Key points from today’s guests:
Adrienne Adams, breast cancer survivor
- She was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2022 and was grateful for all of the support from her co-workers at The University of Kansas Health System and her friends and family.
- She went through four months of chemotherapy and rang the bell that signifies the completion of treatment exactly one year ago.
- She also had a double mastectomy and was offered a procedure called immediate lymphatic reconstruction.
- While the recovery was difficult, she had no complications and is healthy today.
Dr. Lyndsey Kilgore, breast surgical oncologist; co-director, lymphedema program, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- With breast cancer operations, we commonly remove lymph nodes. Depending upon how advanced the breast cancer is, sometimes we have to remove all the lymph nodes under the armpit, which was the case for Adrienne.
- When we do that, we know that there's a higher risk of those lymph channels having traffic build up, so we need to figure out a way to reroute traffic -- and that's where the immediate lymphatic reconstruction comes in.
- At KU, we have some of the lowest rates of lymphedema in the entire country, not only because of our early detection and prevention program, but because of procedures like immediate lymphatic reconstruction procedure that Adrienne had.
- Being a comprehensive cancer center and being a comprehensive lymphedema Center of Excellence, we really have the right people and the right resources to get your cancer care here.
Dr. James Butterworth, plastic surgeon; co-director, lymphedema program, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- It's a growing procedure, but it is not widely available nationally yet. We established the program over 10 years ago and continues to be very important to offer patients.
- It's extremely collaborative between the breast surgeon and the plastic surgeon.
- This procedure and the mastectomy are typically done on the same day.
- The chances of developing lymphedema, especially with people that are high risk, are about 40 to 60 percent.
- We think that based on the literature that's been published, as well as ongoing studies, that doing these immediate lymphatic reconstructions will drop that down to well below 10 percent.
- By far the best way to deal with lymphedema is to try to prevent it.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, infection prevention & control, The University of Kansas Health System
- COVID hospitalizations this week have increased from 14 patients last week to 20 patients this week.
- A new study published this week gives us another clue into long COVID.
- Researchers from University of Pennsylvania link long COVID to reduced serotonin levels, which might help explain the brain fog symptoms we see with some long COVID patients.
- This is one more step to really understanding the underlying mechanisms of long COVID.
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.
Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 8 a.m. CT is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. Breast cancer survivors deserve the chest they want and shouldn’t be afraid to ask for options. Learn more about options for implants or natural tissue for women.
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