Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2009 - Intl. - (Page 8)

NOT ALL BREAST CENTERS ARE THE SAME Whether you’re facing treatment for breast cancer or getting a second opinion, ask the right questions when choosing where to go. Breast cancer experts at Johns Hopkins recommend that you: • Find out how many breast cancer surgeries the facility does annually, not including breast biopsies. A single surgeon should do a minimum of 100 a year. • Ask whether the facility is using digital or analog imaging. Seventy- ve percent of U.S. centers use analog, but digital imaging is nearly 30 percent more accurate. • Make sure there are breast reconstructive surgeons who are performing the latest microvascular ap procedures. • Ask if there are dedicated breast pathologists. Only a handful of centers have experts who are speci cally focused on breast cancer. These are important questions to ask. National studies show that breast cancer survival rates are signi cantly higher when patients are treated by specialists at experienced, high-volume centers. Among her first thoughts was of her own mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1980. While a 23-year-old Hamill was touring, her mother was having a radical mastectomy and undergoing chemotherapy. “ at was difficult,” she says. “My mom kept very quiet about her breast cancer. It was different back then.” en there was Hamill’s own daughter, who had just started college when Hamill was diagnosed. Although she didn’t want to burden her daughter, Hamill also didn’t want to keep her in the dark, as her own mother was compelled to do at first. “So much goes through your head. So many emotions and fears,” she says. “But I felt like I wanted to be open about this, with my daughter and all women who might face breast cancer.” First, she had to get past the shock of her diagnosis. answers to questions I hadn’t even thought of asking.” Answers for questions like: What are the side effects of chemotherapy and tamoxifen? What is Herceptin therapy and what are the risks? How can you participate in clinical trials? What are margins in relation to breast cancer? How long is it until you’re considered cancer-free? Breast Cancer Experts What Next? Because of her family history, Hamill had been vigilant about having mammograms for years. Yet, even when an ultrasound revealed something unusual, she didn’t think the worst. When the breast biopsy came back showing breast cancer, her world changed. “I suddenly felt like I needed to become an expert on breast cancer, and do it very quickly,” she recalls. At the insistence of family members, Hamill came to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion. at’s when everything shifted into high gear. “It was an altogether different experience,” she says. “I felt like I had more eyes and ears than I knew what to do with, and they had For Hamill and breast cancer patients who find their way to Johns Hopkins, help and support come in the figures of leading medical and surgical oncologists and other dedicated breast cancer specialists. “We live and breathe our specialty,” says breast surgeon Theodore Tsangaris, M.D. “But we never forget we’re here to care for people.” Along with Tsangaris, another of those specialists is Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S., administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center, whose own breast cancer experience inspires her patients. “Lillie was an angel from heaven,” Hamill says. “She’s your best friend, your biggest comfort, someone who gives you her undivided attention.” Shockney says her role is to make sure every breast cancer patient feels as if Johns Hopkins is extended family. “We’re here to navigate and advocate,” she says, “but also to empower.” Hamill had two surgeries—first a lumpectomy, then removal of additional nodes— followed by radiation treatment. “Our goal is breast conservation,” Tsangaris says, “and we do that in about 90 percent of cases.” And, though not the course of DID YOU KNOW ? | Johns Hopkins is the only hospital in the U.S. to offer immediate, on-site readings of screening mammograms. Most centers call you in a few days or send a postcard, notes breast specialist Lillie Shockney. “Doing this goes a long way toward reducing fear and anxiety,” she says, “plus patients can pursue treatment faster.” Watch Dorothy Hamill talk about her personal breast cancer story at hopkins medicine.org/ mystory. 8 | johns hopkins health fall 2009 +1-443-287-6080 | jhintl.org http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/mystory http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/mystory http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/mystory http://www.jhintl.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2009 - Intl.

Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2009 Intl.
Contents
Avoiding Accidents
Abusing the System
Personal Best
Second Chance
Ode to Joints

Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2009 - Intl.

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