Key points from today’s guests:
Brittany Gardenhire, diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant
- Brittany, a 35-year-old nurse in Topeka, conducted a breast self-exam and thought something wasn’t right, but because she was pregnant, her doctor dismissed it as a normal part of the pregnancy process.
- Her pain was getting worse and other doctors were telling her it was not breast cancer. She was turned away from a mammogram because she was pregnant.
- Finally, she went to the ER and the doctor there did an ultrasound which led to a biopsy. She had stage three breast cancer and was now 32 weeks pregnant.
- Unsatisfied with her local care and their plans for treatment, she contacted The University of Kansas Cancer Center and they made a special appointment for her and set up treatment so she could have a healthy baby and begin chemotherapy.
- Today, she and her baby are healthy and she encourages people to be their own advocate for their health care.
Dr. Priyanka Sharma, medical oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- Brittany’s triple negative breast cancer scenario is not very common. All of the things she was experiencing are symptoms associated with pregnancy, so to have this cancer at that young age, it really was uncommon.
- With a pregnancy, we have to treat two patients at the same time. We wanted to have a healthy delivery of the baby so we could begin treatment on Brittany.
- This involved a coordinated effort with Brittany’s OB team and Dr. Sharma’s team.
- Triple negative breast cancer affects about 15 percent of all breast cancers. It tends to occur in younger women and it tends to be more aggressive and little less curable compared to other subtypes of breast cancer.
- The main way we treat this breast cancer is with chemotherapy. And now with immunotherapy if the cancer is at a certain stage. And that's what we chose for Brittany -- we didn't cut any corners or omit any drugs -- we gave her the best treatment that's available.
- I think Brittany and her family went through all of this with a lot of bravery.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, infection prevention & control, The University of Kansas Health System
- COVID hospitalizations last week were at 22 active patients. There are no updates for this week yet.
- Pregnant women also need to know about the new RSV vaccine for their babies. The CDC recommended it just a couple of weeks ago.
- It's given to the mom late in pregnancy in order to protect the baby after it's born.
- We want to either give it RSV season because mom creates that immune response and then transfers those antibodies to baby through the placenta. The baby has then those circulating antibodies really almost up to 12 months, so baby will have active immune response to help protect it from RSV early on.
Morning Medical Update is on TV in October! The four-part series Cancer: Choices, Hope and Science will air on Tuesdays in October. In the Kansas City area, it’s on KCTV5 at 9:30 a.m. and in Topeka, it’s on WIBW at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 8 a.m. CT is the next Morning Medical Update. What does Rosie the Riveter have to do with breast cancer? Meet the man having this hot pink icon made to inspire women undergoing treatment, including his own wife.
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