Breast cancer treatments available close to home, including via new drug

Thursday, October 9, 2014

About one in eight U.S. women (12 percent) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. An estimated 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in U.S. women this year, along with 62,570 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

It is statistics like this that the Putnam County Hospital Cancer Center is hoping will raise awareness and remind not only women, but men as well, how important it is to get a yearly mammogram along with doing a self-check for breast cancer once a month.

Although, breast cancer incidence rates in the United States are still decreasing and have been since 2000, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women not only in the United States but all over the world.

"The top three cancers we see are breast, colon and lung. We've seen a little more melanomas in the past three years as well," Cancer Center Manager Rhonda McCammack said.

As a precaution, people are advised to begin self breast exams every month starting in their 20s and begin receiving yearly mammograms starting at the age of 35 or earlier if one has a family history of breast cancer.

"People should begin self breast exams at 20 years old," Putnam County Hospital mammogram technician Cindy Mason said. "It's a good habit to start to get into at least every other week in the shower and familiarize yourself with the way your body feels so you're aware of any changes."

For those around the age of 35, Mason, who has been performing mammograms for more than 20 years, urges one to begin receiving a yearly mammogram as a precaution.

"Breast cancer is not as common in your 20s (but still possible)," Mason explained. "I have definitely seen it in those who are in their 30s and it seems to be more aggressive for sure."

A mammogram itself is an X-ray of the breast that takes about five to 10 minutes to complete. The test includes a series of four X-ray machines with minimal pain from the compression of the breast between two plastic plates. The test uses very little radiation and is extremely accurate.

"A lot of people in their 30s don't pay attention to a lump as much as they should," Mason added. "They think, it's just a little cyst or it's going to go away. If you feel any kind of change in your breast tissue you should see your doctor immediately to set up a mammogram."

Both Mason and McCammack agree, mammograms are the best thing a person can do to help find breast cancer early due to the fact that digital mammography is able to find cancer cells up to two millimeters.

"A lot of times when people do feel things it's just been there for years and they haven't done anything," Mason previously told the Banner Graphic. "Sometimes it can be a cyst, but usually when it's at that stage they come in and I can see it, it's not really a good thing."

In the ongoing battle against breast cancer, the Putnam County Hospital recently introduced a new drug called Perjeta, which could significantly assist patients experiencing advanced breast cancer.

"We have a new drug for HER2 positive cancers, which is good. They used to be kind of bad cancers, but now that we have these new drugs it's really turned around and people do fairly well," Outreach Coordinator Sarah Barnes said. "This has been introduced here at Putnam County Hospital within the last couple months."

The new drug, which was approved by federal regulators for public use in 2012, showed promising results during clinical trails, which has led to health experts urging its use in patients facing one of the most dangerous forms of breast cancer that roughly one-quarter of all breast cancer patients are diagnosed with HER2.

Prior to Perjeta, common treatments of HER2 included Herceptin and chemotherapy. A new study noted that taking the new drug in addition to current treatments saw a 32 percent improvement in survival rates.

Both Herceptin and Perjeta must be injected by a doctor, which can be done at the Putnam County Hospital. Although, common side effects of the drug include increased heart problems, diarrhea and rash, using the drugs together was not shown to increase the risk of these side effects.

The Cancer Center at the Putnam County Hospital is a Commission on Cancer accredited program. The center, located on the second floor, includes seven bays for infusions as well as three exam rooms with the physician present two days a week. The center will also soon be adding a second physician in hopes of giving their patients more of a choice.

The center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information persons may call 655-2581.

Those who also schedule their mammogram appointment between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 will also be entered to win a basket full of surprises through the Putnam County Hospital. The drawing will be done during the first week of January 2015.

Patients may schedule a mammogram by calling 658-2760.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: