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For Your Health – A simple, healthy boost to winter comfort foods
Is a Nerve-Sparing Prostatectomy the Best Surgery for My Prostate Cancer?
No one ever wants to hear that they have cancer. The word brings many fears and questions to mind. Yet, when a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are many treatment options available to him, treatments that expand beyond prostatectomy, a surgery performed on the prostate.
Is prostate cancer common?
Each year more than 280,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer according to the American Cancer Society. A conservative estimate is that one in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in his lifetime. To catch prostate cancer in early stages men who are approaching age 50 are encouraged to discuss their prostate cancer risks including family history with their doctor. Many men begin to get screened starting at age 50 or older, and men who are at increased risk, like African American men or men who have family history of prostate cancer may seek out screening at even younger ages, sometimes starting around age 40 or 45. The majority of prostate cancer patients are age 65 or older when they are first diagnosed.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
In its early stages, there are no symptoms of prostate cancer. As the disease progresses, men can experience a wide range of symptoms, including urinary symptoms or hip/back pain. Men may rationalize these as a natural part of aging and fail to mention them to health care providers. Symptoms associated with both prostate cancer and a natural enlarging of the prostate gland include:
- Difficulty empty their bladder, including a hard time starting to urinate and maintaining a steady stream of urine
- Increased frequency urinating, especially at night
Symptoms that suggest a more concerning process may include:
- Pain and burning when urinating
- Pain when ejaculating
- Seeing blood in urine
- Seeing blood in semen and
- Pain in the lower back, hips, and lower abdomen that is constant
While these symptoms may feel uncomfortable to mention to your doctor, they are important to report. They may indicate prostate cancer, may indicate an enlargement of the prostate, or may be an issue with another organ. Likely your provider will refer you to getting screened or will conduct a screening themselves.
How can I get screened for prostate cancer?
The first step in a screening for prostate cancer is very straightforward. It is a simple blood test called a prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA test for short. Because it is a blood test, it will involve a needle prick but doesn’t require fasting for an accurate reading. Your blood can have low, normal, or elevated PSA levels. An elevated PSA level in the blood means there are higher levels of a protein the prostate makes in the body. This elevated PSA can happen for a few different reasons, so a few other tests may be required to see if this higher PSA level could be because of prostate cancer. If the PSA is higher, your doctor may want to order an ultrasound or do an exam that they can conduct during an office visit. The purpose of the digital (gloved hand) rectal exam is to assess the size of the prostate and feel for any abnormal nodules or bumps that may indicate prostate cancer. Read more about prostate cancer screenings on GetScreenedNow.com.
How could prostate cancer impact me every day?
Aside from the initial concern of hearing a cancer diagnosis, many men don’t just worry about surviving, they also have quality of life questions for during and after treatment. It’s very common to wonder, “how will I pee after a prostatectomy?” or “can I still get an erection if the prostate is removed?” These are very understandable questions about how the diagnosis and treatment will impact day-to-day activities. Advances in prostate cancer detection, treatment, and post-treatment survivorship have greatly improved patient outcomes over the past few decades. Many men are treated for prostate cancer and subsequently live cancer-free with a full quality of life. When diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is important for men to speak with a urologist to discuss treatment options and the personalized impact these treatments may have.
What are some prostate cancer treatment options?
Today there are many prostate cancer treatment options to consider after a diagnosis. Surgery is not a given, in fact some approaches involve purposefully waiting to see how the cancer develops. Different treatments can also be combined for a unique-to-you plan. The standard options for prostate cancer treatment at Siteman include:
- Active surveillance and watchful waiting
- Focal therapy
- Surgery (includes nerve-sparing prostatectomy and other surgical approaches)
- Radiation therapy
- Systemic therapy
Will a nerve-sparing prostatectomy protect my sex life?
Unlike the past, where a prostate cancer diagnosis and surgery removing the prostate meant impotence, today, physicians specialize in nerve-sparing prostatectomy approaches. There are multiple approaches that surgeons can take that try to protect the nerve bundles located on both sides of the prostate. While those approaches vary from surgeon to surgeon, they are each considered to be a nerve-sparing prostatectomy. Any surgery on the prostate does open up the possibility for nerves to be damaged during the surgery itself or while healing. But when planning the surgical approach, the cancer’s location, and other factors, and the patient’s desire for maintained sexual health and function are all considerations.
Self-advocacy in cancer care is important and welcome. Often patients request a nerve-sparing prostatectomy from their physician following a prostate cancer diagnosis. This is an excellent preference to voice to your physician, but a nerve-sparing prostatectomy may not even be necessary when looking at the medical history and factors about the cancer itself. Experts at Siteman Cancer Center will be able to make a well-informed recommendation on what kind of care is needed. A nerve-sparing prostatectomy is a kind of surgery and because of medical advances, sometimes, surgery for prostate cancer is not needed at all. For instance, radiation or a systemic therapy could be options that lead to a cancer-free future without undergoing surgery.
Can a nerve-sparing prostatectomy impact my fertility?
Nerve-sparing prostatectomy or any other kind of surgery on the prostate can potentially impact male fertility since the gland plays an important role in the production of semen. Because prostate cancer is more prevalent in men who are older than 60, it may not impact your life goals. But for some men, family planning and fertility are important considerations when creating a treatment plan. There are several options and resources to consider. If your care is taking place at Siteman Cancer Center, you can request a referral to the Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center at WashU. Even if you aren’t getting care at Siteman, you can become a new patient at the Center to explore your options.
How is prostate cancer care advancing?
At Siteman Cancer Center experts are driving the standard of care forward through multidisciplinary care. Depending on the case, patients may receive a combination of different interventions like radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Or newer interventions like focal therapy and proton beam therapy or systemic therapies like hormone therapy and immunotherapy may be what your oncologist feels are best. Taking a team approach with combined expertise and specialties open up many possible plans based on every patient’s specific cancer and life circumstance. Clinical trials for prostate cancer are also ongoing at Siteman. These trials are shaping the next phase of research-based cancer care.
You can ask your doctor about these advances, or request an appointment at Siteman for a consultation. Getting a second opinion about your care is always an option available to you at any stage of your journey.
For Your Health: Warming up to cold-weather activities
Maybe it’ll be this week. Maybe next, or the week after. But before long, the weather’s going to make its shift to the consistently colder days of fall and winter.
While that change certainly brings a lot to look forward to on the calendar, it can also bring extra challenges when it comes to keeping up with our physical activity.
The result, not surprisingly, is that many of us are less active during the chillier months.
“There is a seasonality to physical activity levels,” said Elizabeth Salerno, a behavioral scientist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who specializes in physical activity research. “So, if you feel your activity routine slipping as the weather turns, you’re not alone. And there are ways to maintain movement despite the cold.”
Keeping up our routines, or maybe even building on them, is one of the best things we can do for our health and overall well-being. Activity, even modest amounts, helps lower the risk of conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Exercise also can improve our mobility, quality of life and mental health – something that can be particularly important during gray winter months.
So, what can we do to stay active and ensure that we keep getting these benefits? A mix of strategies can be effective. This can include bigger approaches – like getting a gym membership or buying home exercise gear – and smaller tricks – like walking indoors at shopping malls or shifting exercise times to when it’s daytime and a bit warmer.
“I think it’s important to have an ‘activity menu,’ or a list of exercise options that are suited for different moods, seasons, life phases and the like,” Salerno said. “Whenever you find an activity you enjoy, add it to the menu. This allows us to be flexible and stay active even when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.”
Making exercise and activity plans with other people is a great way to build social support and increase the chances that we’ll regularly choose something off our activity menu.
“Having a workout buddy helps provide accountability, enjoyment and encouragement – all of which are important year-round, but especially so when it is cold and dark outside,” Salerno continued.
She offers these tips to help us stay safe and comfortable when our activities take us outside during fall and winter:
- Stay hydrated. This should always be a priority, even in colder weather.
- Wear layers. Lightweight, moisture-wicking layers should be closest to the skin. Outer layers should be insulated and weather-repellent. And don’t forget warm gloves, socks and a hat.
- Choose appropriate footwear. Be sure it has good traction for wintry conditions.
- Plan for the weather. Check the forecast so you’re prepared or can change plans and move inside if necessary.
- Meet up with a workout buddy. On top of making activities more enjoyable, having a partner helps add some peace of mind when working out in colder weather.
As with other routines we work into our days, we eventually find what works best when it comes to activity and exercise. “Know yourself,” Salerno said. “Find the activities that bring you joy, and you won’t stop at a little cold weather to fit them in.”
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Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the free prevention tool YourDiseaseRisk.com®.
Device for noninvasive brain biopsies via blood draw moves closer to market approval
A device aimed at enabling neurosurgeons and other physicians to perform noninvasive blood-based biopsies in adults with brain tumors has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “Breakthrough Device” designation. The device includes technology from Washington University in St. Louis and developed by Cordance Medical Inc., a medical device company in Mountain View, Calif.
The designation is aimed at providing patients and health-care providers with timely access to novel medical devices by expediting the review process needed to bring technology toward market approval.
The FDA distinction applies to devices that have undergone rigorous review and show exceptional promise of improved treatment or the ability to diagnose life-threatening or debilitating diseases. The technology was co-invented by Eric C. Leuthardt, MD, the Shi Hui Huang Professor of Neurosurgery at Washington University School of Medicine, and by Hong Chen, PhD, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering and of neurosurgery at the School of Medicine.
Washington University recently licensed the technology to Cordance Medical. Leuthardt and Chen serve as advisers and shareholders of Cordance Medical, which is involved in commercializing the technology.
The device — called NeuroAccess — is portable and noninvasive, and it allows physicians to avoid high-risk brain surgery to obtain blood-based liquid biopsies of patients who have known or suspected brain tumors. The device uses sonobiopsy, a technique that targets the blood-brain barrier, a protective, semi-permeable membrane that prevents harmful substances in the blood from contaminating sensitive tissue in the brain. The interaction of ultrasound and microbubbles causes the blood-brain barrier to open temporarily so RNA, DNA and proteins from the brain can diffuse into the blood.
“The sonobiopsy approach is a revolution in brain diagnostics,” said Leuthardt, also a professor of biomedical engineering, of mechanical engineering and of neuroscience. “Just as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transformed how we look at the anatomy of the human brain, sonobiopsy will transform how we examine the brain on a molecular level. Essentially, we’re doing a brain biopsy without the high risks of brain surgery.”
The researchers published a study in September, in the journal NPJ Precision Oncology, that found sonobiopsy was feasible and safe for use in people.
“The breakthrough designation is the success of a team that spans numerous disciplines ranging from medicine, engineering, genetics, neuroscience and entrepreneurship to bring this concept from a very basic scientific model to an ongoing clinical trial,” Leuthardt said. “This is a triumph of collaboration.”
Said Chen, also a professor of radiation oncology and of radiology: “Sonobiopsy is poised to open doors to diagnose brain diseases in which surgical biopsies are often not an option. The technology presents new opportunities in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.”
Leuthardt is the director and Chen is a member of the Division of Neurotechnology in the Department of Neurosurgery, which focuses on multidisciplinary research to create innovative engineered solutions that can be translated to patients with neurologic diseases. Washington University owns a patent on the sonobiopsy technology.
*Originally published by Washington University School of Medicine.
About Washington University School of Medicine
WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,800 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the third largest among U.S. medical schools, has grown 52% in the last six years, and, together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,800 faculty physicians practicing at 65 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine has a storied history in MD/PhD training, recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.
Medicare approves whole-genome test for blood cancers
Developed at Washington University, ChromoSeq offers a complete picture of genetic errors that guides precision medicine approaches to treatment
A new test for two blood cancers – developed by a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – is the first whole-genome sequencing test for cancer to be approved for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The test, known as ChromoSeq, advances precision medicine approaches for treating blood cancers by identifying the full suite of genetic changes in a patient’s cancer cells, which provides crucial information that physicians can use to help determine the optimal treatment strategy for individual patients.
Since 2021, ChromoSeq has been used routinely by Washington University oncologists to guide treatment decisions for patients at Siteman Cancer Center with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or a group of blood cancers called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Siteman is based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University. With Medicare approval for the test, physicians nationwide caring for Medicare patients diagnosed with AML or MDS will be able to order the test through Washington University Pathology Services, and Medicare will cover the cost.
“This approval reflects the power and clinical validity of ChromoSeq to assess the full range of genetic mutations responsible for some of the most deadly blood cancers, which can help guide treatment decisions for individual patients,” said Richard Cote, MD, the Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Pathology & Immunology, which runs the pathology service in collaboration with the clinical sequencing laboratory at WashU Medicine’s McDonnell Genome Institute. “Private insurance companies often follow Medicare’s lead in coverage decisions, so we expect that there will be demand for this test across the country. This approval stands as a testament to the vision of WashU physician-scientists Eric Duncavage, Dave Spencer, Molly Schroeder and their team, who spent years developing and validating this test.”
In recent years, as genome sequencing technology has advanced, costs have dropped dramatically – helping to make Medicare reimbursement possible. The testing will be performed by the McDonnell Genome Institute, which has extensive expertise in genome sequencing and analysis. Scientists at the Genome Institute were the first in the world to demonstrate the validity of whole-genome sequencing in identifying genetic errors responsible for the development and progression of cancer.
The treatment for AML and MDS depends on the cancers’ aggressiveness in individual patients. Aggressive cancers require intensive treatment with chemotherapy drugs and sometimes a stem cell transplant to put the cancer in remission, while less aggressive blood cancers often can be effectively treated with less intensive drug regimens. Treatment decisions typically hinge on the genetic changes exhibited by a patient’s cancer. Standard tests used in a patient’s diagnostic workup are only able to assess some of these changes and provide a limited view of the genetic errors that may be driving the development of a patient’s cancer.
Under the current standard of care, genetic changes are assessed using a combination of three tests: cytogenetics, which reveals chromosomal rearrangements and abnormalities; fluorescence in-situ hybridization, which also identifies chromosomal abnormalities as well as other mutations; and targeted sequencing of specific genes that previously have been linked to AML and MDS.
In 2021, David H. Spencer, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine; Eric J. Duncavage, MD, a professor of pathology & immunology; Molly C. Schroeder, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology & immunology; Shelly O’Laughlin, the director of clinical operations at the Genome Technology Access Center at the McDonnell Genome Institute; and Timothy J. Ley, MD, the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Professor of Medicine, published a groundbreaking paper in The New England Journal of Medicine showing that ChromoSeq is at least as accurate and often better than conventional genetic tests at providing the information necessary for doctors to determine the best treatment.
“All of the information that you can get from the three different tests that doctors now order as standard of care, we can get from ChromoSeq in one test,” said Meagan Jacoby, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine. “That can be important because sometimes the other tests don’t produce reliable results, and without that data, we have less confidence in our ability to assess a patient’s risk of aggressive disease. Knowing whether a patient is at low or high risk of aggressive disease is essential for us to know how to treat each patient most appropriately.”
Jacoby leads two ongoing clinical trials to evaluate how the data provided by ChromoSeq compares with standard-of-care testing, and how doctors use ChromoSeq under real-life conditions. Since ChromoSeq gathers data on the whole genome, it can scan for known mutations that are too rare to be included in targeted genetic sequencing tests. Jacoby said that preliminary data from the two ongoing clinical trials suggests that, in comparison to conventional tests, ChromoSeq can generate additional information that could change how individual patients are treated. The full impact of using ChromoSeq won’t be known until the trials are completed.
ChromoSeq also can be quickly updated as more information becomes available about how particular genetic changes contribute to blood cancers.
For Your Health: Score big with a healthier approach to game day snacks
This time of year, many sports are calling for our attention. From college and pro football to postseason baseball and school soccer, it’s likely a lot of us will spend hours watching a game or match – whether in person or on TV.
And almost as important as watching the game is having snacks on hand while doing so, whether we’re cheering our kids from the sideline or hosting friends to watch the big weekend matchup.
Unfortunately, many traditional game day snacks aren’t the healthiest choices. Foods such as chips and dip, nachos, chili, pizza and sweets may be filled with flavor but are far from ideal when it comes to nutrition. Often, they’re high in calories, sugar, salt, red and processed meat and unhealthy fats.
But, of course, snacks and snacking by themselves aren’t unhealthy. In fact, they can absolutely be part of healthy eating, said Lauren Gallen, a registered dietitian at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. And if we’re going for a long time between meals – as we might during a game or match – snacking can give us energy and keep us from feeling so hungry that, when we finally sit down for a full meal, we eat too fast and overdo it.
“Balanced snacks are usually more satisfying, so a good blueprint to follow is to choose options with two components,” Gallen said. “Include something with carbs – crackers, rice cakes, fruit, chips, pretzels – and something with protein and/or fat – hummus, cheese, peanut butter.”
When it comes to more traditional game day snacks, some simple changes can really help improve the way we eat without really sacrificing much, if any, taste and our overall enjoyment.
Instead of replacing foods with “healthified” versions, try choosing smaller portions and boost those by adding some healthier choices to your plate, such as fruit, vegetables, pretzels and grilled chicken.
“Starting with smaller amounts of our favorites allows us to assess whether we feel satisfied and comfortable after that portion or if we are still hungry for additional food,” Gallen said.
This approach to improving our game day snacking can be an easy way to improve the health of our overall eating too. We don’t need to give up foods we really enjoy, even if they aren’t very nutritious.
Instead, maybe we eat those dishes less often, or we choose smaller portions, adding in whole grains and vegetables as a healthier side dish. Or instead of regularly having a beer or glass of wine, we choose an alcohol-free version or bottle of fizzy water more often.
Whether it’s a game day snack or our weekly menu, these small updates to how we eat can lead to big scores for our health. Game on.
It’s your health. Take control.
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Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the free prevention tool YourDiseaseRisk.com®.
For Your Health – Not Just Pink: Key cancer screenings for men and women
As we begin our annual move toward fall and more normal routines of work, school and family, it can be a great time to make sure that all of us are up to date with our recommended cancer screening tests.
There’s probably no better reminder of this than the upcoming Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. The pink ribbons we see on websites, cereal boxes and t-shirts symbolize the importance of breast cancer and of cancer screenings. One out of 4 cancers diagnosed in women is breast cancer, so take the step now to get breast cancer screenings scheduled.
And while October focuses on mammograms for breast cancer, this translates just as well to other key tests for colon, lung, cervical and prostate cancers.
Screening tests not only help find cancers earlier when they’re more treatable but some can also help prevent certain cancers from developing in the first place. Below are general recommendations for five cancers – four apply to women, three to men.
People with a family history of cancer may need to begin screening at earlier ages than most. So, it’s important for younger adults in particular to talk to their providers about their risk of cancer and when it’s best for them to start getting screened.
Breast Cancer (Begin age 40)
While there are still some small differences in the breast cancer screening recommendations from individual organizations, most are now unifying behind women starting mammograms at age 40, and getting them regularly every year or every other year.
Cervical Cancer (Begin age 25)
Screening for cervical cancer helps to both find cancer early, and to help prevent the disease by finding and treating pre-cancers. The American Cancer Society recommends that most women begin screening at age 25 with an HPV (human papillomavirus) test every five years. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by HPV infections. If an HPV test by itself isn’t available, an HPV test plus Pap test every 5 years is recommended, or a Pap test by itself every 3 years.
Colon Cancer (Begin age 45)
Colon cancer screening is another that can help prevent cancer – as well as help find disease in earlier, more treatable stages. Most people should start screening at age 45, and there are a number of different tests to choose from. Colonoscopy is the most common test and usually only needs to be done every ten years. Home stool tests, such as a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and stool DNA test, are quicker and easier than colonoscopy but need to be done more often.
Lung Cancer (Begin age 50, if history of smoking)
Yearly lung cancer screening is recommend beginning at age 50 for certain people who smoke or have quit in the last 15 years. It’s important to talk to a healthcare provider to see if you qualify for screening and then to decide if screening is right for you. Currently, screening is only recommended in people who’ve smoked the equivalent of 1 pack a day for 20 years.
Prostate Cancer (Begin age 50, or 40 – 45 in Black men and others at higher risk)
Most men should talk to a healthcare provider about prostate cancer screening starting at age 50. Black or African-American men and others at high risk because of their family history should have this talk at age 45 and maybe even younger. Compared to other types of cancer screenings, there can be a more subtle balance between the potential benefits and harms of screening for prostate cancer. So, it’s important to discuss the test with a healthcare provider and then decide if it’s right for you.
Cancer screening saves lives. And millions of us missed our regular screenings during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and still need to catch back up. So, make your health a priority and take some time this fall to check with your provider to see if you’re up to date with your tests and schedule any you may need.
It’s your health. Take control.
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Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the free prevention tool YourDiseaseRisk.com®.
Comprehensive Head & Neck Tumor Center established at Siteman Cancer Center
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a member of BJC HealthCare, have established a comprehensive Head & Neck Tumor Center, a collaborative, multispecialty practice of Washington University physicians and researchers whose mission is to provide cutting-edge care for patients with head and neck cancers as well as benign tumors and masses of the head and neck. Among the first of its kind in the country, the Head & Neck Tumor Center emphasizes individualized, patient-centered care with complementary research programs that have the potential to transform patients’ treatment and improve their outcomes.
Based at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, the center is co-led by three Washington University physicians: Sidharth V. Puram, MD, PhD, an associate professor of otolaryngology — head & neck surgery; Douglas R. Adkins, MD, a professor of medicine in the oncology division in the Department of Medicine; and Wade L. Thorstad, MD, a professor of radiation oncology in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Siteman Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Siteman is Missouri’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and the state’s only member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
“We are at a critical crossroads in the treatment of head and neck tumors,” said Puram, also chief of head & neck surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery at Washington University. “As these tumors continue to become more common, we are developing newer and more advanced technologies to better manage and treat them. We are constantly improving techniques to minimize the side effects of surgery and radiation, for example, while maximizing patients’ ability to go about their normal lives after treatment. This new center will help us integrate the wide-ranging expertise that is critical to providing the best possible care for these patients.”
The new center is timely, as diagnoses of head and neck cancers are on the rise for multiple reasons — in large part, due to the increasing incidence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which is sexually transmitted and a known cause of these cancers. Smoking and alcohol exposure also increase the risk of developing head and neck cancer.
“Our clinicians and researchers at the Head & Neck Tumor Center are dedicated to the development of new treatments that have the potential to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with tumors of the head and neck,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of Siteman Cancer Center, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “The leaders of this center are committed to excellence in patient care and research, and this new center will provide multi-disciplinary teams to deliver outstanding care, giving hope to patients and their families.”
The center’s team will include physician specialists in otolaryngology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, plastic surgery, palliative care, endocrinology and radiology.
“The Head & Neck Tumor Center brings together a team of experts dedicated to providing extraordinary care to every patient,” said John Lynch, MD, president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Thanks to collaboration between Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare, Siteman Cancer Center is able to deliver the latest innovations and treatments, as well as pursue groundbreaking research that will impact cancer care for generations to come.”
The center will emphasize equitable access to care for all patients, whether from under- or well-resourced communities. As part of that commitment, the Head & Neck Tumor Center employs patient navigators to provide support and guidance to patients as they manage the complexities of the treatment regimens for these tumors.
Patients at the center will have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials of investigational therapeutics for head and neck cancer at Siteman, including major national or international trials.
The center’s experts are leaders in innovative surgical techniques, including robotic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and advanced plastic and reconstructive surgery. If patients give permission, the center will sequence the genetic material of their tumors to uncover and profile the unique genetic errors and changes in gene expression that may contribute to head and neck tumors. Researchers also can analyze the immune profile of the tumor to determine if it might be susceptible to new treatments such as immunotherapy or targeted therapy. Although using these approaches in the clinical setting is still a developing area of work, such information eventually could assist in making treatment plans for individual patients and lead to entirely novel avenues of research aimed at finding new and better ways to treat head and neck tumors.
Tumors of the head and neck comprise a wide variety of conditions, both benign and cancerous. The center will provide multidisciplinary care for oral cavity tumors of the mouth and lips; throat cancers; tumors of voice box, nasal cavity, and sinuses; salivary gland tumors; thyroid and parathyroid masses and tumors; skin cancers of the head and neck, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and others; tumors of the nasopharynx, skull base, esophagus, and eye; and rare head and neck sarcomas and lymphomas.
The locations of head and neck cancers often mean the tumors themselves as well as the therapies used to treat them can cause long-term and sometimes permanent changes to a patient’s appearance and facial movements as well as to speech, the ability to swallow, and the senses of taste, smell, hearing and vision. Because these types of changes can influence core aspects of identity, the center includes experts who can help patients navigate these kinds of challenges after treatment. Such specialists include psychologists, social workers, dentists, oral surgeons, prosthodontists, speech pathologists and nutritionists.
To make an appointment at the Head & Neck Tumor Center or to refer a patient, please contact the Siteman Patient Care Coordination Center at 1-800-600-3606 toll-free from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CT weekdays, or request an appointment from our care coordinators.
*Originally published by Washington University School of Medicine.
For Your Health: Healthy ways to stay hydrated this summer
Summer can be a thirsty time, and a cold drink on a hot day is one of the real pleasures of the season. When it comes to healthy ways to stay hydrated this summer – or any other time of year – not all drinks are the same, and it can make a real difference to your health which ones you choose.
The Institute of Medicine set adequate water intake for adult women at around twelve 8-ounce glasses a day and for adult men at around sixteen 8-ounce glasses. Needs, though, can really vary from person to person. Plus, when it’s warmer or when we’re more active in the summer, we need even more water than we normally would. Some of this water can come from the food we eat, but most of it comes from what we drink. That level of intake needed each and every day highlights how important it is to choose healthier drinks – at least a large part of the time.
When it comes to those healthier choices, simpler is almost always better. This means water – still or carbonated – and unsweetened tea and coffee. Simple, though, doesn’t have to mean boring. More than ever, grocery store aisles are filled with unsweetened, flavored fizzy waters. Try a number to see which ones you like best. Or add some zip to a glass of tap water with a splash of lime juice or a slice of cucumber – or both.
Steer clear of sugary drinks, which are filled with calories, have little if any nutritional value and are linked to obesity and weight gain. These include sugary sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks. Although 100% fruit juice has more nutrients than sodas, it has about the same number of calories, so it should be kept to small amounts – both for kids and adults.
Diet soda and other drinks with artificial sweeteners can feel like healthy alternatives because they have few or zero calories, but it’s actually still unclear how they impact weight and other important aspects of health. So, it’s good to limit them, too, and focus on known healthier options.
When choosing coffee and tea, be careful about specialty options. Whether iced or hot, many are also filled with sugar and calories as well. The best choice is unsweetened tea or black coffee. If you need to add sugar or milk, try to keep it to just a small amount. According to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, up to around 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is likely safe for most adults. That’s up to around five 8-ounce cups each day. And growing research links coffee (decaf or regular) with a number of health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and some cancers.
The opposite can be said of alcohol. While beer, hard seltzers and other alcoholic drinks can be mainstays of many summer picnics and BBQs, we know more than ever that there’s no healthy level of drinking. Even a small number of drinks each week can increase the risk of some cancers and many other health problems. So, while it’s not necessarily the most popular message, not drinking alcohol is the overall healthiest choice. Alcohol-free beer and wine can be good-tasting, healthier alternatives, and there are a growing number of options. They can, though, still have a number of calories, so try to be mindful of that as well.
Choosing healthier drinks doesn’t mean totally cutting out the less-healthy options you enjoy; it’s more about shifting the balance. When we’ve gotten used to choosing sweetened drinks, it can take some time to get back in touch with how refreshing and enjoyable the healthy drink options can be. So, do it gradually. Cut back slowly on drinks like sugary soda and specialty coffee drinks while experimenting to find healthier options you really like to take their place.
So, let’s all grab one of those healthier drinks and give a toast to health, wellness and a great summer.
It’s your health. Take control.
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Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the free prevention tool YourDiseaseRisk.com®.