Breast cancer awareness oct 10, 2014

Breast Cancer Awareness • 3B

www.crossville-chronicle.com • Friday, October 10, 2014

‘You need support’ Norris finds healing and more through Casting for Recovery program

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Over 15 Years Serving Cumberland County

Chronicle lifestyles editor

Vendors invited to Shop for A Cure

Relay for Life of Fentress County will be hosting the second annual Shop for A Cure event Dec. 6 at York Elementary School in Jamestown from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crafters, direct sales, businesses and individuals are invited to participate in the event. A six-foot cafeteria space is available for a $20 donation. An 8x8 gym floor space is available with a $30 donation.

Payment must be received to reserve a space. Information and vendor form are available online at www.

ShopForACure.org. For questions, contact event coordinator Christy Strand at (931) 397-6464.

Stone Memorial will be having special nights during October.

The SMHS football team will be playing their annual pinkout game to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer on Oct. 10 against Sequatchie County.

T-shirts, “Paws for the Cause,” will be on sale at the school.

Vincent B. Longobardo, DPM

By Missy Wattenbarger Carol Norris lost her mother to breast cancer in 1986. Although her struggle with the disease lasted nearly five years, the experience didn’t fully prepare Norris for her own battle 23 years later.

“I was in my 30s when mom died, so it had been quite a while...” said Norris, who has two older sisters.

“I guess in the back of my mind I always felt like if any of the three of us girls got it, there was a feeling it would be me,” she added. “Yet it doesn’t prepare you when you hear the words: ‘I’ve got the pathologist’s report back and it is cancer.’”

Norris was 54 years old when she received the news — the same age her mother, Gladys Bickford, was when she was diagnosed with the disease. Unlike her mother, however, Norris’ fight was much shorter and sent the cancer into complete remission.

“It was found in my left breast,” she said. “Because they caught it early, it didn’t have a chance to spread.”

At the time of her diagnosis, Norris had been going to the Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center for regular mammograms and ultrasounds.

She had first visited with the mobile mammography unit that came to Crossville, but she was referred to the center after results showed she had very dense breast tissue.

“They were afraid that a regular mammogram would miss something,” she said. “Sure enough, it did.”

A few days before July 4 in 2009, Norris’ doctor, Caryn Wunderlich, followed up her usual ultrasound appointment with a request to do a biopsy.

“Always before, the technician had come back out and said, ‘OK. You’re

SMHS sets Pink Out Oct. 10 against Sequatchie

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Join The Fight For A Cure To Knock Out Breast Cancer 1853 Peavine Rd Photos submitted

Carol Norris shows off a fish she caught during a 2011 Casting for Recovery retreat. The program combines breast cancer education and peer support with the therapeutic sport of fly fishing. good to go.’ So that kind of scared me,” said Norris.

The doctor assured Norris that she would hear from her before the holiday. When the call came in, however, Norris wasn’t comforted by the news.

“Dr. Wunderlich said that the first pathologist said she didn’t think it was cancer, but sometimes it doesn’t look like cancer but it really is,” said Norris.

“So she said she wanted to send it to a second pathologist.”

Six days later, while at work, Norris was read the findings of the second pathologist’s report and immediately felt numb.

“The first thing that ran through my mind when I heard the diagnosis was ‘Oh my goodness. I’ve been handed the death sentence,’” she said.

After nearly four weeks of testing, Norris learned that her breast cancer was

triple negative. Occurring in about 10-20 percent of patients, triple negative breast cancer can be more aggressive and difficult to treat because it lacks the three most common types of receptors known to fuel most breast cancer growth — estrogen, progesterone and the HER-2/neu gene.

“Triple negative means that it doesn’t respond to any of the hormonal therapies commonly used to treat breast cancer,” she explained. “So the way they treat those patients is with the chemo and radiation.”

Following her surgery July 30, 2009, Norris received chemo treatments from mid-September until the week before Thanksgiving. She also underwent 34 rounds of radiation. What helped Norris the most through this diffiSee support page 5B

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4B • Breast Cancer Awareness F O L October I O L1,I2013 NE Tuesday,

F O L I/ O L I NCANCER E THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT BREAST AWARENESS

M c C l a t c h y - T r i bPage u n 23 e

www.crossville-chronicle.com • Friday, October 10, 2014

Since the advent of the pink ribbon, health experts have been working hard to educate women about breast cancer. While we’ve come a long way, continuing to spread the right information is crucial. We asked top experts to dispel common myths and misinformation and clarify how women can protect — Womansday.com themselves now.

For years women have been told to check their breasts for lumps by using a circular motion. But more and more doctors are now recommending a different technique known as the vertical strips method.

“It provides more thorough coverage of the breast, including under the arm,” says Debbie Saslow, Ph.D., director of breast and gynecologic cancers at the American Cancer Society, which now recommends this method for women who do breast self exams. And according to Harvard researchers, the technique has a better track record of detecting smaller lumps than the circular exam.

Imagine a grid drawn horizontally from your armpit to your breastbone, and vertically from your collarbone to just under your breast.

Using the pads — not the tips — of your three middle fingers, move in tiny circles and apply varying degrees of pressure, starting under the armpit. Move your fingers down to the next square and repeat.

Continue these vertical strips until you’ve covered the entire grid.

A thorough exam of both breasts should take at least 10 minutes. At your next checkup, ask your doctor to review the vertical strips technique with you.

WHAT REALLY AFFECTS YOUR CANCER RISK Myths and misinformation are rampant when it comes to risk factors and causes of breast cancer. Here’s what you need to be concerned about and what you don’t.

Is it true that ...

Wearing antiperspirants and underwire bras can lead to breast cancer?

No. Several studies have found no link between these products and breast cancer risk, says Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, director of the breast cancer prevention program at Duke University. One theory was that using antiperspirants or wearing certain types of bras would impede lymphatic flow through the breast, causing cancer-causing toxins to build up, but that’s just not true, says Dr. Virginia Kaklamani, assistant professor of oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

You’re destined to get the disease if you have a family history of it?

No. “Most people who have a mother who developed breast cancer after menopause only have a modest increase in risk compared to the general population,” says Dr. Claudine Isaacs, clinical director of the breast cancer program at the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Plus, there’s a difference between having a family history of the disease and having a genetic predisposition. If a close relative is diagnosed with the disease (including on your father’s side), you have a family history. Carrying a mutation in one of the so-called breast cancer genes BRCA I or II indicates a genetic predisposition, which raises your lifetime risk of developing the disease 40 to 80 percent, Isaacs explains. That may sound high, but it still doesn’t mean you will definitely get breast cancer, Isaacs says. “There are many lifestyle factors that come into play, including whether you exercise and are at a healthy weight, that can mitigate your risk,” she says.

Plus, if you have a BRCA I or II mutation, you can take measures to lower your odds. For example, removing the ovaries before menopause reduces breast cancer risk by 50 percent. That’s why it’s important to discuss your family history — and your options — with your doctor.

Having more than one drink daily increases your risk?

Yes. Women who have two to five drinks daily increase their breast cancer risk 50 percent compared to those who abstain from alcohol, according to the American Cancer Society. The theory is that the way alcohol is metabolized leads to higher estrogen levels in the bloodstream, which ups your odds of developing the disease.

“Women should have less than a drink a day,” Seewaldt says. One drink is a 10-ounce beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine or one shot of hard liquor.

Being overweight is a risk factor?

Yes. “Overweight or obese women do have an increased risk for developing breast cancer in their postmenopausal years,” says Dr. Anne McTiernan, director of the prevention center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “We think it’s because these women have high levels of estrogens, testosterone and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein and insulin — all of which can cause breast cells to grow excessively.”

THE NO. 1 HABIT THAT LOWERS YOUR RISK Exercise. “We think that physical activity reduces your risk by lowering levels of estrogen and other hormones, in large part by reducing body fat,” McTiernan says. You don’t have to sweat it out for hours on end to reap the benefit: A landmark study involving more than 74,000 women found that those who walked briskly for an hour and a half to two and a half hours weekly cut their risk of breast cancer by 18 percent.

Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy weight, which lowers your risk of the disease. One study found that women who

gained 21 to 30 pounds after age 18 had a 40 percent higher risk, compared with women who kept their weight within 5 pounds.

If you do see the number on the scale creep up, bringing it down can be protective: Data from the ongoing Nurses’ Health study found that women who shed 22 pounds after menopause reduced their risk by 57 percent.

WHAT WOMEN KNOW ABOUT BREAST CANCER Woman’s Day and National Women’s Health Resource Center Survey surveyed more than 8,000 women to find out what they know — and don’t know — about breast cancer.

Risk factors

The majority of women who responded knew that having a family member with the disease raises your risk.

Nine out of 10 women knew that you’re still at risk even if you don’t have a family history of breast cancer.

Forty-seven percent of women didn’t know that getting older raises your risk for developing the disease.

Only 32 percent of women surveyed thought that being overweight puts them at risk, but research shows that it does.

Mammograms

The good news: 91 percent of women who are 40 and older have had a mammogram and nearly 75 percent of women are getting one annually.

A study showed that rates at which women are getting mammograms have gone down. We learned that 15 percent of women think it costs too much, 12 percent think it’s too painful, and 10 percent are worried that the doctor will find something.

Ninety percent of women age 40 and over who hadn’t yet had a mammogram said they didn’t think they needed one yet.

Wrong! Getting a mammogram annually starting at age 40 is the best way to catch the disease in its earliest, most treatable stage.

S U S A N B A R B I E R I / T H E S T. PA U L P I O N E E R P R E S S

A BETTER WAY TO EXAMINE YOUR BREASTS

HOW TO HELP OUT A FRIEND It’s hard to know what to do when someone you know is hit with a breast cancer diagnosis. Remember that your friend is in a whirlwind and may not know yet how you can help, or she might be uncomfortable asking. Instead of saying, “Let me know if you need anything” or asking “What can I do?” here are a few things you can do that will definitely be of help: Hire a cleaning service for your friend, or come over and do chores yourself. While it’s never fun, housekeeping becomes a huge burden when you’re exhausted from chemo.

If she’s a close friend, offer to serve as her information distribution contact. She may grow tired of explaining her diagnosis and progress repeatedly, and it can be overwhelming coming out of surgery and treatment while simultaneously keeping family and friends updated. If you offer to send out group e-mails and answer questions post-first surgery or chemo, friends will quickly learn to look to you, rather than her, for information, thereby taking a burden off of her.

Offer to go for walks or exercise with her. Some light exercise is often recommended during chemo. Don’t push it, but she may enjoy the company on days when she’s up to it.

Avoid giving heavily scented bath or beauty products. Not only can scents be nauseating during chemo, using a favorite scent can forever ruin the smell for her, instantly recalling the nausea of chemo whenever she catches a whiff!

When you come to visit, bring food, but make it bland.

Treating her to her favorites seems like a great idea, but the nausea and negative associations apply here, too. If you do bring food, make it something that’s easy to clean up.

Baby-sit or take her kids for a day.

Offer to drive and/or accompany her to and from chemo treatment and doctor’s appointments. Take notes while she’s at the doctor — it’s just too much to remember sometimes.

The hair loss is traumatic, and she will probably be concerned about the way she looks. Offer to take her shopping for hats and scarves, as opposed to just buying them for her.

She will probably want to choose her own.

TN Breast and Cervical program provides access to prevention, treatment services for uninsured BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

By Heather Mullinix Chronicle assistant editor

Access to medical care can be difficult for women who are uninsured or under-insured, but there are programs available to help women get screening mammograms, diagnostic services and treatment.

“This program is about prevention,” explained Candace Vaden, Cumberland County Health Department’s coordinator for the Tennessee Breast and Cervical screening program. “It would be surprising how many women we schedule their mammogram in their 50s and it is their first mammogram. We try

to target women who haven’t had access to mammograms on an annual basis.”

The program, offered through the Cumberland County Health Department, offers eligible women clinical breast exams, mammograms and pap tests. To get a free breast cancer screening, women should meet income

guidelines and not have insurance, or insurance will not pay for the service; be 50 to 64 years of age; or be age 40 to 49 with a family history of breast cancer that includes a mother, daughter or sister, a personal history of breast cancer or a clinical breast exam result that is abnormal.

Pap testing for cervical can-

cer is available free of charge if women meet income guidelines, do not have insurance and are age 40 to 64. Women age 18 to 39 who need further diagnostic services following an abnormal pap test are also eligible for services. Services are available on a sliding scale fee for those below See access page 6B

Breast Cancer Awareness • 5B

www.crossville-chronicle.com • Friday, October 10, 2014

Nurse Navigator guides patients through recovery

By Heather Mullinix Chronicle assistant editor

A patient’s journey from diagnosis of breast cancer to treatment and survivorship is filled with many paths. Trish Vaughn, nurse navigator at Cumberland Medical Center, helps to keep them on course, encouraging patients, answering questions, identifying barriers and offering a supportive shoulder and an attentive ear to hear their concerns and questions.

“We look at the whole picture,” Vaughn said of her role as a resource for patients facing a diagnosis of breast cancer, who has a passion for her role in the cancer treatment team.

She’s worked at CMC for six years, though she makes her home in Livingston.

“I love what I do. I love the patients. I love it here,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn meets her patients through the CMC Regional Breast Center following an abnormal screening mammogram, before they have diagnostic testing.

“My role as a nurse navigator is to provide support and education to our patients,” Vaughn said.

“The initial visit is for introduction and to provide education, if needed, and support.”

“It can be very nerve-

“My role as a nurse navigator is to provide support and education to our patients.”

Trish Vaughn

Nurse Navigator CMC

wracking for any woman when they get a call back after a mammogram,” said Amanda King, director of medical imaging at Cumberland Medical Center.

The goal of all departments of the hospital is to provide a collaborative working environment with the breast center, the nurse navigator, the referring physician and the surgeons and oncologists.

“That’s the cornerstone for breast imaging and the continuum of care at this facility,” King said. “It improves communication throughout the process. It alleviates patient delays, and we can avert problems before they occur.

We improve the quality of our services by expediting the timeliness of providing patients and physicians test results. Our

nurse navigator helps with that greatly. We call the physician’s office and the patient as soon as test results come back.”

Should diagnostic imaging show a need for further imaging or testing, Vaughn notifies the patient’s primary care physician and helps to coordinate follow-up care of further imaging or a biopsy to be performed by a surgeon.

Vaughn ensures patients have transportation for their biopsy procedures and follows them while at the hospital and continues to keep open communication after the patient goes home.

Should a biopsy show the presence of cancerous cells, a patient then has numerous decisions to make regarding treatment.

SUPPORT

• Continued from 3B cult time was the support of her family and friends.

“You need support,” she said. “All they [breast cancer patients] need is for somebody to be there and let them talk when they get ready to talk. You have to come to terms with it yourself and accept the fact before you can really talk about it.”

During her healing process, Norris decided to seek out the support of other breast cancer survivors through the Casting for Recovery program. The unique program combines breast cancer education and peer support with the sport of fly fishing.

It was founded in 1996 in Manchester, VT, by a breast cancer reconstructive surgeon and a professional fly fisher. Free fly fishing retreats are held throughout the country each year for breast cancer survivors of all ages and in all stages of treatment. According to the organization’s website, the ladies benefit from the gentle, rhythmic motion of fly casting because it is similar to exercises often prescribed after surgery or radiation to promote soft tissue stretching.

“I’ll never make a fly fisherwoman,” Norris laughed while demonstrating how to position your arm to cast the reel.

“There’s definitely an art to it.”

Norris participated in the fifth annual East Tennessee retreat held at the Lodge at Buckberry Creek in Gatlinburg April 8-10,

Vaughn gives every patient the “Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook,” provided by Susan G. Komen, which has a wealth of information for patients, from the emotions they may experiencing to communicating with children about the disease. It also reviews the many different treatment options that may be available, though not every option applies to every patient and treatment options will depend on the stage of the cancer and the type of breast cancer the patient has.

“It goes through the whole thing, what everything means,” Vaughn said.

In the back are worksheets for patients that help to manage fears, questions to ask medical Norris explained. “Then when you get back and the ladies are packed and ready to load their luggage, the guides will carry their luggage to their cars. So you’re really pampered.”

A scrapbook provided by the retreat’s organizers brings back the fond memories for Norris, who remains cancer free.

Although breast cancer was a prerequisite for the experience, she feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate.

“Not that cancer is ever a good experience, but I’ve met a lot of very good people and made friends... So I guess you will have to call it one of the better experiences with it,” she said.

She encourages other breast cancer patients and survivors to learn more about Casting for Recovery at www.castingforrecovery.org.

Carol Norris, left, and Colleen Thivierge shared a retreat experience, leaving forever bonded by the sisterhood of breast cancer and Casting for Recovery.

2011. Prior to the trip, she received a list of all the attendees for the retreat.

Among them was Colleen Thivierge, another breast cancer survivor from Crossville.

“We met for lunch and decided to ride together and room together at the retreat,” said Norris. “We have been best friends ever since.”

Since their Casting for Recovery experience, Norris and Thivierge have spread the word about the program at local events,

including Cumberland County Relay for Life and the Susan G. Komen Upper Cumberland’s Race for the Cure. They explain how the retreat starts with a sharing session to get to know the other participants and how fishing guides are brought in to instruct the participants throughout the weekend.

“When they take you out on Sunday to actually fish in the stream, you have your own guide who will take your fish off the hook and tie your flies on,”

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providers.

One question patients may struggle with is whether to have a lumpectomy, where the tumor is removed but the breast is preserved, or a mastectomy, where the entire breast is surgically removed.

Reconstruction is also part of the conversation, as well, with patients needing to decide if they want to have breast reconstruction following treatment, or immediately. A questionnaire helps patients explore their feelings about all their options.

In addition to helping patients find their way in the often confusing medical side of treatment, helping to juggle appointments and keep track of treatment options, patients also have practical concerns.

Many patients have obstacles to treatment. Vaughn helps them find resources to remove those barriers.

A distress thermometer asks patients to show how much distress they have been experiencing each week, and a questionnaire helps to identify areas of stress, from accessing insurance and finding childcare while undergoing treatment to dealing with partners or children, or other family health issues, and emotional problems patients may find themselves struggling with.

“Transportation is prob-

ably the biggest problem we have. They don’t have the money to drive back and forth for treatment,” Vaughn said. “They are truly very sick and some are about to lose their homes or are struggling to pay their utility bills.

We try to meet the needs of our patients. And each patient’s barriers are different. And this community is very supportive in helping to meet the needs of patients.”

Vaughn keeps a list of community resources handy to help patients access services they need.

One of those resources is the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Program, which offers eligible women diagnostic follow up for suspicious screening results. Women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer or pre-cancerous conditions are enrolled for treatment coverage through the state’s TennCare Program.

The emotional aspects of care are important to Vaughn as well. Patients may feel depressed and crying, or partners may not know how they can help their loved one during this time.

“Open communication is the best thing you can do,” Vaughn said. “The biggest thing regarding the feelings of depression is See nurse page 6B

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6B • Breast Cancer Awareness

www.crossville-chronicle.com • Friday, October 10, 2014

Komen awards $830K in research funding to state Following through on a commitment to young scientists and clinicians, the Susan G. Komen® organization announced Oct. 1 new grants to more than 50 early-career breast cancer researchers — almost half of Komen’s $34.7 million investment in new breast cancer research funding for 2014.

The grants include $830,000 in new funding for research at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, bringing Komen’s total research investment in Tennessee to $11.7 million since 1982.

“Our 2014 grants are intended to ensure continuity in breast cancer research for years to come,” said Komen President and CEO Judith A. Salerno, M.D., M.S. “With federal research dollars tightening, we’re deeply concerned that a generation of promising breast cancer researchers will be lost to other fields.

“While we fund young researchers, we’re also continuing to grant to established researchers whose work has led to significant progress against this disease,” she said.

Komen is funding nearly $16 million in new grants to early-career researchers –

ACCESS

• Continued from 4B age 40.

Vaden works closely with Cumberland Medical Center’s Nurse Navigator Trish Vaughn, who works with women who have had a free mammogram through a program of the hospital. When an uninsured patient has a screening mammogram that finds a need for additional testing and exploration, the thought of how to pay for those services can cause additional stress.

“We start where women who are uninsured and have that free screening mammogram find they need further intervention,” said Vaden. “Trish and I talk daily to coordinate care as a team. It’s really a collaboration between CMC, Covenant, physi-

NURSE

• Continued from 5B that it is OK to feel that way. It’s OK to cry. Those are normal feelings you are going to have when you’ve been overwhelmed with a diagnosis of cancer.”

Through these questions, it helps Vaughn to ensure patients have a support system available, and through it all, she’s on call. She gives patients her cell phone number to call day or night and is ready to answer with compassion and a caring attitude.

“All you have to do is talk. You just have to be a support person for them,” Vaughn said.

Vaugh completed certification to become a patient navigator for breast cancer patients. As part of that, she completes annual continuing education credit, including a recent conference presented by the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators. There, she attended numerous seminars and talks that helped grow her knowledge on patient navigation and survivorship, including a powerful presentation by someone who

Read to know!

Komen’s research program is funded in part by contributions from local Komen Affiliates across the country, which annually contribute 25 percent of net

funds raised in their local community to Komen’s research program, with the remaining 75 percent staying in the community to fund community outreach programs.

Since 2006, the Upper Cumberland Affiliate has funded more than $730,000 to community programs serving local women and men, while contributing $203,162 to Komen research.

“We’re very proud that the funds we’ve raised in Upper Cumberland are not only providing real-time help to our neighbors, but coming back to our universities and hospitals for research that can save lives,” said Carolyn Wilson, executive director.

In Tennessee, Vanderbilt University researchers will receive $830,000 to investigate triple negative breast cancer and novel breast cancer therapies.

• $450,000 in funding to Justin Balko, Pharm. D., Ph.D., to determine if drugs known as MEK inhibitors could be beneficial in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy or following surgery to increase rates of complete pathological response in patients with triple negative breast cancer

(TNBC) – a very aggressive subtype of breast cancer associated with poor prognosis and survival.

• $180,000 in funding to Kareem Monhi, Ph.D., to understand the mechanisms that control DNA repair in breast cancer by examining specific genetic interactions with the protein ATR in order to create novel cancer therapies – particularly for triple negative disease.

• $200,000 in continued funding to Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., to build upon previous Komen-funded research which led to the discovery of six subtypes of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), each with distinct biological properties.

Dr. Pietenpol and team will continue to translate this work into the development of novel targeted therapies for TNBC. A full list of Komen’s 2014 research grants can be found at http://ww5.komen. org/ResearchWorldMap. aspx.

A list of community health programs funded by the Komen Upper Cumberland can be found www.komenuppercumberland.org. For more information about Komen’s overall mission investments, please visit komen.org.

cian’s offices and us.”

Programs are offered that assist women with getting a screening mammogram at no cost, through grants from Susan G. Komen of the Upper Cumberland, which also provides funding to Tennessee Breast and Cervical Program, and other organizations such as the Thompson Cancer Survival Center’s outreach services.

“We will usually cover all diagnostic imaging and also any surgical consults they need to discuss breast biopsy,” Vaden said.

The program is able to offer cover costs for breast biopsy so long as general anesthesia is not required for the procedure.

Should a surgeon recommend an excisional breast biopsy, which is done under general anesthesia, patients can then be

enrolled in TennCare.

Then, if pathology confirms the presence of breast cancer from a breast biopsy, patients can be enrolled in TennCare, Tennessee’s expanded Medicaid program. Women must be uninsured and meet income guidelines. They also must follow a treatment plan. Patients are referred to an oncologist who will fill out the treatment plan specific for the patient that includes plans for surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy or other treatments.

“Once they have been enrolled in TennCare, they have it for the duration, unless they have a change in their financial situation or they decide not to pursue treatment,” Vaden explained.

TennCare enrollment

can help alleviate other barriers to treatment patients may have, such as transportation, because the program does offer coverage of transportation for treatments.

helped participants visualize what it’s like to be a patient.

“It was an awakening,” Vaughn said. “She helped show how long we make patients wait and how scared they are. In the back of our minds, we know this, but to see it presented in this way was powerful.”

One of the messages of the conference was to know what services are offered at each facility and what services the community can offer to assist patients.

“We work to keep that information updated,” Vaughn said. “This community has been so good to me when I have needed something.”

A new standard of

care being implemented through the Commission on Cancer is survivor care plans, Vaughn explained.

“Even though I do follow patients afterwards, this is a definite care plan,” Vaughn said. “It doesn’t leave patients with the feelings of being abandoned. They’ve been in touch with someone all through this process and suddenly, they may feel all alone. This way, that doesn’t happen. There are support groups and their providers are available to them. It encourages them that they have someone to fall back on.”

those who are still in training and those at the earliest stages of their research careers. The remaining funds are being granted to leading breast cancer scientists who have already made significant contributions to the field, and to support scientific programs and partnerships that advance Komen’s mission to end breast cancer forever.

Komen is the largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer research, with more than $847 million invested since its founding in 1982. But research is just one aspect of Komen’s mission: since 1982, Komen and its Affiliates have invested more than $1.8 billion in community health outreach and global programs that last year served more than half a million women and men facing breast cancer. More than 80 cents of every dollar Komen spends is devoted to mission programs.

Komen’s Investments in Tennessee

n Heather Mullinix may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle. com.

Cancer Care Close to Home

Dr. David Tabor Cumberland Medical Plaza, Suite 340 Crossville, TN 38555 931-707-8808

n Heather Mullinix may be reached at hmullinix@ crossville-chronicle.com.

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