The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 51 COVID patients today, up from 46 yesterday. Other significant numbers:
- 31 with the active virus today, 25 yesterday
- 3 in ICU, 4 yesterday
- 2 on ventilators, same as yesterday
- 20 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, 21 yesterday
Key points from today’s guests, which include two women who participate in Pink Warriors, a Kansas City-based Dragon Boat competition team made up exclusively of women who have battled breast cancer:
Dr. Richard Korentager, clinical service chief for plastic surgery and the interim clinical service chief for physical medicine and rehabilitation, The University of Kansas Health System
- Screening for breast cancer is just as critical as it is screening for colon cancer or other cancers and we're fortunate enough to have an effective screening tool, such as a mammogram.
- Wants to make sure that all women have equal access and ability to get the mammogram and be treated as early as possible because that always gives us the best chance for cure and also for the best reconstructive options.
- Whenever he’s working with women who've undergone treatment for breast cancer, it is important to get patients back into their normal activities.
- Anytime you're undergoing any sort of surgery or any sort of treatment, you want to be in the best physical shape that you can be and exercise and especially focused exercise on the upper body are really important. Seeing these Pink Warriors train and compete in these dragon boat races is a wonderful thing.
- After a surgery, there's going to be inflammation and some scarring developing in and around muscles, potentially in and around joints if you're not moving those joints actively. So doing these ranges range of motion actually helps with the healing process. It's been well shown that a little bit of stress on these on these tissues does improve the quality of the healing and improve the strength of the tissues that are healing.
Jen Forman-Wright, Breast Cancer Survivor and KC Pink Warriors Member
- Diagnosed in 2011 through a routine mammogram. Even though nothing was felt, the mammogram showed that she was in stage two breast cancer.
- Had a bilateral mastectomy and also developed lymphedema. She had chemo and had an unusual reaction to the chemotherapy and that's what triggered the lymphedema. But that is well managed today and she is doing great.
- Said it is so great to be inspired by the journeys of the Pink Warriors.
- “Just the sisterhood and being with a group of people who understand what you've been through without really having to talk about it or just to ask questions of it's just it's been invaluable. It's been a great blessing.”
Cindy Midgorden, Breast Cancer Survivor and KC Pink Warriors Member
- Fell and broke her foot in 2008 and had to re-schedule her mammogram for later. When she did have her mammogram, she found out she had invasive ductal carcinoma, it was stage one it was very early. And a month later, she had a lumpectomy followed by radiation.
- Was frustrated by not getting her mammogram on time, but it turned out to be a blessing that it was just a little bit later because the surgeon said if she had done it on time, they wouldn't have found it and then it would have been an entire year before it was discovered because it was too deep to find it on her own. She has developed lymphedema, but it's manageable.
- “I still do what I want to do, and it certainly does not keep me from competing with Pink Warriors.”
- “I still do what I want to do, and it certainly does not keep me from competing with Pink Warriors.”
Kelsey Ngeh, trainer, the University of Kansas Sports Medicine & Performance Center in Overland Park
- All the pink ladies are in phenomenal shape. Has been training them for their fourth year and they do everything a regular trainee would do.
- “I will say that these ladies, they do anything and everything that anybody else can do. They're in amazing shape.”
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System
- When it comes to the bivalent booster for kids, what is the clinical efficacy what is the clinical benefit of giving these children now another dose?
- That information will be coming out as well information and data about the new bivalent vaccines in that clinical real world experience, hopefully near the end of October.
- Feels confident in the bivalent booster.
Wednesday, October 5 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Show Me the Science program with Dr. Stites. Triple negative breast cancer is diagnosed three times more in Black women than White women. Did you know where you are born could also be a big factor? The science inside cancer cells.
ATTENTION MEDIA: Please note access is now with Microsoft Teams:
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 235 659 792 451
Passcode: 6CSfGE
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 913-318-8863,566341546# United States, Kansas City
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.