The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 10-27-2019 | Page 16

16 ❚ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2019 ❚ THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
PREVENTIVE ONCOLOGY
Most Women Who
Develop Breast Cancer
Are Not High Risk
Breast Cancer Awareness Promotes
Annual Screenings and Early Detection
By LESLIE PERLMUTTER
Special to Health Quarterly
O
ctober is Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, and alongside the spectacu-
lar fall foliage, there is a prolifera-
tion of pink ribbons, clothing and
accessories. Public awareness is important;
it has helped increase attention and sup-
port for the disease, which has, in turn, led
to early detection and medical advance-
ments to help prevent, treat, and perhaps
one day, cure breast cancer.
Dr. Gail Starr, chief of Breast Imaging
and medical director of the Betty Torricelli
Institute for Breast Care at Hackensack
University Medical Center, is emphatic
about the need for annual screening:
“Despite good data showing that since
1990, screening [mammography] has
helped reduce cancer deaths by nearly one
third, there are still many patients 40 and
older who don’t have an annual mammo-
gram. Many say they have no risk factors
for breast cancer and that nobody in their
family has breast cancer, so they don’t
believe they need the test. However, I want
patients to understand that 75 percent
(most) patients who develop breast cancer
have no risk factors, and no family history.
If we screened only those patients with risk
factors, we would miss three quarters of
the patients with breast cancer. The key
to survival is early detection. This also is
when patients will have the least invasive
treatment, and the most treatment options.
If breast cancer is diagnosed and treated
early, the 5-year survival is 90 percent —
that’s excellent!”
The Betty Torricelli Institute has Breast
Imaging Center of Excellence (BICOE)
accreditation because it provides access
to all modalities of breast imaging — mam-
mography, ultrasound, and MRI — as well
as biopsies guides by these modalities.
Furthermore, the Breast Center is part of
a larger radiology department which has
received DICOE (Diagnostic Imaging
Center of Excellence) accreditation, dem-
onstrating the highest standards through-
out the entire department.
All of the Center’s equipment is state-
of-the-art, including 3D mammography and
a 3D biopsy machine. 3D mammography
improves cancer detection, which means
a better prognosis, less aggressive treat-
ments and a better quality of life. It also
results in lower recall rates, which results
in fewer patients needing to return for
additional imaging, fewer additional images
needed, and less anxiety. The 3D biopsy
machine enables the physicians at the
Breast Care
Center to do
needle biopsies
on even the
most difficult
lesions, which
avoids surgery
for the major-
ity of patients
and results in
greater patient
satisfaction.
The Center
also employs a
HUMC Brevera biopsy
device and Savi
Dr. Gail Starr, chief
of Breast Imaging and scout localiza-
medical director of the tion procedures,
Betty Torricelli Institute both of which
improve results,
for Breast Care.
as well as
patient comfort and satisfaction.
Dr. Starr notes that another advantage
to the Center is that “we are part of a big-
ger Breast Program that includes Surgery,
Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and
Genetics so that our patients have easy
access to other service lines, as well as
support and advocacy groups, nutritionists,
exercise programs, lymphedema special-
ists, and creative art support for families, to
name a few. This larger group has weekly
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHILTON MEDICAL CENTER
Dr. Lisa Bash, medical director of the Breast Center at Chilton, says many women who
are at high risk for breast cancer don’t know it, nor know what the high risk factors are.
multidisciplinary meetings to discuss cases
and provide the best patient care.”
Dr. Lisa Bash, the medical director of the
Breast Center at Chilton Medical Center,
also emphasizes that the majority of
women who develop breast cancer are not
high risk; however, she notes that many
people are walking around at high risk and
have no idea.
“Some risk
factors are:
family history
of breast or
ovarian can-
cer; family or
personal his-
tory of genetic
defect that
could increase
likelihood of
cancer; dense
breast tissue;
RWJ BARNABAS
and obesity.
Those people Dr. Nancy Chan manages
at high risk
the care of breast cancer
could benefit patients at the Stacy
from supple-
Goldstein Breast Cancer
mental screen- Center.
ing, including
earlier tests, as well as additional tests
such as MRI or ultrasound.” Chilton offers
a High-Risk Breast Screening Program. The
recommendation is that doctors start dis-
cussing risk factors with younger women
and perform a formal risk assessment by
age 30. At Chilton, patients put their fam-
ily and personal history on an iPad. This
lets every woman know their lifetime risk.
If the risk is greater than 20 percent, the
patient is considered high risk, and they
enter a high-risk program, which encom-
passes both breast cancer surveillance
and prevention. Patients will have access
to repeat testing, a dietitian, social worker
and genetic counselor. “This program helps
patients learn about risk and helps guide
what they can do to decrease that risk and
add supplemental screening procedures.
When cancer is found early, patients do
really well.”
Chilton Hospital is also BICOE-certified
and takes great pride in its Second Opinion
Program. This unique service brings
together all of the specialists needed in one
convenient visit. Together, they can discuss
a diagnosis, review test results, address
questions and concerns and develop a per-
sonalized treatment plan.
Dr. Nancy Chan is a medical oncologist
who manages the care of breast cancer
patients at the Rutgers Cancer Institute’s
Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center. She
is also a member of the Institute’s Phase
1/Investigational Therapeutics Program,
which looks at Phase 1/early stage cancer
clinical trials and drug development, and
she is an attending physician at Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital New
Brunswick, an RWJ Barnabas Health
Facility. Dr. Chan explains, “The program
focuses on connecting scientists with clini-
cians to find treatment strategies that are
relevant to patient care. Patients are an
integral part of clinical care; they drive the
direction for research. The program acts
as a bridge; the scientists can then better
determine what is needed from a patient’s
perspective.” Dr. Chan notes that there is
See BREAST CANCER Page 18