Experts stress better odds at Y cancer event
Improved treatments, higher survival rates mark progress
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Dr. Barry Levinson, medical director of the Trinitas cancer center, discusses breast cancer treatments with an audience at the Union Y.
Photo by Elaine Durbach
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October 22, 2009
Cancer experts shared positive news from the field at the YM-YWHA of Union County on Oct. 13, telling audience members that research has begun to focus on “survivorship” as more and more childhood cancer patients survive into adulthood and even achieve a normal life span.
For the predominantly Jewish audience, hearing that Ashkenazi Jews face higher odds of getting cancer than the general population, that “survivorship” was a particularly welcome angle.
Four speakers from the Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Care Center in Elizabeth took part in the dinner event, “Breast Health and You,” sponsored by Trinitas.
The crowd of about 70 — mostly women — heard about improvements in detection, including digital mammography and now MRIs. They laughed with appreciation when radiologist Dr. Leonard Resnikoff declared that every drug company and university is searching for a less painful mammogram.
Advanced practice nurse-educator Carol Blecher said that longer studies of women who had annual mammograms have shown that over a 25-year period, they showed a 30 percent lower rate of death from breast cancer. Longer life expectancy has shifted the focus to preventing a recurrence, dealing more effectively with long-term complications from treatment, health and quality-of-life issues, and enhancing community support and outreach.
Resnikoff stressed that “breast cancer is not a death sentence; it is usually treatable.”
He urged women to do self-exams and have regular mammograms — but also to remember that breast pain is rarely due to cancer, and most lumps are benign cysts.
“We’re making strides, but we’re still struggling,” said oncologist Dr. Barry Levinson, the Trinitas Cancer Center’s medical director.
In the 1960s, one in 14 women was expected to get cancer, compared to the one in eight figure now, but that might also be due to longer life expectancy. Treatment has become more effective and easier to handle, Levinson added. “Chemotherapy isn’t a breeze, but it has become manageable. We are finding more specific therapies and much less toxic ones.”
Also speaking at the event was breast health outreach coordinator Amparo Aguirre.
Trinitas cancer center to partner with Sharsheret
The presenters at the Oct. 13 Union Y event announced that the Trinitas cancer center will be partnering with Sharsheret, the New-Jersey-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young Jewish women dealing with breast and ovarian cancer.
Ariela Finkiel, director of program planning and development at the Trinitas center, said the shared educational and support events will most likely be held at the Union Y.
Audience member Jessica Savitt, an Orthodox mother of three in her mid-30s, said she has had tremendous help and support from Sharsheret; she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, had surgery in June, and is completing a course of chemotherapy. In addition to counseling, the Elizabeth resident said, the organization gave her children a gift pack of toys and books to help them understand their mother’s illness.
“Sharsheret has been unbelievable,” she said.
Savitt also lent a personal impact to the advice cited by the Trinitas experts — and by Sharsheret — that women do regular breast self-examination, so they know what is normal and what has changed.
The former nutritionist — who said that had it not been for her own vigilance, her illness might still not have been noticed — addressed some pointed questions to the medical practitioners who led the event. Speaking afterward, she made it clear that she intends to learn as much as possible about the disease, what causes it, and what the treatment options are.
“Once I’m done with my treatments, I want to speak to girls at high schools, to let them know the importance of being familiar with their own bodies and doing regular breast exams,” she said.
— ELAINE DURBACH
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