichacker, new program supervisor for women’s imaging services, will be instrumental in the development of the digital mammography program. Olympic Medical Center is committed to providing community members with the resources they need to care for their health. These resources include state-of-the-art health screening services, health and wellness education, and quality medical and surgical services when more acute care is needed. The significance of health care screenings cannot be stressed enough, particularly the importance of an annual mammogram for women who have reached their 40s. In 2009, Olympic Medical Center introduced the topic of digital mammography to the community — the latest technology in the fight against breast cancer. Designed to get results faster, digital mammography also reduces screening discomfort and provides clearer images for radiologists and physicians. Offered in Sequim and Port Angeles, digital mammography helps in early detection of breast cancer. “Digital mammography is quickly becoming the standard in breast imaging and is the best tool in early diagnosis, giving patients a much better chance of survival and leading a long, productive life,” said Kacey Eichacker, program supervisor of women’s imaging services. The American Cancer Society recommends every woman receive a mammogram once a year beginning at age 40 — or earlier if she has a family history of the disease. In tandem with monthly self-exams, a woman can decrease her risk of advanced-stage cancer significantly by receiving her annual mammogram. Breast cancer is highly treatable: If discovered in the early stages (Stage 1), there is a 95-percent chance of recovery.

Digital mammography is much better for dense breasts because it has better resolution and allows radiologists to see abnormalities while they are tiny. “The earlier we catch it,the more survivable it is,” said Tara Lock, the cancer center’s director. “To get digital mammography out here is phenomenal.” Olympic Medical Center has implemented a program to work toward reducing the number of severe breast cancer cases on the Olympic Peninsula through digital mammography and breast health and screening education, and in partnership with the Olympic Medical Center Foundation and First Federal, by providing free mammography screenings for those who meet certain criteria. Out of 20,000 women in Clallam County over the age of 40, only half are getting their annual mammograms. In 2007, 69 of 400 newly diagnosed cancer cases in Clallam County were breast cancer. Breast cancer is also the No. 1 cancer diagnosis on the Olympic Peninsula. “Women find many reasons to put off having an mammogram. With Selenia™, we will offer an extraordinary experience, reduced examination times and fast results, reducing patients’ anxiety.” said Eichacker. Olympic Medical Imaging Center’s partnership with Radia, a skilled radiologist group, allows for expert, 24-hour radiologist coverage of imaging technologies. Specially trained radiologists quickly review your images and provide reports to your physician within hours thanks to OMC’s Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) – a computerized system that allows your images to be viewed and your reports filed digitally. Olympic Medical Imaging Center offers a variety of technologies in Sequim and Port Angeles, including: • CT Scan • MRI • Digital Mammography

• Ultrasound • Nuclear Medicine • Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT) • General and Interventional Radiology • Bone Densitometry For more information on digital mammography and other diagnostic imaging services, please call 565-9003. Log on to www.olympicmedical.org for information on diagnostic imaging services, as well as cardiac services, cancer care, surgery and more.

Starting in late 2009, Olympic Medical Center is kicking off a program to work toward increasing the breast health and screening for Olympic Peninsula women through digital mammography. Kacey Eichacker, new program supervisor for women’s imaging services, will be instrumental in the development of the digital mammography program.

Sequim Gazette

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 • 7

The facts on breast biopsy

An example of a digital mammography machine.

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A breast biopsy is a procedure in which part or all of a suspicious breast growth is removed and examined to determine if cancer is present. Usually, a small amount of tissue is removed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Once removed, the sample is evaluated under a microscope to identify noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) tissue. According to Sandra Tatro, MD, a general surgeon on staff at Olympic Medical Center, your doctor may recommend a breast biopsy if: • An ultrasound scan reveals a possible tumor • You have an unusual discharge or skin changes

• You or your doctor feel a lump or thickening in your breast • Your mammogram reveals an abnormality “Self-examinations can alert you to any suspicious changes in your breast,” said Tatro. “Perform these checks once a month — perhaps when the telephone bill arrives or when the rent or mortgage is due — to ensure you remember. If you feel anything unusual, schedule an appointment with your physician immediately to have it examined.” Courtesy of Olympic Medical Center’s Living Well magazine, Summer 2009

8 • Wednesday, October 7, 2009

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette

Mad Hatters Tea By Julie Speelman Sequim Gazette

Over the past 12 years, the Mad Hatters Tea has become a local phenomenon. The tea began in 1998 when friends of Jan Chatfield wanted to show their support as she battled breast cancer for the second time. A luncheon originally was planned at Patti Hudson’s home but with so many women wanting to attend, the venue was moved to the Pioneer Memorial Park clubhouse to accommodate 100 ladies. Everyone was asked to wear a hat, which is where the event earned its name. Much of the excitement is in seeing the women’s boundless millinery creativity. Nine months later Chatfield died but not before seeing the start of something that would bring hope, strength and encouragement to more than a thousand local women. This year, The Mad Hatters Tea again will bring together more than 200 women to support friends and family fighting breast cancer in a celebration of life!

The Oct. 9 event will include speaker and long-term survivor Kathy Wheeler, singer Shirley Smith-Moore and Liane McGar vie, OMC patient relations manager.Money raised from this event goes to the Olympic Medical Center Foundation f or patient services and medical equipment and to Family Planning of Clallam County to provide mammograms to women who could not afford one otherwise. The Mad Hatters will present a check of at least $1,000 to each organization From the left, Anne Thomas, Kathy Dallmeyer, Dale Simon, Dorothy Plenert and JoAnn Augdahl, best hat winners at the 2008 Mad Hatters Tea, gathered in support of raising awareness about breast cancer. File photo this year. An event this size would not be possible balloons — and what would the Mad $30 each. The tea is open to the public without generous donations and community Hatters’ Tea be without tea? Thanks to but space is limited. Each year invitations support. Sequim Community Church Sequim Safeway and Sandy’s Kitchen are sent to the previous year’s participants donates the use of its Fellowship Center and Shop for providing the tea. and others who have requested to be on Henery’s Garden Center provides beautiful The Mad Hatters Tea will be from the mailing list. For more information, flowers. Phillip’s Hallmark employees noon-2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at the call Gail Savage at 683-6161. arrive early to inflate dozens of donated Sequim Community Church. Tickets are

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How to perform a breast self-exam Beginning in their 20s, women should be told about the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam (BSE). Women should know how their breasts normally look and feel and report any new breast changes to a health professional as soon as they are found. Finding a breast change does not necessarily mean there is a cancer. A woman can notice changes by being aware of how her breasts normally look and feel and by feeling her breasts for changes (breast awareness), or by choosing to use a step-by-step approach (see below) and using a specific schedule to examine her breasts. If you choose to do BSE, the following information is a step-by-step approach for the exam. The best time for a woman to examine her breasts is when the breasts are not tender or swollen. Women who examine their breasts should have their technique reviewed during their periodic health exams by their health care professional. Women with breast implants can do BSE. It may be helpful to have the surgeon help identify the edges of the implant so that you know what you are feeling. There is some thought that the implants push out the breast tissue and actually may make it easier to examine. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding also can choose to examine their breasts regularly. It is acceptable for women to choose not to do BSE or to do BSE once in a while. Women who choose not to do BSE still should be aware of the normal look and feel of their breasts and report any changes to their doctor right away. How to examine your breasts • Lie down and place your right arm behind your head. The

exam is done while lying down, not standing up. This is because when lying down the breast tissue spreads evenly over the chest wall and is as thin as possible, making it much easier to feel all the breast tissue. • Use the finger pads of the three middle fingers on your left hand to feel for lumps in the right breast. Use overlapping dimesized circular motions of the finger pads to feel the breast tissue. • Use three different levels of pressure to feel all the breast tissue. Light pressure is needed to feel the tissue closest to the skin; medium pressure to feel a little deeper; and firm pressure to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs. A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal. If you’re not sure how hard to press, talk with your doctor or nurse. Use each pressure level to feel the breast tissue before moving on to the next spot. • Move around the breast in an up and down pattern starting at an imaginary line drawn straight down your side from the underarm and moving across the breast to the middle of the sternum or breastbone. Be sure to check the entire breast area going down until you feel only ribs and up to the neck or collar bone. There is some evidence to suggest that the up-and-down pattern (sometimes called the vertical pattern) is the most effective pattern for covering the entire breast, without missing any breast tissue. • Repeat the exam on your left breast, using the finger pads of the right hand. • While standing in front of a mirror with your hands pressing firmly down on your hips, look at your breasts for any changes of size, shape, contour, or dimpling, or redness or scaliness of the

nipple or breast skin. • Examine each underarm while sitting up or standing and with your arm only slightly raised so you easily can feel in this area. Raising your arm straight up tightens the tissue in this area and makes it harder to examine. This procedure for doing breast self exam is different than in previous recommendations. These changes represent an extensive review of the medical literature and input from an expert advisor y group. There is evidence that this position (lying down), area felt, pattern of coverage of the breast and use of different amounts of pressure increase a woman’s ability to find abnormal areas. Courtesy of the American Cancer Society

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National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette

Allies in the fight against cancer

The struggle to eliminate cancer takes a team. Finding a cure for all types of cancer requires a concerted effort by physicians, researchers and patients — precisely the type of relationship that exists between the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and Olympic Medical Cancer Center. As the SCCA’s first community-based cancer care provider affiliate, OMCC offers patients the best available treatment, including world-class cancer resources and expertise.

Getting to know the SCCA The SCCA consists of three renowned parent institutions — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medicine and Seattle Children’s — that partner to support clinical research of cancer, as well as improve cancer therapy treatments available to the public. “What makes the SCCA unique is that it’s primarily a cancer research hospital,” says Cec Zapata, MS, director of planning and network relations for the SCCA. “We conduct research in the entire spectrum of cancer and several physicians and clinicians at our parent institutions hold high awards in the field of cancer research, including three Nobel laureates.” Olympic Medical Cancer Center patients have access through SCCA to the top medical professionals in the field. Plans are in place to have a proton therapy center available at the SCCA within the next three years, the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. “One of our goals is to be the primary institution in leading the effort to detect and prevent cancer,” Zapata says. “This is the first step toward the overall cure of cancer, which is our vision for the future.”

“Our relationships with community medical centers like Olympic Medical Cancer Center are very important because the SCCA’s mission of curing cancer can’t be accomplished without them. Everyone at Olympic Medical has shown their commitment to the residents of the Olympic Peninsula by providing the best in cancer treatment and partnering with the SCCA only enhances that work.” Cec Zapata, MS, director of planning and network relations for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

A lasting partnership A key component of the SCCA’s goal of enhancing cancer care in the region and beyond is the SCCA Network program, which involves forming relationships with community health care organizations and sharing expertise. “Olympic Medical was our charter member in 2002,” says Reza Macaraeg, SCCA network services manager and lead contact and coordinator for the Olympic Medical/SCCA affiliation. “We now have eight members throughout the Pacific Northwest. We see Olympic Medical as an ideal partner because its staff of talented professionals shares our passion for providing the most advanced cancer treatment options

to patients.” Olympic Medical Cancer Center houses leading-edge radiation therapy equipment — including a linear accelerator — and a cancer resource library, as well as an excellent team of physicians. “Olympic Medical Cancer Center allows for all cancer services to be available in one location, making treatment convenient for patients,” Macaraeg says. “If patients can receive care locally, then they should, and they can be confident that their community providers have access to world-class resources through the SCCA.” How patients benefit The past year has been an exciting time at

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Olympic Medical Cancer Center. “The facility has become very full service,” says Ben Greer, MD, professor at the University of Washington, medical director for the SCCA Network and director of gynecological oncology for the SCCA. “An infusion center opened on the Olympic Medical campus last year and the Olympic Medical Cancer Center is fully equipped to take care of almost all of the cancer needs of the community. The SCCA is proud to be a part of helping Olympic Medical provide cancer care on the Olympic Peninsula.” For one element of the partnership, the SCCA conducts continuing medical education forums and holds clinical cancer meetings on the peninsula. If a patient needs to visit the SCCA for consultation or treatment, the relationship with Olympic Medical makes it a seamless transition. Patients also have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials, thereby gaining access to innovative treatments and aiding the advance of medical knowledge. “Most of all, the SCCA is a resource for community hospitals like Olympic Medical,” Greer says. “If a physician sees something rare or unusual, we’re available as a resource. If a case requires a complicated piece of equipment, and it’s not cost effective to have that on hand, we’re a resource for that as well. Cancer patients on the Olympic Peninsula should feel very confident about the quality of care they receive close to home.” For more information about Olympic Medical Cancer Center and its affiliation with the SCCA, visit www.olympicmedical. org, select “Services” then “Cancer Care” or log on to www.seattlecca.org. Courtesy of Olympic Medical Center’s Living Well magazine, Winter 2009

As the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance works toward the goal of finding a cure for cancer, it adheres to four purposes: • Provide premier, patient-focused cancer care • Support the conduct of cancer clinical research and education • Enhance access to improved cancer interventions • Advance the standard of cancer care, regionally and beyond

Sequim Gazette

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 • 11

Treatment options By Patricia Morrison Coate Staff Writer Breast cancer and its treatments drain the body and the emotions of patients diagnosed with the disease. Even a short trip after radiation therapy or chemotherapy can be exhausting and a daylong trip to Seattle or Bremerton from the Olympic Peninsula arduous.To expand treatment facilities on the peninsula, Olympic Medical Center opened the Olympic Medical Cancer Center in Sequim in May 2003. In January 2007, medical oncologist Dr.Tom Kummet and staff began seeing patients in OMCC’s new medical oncology addition. In January 2 0 1 0 , D r. R e n a Zimmerman, radiation oncologist, a specialist in integrative medicine, will join the cancer center. What does a cancer diagnosis mean in 2009 on the Olympic KUMMET Peninsula? “When a patient has been diagnosed with breast cancer, usually she’s been referred to us by a surgeon or primary care physician,” said Tara Lock, cancer center director. “The referral says where to start — with a radiation or medical oncology consult,” based on diagnostic imaging, lab results and physician notes. “ We meet with the patient and talk about her options for treatment, side affects of treatment and longterm planning on how we’re going to attack LOCK

the cancer from the radiation and/or chemotherapy standpoints,” Lock said. “There are many types of surgery, radiation and drugs and we’re trying to make as many as possible available at OMCC,” Kummet said. “Medical oncologists (and radiation oncologists) help in determining how far the cancer has spread and which stage it’s in with X-ray studies as well as CT, PET and MRI scans,” he explained. These diagnostic tools and the expertise of the staff at OMCC are state-of-theart — faster, higher resolution digital mammography machines have been installed in the imaging departments to detect breast tumors much earlier. “Anytime you look at cancer patients, you need to know exactly which kind of cancer they have and how far it has spread,” Kummet advised. “For some types of cancer, the treatment always will be surgery, for some it will be radiation and for some drugs. The drugs can be standard chemotherapy drugs or immunotherapy drugs that affect the immune system in a way that inhibits cancers. Once we know the type and stage, we help select the treatment options that give the best chances for a cure. When a cure is not possible, we treat for the longest and best quality of life.” Every patient is different and every breast cancer is different. As patients are living longer with cancer and more are cured, oncologists and primary care physicians are vigilant allies in making sure breast cancer patients’ needs are addressed for other medical problems. “For many patients, primary care physicians can do a lot of follow-up and watch for problems their patients may have during (and after) cancer treatment,” Kummet said.

In the role of patient, Kay C. Hobbs, infusion supervisor, and Lynn Fosket, RN, infusion nurse, chat in one of Olympic Medical Cancer Center’s semi-private chemotherapy bays. Photo by Patricia Morrison Coate

From the initial referral, throughout treatment, the cancer center’s physicians also work with colleagues from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Lock said. “Our doctors attend tumor boards and collegially discuss select patient cases and their treatment. If our oncologists feel we can’t treat a patient, we refer her to SCCA.” Kummet said he thinks, beginning with their diagnosis, all breast cancer patients perceive it as a life-threatening illness and feel significant emotional and physical stress. “We really try to keep the atmosphere as comfortable as we can,” said Lock. “We want the feeling to be like home. As we get to know them more, they become our family. Everyone here is so invested in their care, professionally and emotionally. We feel their pain.” Malia Deloherty-Dart, OMCC’s patient navigator, starting Oct. 12, will help them sort out what their needs are and what community resources are available to meet

their needs, including financial assistance, advocating with insurance companies, lodging and transportation, respite housing and information on their type of breast cancer. She also facilitates support groups and manages the Look Good, Feel Better program that aims to help breast cancer patients with their body image after chemotherapy and the loss of hair that comes with it. Complementary services to include massage are planned for 2010. OMCC currently offers nutritional and lymphedema treatments to their patients. Patients who need extra emotional support are referred to counselors — and when the diagnosis is “incurable,” OMCC works with two hospices “to make sure that patients are focusing on their quality of life and are kept as comfortable as possible,” Kummet said.“Patients are very appreciative of all the help that they get. How can you not want to help somebody whose life is being threatened? It’s a very rewarding occupation.”

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12 â&#x20AC;˘ Wednesday, October 7, 2009

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009

Sequim Gazette