|
White Plains Hospital Center Attracts National Attention for its Breast Services White Plains, NY (October 1999)-The national spotlight has been focused on White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC) for its breast services. The Hospital is one of eight sites in the U.S., where new equipment and/or procedures relating to breast cancer are tested for the first time. "We've built a breast cancer service here that's nationally recognized," said Arthur G. Lerner, M.D., WPHC's Director of the Department of Surgery and Surgical Director of the Hospital's new Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center (DCTC). He is one of only 16 physicians nationwide, and the only person in Westchester qualified to teach image-guided breast biopsies by the American College of Surgeons. Since 1993, under the tutelage of Dr. Lerner, WPHC doctors have been teaching other physicians how to effectively perform stereotactic biopsies, which combine surgical and radiological techniques to combat breast diseases. These seminars are taught across the country, as well as on-site. Lynn Josephson, M.D. of Rye, a WPHC surgeon for 18 years, said, "The Hospital has a wide range of technology to detect disease that goes beyond sonograms and mammograms which are now standard throughout the country." In addition to full diagnostic screening using sonograms and mammography, other services available at WPHC include: • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to catch abnormalities that might be missed by mammography. • Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanner, the first-of-its-kind in the area, whereby the injection of a radioisotope into the system detects abnormal cancer cells. • Breast Ultrasound and Ductography that detects disease in the ducts of the breast. • Fine Needle Aspiration and Core Biopsies under Ultrasound and Stereotactic Guidance. Image guided biopsies using needles in conjunction with ultrasound and stereotactic technology has eliminated the need for the more invasive lumpectornies to make an initial diagnosis. • Sentinal Node Biopsies. The Hospital was one of the first area institutions to feature this radically improved surgery for breast cancer patients, which combines radiology and surgery to pinpoint the tumor area thereby reducing the number of nodes the surgeon needs to remove. "Women should feel they are getting expert care in a facility with state-of-the-art equipment," said Rosalyn Kutcher, M.D., F.A.C.R. of Edgemont. "There is no reason to go to the City." A specialist in mammography and ultrasound, Dr. Kutcher is a Fellow in the American College of Radiology and a Professor of Clinical Radiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. She was an attending radiologist at Montefiore Medical Center for 18 years, before joining White Plains Radiology Associates in 1997. Once a diagnosis is made, treatment can begin at the Hospital, obviating the need to go to another institution for surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. "There are other breast surgeons at one or two area Hospitals, but none of them have all the tools and the full range of services to deal with breast disease," said Daniel E. Fass, M.D., Director of Radiation Oncology at the Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center. Opened this spring, the Center houses the Hospital's new Radiation Therapy Department and features the most advanced tools to fight cancer available anywhere, including the highest energy linear accelerator in Westchester. "But all the technology in the world would be rather meaningless without the dedication and compassionate care of the medical professionals involved in the patient's care," said Jon B. Schandler, President and CEO of the Hospital. He pointed to the coordinated effort of doctors and their caregivers which happens on-site. "The Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center affords all the doctors involved with the patient's care to meet together with the patient and the patient's family to discuss and determine the best course of individualized treatment within a conducive environment," he explained. Patient care programs at the Hospital are comprehensive in nature and include surgical and medical treatments. They run the gamut from tumor removal, tumor reduction I surgery for pain management and patient comfort, chemotherapy administration, radiation therapy and complementary therapies, such as nutritional counseling and support groups. The Hospital also conducts a weekly Tumor Board Conference at DCTC where doctors discuss cases. Patients can avail themselves of DCTC's comfortable and computerized Resource Room to obtain in-depth disease-specific information. Research is ongoing at the Hospital into investigative cancer treatments, including breast cancer. They are the New York Breast Cancer Study, a study of genetic and environmental influences on breast cancer among Jewish women, two high-dose chemotherapy protocols for patients with advanced breast cancer, and the prestigious Women's Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS WINS, a nationwide study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, seeks to determine whether eating habits influence a woman's risk of breast cancer recurrence. WPHC, in conjunction with the American Health Foundation, is one of 35-plus sites across the U.S. to take part in the study, and the only hospital in Westchester to do so. WPHC has its own Cancer Genetics Program in collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to identify, educate, counsel and evaluate various cancers, including cancer of the breast.
|