Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, October 26, 2022/Page 4A
Stye Ahumtce
Meadows Unveils Comprehensive Breast Cancer Treatment Program
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
October is National
Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, and it is the oppor
tune time for Memorial
Health Meadows Hospi
tal in Vidalia to unveil its
comprehensive breast can
cer treatment program.
“We are very excited
to provide our commu
nity and patients access to
a comprehensive array of
breast cancer services and
specialists who can screen,
diagnose, treat and pro
vide survivorship support.
It’s a one-stop program for
our patients; thus, keeping
care closer to home,” said
Meadows CEO Matt Has-
brouck.
“As we think about
the multiple health care
encounters throughout a
cancer patient’s treatment
plan, there is a significant
burden placed on patients
and families. Our objective
is to minimize this burden
by bringing the care to
the patient; thus, reduc
ing travel times outside
our community and frag
mentation of care between
various providers. We are
coming together as a mul
tidisciplinary team to pro
vide high-quality and com
passionate breast cancer
care all under one roof.”
Breast cancer is the
number 2 cancer diag
nosed in the six-county
region served by Meadows
— and it is on the rise.
At the forefront of
Meadows’ Breast Can
cer Program is Samantha
Walker, Director of Can
cer Services, and Tracey
Kennedy, Director of Im
aging Services. Working
alongside them is an army
of skilled practitioners,
from radiologists, oncolo
gists and surgeons, to a
fellowship-trained plastic
surgeon who specializes in
breast reconstruction. Also
on the team are breast im
aging technologists, nurses
specifically trained in the
field of breast cancer treat
ment, and support coun
selors, among others.
Walker explained,
“Previously, women may
have been screened locally,
gone out of town for sur
gery, and come back here
for post-operative care.
Early on, we had identi
fied that there were some
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Photo by Deborah Clark
BREAST CANCER CARE TEAM — Gathered outside the Meadows Hospital Cancer Treat
ment Center with CEO Matt Hasbrouck, left, are part of fhe feam fhaf will be providing
breast cancer treatment support, from left, Dr. Kendrix Evans, Dr. Sam Featherston, Dr,
Kurt Hofmann, Samanfha Walker, Dr, Anna Franklin, Dr. Susanna Meredith, Tracey Ken
nedy, and Dr. Henry Ferland.
disconnects for patients
between diagnosis, sur
gery, and follow-up care.
We needed to look at how
we could take care of these
patients locally through
out their treatment. What
could we do to close the
gap?
With the services pro
vided through the Breast
Cancer Treatment Pro
gram at the Tommy and
Shirley Strickland Cancer
Center, the patient’s well
being — both psycho
logical and physical — is
foremost throughout the
treatment process from
screening and diagnosis,
to intervention and col
laboration with the surgi
cal team, and throughout
follow-up. “The mission
is keeping patients here,
giving them excellent care
at every touch point, and
helping their caregivers to
maintain as normal a life as
possible. We are looking at
the global picture for the
patient and the commu
nity,” Walker said.
For Kennedy, working
with breast cancer patients
is a mission driven by per
sonal experience. “Breast
cancer has had a big impact
on my life. I am a third gen
eration cancer survivor.
My grandmother had can
cer when she was 68, my
mother had breast cancer
at age 60, and I had breast
cancer when I was 38. In
September I celebrated my
ninth year cancer free.”
Kennedy said that at
the time her cancer was
discovered, Meadows did
not offer a comprehensive
treatment program. “I did
not have an option. I had
to go elsewhere for surgery
and I had to wait seven
days for my biopsy results.”
She added, “When
we started talking about
building this program, it
hit me. This would be so
awesome to knowyou start
with screening and stay in
one place with people who
take great care of you.” She
said that Meadows focuses
on the details, such as pro
viding robes for patients
who come in for screening.
“We try to make our pa
tients feel as comfortable
as possible.”
With three-dimen
sional mammogram equip
ment that makes cancer
detection much easier, and
a radiologist who is also a
breast cancer specialist,
Meadows offers services
not usually available in a
facility of its size. Kennedy
emphasized, “A lot of plac
es read mammograms, but
don’t have a breast special
ist. And, we have stream
lined the diagnosis process
so the patient recieves the
report much faster.”
Dr. Anna Franklin,
the radiologist and breast
cancer specialist to whom
Kennedy referred, sang
the praises of the 3D mam
mography equipment. “I
think about it like a CT
scan that images the breast
at each level. The equip
ment provides recon
structed images using ar-
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tificial intelligence which
helps us not to overcall or
under call (in a diagnosis).
This is especially helpful
with patients who have
dense breasts. Also, we can
find subtle cancer earlier.”
Additionally, the 3D
equipment has rounded
edges, so it is more com
fortable for patients and
even allows the patient to
control compression.
General surgeon Dr.
Kurt Hofmann said breast
cancer surgery has come a
long way since his grand
mother was diagnosed in
the 1950s. “I am pretty
certain that when she was
diagnosed her tumor was
the size of a grapefruit be
cause no one talked about
breast cancer then. When
First Lady Betty Ford an
nounced she had breast
cancer, that really revo
lutionized screening and
treatment. When the size
of the tumor goes down
the cure rate goes up,” Hof
mann said. “There was a
90% mortality rate with
breast cancer in the 1950s
and 1960s. Now, there is a
90% cure rate.”
In the last 20 years,
breast cancer treatment
has been continuously re
fined. Meadows General
Surgeon Dr. Kendrix Evans
noted, “We’re screening
earlier and more efficient
ly, thus there is a higher in
cidence of cancer; but the
mortality rate has actually
dropped as the manage
ment is much better.”
Furthermore, the em
phasis is on breast conser
vation rather than mastec
tomies, where the entire
breast is removed, said
Dr. Henry Ferland, a gen
eral surgeon at Meadows.
“When breast cancer was
being treated in the past
that was the only option.
Now, we can treat breast
cancer fully without a
complete mastectomy de
pending on pathology, im
aging, and on the person.
With breast conservation,
scars are minimized and
there are shorter recovery
times.”
The path to beating
breast cancer starts with
a mammogram. If abnor
malities are found, a di
agnostic mammogram or
breast ultrasound might be
ordered; then, Dr. Frank
lin, and an ordering physi
cian, decide if a biopsy is
needed, and possibly sur-
gery.
Often, women put off
taking that first step and
having a mammogram
done, said Obstetrician/
Gynecologist Susanna
Meredith. “It’s not their
top priority. They are busy
taking care of everyone
else and put themselves on
the back burner.”
In Vidalia and the re
gion it serves, taking that
first step is easy. “It doesn’t
require a doctor’s order
or an appointment for a
mammogram. Just walk
into Meadows Hospital
and tell them you want a
mammogram and who you
want the test sent to,” Mer
edith said.
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Energy
Assistance
Program
(Federally funded and administered by Georgia
Division of Family & Children Services)
To schedule an appointment, Toombs county
residents may call
(912) 788-5151 or go to: www.myactionpact.org
& click on “Schedule My Energy Assistance Appointment’
Only households where all adult members are 65 or older or all adult members are
medically homebound may apply beginning November 1, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. All
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Funds are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Eligibility
for this program is determined by the income of all adults living in the household
(see chart below).
Total Annual Household Income
Must be at or Below:
Required Documentation
# of People in
Household
One Person
Two People
Three People
Four People
Five People
Six People
Seven People
Eight People
Total Annual
Household
Income
$28,058
$36,690
$45,324
$53,957
$62,591
$71,224
$72,842
$74,461
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Verification of all household income
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Most recent home heating and
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*ln households with nine or more persons, add
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