16 Spirit Fall 2020 Edition SUPPORT FOR THE JOURNEY GPH OFFERS RESOURCES FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS BY SUSAN SZUCH susan.szuch@nptelegraph.com
years ago with a similar stage ... if they’ve been doing well all along, that gives the patient the confidence to skip chemo. On why screening matters So when someone gets diagnosed with breast cancer, or any other cancer for that matter, for some it may feel like the world is coming to an end. Each case is different. That’s why we put so much emphasis on screening measures, so we can catch something early.
more patients are involved in those support groups than others. That would be the best way to start, because you can meet friends and make friends, share your experiences. So (survivors) don’t feel they’re alone in this battle. On how support groups can help patients If they meet someone who has gone through all this before, then they know what to expect: what their treatments might be, what the side effects can be, what the recovery from the surgery is like, what problems they encountered post-operatively, those kind of things. We do educate about all those, but coming from someone who has gone through all of this, that puts a whole lot of different perspective on it for the patient. They come to terms better, having someone to talk to who has gone through that. That makes much more of a difference than just us physicians telling them. For example, if they’re early- stage breast cancer (and) we tell them they probably don’t need extensive chemo, then it might not give them the confidence initially. Some people are afraid of getting chemo, but the majority of patients are actually afraid of skipping chemo because they worry the cancer might come back. ... For low risk or intermediate risk, we’ve been skipping chemo lately, and when we do that, patients do tend to get concerned, like “why are we skipping chemo for this stage?” But then when they talk to someone who was probably diagnosed like five
Screening is very important. If they have someone in their family with breast cancer, prostate cancer or pancreatic cancer, they do need to see a genetic counselor to see what their risk is. They will need screening at an earlier age compared to others. On treatments available at GPH
In 2018, breast cancer accounted for 19% of cancer diagnoses at Great Plains Health, according to the Callahan Cancer Center’s annual report for 2019. Dr. Avinash Pasam, a medical oncologist with GPH’s cancer center, spoke with The North Platte Telegraph about breast cancer. Responses have been edited or abridged for clarity.
We use chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormonal therapy.
Support services available through GPH
In addition to physicians, GPH has other staff members who can help patients through their cancer journeys: • A social worker can help patients with emotional and financial issues and provide access to community resources and care facilities. • A nutritionist can help patients ensure dietary needs are met, help them with menu planning and offer tips on food preparation. • Rehabilitation specialists can help patients regain mobility and integrate back into life. There are also tools that patients can utilize: • Patients who have hair loss from treatment can get a wig or turban from the wig bank at the Callahan Cancer Center. • The Callahan Cancer Center Library offers books, pamphlets and audiovisual media that cover diagnosis, treatment and coping skills as well as humor, relaxation and music therapy. • The Callahan Cancer Center also offers educational programming.
Dr. Avinash Pasam
On resources available for patients
As far as our hospital is concerned, we do have a good nurse navigator and support groups and staff that can provide more information for each individual person, just to them, instead of just broad information, which may or may not apply to everyone. Our nurse navigator is very good. She has been doing this for several years, and she usually hands out a booklet with all the information and highlights resources for that particular person. Breast cancer has a more robust support group just because of the volume that we see, and
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