Brave Hearts

Saluting the fighters, survivors and caregivers in the battle against cancer

ExPERT AdvicE

EFranciscan Health physicians weigh in on women’s cancer risks

Each October, people break out their pink ribbons to honor breast cancer survivors and those who have died from the disease as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

And rightly so — 300,590 people are estimated to be diagnosed with the disease in 2023; 43,700 are estimated to die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.

But at the same time, women should be aware of a variety of cancers that could impact their health.

StoRy by RyAN TRARES

In addition to breast cancer, some of the most prevalent cancers affecting women are melanoma, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

To help women understand their risks and how these various cancers can affect them, physicians at Franciscan Health have provided answers to questions they might have. The following responses are in their own words, and are hoped to help detect cancer sooner.

Breast cancer

Breast surgeon Dr. Erika Rager, Franciscan Physician Network

Breast & Melanoma

Specialists

Why is it so important for women to be aware of breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common (type) of cancer in women, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Most breast cancers are easily

detected with mammograms. When detected early, long-term survival for breast cancer patients is over 95%.

What are the typical ways to screen for it?

Mammograms are the mainstay of screening for breast cancer. Some women at particularly high risk because of personal or family history can benefit from additional screenings with MRI or ultrasound, but nothing replaces regular mammograms.

When should women start being screened for it?

Most women should start getting mammograms at age 40 and get one at least every two years.

What are ways women can reduce their risks for breast cancer?

Lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer. Maintain a healthy body weight with a BMI of 25 or less. Engage in regular exercise - 30 minutes a day of moderate cardiovascular exercise like walking, cycling, water aerobics. If you drink alcohol, consume no more than one drink per day on average.

If you use hormone replacement therapy, use the lowest dose to control menopausal symptoms for the shortest time needed.

What do you wish people realized about breast cancer?

Breast cancer is common. Most people know someone who has had it. But different types of breast cancer are treated differently, and it’s important to know that each patient needs a unique treatment

plan. Those treatment plans change as we learn more about the best ways to treat different types of breast cancers. And those treatment plans are usually very effective.

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal surgeon Dr. Tobi Reidy, Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Colon & Rectal Specialists

Why is it so important for women to be aware of colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of death in the United States. Women need to be aware of a shift in presentation. This used to be considered a disease of those in their 50s to 70s, but we are seeing a shift to earlier diagnosis. Because of this, women need to be in tune with their bodies and report any potential changes in bowel function at any age.

What are the typical ways to screen for it?

Colonoscopy remains the gold standard in the United States to screen for colorectal cancers. It allows us to not only identify if a cancer is present but also to identify precancerous polyps. This is the most important finding as we can remove polyps before they morph into cancer. Other options to screen are sub-optimal in that they have a lower ability

Rager

Reidy

Advice

Continu E d from PAGE 2 to diagnose polyps and certainly cannot remove them. These tests evaluate if iron (a surrogate marker for blood) is present or if DNA from tumors and large polyps is present. Positive test results then lead to colonoscopy to manage. Numerous issues remain with these testing methods in the form of false positive tests and false negative tests. Currently, I recommend colonoscopy as the screening of choice due to the ability to directly diagnose, treat (with polyp removal or biopsy) and definitively care for a patient.

When should women start being screened for it?

United States screening guidelines have recently changed. The first screening for average-risk females (and males) is age 45. If you have a direct family member who has had colorectal cancer or multiple secondary relatives, this timing may change to age 40 or less.

What are ways women can reduce their risks for colorectal cancer?

Although there is no one thing that can prevent colorectal cancer from forming, I advise abstinence from smoking, minimal alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight through routine, moderate-level physical activity, eating a well-balanced diet with lower red and processed meat consumption and elevated intake of fish and legumes. Vitamin D supplementation may be beneficial as well as tighter control of blood sugars by reducing sweets and processed snacks.

What do you wish people realized about colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer (and its precursor polyps) is preventable and treatable.

Patients need to be proactive and seek out screening and discuss evaluations with their physicians. As women, we also need to listen to our bodies and when a change in bowel function or rectal bleeding arise, seek out consultation to determine if sooner evaluation is appropriate at any age.

Lung cancer

Medical oncologist and hematologist Dr. Meghana Raghavendra, Franciscan Physician Network

Oncology & Hematology Specialists

Why is it so important for women to be aware of lung cancer?

The incidence of lung cancer is decreasing overall. However, the concerning fact is that the incidence of lung cancer in women is on the rise by an astronomical 84% over the last 42 years, while dropping by 36% among men over the same time period.

What are the typical ways to screen for it?

A lung CT scan can detect cancer before any symptoms d evelop. Most lung cancers are first diagnosed based on symptoms, which unfortunately don’t occur until the disease is in the latter stage and treatment options are limited. The lung screening is s afe, non-invasive and results in a minimal amount of radiation exposure. When should women start being screene d for it?

You may be eligible for a lung CT scan screening if you are a high-risk individual. High-risk individuals are considered those age 50 to 77 years with a greater than 20-pack per year history of smoking a nd a current smoker, or those w ho have quit smoking within the past 15 years.

What are ways women can reduce their risks for lung cancer?

The best way to reduce the risk of lung cancer is to avoid smoking. If you are a smoker, quitting smoking will still decrease your risk. If you are a smoker, talk to your primary care provider about ways they can help you quit smoking and about whether you may be eligible for a lung CT scan for screening. Learn the symptoms of lung cancer and call your physician right away if you experience them. Discourage other women from smoking. Provide education to your family and community about the harms of smoking. What do you wish people realized about lung cancer? In most cases, lung cancer is preventable. However, nonsmokers can still develop lung cancer. Please seek attention if you have symptoms. Treatment for cancer has come a long way in terms of surgery, radiation as well as systemic therapy.

Melanoma

Breast and melanoma surgeon

Dr. Juliana Meyer, Franciscan Physician Network Breast & Melanoma Specialists

Why is it so important for women to be aware of melanoma?

Melanoma is one of the types of cancers increasing in incidence in women who are age 30 to 50.What are the typical ways to screen for it?

Your primary care provider or dermatologist can do total body skin checks yearly. Be mindful of particularly sunexposed areas or history of skin changes.

When should women start being screened for it?

Women should be screened at any age with any change in moles or freckles or who have history of sunburns or a family history of skin cancer.

I suggest women get yearly checks starting in their 30s otherwise.

What are ways women can reduce their risks for melanoma?

Reduce your sun exposure by wearing a hat, sunglasses and applying sunscreen daily. Mineral sunscreen is best, since it’s a physical block, not just a chemical one. Forgo the tanning beds forever. There is no such thing as a “safe tan.”

What do you wish people realized about melanoma?

The vast majority of cases this cancer can be prevented with good sun protection from a young age. We don’t have to be inside or hide from the sun, we just have to be smart about sun protection.

Ovarian cancer

Gynecologic oncologist

Dr. Tina Ayeni, Franciscan Physician Network Gynecology Oncology Specialists

Why is it so important for women to be aware of ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer has often been communicated as a silent killer, and it’s a disease that just pops up. One day you’re great, and the next day you’ve got disease everywhere. A big research study showed that this is a disease that does have symptoms. Early symptoms include frequent urination, new back pain, fatigue and what I would categorize as “I’m not eating comfortably.” With that last one, it’s like if you have your favorite food in front of you, and you take one or two bites and it’s just, “Ugh, I can’t get through these pancakes with extra butter and syrup,” which would be my favorite meal, I know something’s wrong.

If you’re not eating well, you’re having a change in your energy level, that frequent urination and the

back pain, those are the symptoms of ovarian cancer. It’s not necessarily going to be sharp pain.

What are the typical ways to screen for it?

A pelvic exam is a key screening for those who may be experiencing those more general symptoms. If you’re having frequent urination, usually you’ll get treated with antibiotics. You’ll feel better. Almost always that’s the case for my patients who ultimately end up seeing me, but then the symptoms come back, and there isn’t a good explanation, that’s when a pelvic exam needs to be done, if it hasn’t already, and that’s often what’s absent. When should women start being screened for it?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends pelvic exams only when women have symptoms or have a medical history that requires it. A woman and her OB/GYN should discuss her medical history and the risks and benefits of a pelvic exam. What are ways women can reduce their risks for ovarian cancer?

When I’m meeting patients being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, sometimes there’s months of treating a UTI, but no one’s done a pelvic exam. The other thing I would say with back pain, many people do have low back pain. The key is it’s different. There’s something that’s changed in the discomfort in your back. You have to have an awareness of how your body functions. If there’s something different, lean into that. Don’t ignore it. What do you wish people realized about ovarian cancer?

As the cancer advances, the symptoms become more obvious. There’s more pressure, discomfort, difficulty passing your stool, but the early symptoms often are symptoms that women can experience.

Raghavendra

Meyer

Ayeni

JAylEN WEiR: Breast CanCer

cAncER AT 25

A young woman’s battle against breast cancer

At 25 years old, she was facing the toughest battle of her young life: breast cancer.

During her annual physical exam, Franklin resident Jaylen Weir asked her doctor about breast pain. She didn’t make much of it when she pointed it out to her doctor, but that doctor noticed a lump.

StoRy by ANDy BELL-BALTACI photoS by ANDy BELL-BALTACI; SuBmITTED

“He found a little lump and said, ‘I’m sure it’s nothing, it’s not in your family history.’ Little did we know, it is,” Weir said. “I went to get an ultrasound done on my breast and it came back highly suspicious. The next step was to get a biopsy done, and it came back with breast cancer.”

Weir got her diagnosis June 28, 2022. Despite thinking she had no family history of the disease, testing revealed she had the BRCA gene from her father, a gene that makes carriers more susceptible to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and melanoma, a type of skin cancer, she said.

Weir was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, the most common type

of breast cancer, accounting for about 80% of breast cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Since the cancer is estrogen-based, it has a high survival rate. However, it was more aggressive than other cancers, and could spread without immediate and intense treatment, Weir said.

When a doctor told Weir she had cancer, her whole world came to a stop. At 25, she thought her life was just beginning. Now, it was at risk.

“It was a shock. I didn’t expect at 25 to hear I had breast cancer. I didn’t think I was going to live,” Weir said. “When you hear the word ‘cancer,’ you don’t usually think positive things.”

While Weir could have easily wallowed in depression, she was able to maintain a positive outlook and a determination to fight the disease with the help of her family, friends and coworkers.

“I had the best family and the best friends. They supported me so well. I had great coworkers. People I haven’t talked to in years reached out to me to give me support. I had such a great support system,” Weir said.

“I don’t know how people go through cancer without having such a good support system. On

(SEE BAttle PAGE 7)

the Weir File

NAm E : Jaylen Weir

Ag E : 26

DiAg N oS i S : Invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, Stage 2

tREAtm ENt: Five months weekly radiation, lumpectomy, 20 radiation sessions over four weeks

WhAt hAS CANCER tAught you?

“Be thankful for the good things and live every day to the fullest and don’t take for granted the time you have.”

h oW hAS CANCER ChAN g ED you?

“It really is taking a toll on my mental and physical health because I am constantly worried that I have cancer again.”

WhAt WoulD you tE ll Som Eo NE

J u St D iAg N oSED?

“Don’t give up, you can do it. Trust in your doctors and if you don’t like your doctors, find someone else because that’s so important.”

Pictured from top: Jaylen Weir holds a piece of paper she received June 28, 2022, diagnosing her with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Weir, 26, is now cancer-free. // Doctors declared Franklin resident Weir cancer-free on Feb. 24.

Robotic bronchoscopies detect lung cancer sooner than ever before

Patients with one of the deadliest and hardest-todiagnose cancers have a new hope thanks to a lifesaving robot.

LifE-SAving RoboT P

With over 1,000 scans under their belts, the medical team at Franciscan Health Cancer Center Indianapolis has made the hospital one of the region’s primary destinations for the early detection of lung cancer.

The MONARCH Robotic Platform from Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech Company, has helped patients increase the odds of survival.

Dr. Faisal Khan and his team have been using the novel technology since 2019. The hospital is the only one in Indiana, and among the few in the country, to serve more than 1,000 patients on the platform.

Reaching this milestone was the culmination of years of effort by a whole team. Khan and others who believed in the power of preventative pulmonary care built it from scratch at Franciscan over time, evolving with the technology and carving a niche in the state, he said.

Between the MONARCH and word of the team’s

Dr. Faisal Khan holds up the controller that is used to navigate with the MONARCH System during robotic bronchoscopies.

‘Why me?’

Hope woman diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 25

JJust 25 years old, and it seemed as if the world was ending around her.

Jessica Ogle could hardly comprehend what her doctors were saying. The Hope resident thought she was a healthy women in her mid-20s. She had two children and a supportive boyfriend. She was in a positive place.

But as her doctor explained to her that she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that image of her life ended.

“It was very life-shattering. I was 25, I was healthy. All I do is work, sleep and care for my kids. Why me?” she said.

StoRy by RyAN TRARES photoS by RyAN TRARES; SuBmITTED

Facing surgery followed by months of difficult chemotherapy, Ogle refused to let negativity overwhelm her. She leaned heavily on her faith, her family and friends and on her wry sense of humor to get her through the worst days.

Now, more than a year after her initial diagnosis, she appears to be cancer-free.

“I look at things differently now. I don’t lash out on things now; I’m more calm natured. There’s so much more to life than drama and negativity,” she said. “Life is short, and it can get taken from you.”

The first thing Ogle noticed was small, pebble-sized bumps. She discovered them on her neck and collarbone in the summer of 2022.

The lumps didn’t hurt or cause any discomfort, so while she thought it was strange, she wasn’t too worried about it.

But after a few months, some of the lumps had swollen in size, pushing against her throat.

“It hurt, it was kind of strange, I was scared,” she said.

Ogle made an appointment with her doctor, who couldn’t see her for about a month. In the meantime, she went to a health clinic to have the growths examined and have blood work done. The medical staff suggested she get an ultrasound on her neck to gain a clearer picture of what was going on.

The scan showed 19 enlargements on her neck, but no answers. When she finally was able to see her own doctor, she, too, was stumped. Her doctor ordered a CT scan, another ultrasound and more bloodwork to get a better sense of what was happening.

“She said she was going to test me for all kinds of stuff, where I’d probably be asking, ‘Why are you testing me for this?’ But she was trying to clear out anything possible,” Ogle said.

Her doctor also recommended she see a Columbus Regional Health hematologist — a specialist in diseases of the blood and bone marrow — a few days later. The hematologist wanted to do a biopsy on the growths, sticking a needle

(SEE Why PAGE 7)

the ogle file

NAm E : Jessica Ogle

Ag E : 26

DiAg N oS i S : u nfavorable

Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma

tREAtm ENt: Chemotherapy

WhAt hAS CANCER tAught you?

you have to be in the right mindset. If you’re not in the right mindset and you don’t accept it, I don’t see how anyone can get out of it. There were a couple of days when I felt so down and depressed. I hated what it was doing to my body. I just had to accept it and soak it in.”

h oW hAS CANCER ChAN g ED you?

“It makes you look at things differently. Any kind of negativity, drama, anything like that, I just cut out of my life.”

WhAt WoulD you tE ll

Som Eo NE J u St D iAg N oSED?

“Do what makes you happy. Surround yourself with the people who bring good into your life. It’s not worth the negativity.”

JESSiCA oglE: Hodgkin’s lympHoma

into the masses on either side of her neck.

More and more, an answer was coming into focus.

“Everything they were gathering was coming up highly suspicious for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but it wasn’t a solid yes-or-no answer,” Ogle said. “So she wanted a more thorough biopsy done.”

Finally, the medical team had their smoking gun. After removing an entire lymph node from Ogle’s neck, it tested positive for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The cancer affects the lymphatic system, causing white blood cells to grow out of control throughout the body. According to the American Cancer Society, the disease is most common in young adults in their 20s.

An estimated 8,830 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2023, while the disease is estimated to cause 900 deaths.

When Ogle received the phone call about the diagnosis on Dec. 5, 2022, while working at Jay-C Foods, she was stunned. Quickly, though, she steeled her resolve to beat the disease.

“It was very scary, but I told myself we have to do what we have to do. We have to take care of it,” she said.

Meeting with her doctors at Columbus Regional Health,

B Attle

my hardest days, they had my back. When you’re going through the worst time in your life, those people get you through.”

She received additional guidance from social worker Kayla Epplin, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical hospital coordinator with the Cancer Support Community of Indiana. Franciscan Health, the southside hospital where she was treated, connected her with a nurse navigator, someone available to answer any questions she had about her treatment or provide emotional support if she needed it, she said.

“When you want to reach out to a doctor, they’re there to answer any question, or if I was having a rough day, they were here to help,” Weir said. “They were very caring and understanding. They didn’t treat me like a patient, they treated me like a friend, someone they truly cared about.”

Once diagnosed, Weir was scheduled for chemotherapy. She started her weekly sessions July 15, 2022, and continued them until Dec. 19. With chemotherapy, she lost her energy and quickly lost her hair, which took an emotional toll, she said.

“The biggest thing was fatigue. I was very tired all the time and had

Ogle learned the best treatment plan for her disease. Due to her age, her doctors asked if she wanted to do fertility treatments to increase the likelihood she could have children in the future. The chemotherapy could greatly impact her ability to have kids, they told her. For about a week, she considered her options; ultimately, with the cost and the fact it would delay treatment, she decided against it.

“I don’t want to put off my treatment any longer than I had to. I have two beautiful, healthy children. Later on in life, if I can’t have any more kids, it is what is it,” she said. With her decision made, Ogle had a port surgically implanted for chemotherapy infusions, and on Dec. 21, had her first treatment. She went into the hospital every other week for four to six hours to get doses of a mixture of four chemotherapy drugs.

“I was really scared of going through chemo because you think of someone who’s going through it, and most of the time, they’re very fragile, have lost a lot of weight, have lost their hair,” she said. “I started buying a bunch of toboggans and head wraps, getting ready for it. My refrigerator was stocked with Ensure because I was scared I wouldn’t be able to eat.”

To help with side effects such as heartburn, indigestion and insomnia, Ogle’s medical team offered her medicines to take daily. She also took steroids to counter the chemotherapy’s effects; the medication caused her to gain more than 30 pounds during treatment. She also was given a shot to boost her white blood cell counts. The medication kept her healthy, but caused severe bone pain.

“It was aching, like the feeling of being out in the cold for an hour. It just hurt,” she said. “It was crippling; I had to lay in bed all day.”

In general, Ogle did well through chemotherapy, she said. Though she was very tired on the days of her treatment, she would bounce back to feeling well in the days following. She was able to keep working at Jay-C most of the time, though her employers were understanding on days she was struggling.

At her worst, she relied on friends, co-workers and her

the lumpectomy, doctors told Weir the surgery was a success, and she was cancer-free.

“That was when I really felt like I could breathe,” Weir said. “Before then, you always feel like the cancer is still growing because you don’t have that reassurance that there’s no cancer.”

Because she opted for a lumpectomy, forgoing a full mastectomy, she had to undergo radiation treatment to mitigate the chances of the cancer reoccurring. Weir said she wasn’t emotionally ready for a mastectomy, which would have spared her radiation treatments, although she’ll likely still have to get one at some point.

family to help. Her boyfriend was her rock, picking her up when she was at her worst.

“We’d have people bringing over dinner on the nights I had chemo, so that was really awesome to have so much support,” she said. “I was really thankful to have so many people supporting me and by my side if I needed anything.”

Ogle’s treatment ended in June after 12 doses of chemotherapy. Scans taken in late June showed her cancer was gone.

“Treatment was very successful. I did astonishingly well with it, so that was really good news for all of us to hear,” she said.

Her doctors recommended one more scan, just to be certain the cancer had been eliminated. If it comes back clear, Ogle will have surgery to have her port removed and then be monitored every six months for recurrences for two years.

For the most part, Ogle feels normal and healthy, though she has found that she becomes fatigued more easily than before her diagnosis, particularly when it’s hot outside.

But the process has helped change her mindset — which she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.

“It’s very life-changing. It makes you look at things differently,” she said. “Any kind of negativity, drama, anything like that, I just cut out of my life.”

pain, it was more internal and the radiation was physical.”

Weir, now, 26, is looking at her life post-cancer, but the emotional and physical scars of the disease haven’t yet healed.

“What’s so hard is I still to this day don’t feel like it’s a breath of fresh air. I think that’s something that needs to be talked about more of life after cancer, how hard it is to survive after cancer,” Weir said. “It really is taking a toll on my mental health because I am constantly worried that I have cancer again.”

Weir has also had to deal with the lasting physical effects of her cancer, treatment and surgery.

coming in. They didn’t start coming in until months after the treatment ended,” she said. “That’s the biggest thing, figuring out how a 26-year-old who has student loans and works for a not-for-profit will pay medical bills.”

Now, along with paying off those bills, she’s trying eat healthier, lose the weight she gained during cancer and move beyond thoughts of reoccurrence, she said.

“I’m still talking to a cancer counselor who’s helping me mentally to figure out how to move beyond it and still live your life every day,” Weir said. “I beat cancer. I can’t be living in the past. I want to live my life to the fullest now.”

no motivation or energy to do anything. Thankfully, I didn’t have a lot of nausea and could still eat and drink, but I would get some hot flashes; that was very frustrating. I gained a lot of weight.

With breast cancer it’s common with medicine to gain weight,” Weir said. “You feel and look like a cancer patient. It’s difficult every day seeing it.”

Her treatment also involved immunotherapy, which caused heart inflammation in January as she was getting

ready for a lumpectomy, a procedure that involves surgeons cutting around the tumor to ensure there’s no cancer left and the cancer hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes.

“They wanted to make sure my heart was going to be functioning well before I went under anesthesia,” Weir said. “I was very thankful because I was told people who had the condition I had were usually hospitalized for it, and thankfully, I didn’t have to be.”

On Feb. 24, following

Wood Auto Repair

“It’s completely losing your breasts,” she said. “After a whole year of my whole entire world being turned upside down, I just mentally could not go through it. I know I will eventually have to, but at the time, I wasn’t ready.”

Weir finished her treatment with radiation, which she had to undergo five days a week for four weeks, starting April 10 and wrapping up May 5. Radiation was the most harrowing aspect of treatment because of its intensity, Weir said.

“I think it was the fact that it was every day. It was burning my skin and I was feeling the pain,” she said. “When I was going through chemo, I really didn’t feel physical

“My range of motion is still not good,” Weir said. “I can’t bear weights and things like that. My movement and also my energy is still not back. I have some neuropathy and of course the dang weight gain.”

While she didn’t have to deal with the financial ramifications of extended treatments while she had cancer, the medical bills have started to pour in, which have put a strain on her finances on top of student loans again being due. She’s had to look to her family for financial support and also plans to see what grants she can apply for to help cover medical debt.

“I didn’t really have any financial difficulties until the bills started

With cancer behind her, Weir will continue her work with Easterseals Crossroads, the local arm of a national disability organization that assists people living with autism and behavioral challenges. In her personal life, she has a mission to live every day to the fullest, knowing that something life-changing like the cancer diagnosis she got just last year, could happen at any time.

“Be thankful for the good things, live every day to the fullest and don’t take for granted the time you have,” Weir said. “People always say ‘we can do that in a few weeks,’ but you never know what’s going to happen to you.”

317-535-3022

Supporting

The women of Greenwood Christian Church love and support cancer survivors, and we join with you to...

Submitted photo

Franklin resident Jaylen Weir, 26, underwent weekly chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer from July to December of 2022.

Submitted photo

Jessica Ogle, a Hope resident, gives a thumbs-up before going in for surgery to have a chemotherapy port implanted in her chest after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. The 26-year-old has finished treatment, and it appears the cancer is gone.

HERSELf

Beech Grove woman’s intuition leads to cancer diagnosis

SSomething was seriously wrong.

Tabitha Minton felt it strongly. The Beech Grove resident had dealt most of her life with irregular menstruation — sometimes going months or more without a period. But doctors had repeatedly told her the problem was her weight or suggested she start taking birth control.

When heavy uterine bleeding forced her to the emergency room, again, she was told it was nothing to be concerned about.

Still Minton kept searching for answers.

“I was tired of being told I needed birth control pills. Doctors always blamed my weight,” she said. “It’s just sad.”

photo by RyAN TRARES

Minton, 45, believes trusting her instincts saved her life. In 2020, she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, a disease that forms in the lining of the uterus. After undergoing a hysterectomy and radiation treatment, she is currently in remission.

Until she was diagnosed with it, Minton had never heard of endometrial cancer, even though it is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs. She wants to share her story to make more women aware of the dangers it presents and for them to trust their own bodies.

“Gynecological cancers are hardly ever talked about, and they need to be. There are signs and there are warnings,” she said. “You have to believe what you feel.”

Minton was first diagnosed with cancer in 2020 after heavy uterine bleeding forced

her to go to the emergency department. She was scared at the severity of the bleeding, but the emergency room personnel downplayed it.

“Unfortunately, I probably had cancer then. But they didn’t run any blood tests or anything. They gave me a urine test, sent me home and told me to follow up with my doctor,” she said.

After going to see her primary care doctor, Minton was referred to Dr. Emily Cline, a women’s health specialist for Johnson Memorial Health. Cline recommended an ultrasound and an exam known as dilation and curettage to investigate the uterus.

The examination revealed that Minton had Grade 1, Stage 2 endometrial cancer.

“I had to go back the following day, and when she sat me down, I kind of had a feeling something was wrong because she asked me if my husband was here,” she said.

Endometrial cancer forms when cells in the endometrium, or the inner lining of the uterus, start to grow out of control. Interaction between receptors on the cells and the hormones estrogen and/or progesterone leads to increased growth, which becomes more and more abnormal until it becomes cancerous, according to the American Cancer Society.

About 66,200 new cases of uterine cancer will be diagnosed in 2023, and about 13,030 women will die from cancers of the uterine body, according to the American Cancer Society.

the minton file

NAm E : Tabitha m inton

Ag E : 45

DiAg N oS i S : Group 1 Stage 2

endometrial cancer

tREAtm ENt: Hysterectomy and six rounds of radiation

WhAt hAS CANCER

tAught you?

“It’s OK not to be OK. Let your feelings be your feelings, but don’t let it define who you are. you’re still loved, you’re still beautiful, you’re still strong. There’s always hope at the end of the tunnel, even if you need to cry your way through.”

h oW hAS CANCER

ChAN g ED you?

“It changed me for the better. It was kind of hard because I went in deep, dark depression. I had to go on medication, I had to ask for help. In that moment, I realized it’s OK to ask for help.”

WhAt WoulD you tE ll

Som Eo NE J u St D iAg N oSED?

“ you can take a situation and become better, or you can take a situation and be bitter about it. But don’t let any disease, any illness define who you are. you’re loved, you’re wanted.”

cREATing

EVolunteer group makes items for Community Health cancer patients

Every stitch is designed to comfort someone who was hurting.

About a dozen women had come to Friedens United Church of Christ on the southside of Indianapolis, loaded up with yarn, fabric, sewing machines and more. They met every two weeks at the church to work on a variety of fabric art projects — quilts, stocking hats and bags to hang on a walker.

TRARES

Calling themselves the Needle Network, some of their most meaningful creations are “port pillows,” designed for cancer patients to wear so seat belts and purse straps don’t irritate their chemotherapy ports.

“You can only do so much for your own family. The group wants to feel useful, and by doing this, they feel useful,” said Judy Davisson, a Needle Network volunteer, who helped get the initiative going.

The team of volunteers has become a source of compassion for patients at Community MD Anderson Cancer Center-South and other areas of the hospital. Participants put their talents to work, making a variety of items to give not only to the hospital, but to also support community nonprofit agencies helping the

homeless, veterans, adult day centers and more throughout the area. Their hearts are with the patients at Community Hospital South, though.

“I love quilting, and it gives me some opportunity to get out with other people. It’s a social thing, and it’s a donation to the community,” said Tina Myers, a volunteer with the group.

For more than 10 years, the Needle Network has been serving patients at Community Hospital South. The idea came together after Davisson approached Katy Prestel, Community Hospital South volunteer services manager. Davisson wanted to see if there was anything they could do for the hospital and its patients.

“We had already started making walker bags, and then we just went from there,” she said.

The variety of items they make for patients is staggering. Hats and shawls and other warm items are very popular, Prestel said. To warm patients while they’re in treatment or in their hospital beds, the group makes a range of different blankets.

“We don’t make them too big, because they’d be so bulky for them to handle. So it’s something they can put over them if they too cold — you know how cold the hospital can be,” said Jean Broadbent, a volunteer with the group.

The group also makes eyeglass cases where patients can store their glasses while they’re in surgery.

Every Christmas, the group makes quilts for every patient who is in the hospital for the holidays.

“They’ll give out handcrafted, themed quilts to everyone in the hospital on Christmas Day,” Prestel said. “They reach out in so many different areas, but are so humble about them.”

One of their most popular creations was “puppy pillows” — soft, colorful pillows shaped like dog faces to give to children or adults with special needs who find themselves in the hospital.

Initially, the volunteers would cut out the faces by hand, using coins such as dimes, nickels and quarters as templates for the eyes and noses. When they were able to buy a Cricut, their production skyrocketed.

“We were able to do hundreds at one time,” Davisson said.

People of all talents come together to work throughout the year. Some focus on sewing, while others prefer knitting or crocheting various items. For members who don’t do any kind of fabric arts, they help stuff pillows or organize items to be distributed.

Much of their attention is focused on making items for

(SEE comfo R t PAGE 10)

StoRy AND photo by RyAN

clockwise from left: Judy Davisson, right, and Tina Myers hold up a quilt made by the Needle Network, a group that meets twice each month to sew, knit or crochet items for patients at Community Hospital South, particularly those who are in treatment for cancer. // Warm stocking hats made by volunteers with the Needle Network. // Pieces of fabric that will soon be made into comforting items.

success with it, Franciscan Health has drawn referrals from all over the state and from neighboring states, Khan said.

Southside resident Linda Thomas is one person who was helped by the MONARCH system. She was referred to Khan’s team in August 2022 after she and her husband got lung and heart scans together as a preventative medicine date, she said.

Her husband’s scan revealed a serious heart problem and hers revealed suspicious lung nodules.

“Those are life-saving scans,” Thomas said. “They saved my husband’s life. And absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, they saved my life because I had no idea. I felt I’m a healthy, healthy woman have never ever had any kind of physical ailments whatsoever.”

After helping her husband through his heart procedure, she prioritized a deeper look at the nodules on the advice of Khan, who thought there was a high chance the nodules were cancerous.

With the robotic bronchoscopy, it was revealed that the nodules were in fact cancerous. Instead of months, she learned she had cancer in a matter of days. And because it was detected so early, the growths could be removed and Thomas was able to have a much easier cancer journey than most, she said.

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patients at the cancer center, Davisson said.

“Patients who complete their treatments, they get a bag with either a quilt or an afghan in it,” she said. “We do hats for them, the port pillows — anything we can think of that can help them out.”

The port pillows grew out of a request by Prestel. One of her friends was recovering from breast cancer, and she mentioned how painful it was to be in the car. The seatbelt strap kept rubbing against her surgically implanted port.

When Prestel mentioned it to the group, they brainstormed ways

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“Cervical cancer and ovarian cancer kind of get the spotlight, but by the numbers, there’s no endometrial cancer than those two combined,” said Dr. James Cripe, a specialist in gynecologic oncology at Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center-South.

Despite the confirmation of cancer in her uterus, Cline still had questions — whether the cancer had started in the uterus, or if it had spread from some other place. The one thing she was sure of was that it was an aggressive cancer.

“She said she had to hurry up and get it because my cervix was like tissue paper. It was just

lung cancer statistics

» Hoosiers are significantly more likely to have lung cancer than the national average, with 70 new cases in 2022 compared to the national average of 57. However, the rate of new cases has dropped 19% in the past five years.

» The survival rate in Indiana is 23%, compared to 25% on the national average. Indiana’s survival rate has increased 30% in the last five years.

» A quarter of lung cancer cases in Indiana were caught early, which is on par with the national average. This is an improvement of 17% over the past five years.

» Only 7% of those at the highest risk for lung cancer were screened in 2022, which is actually higher than the national average of 6%. This has not changed significantly in the past five years.

i nfo R m Ation: American Lung Association’s State of Lung Cancer report 2022

“I’ve known cancer patients who have had to wait what feels like an eternity to get a diagnosis,” Thomas said.

“Maybe it wasn’t the next day, but it was so swift that … I just didn’t have any of that anxiety that you have when you have to wait and you have to wait and you have to wait.”

The machine has revolutionized lung cancer diagnosis.

Using an interface similar to a video game controller, doctors take a look inside the tiny spaces of the lungs with computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of a patient’s own body. The system probes the different parts of the lung and obtains tissue samples for biopsy, Franciscan officials explained.

Pulmonologists are given a continuous bronchoscope vision throughout the entire outpatient procedure. To augment the system’s ability, Franciscan added a Cone Beam CT scan to the mix two years ago. The addition has made it possible to go after even smaller lesions on the lung, Khan said.

“This technology and approach have been invaluable in our ability to provide the best care possible for our patients,” Khan said. “This platform is more precise and provides improved reach, vision and control during bronchoscopic procedures, which helps us access the hardest-to-reach areas of the lung where most lung cancer nodules start to form.”

Data from the American Cancer Society shows the five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 22%. The meager survival rate is because, in the majority of cases, the disease is not detected until advanced stages. When found in the localized stage, when it has not spread, the fiveyear survival rate increases to 60%, data shows.

“It has the highest mortality among all cancers. If you compare it with breast, colon, prostate combined, still the

mortality from the lung cancer is highest,” Khan said. “And the reason is that the lung is a big organ, right? So the tumor has to grow to a certain size to present symptoms. So traditionally, by the time lung cancer would present with symptoms, it was already too late.”

Traditional techniques to do a bronchoscopy on a lung came with risks like bleeding and lung collapse. Those risks were amplified because, while doctors can see nodules on a scan, they can’t immediately tell if they are cancerous, Khan said.

Patients would often go six months or more without knowing if they had cancer, which brought them anxiety, Khan said. The waiting period was recommended because doctors would watch to see if the lesions start to grow before doing the invasive procedure, he said.

“The traditional way was, you would wait for a certain period — wait for it to grow. And then if it grows, then you would send it to radiology,” Khan said. “But the downside of that was that if the tumor is growing, you’re also taking the risk of it spreading.”

The old form of bronchoscopy also was inaccurate, and it was hard for doctors to find the nodules using only their knowledge of the lung and a guess where the spots might be based on the CT scan.

“A nodule of lung cancer is about the size of a dime or something like that,” Khan said. “When you go after it for biopsy, it’s a big organ and

For much of its existence, the Needle Network met at the hospital to sew and socialize. The COVID19 pandemic put a halt to those plans, but two years ago, the group found another host at Friedens United Church of Christ.

The church has been their home ever since.

you’re going in after a small spot that is in a moving organ and you’re trying to hit it with a fine needle somewhat blindly. So you need a very precise control and accuracy mechanism.” Robotic bronchoscopies have reduced these complications and increased the accuracy of diagnosis, Khan said.

The robotic system also gives patients a sense of hope and better options. If there is no cancer, patients find out sooner. If there is cancer, it can be detected early. Even if it isn’t detected early, the machine provides a more clear path forward by giving doctors a better view inside the lung.

The robots couldn’t do their job without more doctors encouraging their patients to get scanned for lung cancer if they’re at high risk. It is recommended that people who currently smoke or have smoked within the last 15 years start getting lung CT scans at the age of 50. That’s because most people are diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or older, Khan said.

If anything suspicious shows up on the scan, patients get a referral so a closer look can be taken with robotic bronchoscopies.

Reaching the 1,000-patient milestone was a happy and humbling moment for Khan and his team. He has a framed photo of the group posing with a banner celebrating the milestone displayed in his office.

Getting to use the technology to make a difference for so many people is the source of that happiness, Khan said.

have stepped forward to donate yarn or fabric for their projects. Many of the donors have been impacted by the Needle Network’s generosity, either personally or by one of their family members.

projects, things happening in their lives and more.

The group offers an opportunity for service while also strengthening friendships, Davisson said.

to make something to provide greater comfort.

“They developed a design based on her suggestions and made it

crumbling apart,” Minton said.

Minton was referred to Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center-South, where she met Cripe.

He ran a series of tests and scans to pinpoint exactly where and what the cancer was. With a clear picture of endometrial cancer, the best course of action was to surgically remove the uterus.

“When we discussed her PT results and biopsy, it suggested it was not a cervical cancer, so we’d want to do a surgical removal of the uterus. Otherwise, it (would have) probably been a chemo-radiation process — a totally different treatment option,” he said.

For Minton, The avalanche of information threatened to bury her.

happen. Now, they go like hotcakes. We drop 40 or 60 of them off on one day, and they’re just gone,” Prestel said.

“I had to bring my mom because I was like a deer in the headlights. I had no clue what was going on,” she said. “They ran test after test, blood work after blood work.”

But the fast pace allowed Minton’s medical team to get her hysterectomy quickly scheduled. On March 31, 2021, she came to the hospital to have her uterus removed.

While in recovery from her surgery, she started to grasp the reality of her situation.

“It finally because sinking in — oh my gosh, I have cancer,” she said. “This is really happening.”

As the realization pressed down on her, Minton relied on the people around her for support. Her husband, Cedric, was a rock, while her parents,

“It’s a program that’s really grown under Judy’s leadership,” Prestel said. “She’s expanded it to a crochet and knitting group, where they can learn. She puts together kits of materials in appropriate colors, and they can just come in and get everything they need and go.”

As word of the group’s work has spread among the community, people

best friends, aunts and uncles all surrounded her with love.

Her belief in God kept her positive in the lowest of times.

“I never lost faith in the Lord. He’s the one who helped me get through this,” she said.

That’s not to say the seriousness of her situation didn’t impact her.

“I went in (a) deep, dark depression. I had to go on medication, I had to ask for help. In that moment, I realized it’s OK to ask for help,” she said. But she credits her success during treatment to a healthy sense of humor, as well.

“I tried to find humor in everything. You have to find humor in the bad things of life. It’s what helps you get through it

“Our quilt group met at the hospital on Saturday, and we had a nurse stop by to watch us. She said her husband had received a quilt, and that he was so thankful because he gets so cold because of treatment,” Davisson said. “She wanted to thank us for what we do.”

On a work session in mid-September, the Needle Network spread out at tables around the church’s main lobby. They chatted and caught up on their most recent

and encourage your love on other people,” she said.

When her body had healed from her hysterectomy, Minton went through radiation treatment, going to sessions twice a week for three weeks.

“Not everyone can say that they’ve been radioactive,” she said.

Minton finished her last treatment on May 4, 2021. As she finished up and went to ring the bell — symbolizing the end of her treatment — she wore a “Star Wars” T-shirt proclaiming, “May the Force be with you.”

More than 2 1/2 years after her last treatment, Minton remains under the care of Cripe and Dr. Chandrika Patel, her radiation oncologist. She’ll do so until she hits five years cancer-free.

But for everything the volunteers get out of their work, the patients at Community get much, much more, Prestel said.

“I am so incredibly thankful for all of the work these women do. Whether a patient is having a birthday, or their family is having a difficult time at end-oflife, or just the simplicity of knowing my glasses are taken care of when I go into surgery — it all makes their experience a little bit better,” she said.

“So far, she’s doing well. Almost three years in, she recurrence-free,” Cripe said.

Minton feels better than she has in a long time and has seen no ill aftereffects of her treatment. Her goals have become raising awareness of endometrial cancer and raising up other women who may be affected by it.

“They can’t lose hope in themselves. They can’t allow cancer to define them, because you have to learn to take cancer and turn it around and define it by being positive,” she said. “With any terminal illness, if you feed it negativity, it’s going to eat you and kill you. But if you starve it with positivity, you can get through what you’re going through.”

Ryan tRaReS | daily JouRnal

Volunteers Jill Stanley, right, and Karen Pedigo crochet during a work session by the Needle Network at Friedens United Church of Christ on the southside of Indianapolis on Sept. 19.

Pictured from left: Ethicon’s MONARCH Platform has helped Franciscan Health Indianapolis become one of the region’s destinations to get an early lung cancer diagnosis. Ethicon is a Johnson & Johnson Surgical Technology company. // 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 two, from left, Kyle Leffel, RN; Samantha Forester; Danielle Sellers, RN. Row three, from left, Shannon Toscano, RN; Martha Hubble; Karen Decatur, RN. Row four, from left, Carrie Webb, RN; Tayah Eakle; Claire Winters, RN. Back row, from left, Luba Settlemyre, Maressa Bresler, Addison Lollar. // This video game-like controller is used to navigate with the MONARCH System during robotic bronchoscopies.

photo pRovided by FRanciScan health; leeann doeRFlein | daily JouRnal

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