A diagnosis of breast cancer can be a time where people are charting unknown territories and left feeling fearful. New patients must seek out and spend time researching high-quality care and expertise in their area. As part of that diagnosis, it is essential to connect with providers who offer world-class and personalized care while incorporating advanced evidence-based treatments.
How to keep the whole person in mind when treating Breast Cancer?
Here are a few novel approaches to breast cancer that GenesisCare Centers and their physicians currently practice in Collier and Lee County.
Heart Sparing Techniques – Deep Inspiration Breath-Hold (DIBH)
DIBH is a technique used to treat cancer in the breast and chest wall. During DIBH, you take a deep breath during your treatment and hold it while the radiotherapy is delivered. Holding your breath fills your lungs with air, pushing the heart away from the radiation fields (vs. radiotherapy) and creating a larger space between your heart and the radiotherapy. This means there is less chance of damage to your heart and lungs.
With the advent of DIBH, we have significantly reduced cardiac morbidity for breast cancer patients who undergo radiation treatments,” stated Dr. Sonal Sura, a Radiation Oncologist with GenesisCare.
What about considering a women’s sexual health and well-being while undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer?
Women undergoing cancer treatment may experience changes that affect their sexual lives during and sometimes after treatment.
Despite increasing calls to integrate sexual health into routine cancer care, most women diagnosed with cancer do not receive information about how their cancer treatments will affect their sexual health.
“We as a medical community need to spend more time asking, learning, and studying the effects of our therapies on women’s sexual health to improve their quality of life,” Dr. Sura added.
While you may not have the energy or interest in sexual activity that you did before treatment, feeling close to and being intimate with your spouse or partner is essential.
“Women are more vocal about their sexual health after cancer treatments. As our survival rates improve with our novel treatments, quality of life comes to the forefront,” continued Dr. Sura.
Some problems that affect a woman’s sexual health during treatment are temporary and improve once treatment has ended. Other side effects may be long-term or may start after treatment. No magic pill can restore desire, but communication with your partner, patience, and experimenting with touch can often help.
Same-Day Mastectomy
Recent studies have shown that same-day surgery for mastectomy is a safe option in well-selected patient populations. According to several recently published studies from the United States and Canada, patients can safely recover at home with appropriate perioperative care.
Dr. Adam Riker, a Surgical Oncologist with GenesisCare, shares some of the benefits patients receive from the same-day procedure, “Being among loved ones and having regular positive interactions with family and friends can be an incredible motivator during the recovery process.”
Riker adds, “there is also less of a chance of getting a hospital-acquired infection. Post-operative pain is minimal. Any discomfort is managed with a nerve block technique, eliminating the need for oral opioids.”
GLOBAL LEADERS IN CANCER CARE
Across the world, GenesisCare has more than 440 centers offering the latest approaches to cancer care, including modern technology and novel therapies. With more than 5,000 highly trained healthcare professionals and support staff globally, GenesisCare’s mission is to deliver exceptional treatment and care in a way that enhances every aspect of your personal cancer journey.
Our dedicated of healthcare professionals is committed to finding new and innovative ways to provide attentive care. Care that’s designed to fit around you and your life—care that treats you, not just your condition.
To learn more about GenesisCare, call (833) FOR-MYGC or visit genesiscare.com/us.
About Dr. Sonal Sura
The only female radiation oncologist in Collier County, Dr. Sura, specializes in all primary radiation therapy cancer treatment modalities.
She has extensive experience in advanced radiation techniques and technologies, including Deep Inspiration Breath-Hold (DIBH), tattoo-less treatment, Intensified Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), and Stereotactic Radiosurgery.
Dr. Sura graduated Magna Cum Laude from George Washington University in 2006. After a research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, she went on to residency training at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where she served as chief resident from 2011–2012. She served as Director of Radiation Oncology at NYC H+H/Elmhurst, New York, and Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
About Dr. Adam Riker
Dr. Riker is board-certified in general surgery and fellowship-trained as a surgical oncologist. His clinical specialty includes breast cancer, sarcoma, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers [Basal cell & Squamous cell carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma]. He has actively participated in numerous cancer clinical trials examining optimal immunotherapy treatment options for cancer, presenting his clinical and translational research findings at multiple scientific meetings, both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Riker completed his undergraduate education and medical school degree at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, his residency in general surgery at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, and a 3-year clinical and research fellowship in surgical oncology, at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Surgery Branch in Bethesda, Maryland.