Posts Tagged ‘partnerships’

Take-Aways from Cancer Survivorship: Intimacy Chat

July 26th, 2012 By Emory Cancer Care

Recently, we conducted a live chat within our cancer survivorship series: Cancer Survivorship and Intimacy. The chat was hosted by Alice Mullins, LCSW, of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University’s survivorship program and addressed a variety of topics related to cancer treatment, survivorship and intimacy.

Cancer treatments can wreak havoc on the mind and body, thus impacting how patients feel about affection and intimacy. Since the topic is often under-addressed, Alice was able to answer some of your most pressing questions.

All types of cancers, not just those of the reproductive organs, can have an impact on intimacy, as intimacy is not only physical but emotional as well. Patients undergoing cancer treatment may face a variety of issues with intimacy due to side-effects of treatment and medication. Alice recommended that chat participants experiencing such issues consult with their physician or counselor for support.

While there are several ways to increase sexual desire and intimacy among cancer patients and their partners, the most important step is to work on communication.

Alice reminded participants that prioritizing good communication and being open, both personally and with their partner, is key! What intimacy means and is constituted by may change for patients during or after cancer treatment, so keeping an open mind on ways to feel and experience intimacy is essential.

For more information and to review the full discussion the intimacy chat transcript is available today.

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A Year of Momentum in Raising Breast Cancer Awareness… & We’re Not Done Yet!

October 11th, 2011 By Morgan Griffith

Breast Cancer Awareness Year RoundIn November of last year, right after Breast Cancer Awareness Month wrapped up in October, we pledged to keep pushing for breast cancer awareness year-round. It’s been almost a year since that date, and we’ve made some great strides in raising community awareness and action around breast cancer.

September 2010 – Emory Healthcare launched an overhauled breast health microsite to provide educational resources on breast health and breast cancer to web users. Website release is followed by launch of Emory Healthcare and Winship at Emory cancer blog.

November 2010 – Pledged to keep breast cancer awareness going throughout the year. Started by asking for feedback from the community. Those who provided feedback, tips & stories were entered to win tickets to the GA Tech v. UConn women’s basketball game.

Feburary 2011 - The Emory Breast Center and Winship Cancer Institute partnered with Georgia Tech women’s basketball again, this time for their “PINK” game. Breast cancer survivors joined together to form the tunnel the Lady Yellow Jackets ran through to enter the game.

March 2011 – The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University received a high impact donation from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation in the amount of $5 million. The donation contributes to supporting breast cancer patient care, research, education and community outreach.

October 2011 – The Winship Cancer Institute and Emory Breast Center kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month by hosting a live online web chat with breast surgeon and surgical oncologist, Dr. Toncred Styblo. The well-attended chat provided a free opportunity for the community to ask questions about breast cancer risk, prevention, screening and more.

October 2011 – Emory Healthcare and the Winship Cancer Institute partner with 11 Alive News for an hour-long community education special on beating breast and prostate cancer that is aired across the Atlanta area and various cities across the nation.

And we’re not done yet! The Emory Breast Center has a number of events lined up in the month of October to keep momentum going.

All of our team members from Emory Healthcare, the Winship Cancer Institute and the Emory Breast Center would like to thank our community for helping us make this an awesome year for breast cancer prevention awareness. We have lots more to do to keep the momentum going!

In the comments below, we’d love it if you’d share with us an example of something you’ve done over the last year to help promote breast cancer awareness.

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Full Court Press Against Breast Cancer

January 26th, 2011 By Emory Cancer Care

PINK gameEvery year, Georgia Tech’s women’s basketball team hosts a PINK game to raise awareness for breast cancer. This year, Tech is teaming up with the Emory Breast Center and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University to honor breast cancer survivors at the game.

This year’s PINK game is a home game match-up between Georgia Tech (25) and NC State. Tip-off will take place at 5pm on Sunday, February 13, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2. To keep breast cancer awareness top of mind, Tech’s Ramblin’ Wreck women basketball players will wear pink jerseys for the game and will enter the arena by running through a typical tunnel, made up of not-so-typical participants*. Breast cancer survivors from around Georgia will form the tunnel to welcome the team to their home stadium.

So why should you care? One in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s why we ask that you join Emory and Georgia Tech as we wage a “full court press” against the disease and raise awareness about the importance of screening mammography and understanding breast cancer risk.

*We are still recruiting breast cancer survivors to form the team’s tunnel! As an honoree, survivors will receive a free ticket to the game and a pink Emory Breast Center t-shirt to wear on game day. It is not a requirement that participating survivors have been treated at Winship at Emory.

Please join us for this special event. You can register by calling 404-778-7777 or visit www.emoryhealthcare.org/pink for more information.

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Could Space Travel Cause Lung Cancer in Astronauts?

December 14th, 2010 By Emory Cancer Care

Researchers are launching a new cancer research initiative – literally. NASA partners with Emory & MCG

NASA has awarded a team of investigators from both the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and the Medical College of Georgia $7.6 million over five years to study how a component of space radiation may induce lung cancer.

The award establishes a NASA Specialized Center of Research (NSCOR), consisting of a team of scientists with complementary skills who work closely together to solve a set of research questions. Ya Wang, PhD, professor of radiation oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, is director of the NSCOR at Emory.

Interplanetary space travel could expose astronauts to conditions where they are chronically subject to types of radiation not normally encountered on earth. One of these radiation types is high energy charged particles (HZE), which results in complex damage to DNA and a broader stress response by the affected cells and tissues.

There is no epidemiological data for human exposure to HZE particles, although some estimates have been made studying uranium miners and Japanese atomic bomb survivors. Animal experiments show that HZE particle exposure induces more tumors than other forms of radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays.

Because it is a leading form of cancer, lung cancer can be expected to be prominent among increased risks from radiation even though astronauts do not smoke. However, the risk for astronauts remains unclear because the dose of HZE astronauts are expected to receive is very low.

The Emory-MCG researchers will probe whether the broader stress response induced by HZE particles amplifies cancer risk. Investigators will collaborate with physicists at Brookhaven National Laboratory to gather information on HZE’s effects. Individual projects include the study of how cells repair DNA damage induced by HZE particles, how HZE particles generate oxidative stress, and how they trigger regulatory changes in DNA known as methylation.

“The information generated by this project will be critical for estimating risks and establishing countermeasures for cancers associated with long term space travel. In addition, new insights into cancer resulting from all types of radiation exposure, including those found on earth, are likely to emerge from this project,” concludes Dr. Paul Doetsch, PhD, professor of radiation oncology and biochemistry, and associate director of Emory’s NSCOR.

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