Tamika
Cook was 27 when she became one of almost 200 breast cancer patients MCG Health
System has treated in the past three years.
Her health care team’s top priority was ensuring a full recovery, a goal routinely achieved. Breast cancer deaths have dropped 24 percent nationwide since 1990, thanks largely to better treatments and screenings.
“I never thought I needed to get a mammogram at my age,” said Ms. Cook. “It was pure chance that I located the lump while shaving. Now, I urge all college age women to begin receiving regular mammograms and to do monthly self checks. I knew breast cancer was out there, but it doesn’t mean as much until it touches you.”
She underwent a mastectomy the day before her 28th birthday. The surgery revealed that the cancer hadn’t spread; thanks to her fast action when discovering the lump, she needed no further treatment and has been cancer-free ever since. “Looking back, it was the best birthday present I could have received.”
As a member of the MCG Breast Cancer Support Group and a volunteer for several American Cancer Society fundraisers, her goal now is to help pass along the gift to others. In 2003, Ms. Cook was named a local hero as part of the BMW of North America Inc. Ultimate Drive for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. “It is an unbelievable feeling,” she said, “to help spread the word.”
Ted Alba, 55, wasn’t too surprised he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, second only to skin cancer in prevalence among American men.
His younger brother had been diagnosed and treated two years earlier.
Dr. James Brown, an MCG urologist, performed laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor. “He warned me going in that, if need be, we would switch to a traditional surgery, but fortunately, we didn’t need to,” Mr. Alba said.
Laparoscopic surgery involves inserting slender instruments, a scope and other tools through dime-sized slits in the body. Surgeons watch their progress on a monitor, precluding the need for major incisions that prolong recovery and increase the risk of side effects. “I was up and walking about within a few days,” said Mr. Alba. “It was amazing.”
His surgery was followed by radiation, then hormone deprivation therapy when the cancer persisted. The treatment, which shuts down the production of testosterone, is a lifesaver but ideally a stopgap measure, according to Mr. Alba’s oncologist, Dr. Teresa Coleman. Research is brisk in areas including monoclonal antibody therapy, she said.
“I just want to get prostate cancer out of the way so I can go on with my life,” said Mr. Alba. “I only need about three more years before a better treatment comes along.”
Despite the fact that his grandfather died from leukemia in 1975, Daniel Wager, the manager of New Life Natural Foods in Augusta, never gave blood cancer any thought. “I was just too busy living life,” said the 37-year-old mountain biker, golfer and frequent visitor to his local gym. That is, he didn’t give it a thought until he was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2005.
Mr. Wager had lost 20 pounds, and had night sweats and a cough that persisted several weeks. “I was completely shocked when I learned of the diagnosis. I always had bronchitis during cold-and-flu season each year, so when Dr. Meyer Schwartz (an MCG family medicine physician) sent me for an X-ray and a CT scan, I thought, ‘Maybe they’re looking for pneumonia.’ When I got the diagnosis, I had to tell myself not to completely freak out without having a full understanding of what was going on.”
Dr. Schwartz immediately provided that understanding.
“He was really on his toes and called in [Dr. Samuel Chan, an oncologist] fast,” Mr. Wager said. “Within four to five days of diagnosis, I was undergoing my first round of chemo. I couldn’t have asked for a better oncologist.”
Mr. Wager finished chemotherapy in May and is completing radiation treatment. “Dr. Chris Sheils (radiation oncologist at the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center) is really a great guy. Between Dr. Chan, Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Sheils, I feel that I’m in great hands all the way through my care. My doctors are really there for me. I can’t say thank you enough,” Mr. Wager said. “Now, I just want to get back to living life.”
Deborah Humphrey