Colors for a Cure

cancer is far reaching, impacting different parts of the body in various forms. i t also touches just about everyone in some way, whether firsthand or through a loved one.

each October, the Republic publishes an annual cancer section. we call it colors for a cure because certain colors are used symbolically to highlight specific types of cancer: pink for breast, orange for leukemia and light blue for prostate, for example.

this section shares the stories of people who are battling cancer or have survived it. Our hope is that this publication provides valuable information, hope and inspiration.

we hope that you will find the personal stories and other information valuable and useful personally or for others who are going through their own cancer journey.

MOMs On A

By Dave StafforD | The Republic dstafford@therepublic.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 8

Mher energy on what she and other moms see as a systemic problem.

cures

Mothers who have lost a child to cancer say no one can ever know how it feels. No one, except perhaps another mom who also has experienced that same indescribable grief.

Several Bartholomew County moms who’ve lost children to cancer have recently made connections that are fueling a shared sense of mission to raise awareness of pediatric cancer and strive toward cures. By advocating in their children’s names, they hope to spare other children and parents the pain their families have experienced.

“We are sitting in a time and place right now where we are incredibly motivated to turn the dial and make a difference,” said Robyn Spoon of Columbus, whose son Justin died in March at age 24 after a battle with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of pediatric cancer.

A Columbus North graduate whose deep faith led him to Asbury University, his mother said Justin disliked being described as a warrior or hero as he battled cancer for years, including 275 nights in the hospital during 28 months of treatments.

Spoon recalled that toward the end of her son’s cancer fight, a friend asked Justin for a list of life tips. Her son replied, “I get up every day and I serve God, and I figure the rest will take care of itself.” When the friend pressed him for more tips, Justin replied, “there aren’t any.”

Yet Spoon recalled that when her son ran out of treatment options, he became angry. Not for his fate, though, but for children younger than him who faced the same, and for their families.

Long an advocate for education policy, Robyn now focuses

“There’s never ever been, in the history of the world, a drug developed to treat pediatric cancer,” she said. “… We don’t have targeted therapeutics for children’s cancer, and it’s really a problem.”

Spoon has met with state and federal health leaders, researchers and a long list of impressive experts. But locally, she’s also helped organize an arguably more potent force: determined moms who have lost a child to cancer. Moms like Tracy Brooks of Columbus, whose daughter Emmie died at 13 from Wilms tumor in October 2022. And Carrie Roberts, whose daughter Ariel, a Columbus North High School cheerleader, died from glioblastoma in January at age 18. And Kim Taylor of Hope, whose daughter Sarah died at 14 from osteosarcoma in September 2020.

Raising awareness

If you’ve seen gold balloons, signs promoting childhood cancer awareness, or knew about a prayer vigil at City Hall on Sept. 17, those are just a few of the ways these moms and others are raising awareness and funds for research they hope will make a difference for future generations.

And their children are helping in this — their tumors were donated for medical research at institutions such as Riley Children’s Hospital and the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at Indiana University.

The moms, their families and support networks do fundraisers — bake sales, lemonade stands, 5K runs and so forth, to

try to support these efforts. And while the events are uplifting, taking a step back, Kim Taylor of Hope said it’s also a little disheartening.

“Most of this research is being funded by families that have already lost a child,” Taylor said. “We are already exhausted, but we know how important this is. … We’re fighting for the healthy kids and not just the ones who died.

“Until we make it a priority to fund research and do more for these kids, there will be more people from our community that have to walk down this road and this path, and it’s heartbreaking,” she said.

Like other moms, Taylor has established a fund in Sarah’s name — GLOW Like Sarah. It supports the healthy development of young people through scholarships and other programs. GLOW represents the person Taylor says Sarah was, standing for growth, love, optimism and worship.

“Sarah was a very creative person,” Taylor said, and in addition to funding research, part of the mission of GLOW Like Sarah is helping young people find the ways they are creatively gifted.

Spoon likewise has a foundation, Elevate Childhood Cancer Research and Advocacy, as does Roberts — the Well Yeah Ariel Roberts Foundation.

Roberts said the name of the foundation in her daughter’s name was a natural. Even as she fought cancer, whenever Ariel was asked if she wanted to join in some activity, the Columbus North cheerleader’s reflexive response was, “Well, yeah!”

United by grief, local mothers raise awareness, seek pediatric cancer

Pictured: Tracy Brooks, Carrie Roberts, Kim Taylor and Robyn Spoon stand on the steps of Columbus City Hall where on Sept. 17 they and others gathered for a prayer vigil to bring attention to pediatric cancer. Each of the four moms has lost a child to cancer and are committed to raising awareness and pushing for more research toward cures. Photo Provided

sandy Martin

indy Biotech startup

SHERRY HAMPTON

twice columbus woman’s day to remember: she learns

BLesseD

she’s cancer free, meets new grandson

By Dave StafforD | The Republic dstafford@therepublic.com

sSherry Hampton of Columbus recalls with great joy the day in late March of this year that she learned she was cancer free after surgery to remove her tumorous bladder.

“I told everybody I got blessed more in one day than any human should be allowed,” said Hampton, 58.

Hampton’s surgeon at the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis brought her the welcome news that her cancer had been completely removed, and that there would be no need for chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

But that was just the beginning.

Upon her release from the hospital that day, six days after an aggressive urinary bladder removal surgery, she headed straight to Columbus Regional Hospital, where her grandson Abel had just come into the world.

“I just wanted to get my hands on my grandson,” she said.

Soon after, Hampton’s son, Justin, a Columbus postal carrier, found himself the temporary in-home care provider for his mother as well as his wife, Tiffany, Abel, and his other children, Hampton said.

“My son is so, so good-hearted,” said Hampton, who is disabled after a career in customer service. After her surgery, she receives follow-up

(SEE BLEssED PAGE 6)

Photo Provided

Sherry Hampton shares some quiet time with her newborn grandson Abel, who was born the same day that his grandmother learned she was cancer-free following bladder removal surgery.

1,000 and counting

Franciscan Health reaches lung cancer milestone in robotic bronchoscopy

For four years, doctors at Franciscan Health Cancer Center Indianapolis have been using a novel technology that detects lung cancer in patients early and paves the way for immediate treatment.

Experts at Franciscan recently reached a new plateau by treating their 1,000th patient, making Franciscan Health the first health care system in Indiana and one of only a few in the nation to achieve this high-level volume using this technology.

They did so using the Monarch Robotic Platform from Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech Company.

The system probes the inside of lungs and obtains tissue samples for biopsy. The system, which has been in use at Franciscan since 2019, integrates the latest advancements in technology using a familiar controller-like interface – appearing much like a hand-held game device – and combines views inside the lung with computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of a patient’s own lung anatomy.

The system provides pulmonologists with continuous bronchoscope vision throughout the entire outpatient procedure.

“This technology and approach have been invaluable in our ability to provide the best care possible for our patients,” said Faisal Khan, MD, one of the few board-certified interventional pulmonologists in Indiana. “This platform is more precise and provides improved reach, vision and control during bronchoscopic

care from CRH oncologist Dr. Nadeem Ikhlaque.

Bladder pain, urinary tract infections and kidney issues had been common for Hampton throughout her life since childhood, she said, but she began experiencing unusually severe pain in August 2022. She was diagnosed with a UTI, and because her pain was so severe, the decision also was made at that time to remove her appendix.

But the pain persisted afterward. “It never eased up,” Hampton said.

She was in and out of the hospital for extended periods until she said a 2-inch tumor was located on her bladder in February. Bladder removal surgery was required, and Hampton knew what the procedure would mean: She would require the use of a urostomy bag for the rest of her life.

Hampton said the last thing she wanted was people feeling sorry for her about the news of her diagnosis and concerns about how it would change her life. “Here’s how I looked at it,” she said. “I would tell them, ‘I’m not sitting here crying,’” so she didn’t want to see tears shed for her.

“I walk in faith. Whatever God has planned for me, that’s what I have to go through.”

Yet Hampton confesses that she was worried initially about how she would manage being reliant on a stoma and a urostomy bag. She said it turned out that was a needless concern. “1-2-3, 1-2-3, it’s a routine,” she said.

And that’s part of why Hampton said she wanted to share her story — what can seem like a worrisome prospect for those facing a diagnosis like hers is in fact manageable with the proper care. She said the adjustment

procedures, which helps us access the hardest-to reach areas of the lung where most lung cancer nodules start to form. As a result of detecting cancerous nodules as early as possible, it offers our patients more hopeful outcomes.”

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for overall lung

cancer is just 22 percent. This is most likely because in the majority of cases, the disease is not detected until advanced stages. When found in the localized stage, the five-year survival rate increases to 60 percent.

Khan cited a recent study published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine that he is principal

investigator of, and Franciscan Health participated in. This study demonstrated that robotic bronchoscopy is achieving desired outcomes with minimal risk. He added that the study was done before Franciscan began integrating a Cone Beam CT scan with the Monarch procedure in the past two years.

“That is improving the performance of the robotic platform even further. It allows us to accurately go after even smaller lesions on the lung,” Khan said.

While there are a variety of diagnostic options currently available for lung cancer, all have limitations on accuracy, safety or invasiveness. Such limitations can lead to false diagnoses or side effects such as collapsed lung and hemorrhage, which increase health costs and extend hospital stays. Robotic bronchoscopy reduces these complications and increases the accuracy of diagnosis. It also allows physicians to find cancer earlier, often in the localized stage.

after bladder removal surgery has been fairly, well, painless.

“Make sure you ask lots of questions,” she advised. “Make sure you get the wound care you need. Make sure you have good follow-up.”

Hampton also said she has found useful resources such as a women’s urostomy group on Facebook where members share helpful and knowledgeable information.

She noted her diagnosis came the day before the birthday of an aunt who died of cancer, and her surgery took place the day before the birthday of her mother, who also

died from cancer.

“I had an opportunity that they never had,” she said.

Meantime, Hampton said her curious young grandkids were full of questions for her, and she found a good way to explain to them — “sometimes the doctor has to break you a little to fix you right.”

Through it all, Hampton said she has retained her optimistic outlook and sense of humor.

“I’m the person that likes to find the funny in everything,” she said. “Look, I’m going to be a bag lady for the rest of my life.”

BLADDeR cAnceR sURvivOR sHeRRy HAMptOn

Photo Provided

Following cancer surgery, Sherry Hampton poses for a photo with grandsons Abel and Austin.

i walk in faith. whatever god has planned for me, that’s what i have to go through.

Photo Provided

Sherry Hampton holds her newborn grandson Abel, who was born the day she learned she was cancer-free following a surgery.

Photo Provided

The team at Franciscan Health Cancer Center indianapolis recently celebrated the hospital’s 1,000th robotic bronchoscopy case. Front (from left): Metika Beck Burke, Rn; Anndee gosnell, Rn; Faisal Khan, MD; Lora Halterman, Rn. Row 2: Kyle Leffel, Rn; Samantha Forester; Danielle Sellers, Rn. Row 3: Shannon Toscano, Rn; Martha Hubble; Karen Decatur, Rn. Row 4: Carrie Webb, Rn; Tayah Eakle; Claire Winters, Rn. Back: Luba Settlemyre, Maressa Bresler, Addison Lollar.

Photo Provided

The Monarch robotic platform allows health care providers to probe the inside of a patient’s lungs and obtain tissue samples for biopsy.

“I want to try to always stay positive,” Roberts said, drawing strength from a memory of her daughter. “She always smiled,” even when fighting for her life. “She did it so well, so gracefully. We want to be able to continue doing that, even in our sadness and grief.”

‘it’s just right there’

Taylor said researchers at Riley are seeing some successes in lab tests conducted on sarcomas using tumors donated for research, including from Sarah. Other moms are encouraged by similar developments.

Tracy Brooks’ daughter Emmie was diagnosed with CLOVES syndrome in 2016 and died from Wilms tumor. “She was a feisty little girl, and she fought it for eight years,” Brooks said, noting Emmie had been “a Riley child pretty much all her life.” Emmie loved Pokemon, horseback riding and animals — “her dog Marley was her favorite thing,” her mom said.

Brooks supports research at Riley, which includes quests for cures using her daughter’s donated tumor cells. Brooks is grateful for their work, noting that doctors had found success treating Emmie’s condition in tests on lab mice, but the results could not be replicated to cure her daughter.

“There’s so much more to be done, but it’s just right there,” Brooks said, urgency in her voice. “… We just need a little more funding to get there.”

Ironically, she said the research revealed striking links between Emmie’s cancer diagnosis and that of Justin Spoon.

Discoveries like those are encouraging, and the moms say there is good reason to pursue therapies specifically targeted to fight pediatric cancers.

“Children get the handme-downs,” Spoon said, noting her son was on seven different courses of treatments, all of which had been derived from therapies developed to treat cancers in adults.

“That’s pretty much how children’s cancer is being treated at this point,” she said. “It’s simply not acceptable, and it’s not working very well.” She noted research also shows that adult treatments used to fight pediatric cancer often result in adverse health outcomes later in life for children who survive.

The moms also recoil when they hear a particular word in conjunction with their kid’s diagnosis, Spoon said: “Parents become particularly annoyed by the word ‘rare’” to describe pediatric cancer. “… It’s oftentimes used to discount the problem.”

Noting that about 60 Hoosier kids each year die from pediatric cancer, Spoon said, “If we had 60 kids die from any other thing, we’d make a big deal about it. … Somehow, this doesn’t seem to stick or resonate.”

‘Moms who get it’

Taylor said she has experienced a distinct feeling she describes as going someplace where she can feel her presence has “sucked the joy out of the room.” People know what she has been through. Yet they can’t really know.

“There’s just no one else that can relate to me and my specific situation like another aggrieved mom,” Taylor said. “We get together and we talk about just … day-to-day life.

“It’s never going to feel normal without our children, but we have to find a way to grow around it,” she said, noting society has made it something of a taboo to be a grieving mother.

She noted she was recently chatting with another mom in this group who asked her, ‘Do you have days where you think you’re going to do something and you just can’t; you’re completely paralyzed?’ … Your feeling isn’t wrong,” Taylor said.

“You’re grieving a child, but you’re also grieving the loss of grandchildren and depending on where they were, all those life events you assumed you’d get to share together,” she said.

“It’s motivating to have other moms who get it,” Brooks said. “It’s a weird place to be because I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, yet it’s comforting to have people who understand. … For a long time, childhood cancer has just been swept under the rug.”

Roberts said advocating for research toward cures is almost like having another full-time job, but she is grateful for the community she has found with other moms who can empathize and push for greater understanding and advocate for more research toward cures.

“I was probably one of those parents that if someone came to me five years ago and asked about childhood cancer, I would have known nothing about it,” Roberts said, noting she and her family were humbled by the outpouring of community support for Ariel.

“One way we can give back is to just constantly keep bringing awareness to it,” she said. “… We are definitely determined and a group of feisty moms, but we can’t do it on our own. We need community support.”

Photo Provided

Emmie Brooks of Columbus smiles in a family photo. Her mother, Tracy, believes potential cures for her daughter’s fatal cancer are within reach.

FiLe Photo

Sarah Taylor of Hope is shown in a photo at home, cheerful even during treatments for osteosarcoma.

north cheerleader Ariel Roberts poses for a photo at home in her room in February 2022. Ariel died from a glioblastoma in January.

Photo Provided Columbus north graduate Justin Spoon is shown in a photo taken at McCormick’s Creek State park before his cancer diagnosis.

One w O man’s

Longtime teacher’s personal breast cancer journey covered five stages

AAlmost exactly one year ago, retired teacher Taffy Schroer was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she knows her diagnosis could have been worse.

Schroer, 72, said her cancer was detected much earlier than some, including an acquaintance who is a current breast cancer patient whom Schroer regularly accompanies to far more intensive treatments than she received.

After teaching elementary music at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. for 30 years, Schroer retired in 2005, but she continued to stay active helping young people in the Columbus area. She served as a court appointed special advocate for children in the juvenile justice system and with volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, among other activities.

But her breast cancer diagnosis was a life-changing event. She turned for care to Columbus Regional Hospital for radiology treatment and Franciscan Health in Indianapolis — where her doctor practices — for chemotherapy treatments. She said the care she received from both was excellent.

She said she is doing well, though she said fighting cancer and the attendant treatments leave her quite tired by most afternoons. That said, near the one-year mark, Schroer said she was hoping for a scan that would show she is now fully cancer-free.

Schroer offered the following first-person account of her yearlong journey from breast cancer diagnosis, through treatment, and to the cusp of full recovery.

“I WAS DIAGNOSED with breast cancer in October 2022 and experienced chemotherapy and radiation. Letting my mind wander on what I could maybe share with others, I found that I experienced five stages — denial, acceptance, education, treatment and recovery.

Denial: October 2022 — “We need to do a biopsy. It looks like you may have breast cancer. We can see you on Friday at 10 a.m.” To which my brain said, “Well, I can’t do that! My husband and I are hiking in North Carolina that day. We have an Airbnb reserved. We’re flying to Colorado next month to be with our grandkids. The holidays are coming …” Cancer was not to interfere with my plans!

Acceptance: Time to regroup! Circle the wagons with your immediate family, extended family, friends and church. (This precious circle to which I continue to be indebted became known as my support crew.) Surround yourself with positive thinkers, books, music, TV, etc. Know that it is OK to accept prayers and help. Leaning on others is not a sign of weakness. Helping is what people do to show they care.

Know that you are not alone. Breast cancer alone affects 1 in 8 women. Cancer in these women affects multitudes of other caring lives.

This is important! This is the time to start a medical journal that includes all professional contact information, appointment dates, visit summaries, questions and thoughts. Every question is worth asking. Leave room to write answers. Journaling thoughts can help with your mental health.

Education: Cancer does not define who you are, but consider cancer your new “job”, and your

health providers are your new bosses. You and your new bosses create a new team. They are the experts and you are the novice. Your input is extremely valuable. You have a responsibility in your new job and as a new team member to get educated. Read, listen and learn so you can contribute to the team to the best of your ability. Keep journaling as you learn. Use internet searches as a tool, not for definitive answers.

Treatment: You are about to enter a whole new territory. As with any trip, the starting point is set but the unknown, untraveled ground is unpredictable. The anxiety is real because the experience is real and you are not in the driver seat. The professionals will be your trusted guides. They will help you get through this tough phase along with your support crew.

Reach out! There are other cancer resources available through the hospital to help you and your family. I joined an online chair yoga class for cancer patients available through Franciscan.

Remember that your case is uniquely your case. Know that treatment may not always go as planned or how you may have anticipated it. Continue to educate yourself and keep journaling.

During treatment, I received encouraging cards, texts and prayers from relatives, friends and church members. This was the best medicine! One card pictured a disgruntled little girl and read “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of putting on my Big Girl

panties!” Yes, I got tired of pulling up and keeping up those “panties”, but there was no way I was going to let them hit the ground!

Recovery: Time to join back into life’s mainstream and climb back up the ladder. This, too, is part of the journey. It is not a race. Slow and steady with small goals

works best.

Some days you will climb steps with ease only to find the next day you may need to go back a few rungs and regroup. Be patient but remain persistent! The top of that ladder will be there. It is still waiting my own arrival.”

— Compiled by Dave Stafford

From top: Taffy Schroer of Columbus, right, who was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, poses for a photo during an August visit with family in Denver. From left are grandson Eli, 5, husband Dan, and granddaughter izzie, 7. // Encouragement from her support crew — such as this humorous greeting card — were a vital part of the recovery process after her breast cancer diagnosis, Columbus resident Taffy Schroer says. Photos Provided

A nce R se R vices

cOlUMBUs RegiOnAl hOspitAl

Address: 2400 e. 17th st., columbus

Key departments: Breast health center, cancer center, lung institute

phone: cRh main, 812-3794441 or 800-841-4938; Breast health center, 812-376-5064

website: crh.org

services offered:

» Medical oncology: hematology, chemotherapy and immunotherapy

» Radiation oncology: tomosynthesis mammography or 3-D mammography

» chemotherapy, radiation, surgery

» social work, clinical nutrition, rehabilitation

» tobacco awareness, skin cancer screenings, lung screenings

» intensity-modulated radiation therapy: iMRt is a type of conformal radiation, which shapes radiation beams to closely approximate the shape of the tumor. local or regional control of a tumor is the ultimate goal of an overall treatment strategy, especially for a patient with cancer.

» stereotactic body radiosurgery therapy: sBRt uses a system to precisely locate the tumor and deliver highly concentrated, highly focused radiation treatment. the custom mapping provided by the system plans the radiation to account for a patient’s anatomy, breathing and organ motion. the result is that less-to-no healthy tissue is exposed to radiation, making it ideal for cancers within or surrounding vital organs. can be used for cancers of the body and brain.

» prone breast board radiation therapy: Radiation therapy positioning capability that allows a patient’s breast tissue to fall away from the body during treatment, keeping radiation away from vital organs such as the heart and lungs and focusing it solely on the tumor within the breast.

» high dose rate (hDR) brachytherapy: Radioactive seeds or sources are placed in or near the tumor itself, giving a high radiation dose to the tumor while reducing the radiation exposure in the surrounding healthy tissues. the term “brachy” is greek for short distance. is often a treatment option for many types and locations of cancers including breast, skin, prostate, lung and cervical and gynecologic tumors.

» screening mammography: these look for early warning signs of breast cancer, performed routinely on women 40 and older.

» Digital mammography: this is like using a digital camera to take a picture instead of a camera that uses film. the image is captured by a special X-ray detector, which converts the image into a digital picture for immediate review on a computer monitor. the digital image provides a bit more contrast.

» Diagnostic mammography: gives additional and special digital mammography views, beyond screening mammograms.

» Diagnostic and screening breast

MRi: A supplement to mammography, magnetic resonance imaging is an advanced tool that provides more detail about a possible abnormality. Useful in determining a course of treatment. Recommended for women with a history of breast cancer and women with strong lifetime risks for breast cancer and some women with dense breast tissue.

helping patients in times of

PBy Dave StafforD | The Republic dstafford@therepublic.com

Practically every day, four women who work inside the walls of Columbus Regional Hospital say they hear the same astonished reaction from the patients they help.

“They think it can’t be real,” said Cheri Wildridge, coordinator of the Medication Assistance Program (MAP). That program is among multiple services offered through the Columbus Regional Health Foundation and the VIMCare Clinic that alleviate the expense of medications and treatments

that could further burden patients.

For cancer patients, that can be particularly significant. And when the women who do this work are at the top of their game, they’re helping before patients even know it.

Wildridge knows, though. Over the years, the programs that began with just her and a simple idea 25 years ago have benefitted local patients to the tune of millions of dollars in savings. Since then and through June 30, the MAP program has procured medications with a wholesale value of more than $53 million for local patients.

cAR ing FOR the

Experienced doctor finds fitting calling serving Our Hospice

ABy Barney Quick For The Republic

Dr. LaTasha Hayes joined the staff at Our Hospice of South Central Indiana in April with a conviction that her work there was going to be fundamentally spiritual. She is part of the medical team, but says her strong faith drives how she cares for patients.

One of four girls in a family from the west side of Indianapolis, she went to the Indiana School of Medicine and did her residency at Wright State University’s Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.

She then practiced internal medicine for four years in a group practice seeing mostly geriatric patients, many with terminal illnesses, such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer.

“What I truly enjoy about palliative care is that I address the disease, but also treat the spiritual, human aspect of the patient’s situation,” she says.

Behind the scenes, a small team advocates, networks to relieve financial burdens

Photo Provided Dr. latasha hayes joined the staff of Our hospice of south central indiana in March.

From left: Katressa Roberts, cheri wildridge, Danielle perry and Krystal chisham work with programs of the columbus Regional health Foundation that help reduce the cost of medications and treatments for patients. Mike Wolanin | the rePublic

(SEE Foundation PAGE 7)

will DO

Local sorority chapter’s bingo events raise thousands for cancer research

tBy Barney Quick For The Republic

The Columbus, Indiana chapter of Phi Beta Psi has found a surefire formula for raising cancer research funds: offer an event so flat-out fun that it sells out nearly instantly.

Its twice-yearly purse bingo function has drawn capacity crowds for years. Many are regulars who have attended every time.

The national level of the service sorority made cancer research its permanent national project in 1941. It awards six grants to doctors in that field every year.

The local chapter began holding its bingo days in 2010. One is held in September and the other in April.

The co-chairs are Alpha Aldrich and Martha Smith. They obviously do a good job. They get frequent feedback to the effect that it is the most fun bingo event people have ever attended, and people cite the organized way it’s run as the reason.

“For years, our little local chapter would struggle to raise money,” recalls Aldrich. “We tried dances and garage sales. We finally asked ourselves what would be so attractive there would be no question of success.”

The event was first held at the Elks Club, and capacity was 25 people. It quickly outgrew that venue, so the sorority moved it to the now-gone Clarion hotel on the west side.

“For three years, we had 600 people each time,” says Aldrich.

When the Clarion closed, Aldrich searched for a suitable space, hoping to find one that was cost-free. Alas, the chapter had to move the bingo to The Commons, which does charge a bit of rent. That space also has a capacity limit of 432.

Wondering how to make up the money now going to rent, the group consulted an Ohio chapter that had been inspired by the Columbus chapter to host bingo. The Ohio women said they’d instituted a rule that participants had to purchase an entire table’s worth of tickets.

Aldrich constructed a folding poster board showing designated numbers for the tables, and a layout for the room. To the side is the list of players and the tables to which they’re assigned. There are a few first-come-first-serve single-ticket tables, but the chapter doesn’t have to deal with the long lines it experienced before going with the new arrangement.

The prizes are designer purses. Chapter

Family’s history drives cancer research mission

some families are deeply affected by cancer, which touches and changes their lives. cancer survivor

Alpha Aldridge, who is active with the local Phi Beta Psi service sorority’s twice-annual bingo fundraisers, says she feels blessed to have survived more than one type of cancer. Her father and brothers fought the battle but lost. Her husband, Emmett Aldridge, lost the battle at age 54.

Aldridge says seeing her grandson, caleb Martoccia, diagnosed at the age of 20 months was the hardest. However, she says they walked the survivor walk many times since 2005.

caleb’s parents are cathy and Dan Martoccia. Alpha’s daughter, cathy, knows the heartache of cancer diagnosis, and the loss of her father, grandfather, grandmother, uncles and aunts to this dreaded illness. As a caregiver, she knows the importance of finding and treating the cancer at the earliest stage. Because of early diagnosis and excellent doctors, her son caleb is now a freshman at Manchester University. “ when treatment is successful, we learn to hope that with further research, cures can be found so that more patients can become survivors,” Aldridge says.

“Fighting cancer through cancer research will give us more survivors.” she says her family history is why she is a member of Phi Beta Psi, which since 1941 has contributed more than $11 million for cancer research. “Our chapter, Phi, has had several cancer survivors and we have lost

members and their friends are constantly on the lookout for sources for discounted purses, and some people make donations. Other fundraising attractions happen alongside the bingo. The group sells ovenready Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, as well as Marion Kay spices. Raffle baskets are also part of the proceedings.

For the past several years, Boy Scout troop 549 has provided food. Recent offerings have included a nacho bar, hot dogs, sloppy joes and turkey wraps.

“These young men are so polite, tidy, clean and responsible,” says Aldrich. “We’ve never had any kind of issue.”

Wall-mounted screens at The Commons enable players to see what numbers are being called even if the caller isn’t audible from a particular spot.

“Martha and I are there to keep it smooth and resolve any issues,” says Aldrich. “I try my best to accommodate people who want to sit together. I’ve kept notes for several years about who is in

many others. we all work hard to raise money to help doctors find a cure,” Aldridge says.

we accept donations from friends, family members, and have friends that have lost best friends and therefore donate in that friend’s name money to help pay for our Designer Purses” that are awarded in twice-annual bingo fundraisers. “ n o donation is too small.”

a wheelchair or has any other special considerations.”

The fundraising effort resonates personally with Aldrich, who put together The Republic’s television guide for several years before going to work for Cummins, retiring from there as an order administration manager. Along the way, she developed cervical cancer.

“I decided if I was going to have a baby, I needed to do it,” she says. “Many or most of us have either had cancer or family members have been touched by this terrible disease.”

The resulting daughter is her only offspring. Several other chapter members have personal experience with cancer as well.

Aldrich is humble but satisfied about her role in humanity’s fight against cancer.

“In eleven years, we’ve raised $186,272,” she notes. “I can’t do much to help people, but if we can send six doctors $65,000 each, I feel like we’ve made an impact.”

From top: Bingo players fill the commons in 2019 during the columbus phi Beta psi sorority’s twice-a-year fundraisers benefiting cancer research. the local events have raised more than $186,000 over 11 years. // cancer survivors caleb Martoccia and grandmother Alpha Aldridge are shown during the 2014 survivor walk and Relay for life. caleb is now a student at Manchester University. Photos Provided

pUrdUe-deVelOped imaging agent illUminates lUng cancer tUmOrs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Surgery, especially surgery to remove cancerous tumors, relies on a range of tools and techniques as well as on the skill of the surgeon. Now, new imaging agent Cytalux will make surgery to remove lung cancer tumors a little more exact.

The inside of the human body famously looks nothing like an anatomy textbook, lacking the bright color coding to differentiate between tissues and organs. Based on foundational intellectual property developed at Purdue University and released by On Target Laboratories, Cytalux helps make tumors more easily and immediately identifiable by illuminating them and making them glow against healthy, noncancerous tissue like beacons against a night sky.

Philip Low, Purdue’s presidential scholar for drug discovery and the Ralph C. Corley distinguished professor of chemistry in the College of Science, is an inventor of the drug.

“Non-small cell lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers,” Low said. “The only absolute cure for lung cancer is to surgically remove all of the malignant tissue out of the patient. If it has metastasized, it’s generally lethal.”

Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world and accounts for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in the U.S. every year. When a patient is diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, the prognosis is often bleak: Only 7% have a chance of living another five years.

The importance of removing all the malignant tissue, the difficulty in distinguishing cancerous tissue from healthy tissue and the widespread nature of this type of lung cancer make the use of Cytalux in lung cancer surgery a welcome development.

Low, a chemist by trade, attacks these issues using his expertise in chemical reactions.

Cytalux exploits the unique chemistry of cancer cells to light up the tumors. Cancer cells divide rapidly, much faster than normal cells. To do this, they need folate, a type of B vitamin — and lots of it. The genius of Cytalux is that, after being administered intravenously to a patient before surgery, it tags that folate compound with a fluorescent dye. The cancer cells grab for the folate but end up flagged with the fluorescent dye, too. During surgery, these cells then fluoresce under near-infrared light.

Cytalux was initially developed to target ovarian cancer. The Food and Drug Administration authorized use to treat lung cancer patients late last year,

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Surgery, especially surgery to remove cancerous tumors, relies on a range of tools and techniques as well as on the skill of the surgeon. Now, new imaging agent Cytalux will make surgery to remove lung cancer tumors a little more exact.

The inside of the human body famously looks nothing like an anatomy textbook, lacking the bright color coding to differentiate between tissues and organs. Based on foundational intellectual property developed at Purdue University and released by On Target Laboratories, Cytalux helps make tumors more easily and immediately identifiable by illuminating them and making them glow against healthy, noncancerous tissue like beacons against a night sky.

Philip Low, Purdue’s presidential scholar for drug discovery and the Ralph C. Corley distinguished professor of chemistry in the College of Science, is an inventor of

the drug.

“Non-small cell lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers,” Low said. “The only absolute cure for lung cancer is to surgically remove all of the malignant tissue out of the patient. If it has metastasized, it’s generally lethal.”

Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world and accounts for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in the U.S. every year. When a patient is diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, the prognosis is often bleak: Only 7% have a chance of living another five years.

The importance of removing all the malignant tissue, the difficulty in distinguishing cancerous tissue from healthy tissue and the widespread nature of this type of lung cancer make the use of Cytalux in lung cancer surgery a welcome development.

Low, a chemist by trade, attacks these

Purdue university Photo | John underWood philip low of purdue University is an inventor of the foundational intellectual property for an imaging agent the FDA has approved that will allow surgeons to identify additional cancerous lesions, which otherwise would have been left behind, in up to 24% more patients during non-small cell lung cancer surgery.

First-in-class

Purdue researchers’ targeted microRnA therapy slows cancer tumor growth

wWEST LAFAYETTE — A new cancer therapy developed by Purdue University researchers attacks tumors by tricking cancer cells into absorbing a snippet of RNA that naturally blocks cell division.

As reported Sept. 4 in the leading cancer treatment journal Oncogene, tumors treated with the new therapy did not increase in size over the course of a 21-day study, while untreated tumors tripled in size over the same time period.

Cancer can begin almost anywhere in the human body. It is characterized by cells that divide uncontrollably and that may be able to ignore signals to die or stop dividing, and even evade the immune system. The therapy, tested in mouse models, combines a delivery system that targets cancer cells with a specially modified version of microRNA-34a, a molecule that acts “like the brakes on a car,” slowing or stopping cell division, said Andrea Kasinski, lead author and the William and Patty Miller Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University.

In addition to slowing or reversing tumor growth, the targeted microRNA34a strongly suppressed the activity of at least three genes — MET, CD44 and AXL — known to drive cancer and resistance to other cancer therapies, for at least 120 hours.

The results indicate that the patentpending therapy, the newest iteration in more than 15 years of work targeting microRNA to destroy cancer, could be effective on its own and in combination with existing drugs when used against cancers that have built drug resistance.

“When we acquired the data, I was ecstatic. I am confident that this approach is

better than the current standard of treatment and that there are patients who will benefit from this,” said Kasinski, a member of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.

MicroRNA-34a is a short double strand of ribonucleic acid – a string of ribonucleic acids attached like the teeth of a zipper along the length of a sugar-phosphate chain. The two strings of the microRNA are unevenly zipped together, with one string acting to guide a protein complex to the worksite in the cell while the other string is destroyed.

In healthy cells, microRNA-34a is abundant, but its presence is dramatically reduced in many cancer cells.

While the idea of reintroducing microRNA-34a to cancer cells appears simple, the research team had to overcome many challenges in crafting an effective therapy. Naturally occurring RNA breaks down rapidly, so to improve the durability of the therapy, the team stabilized microRNA-34a by adding several small clusters of atoms along the length of the strand. The team modeled its modifications on an FDA-approved chemical structure that researchers at the biotechnology company Alnylam used on similar short interfering RNAs. Experiments on mouse models show the modified microRNA-34a endures for at least 120 hours after being introduced.

As a bonus, the fully modified microRNA-34a is invisible to the immune system, which would ordinarily attack double-stranded RNA introduced to the body.

To ensure the modified microRNA-34a makes it to cancer cells, the team attached the double strand to a molecule of the vitamin folate. The surfaces of all cells in our body have receptors that bind to folate and draw the vitamin into the cell, but the cells in many cancers – breast, lung, ovarian and cervical – have far more folate receptors on their cell surface than do healthy

cells. The tiny microRNA-34a and folate compound penetrates the dense tissue of tumors and binds to the folate receptor on the cell surface. It is then drawn inside in a little bag of cell membrane called a vesicle. Once inside the cell, some of the microRNA-34a is able to escape the vesicle and slows cell division.

The targeted specificity of the therapy reduces the amount of the compound that must be administered to be effective, which in turn reduces potential toxicity, side effects and cost. The team can also prepare a separate version, which targets a different cell surface receptor, for prostate cancer cells, which do not produce excessive folate receptors. Kasinski and her team are confident in the value of the most recent iteration and will prepare for clinical trials.

At Purdue, Kasinski was joined in the research by Philip S. Low, presidential scholar for drug discovery, Ralph C. Corley distinguished professor of chemistry, and inventor of the FDA-approved drug Cytalux; Nadia A. Lanman, a research assistant professor; Ahmed M. Abdelaal, first author and a graduate student in Kasinski’s lab; and researchers Harish Kothandaraman, Kasireddy Sudarshan, Shreyas Iyer and Ikjot S. Sohal.

“A first-in-class fully modified version of miR-34a with outstanding stability, activity, and anti-tumor efficacy” was published in Oncogene with support from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.

Kasinski disclosed the innovation to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which has filed a patent application on the intellectual property. Industry partners interested in developing or commercializing the work should contact Joe Kasper, assistant director of business development, JRKasper@prf.org.

Kasins K i

Pictured: A new therapy for cancer developed by purdue University researchers uses microRnA to slow or stop division of cancer cells. Photo Provided by second bay studios

adVance imprOVes prOstate cancer relapse fOrecast By 14 mOnths

w

WEST LAFAYETTE — A new tool could help save lives by predicting prostate cancer relapse 14 months earlier than current standard methods. The tool, a computer model, makes its predictions by using levels of a single biomarker produced by prostate cells to forecast the interplay of biochemical reactions linked to prostate cancer.

GOMEZ

In developing the model, researchers including from Purdue University also found four promising “model-based biomarkers,” parameters the model calculates that appear to predict relapse. The research was recently published in iScience, an open-access journal from Cell Press.

Researchers developed and tested the model using health care records of 166 prostate cancer patients, 10 of whom relapsed within six years after receiving external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Although the model made its predictions based on data for which the outcome was already known, contributing researcher Hector Gomez, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering, said it could be a useful tool for doctors monitoring patients after radiation treatment.

“I think this has huge potential for clinical use. Look at the amount of time you gain on detecting relapse in patients compared with current practice,” said Gomez, a member of the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. “That’s more than a year of time gained for a secondary treatment that might be able to beat the disease.”

The collaborative research effort involved Alessandro Reali of the University of Pavia in Italy, first author Guillermo Lorenzo of the University of Pavia and University of Texas at Austin, Victor Perez-Garcia from

University of Castilla La Mancha, and researchers at Purdue and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital and Scientific Institute in Italy.

Prostate cells — whether healthy or cancerous — produce a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). As a prostate cancer tumor grows, levels of PSA rise, and PSA levels are used as a standard clinical biomarker of prostate cancer. EBRT, a common treatment, kills prostate cells, and PSA levels are expected to fall in the months following treatment. But if cancer cells survive the treatment and begin to reproduce, PSA levels will again rise, eventually reaching the point of “biochemical relapse.”

The standard threshold for biochemical relapse is reached when PSA levels — which are checked at intervals months apart — have risen more than 2 nanograms per milliliter above the lowest level of PSA detected, which is called PSA nadir. Between 20% and 50% of prostate cancer patients who receive EBRT as their primary treatment reach biochemical relapse within five to 10 years after the end of their treatment, at which point doctors may choose to confirm tumor recurrence through biopsy and imaging methods.

“Our model predictions open the door to design personalized PSA monitoring plans that can tell physicians the right time to investigate potential tumor recurrences and maximize the window of curability,” said Lorenzo.

Gomez and his team proposed that a mechanistic model, which describes the elements in a system mathematically, could use PSA data to forecast relapse sooner than the standard practice. The model draws on existing research and equations that establish the relationship between PSA and a suite of pathways linked to prostate cancer — such as the death rate of damaged cells, the fraction of cells damaged but not killed by the radiation, and the proliferation rate of the surviving cells.

“The only information the model gets from patients is PSA data, but we look at that data in a smarter way using the model,” Gomez said. “From PSA data and a set of equations, the model provides additional information about what’s happening in the body. It infers a bunch of additional values, and some of those values predict relapse.”

The model included seven such parameters, but Gomez said the team didn’t know in advance which parameters would prove to be predictive. Drawing from health care records that followed prostate cancer patients through EBRT and beyond, the team entered PSA data into the model and compared its predictions with the known outcome. The model was used retrospectively in the research, but the same principles would apply to using it to make prospective predictions.

The model correctly predicted relapse in 80% of the patients, but 14.8 months earlier than the current standard based on PSA nadir. Four additional model-based biomarkers inferred from PSA — the proliferation rate of tumor cells, the ratio of that rate to the radiation-induced tumor cell death rate, the lowest inferred value of PSA, and the time to PSA nadir since EBRT termination — also outperform PSA at nadir.

This stage of the research was limited to patients who were treated solely with EBRT. Additional research might broaden the scope to consider patients who underwent radiation with simultaneous hormonal treatments.

“Patient-specific forecasting of postradiotherapy prostate-specific antigen kinetics enables early prediction of biochemical relapse” was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, with support from the Purdue Center for Cancer Research, the Italian Ministry for University and Research, and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaciòn.

Pictured: health care practitioners could have more than an extra year to predict prostate cancer relapses in their patients by using a new model developed by an international team of researchers, including from purdue University. Photo Provided

You never know how STRONG you are until being STRONG is the only choice you have

day at a time’

LBy Barney Quick For The Republic

Living under palliative care is a new kind of experience for Sandy Martin. Until about three years ago, the 74-year-old had been largely healthy and fit. She had many enjoyments in life, and proceeded under the assumption that she’d go on enjoying them.

“I’d only ever been in the hospital to have my three children,” she says. “I never thought I’d get cancer.”

But after multiple diagnoses and surgeries, Martin is undergoing palliative care at home, provided through Our Hospice of South Central Indiana. Palliative care emphasizes patient comfort in addition to medical treatments — a layer of care in addition to ongoing medical care, says Donna Butler, a palliative care nurse practitioner with Our Hospice who is familiar with Martin’s case.

“We try to meet patients where they’re at in their diagnosis and their treatment,” Butler says. Palliative care takes a team approach that in addition to nurses and care providers also involves a social worker who can connect a patient with available resources and a chaplain who can meet a patient’s spiritual needs.

Martin, a Muskegon, Michigan native, moved to Bartholomew County when her husband took a job with Seymour Tubing. Two of her children were teens and the youngest was 9 years old.

She still lives in the house on Schaefer Lake in Hope where she’s resided for 37 years.

Until the recent changes in her life, she’d take a five-mile walk around the lake every day.

Martin was the first employee of Action Filtration, a Hope-based manufacturer of air purification products.

“I was the sewing department,” she says. “I loved my job. I’ve always loved to sew.”

She’s still friends with the women who came on board to work alongside her.

At age 71, she developed a sore in her mouth and consulted a dentist. He wanted to remove it, but his staff left her with the mistaken impression that she’d have to pay $1,200 that day. Insurance wasn’t mentioned. She declined the procedure.

“That was the worst mistake of my life,” she says.

She went on a trip to Arizona to go mountain climbing. The sore got worse and she consulted a dentist there. Several biopsies yielded various conclusions.

When she got a cancer diagnosis, she went to a specialist who determined the cancer had spread to her jaw bone. At that point, she decided to come home.

Both of her daughters are nurses, and they made sure she got admitted to IU Health University Hospital in Indianapolis. She had the first surgery to address her condition there.

“They put in a whole new jaw by taking bone tissue from my left arm,” she says.

Next came 30 rounds of radiation. After the last round, her chest and neck broke out in painful blisters. Topically applied sulfadiazine cleared them up fairly quickly.

However, radiation also burned her saliva glands. She can no longer produce saliva and takes a couple of medicines to address that. Radiation also gave her a growth on her chin that kept getting worse.

“I ended up back at IU. I was given two choices: have another operation, or do nothing.”

The replacement bone from the first surgery hadn’t fused with the natural bone in the area. She opted for a second jaw rebuild. This time, the surgical team took the bone tissue from her left shoulder.

“It was 100 times worse,” she says.

“I was in the hospital 11 days, and had no water for 31 days.”

She spent five weeks in rehab at Four Seasons Retirement Center and speaks highly of the staff there.

That’s also the case with the palliative care team, which she describes as “awesome.”

She currently lives at home. Her daughters, Amy Roseberry and Angela Wells, look in on her.

“Between Amy and God, I think that’s why I’m still here today,” she says. “Angela would have helped more, but she was dealing with cancer as well.”

From May through August 2023, Martin had physical therapy (“I can move my arm really well now”) and she also sees a speech therapist.

To top it off, she had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from her leg

in the spring. The self-described foodie describes being reliant on a feeding tube as one of her biggest frustrations. Both Martin and Butler observed that this can be a major adjustment for patients who can no longer swallow, because food and eating are at the heart of so many social events and family gatherings.

Nevertheless, Martin remains upbeat, an attitude that she says stems from the support base she gets from her friends, as well as her fellow congregants at Hope’s First Baptist Church who visit and inquire.

She also cites the people “all over the United States who are praying for me. I don’t know how anybody who’s an atheist could get through this.”

Martin is cancer-free now, but she continues to receive palliative care. “The care I received was fantastic,” she says. “My friends and family have been fantastic.”

Another key element of her outlook is staying focused on the day currently in front of her. “It can all change so quickly,” she stresses.

She also wishes to encourage anybody with an unusual sore spot to “get it checked out right away. Don’t wait, even if you have to borrow the money to do so.”

She also stresses this for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis and the resulting treatment: “Live one day at a time. I wouldn’t have gotten through it, even now, without living one day at a time.”

‘One

woman who overcame tough diagnoses grateful for palliative care

From top: sandy Martin holds some mums outside her home in hope, where she receives palliative care after cancer treatments. // sandy Martin of hope praises her palliative care experience: “ the care i received was fantastic.”

By the numbers

4

In that first year, Wildridge said, the total was only around $98,000. Back then, she didn’t have the benefit of computer databases and online networks of potential resources nor the connections that since have been made for the benefit of patients.

She also didn’t have the team that now does this work.

Along with MAP coordinator Danielle Perry, Cancer MAP coordinator Krystal Chisham and patient advocate Katressa Roberts, Wildridge and the team have a mission that Perry explained from a patient’s perspective.

“You have patients that when they heard the word ‘cancer,’ their mind’s going 1oo miles a minute. You don’t want to think about the cost, but that is a factor. ‘How long am I going to live and how am I going to pay the bill if I can’t work?’” Perry said.

Because she and her team go to work fast when they know a big co-payment may be headed to a patient, and because they have developed relationships and networks with drugmakers, grant providers and an array of potential funding and service providers, help is almost always available.

“To be able to stop that from reaching the patient and them being blindsided by a high co-pay has been very rewarding,” Perry said.

Only in the past two-anda-half years or so has there been a separate Cancer Medication Assistance Program

Each of these individual ladies have been chosen specifically for their roles because of the attributes and skill sets that they bring. … And the heart of a servant, and dedication to the patient.

linked to the VIMCare Clinic and the CRH Foundation, but the need is clear. Chisham said in one extreme case, a patient’s chemotherapy treatment cost $14,000 for one capsule, and the course of therapy required seven such capsules. The team was able to remove the burden of those costs on the patient.

Oftentimes, Perry said, the team members work together to build bridges and link people to resources even for day-to-day expenses for patients who may even need help to put gas in the car or just meet household expenses.

Cancer patients may need more than most, Chisham said.

“When they come into my office and they sit down and they’ve talked to the doctor, sometimes they just need somebody just to listen and

that they can focus and cry,” she said. “Basically, that’s what they need.” She said she tells them not to worry about the cost of medication, but rather to concentrate on getting well and getting through treatment. She tells them she and her team will help with the costs of medications.

“The patients that are brought to me that are needing help financially, I would say probably 95% qualify. There’s very few that don’t qualify for some assistance,” Chisham said.

“They’ve just heard the worst diagnosis they could possibly get, and now they’re trying to figure out, ‘What am I going to do?’,” she said. “I’m a counselor at some point, because they need other resources, whether it’s through their church, a food pantry,

number of people who work through columbus Regional Health Foundation programs to assist patients with medication costs and other assistance.

22,674,577

wholesale dollars worth of medications the cancer medication assistance program has procured for patients since the program’s start Jan. 1, 2021.

53,467,490

wholesale dollars worth of procured medications through the Medication Assistance Program from its founding in April 1998 through June 30, 2023. to learn more or donate: crh.org/foundation.

maybe supplies for their children to go to school, so you have to reach out to other organizations.

“… I have patients that their loved one has passed away and they still come by. They want that hug or they want that pat on the back. They just need someone to listen, they want to share a memory or something. It’s not just treating the patient with medication. It’s emotional, it’s mental, what they need,” she said.

Roberts said she enjoys the personal connections she makes with patients and the difference her work can make for them. “If they can’t afford their medicine, they kind of shut down,” she said. “If we help them, kind of guide them through what they need to do, they seem to be more dedicated to improving their own health because it can be very

overwhelming.”

Wildridge said the generosity of the community has made these efforts possible. The annual Reverse Raffle event raises funds (this year’s event took place Sept. 29), but so do donations to the foundation, which can be designated for particular purposes.

“For all 25 years, the foundation has been almost like a silent partner. They say, ‘OK, we entrust you with this work, which is such a privilege, because it’s been built with many, many people being a part of it,” Wildridge said. “They have trusted all these years to continue that.”

And Wildridge, who’s been there from the first call for help on behalf of a patient, said there’s just something special about this group. And that’s by design.

“Each of these individual ladies have been chosen specifially for their roles because of the attributes and skill sets that they bring,” Wildridge said. “And the heart of a servant, and dedication to the patient.”

There also are many larger national charities that offer assistance, including the HealthWell Foundation, the Patient Access Network and the Musella Foundation to name a few.

Looking ahead, Wildridge said, there is an expectation that this small group will be growing.

“The community will hear more about that,” Wildridge said. “We’re in the works of discussing that now.”

social workers, chaplains, and volunteers, working together to fulfill our mission to Make Every Moment Count.”

She commutes from Fishers and is at Our Hospice two days a week. She leads interdisciplinary meetings, makes inpatient rounds and works with admissions.

Hospice care is a somewhat unique part of health care. When a person concludes that recovery from a major illness such as cancer is not in the cards, the script flips a bit. He or she switches from deferring to the expertise of specialists to being in the driver’s seat.

“I listen to patients on their terms,” says Dr. Hayes. “There are no time limits. I can offer hope through conversation and prayer. I communicate the patient’s goals to the family.”

She says that she’s “developed a strong passion for treating the cancer demographic” and explains that it’s because cancer often “catches people by surprise.” In many cases, a patient had previously been well.

“I’m able to see that transition to decline and be an educational resource.”

She derives a lot of satisfaction from working with patients’ families.

“They help me get a sense of who the patient is,” she explains. “I discover the patient’s temperament, and even such aspects as hobbies and favorite foods.” Our Hospice’s service area includes 15 counties and extends to the borders of Ohio and Kentucky. In addition to the Columbus facility, it has offices in Greensburg and North Vernon.

The concept of hospice has its roots in the Crusades of the 1000s A.D. The modern hospice movement was launched

by British nurse, physician, social worker and writer Dame Cicely Saunders in 1967.

Our Hospice was founded in 1980. It was part of Columbus Regional Hospital until 2004, when it became an independent organization with its own board of directors and administrative staff. The organization retains an affiliation with CRH. Staff includes medical doctors, nurses, home health aides, social workers, spiritual and bereavement specialists including an in-house chaplain and in-the-field clergy, and volunteers.

Steph Cain, president of Our Hospice and Palliative Care, praised Hayes’ experience when she was brought

aboard earlier this year.

“Her remarkable track record in delivering primary care and managing critically ill patients makes her an invaluable asset to our team. Dr. Hayes’ dedication to enhancing the lives of patients aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing compassionate end-of-life care. She joins a top-tier medical team of experienced hospice physicians including Dr. Roy Goode. Dr. Arthur Alunday, and Dr. Amir Tirmizi, led by Medical Director, Dr. Leigh Anderson.

“These physicians guide the care of our patients along with an interdisciplinary team of nurse practitioners, nurses, home health aides,

Our cakes are a layer of vanilla, chocolate and fudge, with crunch in the center.

Dr. Hayes sees continuity from what Our Hospice already had in place and what she contributes in her role.

She’s thought a great deal about how a person’s entire life provides a foundation for the final chapter.

“People’s values play a role in how they die as well as how they live,” she says.

“Knowing that opens the door for conversations initiated by the question, ‘I know you just received a pretty poor diagnosis. How is that for you?’ I can help them understand that they are still in charge of the rest of their lives.”

She notes the vital role that palliative care nurses play in the process.

“They have to have a connection with their inner selves.”

Dr. Hayes feels a deep sense of belonging at Our Hospice.

“I know it’s a little bit of a cliche, but I feel that I’m with my people,” she said.

what i truly enjoy about palliative care is that i address the disease, but also treat the spiritual, human aspect of the patient’s situation.

DR.

LAtAsHA HAyEs, OUR HOsPicE OF sOUtH cEntRAL inDiAnA

cHERi wiLDRiDgE, MEDicAtiOn AssistAncE PROgRAM cOORDinAtOR

Bi Otech firm nearing cO mpleti O n O f i ndy radi O is OtO pes factO ry

Aby John Russell indianapolis Business Journal

A San Diego-based biotech firm that is building a plant in Indianapolis to manufacture radioisotopes for cancer treatment says it expects the facility to be completed by the end of the year, with production starting next year.

RayzeBio Inc. announced the update in September, when it filed an amended registration statement to go public. The company had its initial public offering on Sept. 15, when it priced its stock at $18 a share. The company’s stock trades under the ticker RYZB on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

RayzeBio is renovating an existing warehouse on the northwest side of Indianapolis, a former delivery station for e-commerce giant Amazon. com Inc. The company is investing $45 million in the 63,000-square-foot building, which will include modular cleanrooms, mechanical systems and a back-up power system.

It plans to use the location to make Actinium 225, a radioisotope used for targeted therapy for cancer. The product is among a new class of cancer drugs that can be injected into a patient in an outpatient clinic and target tumor cells in a more precise manner than chemotherapy. The company’s radioisotope, also known as RYZ101, is still in late-stage clinical trials.

RayzeBio estimated it will receive net proceeds of about $206.5 million from the sale of the shares in its IPO.

It said it expects to use between $35 million and $40 million of the IPO proceeds to complete construction and equipment of the Indianapolis plant. It will use the remainder of the proceeds to advance its lead radioisotope, along with other pipeline drugs, through clinical development, along with working capital, additional research and development and general corporate purposes.

RayzeBio is the latest radiopharmaceutical startup to pop up in central Indiana, where a cluster of young biotechs and biopharmaceutical companies are building facilities for nuclear medicine.

Many of them have chosen this region because it is centrally located and near a FedEx air hub. Many isotopes begin degrading quickly and have a shelf life of a week or less and have to reach their customers and patients within a day or so.

“We have confirmed via test shipments that we can ship from Indianapolis to various parts of

s ERV i CE s

con T inu E d FR om PAGE 1

» Breast MRi guided biopsy: For areas to be biopsied that are not seen well by mammogram or ultrasound. Biopsy performed with magnetic resonance imaging guidance.

» Diagnostic breast ultrasound: sound waves used to detect solid or cystic lesions in the breast.

» Ultrasound guided core needle biopsy: small pieces of breast tissue removed under ultrasound guidance and examined for cancer cells.

» handheld vacuum-assisted ultrasound guided breast biopsy: this procedure allows the physician to use a handheld, vacuum-assisted needle to remove breast tissue under ultrasound guidance.

» stereotactic guided breast biopsy: t iny pieces of breast tissue removed with computer guidance and examined for cancer cells.

» g enetic high-risk education and testing: women who report high risk for breast cancer based on family or personal history can obtain a printout of lifetime risk and also get information and genetic testing. can help a woman and her health care provider determine her chances of getting breast cancer in her lifetime.

» Breast health navigator program: A navigator nurse serves as a resource and familiar face while assisting a patient through treatment and recovery, so the patient can focus on health and recovery.

» Mammography assistance program: For people who need a mammogram but can’t afford one. those who qualify can get a mammogram for $5. to qualify, participants must be at least 40 years old; have not had a mammogram in the prior year; cannot be pregnant or breastfeeding; have no history of breast cancer or breast problems; be referred by a doctor; have a household income at or below 200 percent of poverty level; and live in Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson or shelby counties. call the Breast health center to apply.

» cancer support services: Depending upon health history, same-day biopsy may be offered on the day that a problem is detected and 24-hour pathology result are nearly always available, rehabilitation services including physical and occupational therapy, nutrition and wellness guidance.

FRAnciscAn heAlth

Address: 123 second st., columbus

Key departments: Oncology, hematology

the world to deliver RYZ101 to various clinical centers within the drug shelf life of 120 hours,” RayzeBio said in its registration statement.

Separately, an Israeli pharmaceutical and nuclear medicine manufacturer, Isotopia USA, announced in September it will build its first U.S. operations in Westfield, where it will invest $20 million and create 50 jobs. The company plans to produce Lu-177 n.c.a., a radioactive medical isotope used in pharmaceuticals for targeted cancer treatment.

RayzeBio currently has 88 employees, 77 of whom are in research and development. The company said about

phone: (317) 859-5252

website: franciscanhealth. org/healthcare-facilities/ franciscan-physician-network-oncologyhematology- specialists-columbus-1626

services offered:

» Oncology

» cancer genetic testing

» Outpatient laboratory testing

» hematology

» chemotherapy

» infusion

» clinical trials

AscensiOn st vincent

Jennings hOspitAl

Address: 301 henry st., north vernon

Key department: imaging services phone: 812-352-4200

website: stvincent.org/locations/ hospitals/ jennings

services:

» clinical breast exams are offered by providers through the st. vincent Medical group-Jennings, located on the second floor of the hospital. call 352-4300 to set up an appointment with a provider.

» screening mammography

» Diagnostic mammography

» Breast ultrasound

» Ultrasound guided core needle biopsy

» Ultrasound guided breast cyst aspiration: Fluid removed from the cyst under ultrasound guidance and examined for cancer cells.

» Breast ductograms: Used to assist in the diagnosing of abnormal breast nipple discharge.

» Breast needle localizations: A localization wire is placed in the precise location of the breast for the surgeon to know the precise location of the nodule he is removing.

» lung scans

» Assistance programs: For assistance with Medicaid coverage call 812-352-2410.

» $49 heart scans: call the imaging department at 812-352-4310.

schnecK MeDicAl centeR

Address: 411 w t ipton st., seymour

Key departments: cancer center and Diagnostic imaging women’s center, endoscopy center.

64 people will work in the Indianapolis plant, where the jobs will pay an average of $44 an hour. Positions include research scientists, engineers, administrators and warehouse operators.

Last year, Indianapolis City-County Council approved a tax abatement worth $857,626 over four years for the company.

The company is led by Dr. Ken Song, president and CEO. He previously was CEO of Metacrine Inc., a maker of therapies for patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases. He led that organization from research to mid-stage clinical development and positioned it to go public.

phone: Main, 812-522-2349; cancer center, 812522-0480; Diagnostic imaging women’s center, 812-523-4874.

website: schneckmed.org

services offered:

» Board-certified medical and radiation oncologists

» chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, surgery, hematology » 4-D computed tomography (ct ) with respiratory gaiting: images of the patient to determine the dose intensity pattern and the precise location to be targeted.

» linear accelerator that performs 3-D radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic radiotherapy: these combine to provide pinpoint accuracy needed to treat only the affected tissue without compromising surrounding healthy tissue.

» 3-D tomography

» Dedicated women’s center

» Digital mammography

» 3-D mammography

» Breast ultrasound

» Breast MRi

» same-day biopsies

» stereotactic breast biopsy

» Ultrasound-guided biopsy

» self-referrals for screenings

» Flexible scheduling for mammograms

» Bronchoscopies

» endoscopies

» colonoscopies

» patient navigators

» hospice and home care

» survivorship program

» holistic/palliative care includes a dietitian for nutrition needs, pastor for spiritual care, social worker for financial and social concerns, and a nurse navigator to help navigate from the time of the cancer diagnosis.

» high Risk cancer clinic: includes genetic testing. provides individualized recommendations for prevention and surveillance for those at increased risk, screening tests and education about the risk of cancer.

» screenings: Offers prostate, lung, skin, breast and cervical screenings at various times through the year.

Photo Provided Dr. Ken song is ceO of RayzeBio inc., which launched an initial public offering of stock last month and is in the process of developing a factory in indianapolis to manufacture radioisotopes for targeted cancer treatments.