Doctors make a difference in the lives of breast cancer patients

When women are first diagnosed with breast cancer, they quickly become overwhelmed because they feel a need to become experts about medicine, surgery, chemotherapy, reconstruction and all of the other things that come with breast cancer treatment. Because of this, a doctor?s responsibilities don?t stop at administering medicine and treatment.

?We do a lot of counseling and encouraging because it?s a big hit on a physical, psychology and emotional level,? said Dr. James Moore, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Athens Regional Medical Center. ?Sometimes they just need someone to listen to them.?

Dr. Ryan Katz, a general surgeon at ARMC who provides surgical care to patients with breast cancer and other types of cancer, various types of abdominal problems, trauma and other conditions, agrees that a doctor should be there to encourage and counsel patients.

?When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she can have feelings of uncertainty, fear and anxiety,? Katz said. ?One of the most important things I can do is take time to explain their breast cancer diagnosis and treatment options. In doing so, I believe I have an important role in comforting them through a very difficult time.?

There are various treatments for breast cancer, and surgery almost always is a cornerstone of any patient?s treatment plan.

?With early detection and timely care, breast cancer is treatable,? Katz said. ?I want to help my patients fight this disease and have long, healthy lives. It?s very important to me that my patients feel comforted. While patients are appreciative after a successful surgery, they are often just as appreciative when I am there to answer their questions and alleviate their concerns before and after surgery.?

But often, once the surgery and treatment are over, women who have had one or both breasts removed are left feeling unattractive and lost.

Before starting his new job as senior vice president and chief medical officer in April of this year, Moore was a plastic surgeon for 26 years. He said that about 62 percent of the work he did was reconstructive surgery for women with breast disease and breast cancer.

?It?s gratifying work,? Moore said. ?For many of these women, it closes the loop for them, because that mastectomy scar or the absence of that breast is a daily reminder of what they?ve had to go through. There are psychological studies that show that performing the reconstructive surgery helps to lessen that psychological trauma.?

Although Moore isn?t in the operating room anymore, working with breast cancer patients still is a large part of his career.

Moore acts as the physician member of the senior administrative team at ARMC and is the liaison between the hospital and practicing physicians. He is involved in a multidisciplinary breast cancer conference that meets twice a month at ARMC. The conference is a roundtable discussion where physicians talk directly to each other, instead of by fax or telephone, about cases. During the conference, a physician will present information about a patient, who remains anonymous ? their age, relevant family history, diagnosis and X-rays. After that, doctors discuss different regimens and trials that are going on, as well as what kind of surgery each patient?s cancer requires, what kind of chemotherapy they should receive and more.

?What comes out of that conference is a specific recommendation for the management of that specific patient with that particular type of tumor,? Moore said. ?We?re really trying to individualize the patient?s care.?

From the practitioner side, Moore said breast cancer was much easier to treat 20 years ago, because each woman got the same treatment. Today, the treatment that one woman receives will be vastly different than another woman?s treatment based on their age, tumor type, history and a whole host of other things.

?I think it?s the best educational endeavor we have at this institution. When patients find out we?re doing this, they love it,? Moore said.

In addition to the breast cancer conference, Moore also is on the committee working to get a designation as a cancer center from the American College of Surgeons.

?Receiving the designation as a cancer center will be a sign of the high standards ARMC has when it comes to treating breast cancer, and when patients walk in the door, they will be reassured that they are in the right place,? Moore said. ?In this new position, I?m hoping to raise the bar as far as the quality of care that Athens Regional provides and that we continue to follow the nationally defined best practices and do the most appropriate things for our patients and continue to improve.?

? Follow faith, health and Blueprint reporter April Burkhart at www.facebook.com/AprilBurkhartABH.

Source: http://onlineathens.com/health/2012-10-08/doctors-make-difference-lives-breast-cancer-paitents

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