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LifeFit Wellness and the Keyserling Cancer Center are ofering a special-ized exercise and recovery program for breast cancer patients during treatment. Interested patients should get a release from their doctor to participate in the program.

Women who qualify will receive a complimentary three-month LifeFit membership, which includes an appointment with a wellness specialist. Te specialist will cover the patient’s complete health history, including a lipid panel worth $100. He or she will conduct a ftness assessment and will create a personalized exercise prescription to ft each person’s ftness level, current cancer stage and type of treatment.

For those who cannot use the LifeFit facilities, the wellness special-ist will create a program to follow at home. For more information, call Michelle Calendine, LifeFit wellness specialist, at 843-522-5780 .

pathologists, medical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, primary care physicians, nurses, and dietitians, along with any number of other specialists, such as urologists and gynecologists, depend-ing on the types of cancer in question. “We’re looking for input from everyone to achieve a consensus on how we should approach treatment,” Dr. McNab says. “It’s a system of checks and balances.” For Braun, the process began with diagnostic mammography and breast ultrasound, followed by a needle biopsy. To pinpoint the location of the tumor and determine if it had spread beyond her right breast, her surgeon, Stephen Sisco, MD, ordered an MRI and CT scan. “He was so thorough,” Braun says. “He didn’t want to do a lumpectomy until he was sure that was the best option.” Dr. Sisco arranged for Braun to meet with medical oncologist Majd Chahin, MD. Before deciding if she would beneft from chemotherapy, Dr. Chahin ordered an Oncotype DX test to help determine the chances of the cancer returning. Te test showed she was on the high end of the “intermediate” risk range, prompting the team to suggest that she have chemo-therapy and Herceptin.

“We don’t want to treat someone with toxic drugs or therapies if it’s not neces-sary,” says Dr. Chahin, medical director of BMH’s Oncology Program. “But if there is strong evidence the cancer is going to recur, it may be the best choice.”

At the Tumor Board meetings, the team discusses alternatives for treatment and develops a plan for the patient.

“It’s a joint efort involving all the special-ists,” says Perry Burrus, MD, a general sur-geon at BMH. “Te treatment is tailored to ft the patient’s medical needs and desires.” In breast cancer patient Nelle Pender’s case, she was given the choice of having a lumpectomy or mastectomy.

“Research has shown a lumpectomy with radiation is equivalent to a mastectomy,” says Dr. Burrus, Pender’s physician. “But I let her make the call. She needs to feel comfort-able with her decision.”

Pender chose to have a double

mastectomy, followed by four treatments of chemotherapy.

“Te staf was wonderful,” the Beaufort resident recalls. “Tey worked around my personal calendar. Tey scheduled the treatments so I would be feeling well for Christmas and a family wedding in mid-January.”

In addition to discussing medical treat-ments, members of the Tumor Board also consider each patient’s economic, social and emotional state. Tey may assign a professional to help or recommend sup-port services, including counseling. “Te treatment I received was excep-tional,” Braun says. “I had friends who were diagnosed and treated in larger cities who did not get the level of care I received at Beaufort Memorial.” Last fall, the Duke-afliated hospital received accreditation from the presti-gious Commission on Cancer, earning a special commendation for achieving excellence in all eight core areas of cancer care. Only 25 percent of the 5,500 cancer programs in the country are granted the commission’s stamp of approval. “I can’t say enough about the Keyserling Cancer Center,” Pender says. “Everyone was so caring and helpful— from the nurse who takes your blood to the people who greet you when you walk in the door. It was a very positive experience.”