Centers provide more options for breast cancer patients

Radiation therapists Karen Caskey (left) and Kelly King (right) with Brenda Fenner in front of a CT-Sim machine at St. Francis Medical Center’s Bon Secours Cancer Institute. The two therapists assisted Fenner throughout her 33 weeks of radiation therapy following her breast cancer diagnosis. Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Chesterfield resident Brenda Fenner spent most of her spring and summer making trips to the Bon Secours Cancer Institute at St. Francis Medical Center. The 63-year-old learned she had breast cancer in March after a routine mammogram.

“I was fortunate enough to catch it before it spread to my lymph nodes,” she said.

Fenner had a lumpectomy in April, followed by a second surgery three weeks later. She started chemotherapy in May followed by 33 radiation treatments.

“I received excellent treatment,” she said. “Everyone was professional. They made it as easy for me as they possibly could.”

The Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital is the county’s newest cancer center. It opened on CJW Medical Center’s Johnston-Willis campus last spring. Photo courtesy of Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital The nearly 60,000-square-foot facility, which opened in July 2006, offers services in radiation and medical and surgical oncology. It also provides diagnostic services, infusion therapy, palliative care, breast support groups, a resource center and patient/family education services.

It’s one of two new cancer centers that have opened in Chesterfield County in recent years, giving patients an alternative to Massey Cancer Center in Richmond.

“The institute is a multi-disciplinary cancer center,” explained Dr. Taryn Torre, a physician with the institute.

The multi-disciplinary team at the institute includes pathologists, radiologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, breast surgeons and social services specialists. Team members meet monthly to review patient data.

Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital includes Stepping Stones, an on-site cancer boutique. Photo courtesy of Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital “The team is dedicated to process improvement,” Torre said. “We review data to determine the best approach to aftercare and to provide breast cancer support.”

The center also includes a lymphedema clinic for breast cancer patients who have complications from their treatments, a café, Reflections Wellness Boutique, which sells after-surgery garments, and two healing gardens. Nurse navigators are on hand to help patients through the process by providing support and resource information. Patients are also supported by the services of a dietician.

“We pride ourselves in empowering patients to make decisions that are right for them,” Torre said. “We take care of all the needs of a cancer patient.”

County residents are fortunate to have another highly respected option for cancer treatment following the opening of the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital on CJW Medical Center’s Johnston-Willis campus last May.

The hospital integrates chemotherapy, radiation and oncology in one facility. The hospital’s board-certified physician team includes specialists in a number of areas such as medical and radiation oncology, hematology, internal medicine, palliative care and urology.

“Cancer centers are usually associated with services that are broken up and spread out in geographical locations,” explained Steven Castle, Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital administrator. “We are a cancer hospital, one centralized point of service. We offer a multimodality approach.”

The hospital is also home to several support services and organizations including the Hawthorne Cancer Resource Center, the American Cancer Society, a lymphedema clinic and Stepping Stones, a cancer boutique. Additionally, it houses an office of the Legal Information Network for Cancer and The Foot & Hand Spa.

The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer awarded the hospital’s oncology team its highest honor, the Outstanding Achievement Award, last year.

“Fewer than 100 facilities in the country have that,” Castle said.

Thomas Johns was the first in Central Virginia to receive the honor. The hospital also received a Gold Standard for evaluating breast services from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.

As part of its services, the hospital has an oncology nurse navigation service that guides patients through diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

“We have a nurse navigator they work with before diagnosis and one post-diagnosis,” Castle said. “They coordinate appointments and findings in a quick manner. They guide patients through the services so there is a smooth transition. It’s someone that patients can connect with.”