■ Cancer Update
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Holy Name Medical Center , Patricia Lynch Cancer Center By Lynette Mendoza , D . O ., Breast Surgical Oncologist
A radiology technician examines a mammography test .
her hair . When her younger sister was diagnosed just after her 50th birthday and faced six-plus weeks of radiation , the patient was able to impart everything she learned during treatment , providing a good example of how to stay strong and focused . As for herself , the patient has chosen not to grow out her hair since treatment . She keeps it short because , as she explains , she is a changed woman and isn ’ t going back to who she was before .
Hackensack Meridian Health , Hackensack University Medical Center By Tara M . Balija , M . D ., Director , Breast C . A . R . E . Program , John Theurer Cancer Center ; Attending Surgeon , Division of Breast Surgery ; and Assistant Professor of Surgery , Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine
When Doris Barnhill , 67 , was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer , our team of physicians at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center recommended chemotherapy , surgery and radiation . Doris began chemotherapy in November 2019 . She was set to have her last treatment on April 15 , 2020 , but on April 10 , Doris woke up with chills . A test showed she had COVID‐19 . Doris needed to have a mastectomy within six weeks of her last chemotherapy treatment , so her procedure was scheduled for May 29 . But because Doris was still testing positive for COVID‐19 , my surgical team took extra precautions and performed the operation in a special negative-pressure operating room . To protect Doris , her care team and other patients , she went home the same day . A nurse came to her home to care for her wound . By late June , Doris began radiation therapy , which lasted through the end of August . Today , Doris is back to living her life — and her entire breast cancer care team is proud to have been able to safely provide the treatment she needed during the pandemic .
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My patient , Debbie Schroeder Craddock , was 47 years old when she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer during a routine checkup and mammogram . Because the tumor was small , and it was discovered before it had spread outside the breast , she underwent a lumpectomy to remove it , followed by radiation therapy to destroy any residual cancer cells . She is now taking antiestrogen hormonal therapy to complete her treatment and is doing well , two years after surgery . Oncoloplastic breast surgery is changing the way many procedures are performed to remove larger tumors and leave the breast as natural in appearance as possible after surgery . For patients who opt for reconstruction following a mastectomy , temporary implants called expanders allow for other cancer treatments — such as radiation therapy — to be completed before a permanent implant is placed . Our medical oncologists are using innovative targeted therapies that stop cancer growth pathways by attacking certain types of tumors . These chemotherapy agents have been shown to decrease a patient ’ s chance of recurrence by up to 50 percent and / or improve disease-free survival . A technique called genetic sequencing helps the treatment team tailor specific therapy for a patient to help them decide whether she would benefit from a clinical trial .
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A woman receives radiation therapy for breast cancer . 24 COMMERCE www . commercemagnj . com