06-21-2023 Primetime Living - Flipbook - Page 4
4 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 21, 2023
BREAST CANCER
Breast cancer
today
Dr. Noeline Rajarajan
Multi-disciplinary
approach makes
advances
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
W
henever news headlines include the words “breast cancer,” women so there are three main groups and their
panic early and often. This time, the latest headline was a recommendation to start mammogram screenings at age 40.
Thanks to the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation, millions of women
get mammograms so, today, 91% of
women diagnosed with breast cancer
recover.
Dr. Noeline Rajarajan, a fellowshiptrained breast surgeon at the Ascension
Saint Agnes Breast Center, specializes
exclusively in breast surgery and breast
disease. She works closely with the multidisciplinary care team at Ascension
Saint Agnes to provide exemplary care for
patients with all breast related diseases,
including breast cancer, high risk breast
lesions and benign disease and believes
in delivering personalized, compassionate
care for each of her patients.
“Breast cancer has come quite a way,”
says Rajarajan, “with highly specialized
practitioners: surgeons, radiologists,
oncologists, nurse practitioners and a
variety of clinicians. But the ramifications
of a diagnosis go beyond the patient. It
also affects the family emotionally, physically and psychologically.
Breast cancer comes in lots of different forms. Some are very slow growing
and may need less aggressive treatment.
Other forms of breast cancer can be
extremely aggressive and treatment for
these cancers will often require more than
just surgery. There are also many types
between these two extremes.
According to American Society of
Clinical Oncology, “The 5-year relative
survival rate for women in the United
States with non-metastatic invasive breast
cancer is 91%. This is thanks to early
detection, improvements in treatments
and greater breast cancer awareness.”
Unfortunately, it adds, “Black women are
diagnosed less often with breast cancer
than White women, and they have a 40%
higher death rate from the disease.”
“Breast cancer is grouped according
to the different strains’ receptor status,
stages,” Rajarajan explains. “Depending
on the exact type, the grouping will dictate treatment options. Some breast cancers are very slow growing, so they may
require less treatment and the women
often recover. A few are aggressive and
will require a number of different treatments such as surgery, radiation, antihormone medication and chemotherapy
to remove the cancer and prevent it from
coming back. In all cases, the earlier we
find it, the earlier we can treat it. If you’re
going to take someone’s health into your
hands, you want to give them the best
care possible. I hope most people would
feel that way.
“One area to take into consideration
when deciding on treatment is the relationship the woman has with her breasts.
One said, ‘I’m over 65, done with children, so if I need a mastectomy, it’s OK.’
Another isn’t ready to lose her breasts, so
we adjust the treatment to the patient.
“And when patients ask me what I
would do for myself or my mother, I
explain that I have different requirements.
This is truly a personal choice. What I can
do is counsel them on the options. It’s
worth taking a little extra time to think it
through.
“In the past, many women overreacted
and made drastic choices, what we called
the Angelina Jolie effect, and had a double
mastectomy. Today we have so many
more options.”
As with many cancers, breast cancer
is divided into stages: Stage 1 is localized
and easy to treat; Stage two is regional, in
the breast and lymph nodes in the armpit; Stage 3 is larger and consider more
advanced and involves the lymph nodes;
and Stage 4 means it spread to other sites
in the body. This last stage is the most difficult to treat.
Treatments
“One question everyone asks,”
Rajarajan says, “is will I need chemotherapy (chemo)? In the past, a lot more women
required chemo, but now, sometimes, we
can avoid it. When we do use chemotherapy, it can be given before or after the
surgery. For some women, chemotherapy
given before the surgery can completely
eliminate the cancer. The treatment usu-