March 04, 2012 12:00 AM
DARTMOUTH — The Hawthorn Rehabilitation Services Center is now offering a free specialized physical activity program for cancer survivors that focuses on stretching, mild muscular toning, balance activities and educational topics.
Physical activity for cancer survivors is conducted by registered therapists certified in oncology rehabilitation by the STAR Program from Oncology Rehab Partners.
As Sherry Spencer-Brown, PT, CLT-LANA, STAR Program Clinician and Liaison, explains, “Patients who are having or have had treatment for cancer are often unable to return to their prior level of function or realize their greatest potential. We recognize cancer survivorship as a distinct phase of a person’s cancer journey and strive to enhance their quality of life through movement.” Issues that may affect the quality of life include weakness, limited motion and flexibility, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, balance problems, and neuropathy.
Classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12 to 12:45 p.m. at the Hawthorn Rehabilitation Services Center, 535 Faunce Corner Road in North Dartmouth. there is no charge for cancer survivors to participate in the program. Cancer survivors may join at any time and are encouraged to attend the two classes each week for six weeks. for more information or to register for the program, call 508-961-2925.
DARTMOUTH — Southcoast Health system has announced that Dr. Allison Gorski, who specializes in pain management, has joined Southcoast Physicians Group to support the Southcoast Brain & Spine Center, Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care and Southcoast Physicians Group in managing acute and chronic pain.
Gorski will be available for inpatient and outpatient consultation and management of patients with a variety of pain conditions beginning April 2.
Gorski was the chief of anesthesia and medical director of pain management at Steward Healthcare System’s Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River for the past 15 years. At Steward, she developed a comprehensive pain program and opened two additional hospital-based pain programs within the Steward system at Norwood Hospital and Holy Family Hospital in Methuen.
She received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed her residency in anesthesiology at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston. She is board-certified in pain medicine and anesthesiology and is a member of the Legislative Committee for the Massachusetts Pain Initiative, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists.
Her practice is located at the Southcoast Brain & Spine Center, 480 Hawthorn St. in Dartmouth. Patients interested in making an appointment can call 774-206-4090 for more information.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) recently announced that it will honor Dr. John E. Buster, associate director of the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Tufts Medical Center, as one of its three “Legends” this May.
“Legends” are selected based upon their internationally recognized contributions to medicine through research and innovative clinical practice. The awards will be presented at LA BioMed’s annual dinner.
Dr. Buster has spent almost his entire career as a physician, spanning four decades, focused on reproductive endocrinology and infertility. it was at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in 1983 that he revolutionized the standards for the treatment of women with infertility and those with genetic conditions they did not want to pass onto their child. He directed the research team that performed the world’s first human embryo transfer, which resulted in a live birth in February 1984. as part of the procedure, an embryo was created in one woman using the sperm of an infertile woman’s husband through artificial insemination. once the embryo was beginning to develop, Dr. Buster’s team transferred it from the first woman to the second, who gave birth 38 weeks later.
DARTMOUTH — Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care Dartmouth Oncology Center will host the American Cancer Society’s Look Good . . . Feel better program, on March 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at 537 Faunce Corner Roa.
The program is offered through a partnership of the American Cancer Society; the Personal Care Products Council Foundation; and the Professional Beauty Association / National Cosmetology Association. The free program teaches cancer patients hands-on cosmetic techniques to help them cope with appearance-related side effects from chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments. Wig care, scarf and hat use, skin care, and nail care will all be discussed, and all participants will receive a free makeup kit. Registration is required, contact Karyl Benoit at 508-674-5600 ext. 2515.
Cosmetologists certified and trained by the American Cancer Society conduct the sessions, which are non-medical and do not promote any product line. for more information or for cancer information anytime, contact the American Cancer Society 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
NEW BEDFORD — Fellowship Health Resources, inc. (FHR), a nonprofit mental health and substance abuse treatment agency headquartered in Lincoln, R.I., has kicked off its three-year strategic plan to expand Peer Recovery Services agency-wide. Most recently, FHR promoted new Bedford resident Robert Rousseau to director of Peer Recovery Services to coordinate the effort.
The plan includes identifying specific needs, working with quality improvement to address these needs, training employees, and implementing various peer support strategies such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), already evident at FHR.
For more information about Fellowship Health Resources, inc., please visit www.FellowshipHR.org.
WAREHAM — Southcoast Center for Weight Loss will offer free informational sessions on the risks and benefits of weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, during the month of March.
The free informational sessions will be held:
March 13 and March 27, 6:30 p.m., Tobey Hospital Medical Library, 43 High St., Wareham
March 14, 7 p.m., White’s of Westport Colonial Room, 66 State Road
March 20, 7 p.m., Southcoast Center for Women’s Health, 300 Faunce Corner Road, North Dartmouth
For more information or to register for a free seminar call 508-273-4900. for more information on the Southcoast Center for Weight Loss visit www.southcoast.org/weightloss/.
MARION — Tobey Emergency Associates inc., the physicians who provide emergency department services at Tobey Hospital, and Southcoast Health system will host the inaugural Cape & Coast Prehospital Conference on March 10 at Tabor Academy’s Fish Center for Health and Athletics, 66 Spring St.
The conference will include multiple 45-minute continuing education lectures featuring national speakers with up to four different topics to choose from hourly along with 45 national and regional vendors and exhibitors from EMS, firefighting and law enforcement companies and educational institutions. The event will include product samples, K-9 demonstrations, an aeromedical landing (weather permitting) and regional employment opportunities in EMS, fire, and law enforcement as well as in trade, paramedical, nursing and allied health educational programs.
The conference is open to the public. Individuals interested in a career in prehospital care and law enforcement are encouraged to attend and explore the exhibit. Registration is $15 per person with a discount of a fifth person free when registering four people at once. Snacks and a light lunch will be provided.
Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. with opening remarks beginning at 9 a.m. Exhibition hall hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for more information or to make a reservation contact Donna Costa with Tobey Emergency Associates inc. at 508-273-4198, visit www.ciemss.org or follow on Facebook at Cape and Coast Prehospital Conference.
FALL RIVER — The Division of Endocrinology at Prima CARE Medical Center is the first medical center in Massachusetts to help improve the diagnosis of thyroid cancer by offering the Total Afirma® Solution Service, a genomic approach to evaluating suspicious thyroid nodules. The test helps doctors rule out malignancy early to help cut down on unnecessary surgeries.
Dr. Kishore Lakshman and Dr. Tamer Yacoub were concerned recently when they found a nodule in the thyroid of a 68-year-old man. Dr. Lakshman extracted cells from the nodule, hoping to determine whether the man had cancer, but the biopsy results were inconclusive. Until recently, such uncertainty would have led to surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid. At the least, the patient would have faced a tense waiting period to see if, over time, he developed clear signs of cancer.
This time, however, the doctors simply sent the cell sample to the laboratory. a new test analyzed the cells’ molecular patterns, producing a high level of certainty that he didn’t have cancer. it was a relief to the patient to have a quick answer, and it prevented unnecessary surgery at significant cost, plus a lifetime of thyroid hormone medication.
“We are excited to be the first and only center thus far in Massachusetts to be able to provide the Total Afirma Solution Service. This should allow a significant portion of our patients to avoid the cost, discomfort and risk of surgery,” says Dr. Lakshman. The typical cost incurred for a thyroid surgery is in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. a recent large-scale study published by The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine showed that the use of this test could avoid almost three-fourths of currently performed surgeries in patients with benign thyroid modules. given this test’s potential to save health care costs, it is covered by Medicare and most commercial insurance.
The test was developed by Veracyte, inc., a California-based molecular diagnostics company. it is anticipated that a significant number of the 125,000 patients who undergo thyroid surgery each year will be able to avoid it with the improved diagnosis of thyroid modules.
Ads by Google