Skagit program tailors cancer treatment to each patient

  • Marysville Globe and Arlington Times staff
  • Friday, October 3, 2014 9:26am
  • Life

The Skagit Regional Health Breast Institute, funded in part through $600,000 in grants from Safeway, realizes that breast cancer treatment is not one size fits all.

The team examines and discusses each case to develop a treatment plan tailored to the uniqueness of each patient. There may be more than one right option. Doctors make sure patients make an informed decision.

Breast cancer treatment begins with precision diagnostics followed by a thorough evaluation.

From diagnosis to curative treatment, most women with breast cancer will have some type of surgery. Breast surgery has evolved dramatically over the past decade, and many less-invasive procedures are now available.

Most cancers are treated with drug therapy to kill dividing cancer cells. Using highly precise techniques to plan and deliver individualized treatments, Skagit minimizes the dose to normal tissues while delivering high doses to the cancer. Drug therapy includes chemotherapy and biotherapy.

Chemotherapy is systemic drug therapy administered orally or through an IV that kills cancer cells at different stages of growth. These drugs may also kill healthy cells, resulting in common side effects such as nausea, hair loss and diarrhea.

Biotherapy is a systemic drug therapy that may be targeted specifically to kill only cancer cells. These drugs generally have fewer side effects and toxicities than chemotherapy. New drug therapies are being developed to more specifically treat the cancer and spare healthy cells by using the patient’s own immune system to attack and kill the cancer.

The other major type of treatment is radiation oncology. Radiation oncology specializes in treating cancer using radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to treat tumors. Sometimes a patient will go through both types of treatment.

Some women decide to be part of clinical trials. That treatment includes the use of new drugs developed to fight cancer. Cancer trials usually compare existing treatments to something thought to be better, so cancer patients always receive at least the best treatment currently available.

Some complementary medicine may help relieve certain symptoms of cancer, relieve side effects of cancer treatment or improve a patient’s sense of well-being. They include:

Art and Healing: First and third Mondays of each month, 2 to 4 p.m. Creating art may reduce anxiety and stress plus improve emotional well-being.

Mindful Living with Cancer: For patients, survivors and caregivers, it can be a powerful tool for dealing with stress, illness and many other medical and psychological conditions. The free weekly class includes meditation, gentle stretching and activities to increase one’s understanding of the mind and body. It is held 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

Thinking About Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Good nutrition can assist in aiding tolerance to treatment, enhance energy level and support the immune system.

Support services are available during treatment, including: social services, nutrition, educational and community resources, as well as support groups and classes. Transportation, lodging and survivor celebrations also take place.

“The Breast Institute of Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center provides a patient centered multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer at all stages,” Dr. Theodore Kim of the institute said.

Nationwide, the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer has improved from 85 percent in 1970 to 95 percent in 2010. If caught in stages 0 to 2, often when the patient has a mammogram, the survival rates is 94 percent or better. Stage 3 survival rate is 85 percent. If the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes survival is 32 percent. If it metastisises the rate is 5 percent.

Learn more

The Skagit Regional Health Breast Institute has more information at www.skagitvalleyhospital.org/Programs-Services/Cancer-Care/The-Breast-Institute

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