Cancer Treatment

As a radiation oncologist here in Bel Air, I wanted to share an issue that could affect the cancer treatment of a great many of our friends and neighbors. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a change to the way free standing radiation oncology practices are reimbursed for their services. The end result is a $300 million cut to cancer care, which will have unfortunate consequences for patients who require radiation treatment. Most patients with cancer require radiation treatments in the course of their care.

Oh, no! Here we go again with another "awareness conversation" ("Breast cancer: Angelina Jolie starts the conversation," May 16). After the fortunes raised by Race for the Cure and the other breast cancer groups, must we consider having both our breasts removed? I'm beginning to think being a woman is a life-long death sentence. In "starting the conversation," why didn't Angelina Jolie mention how much her surgery, reconstruction and rehabilitation cost? If an initial exam is $3,000, what is the price of the entire procedure?

The University of Maryland's growing BioPark in West Baltimore will get a $200 million boost from plans announced Wednesday by the School of Medicine to team with private partners on a state-of-the-art proton cancer treatment center. Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown said the center would create 325 construction jobs, 110 permanent jobs and attract 2,000 patients a year. "It will also continue the state's and Baltimore City's investment in the communities of West Baltimore," he said.

Upper Chesapeake Health (UCH) is pleased to announce that it has named Dr. Philip Nivatpumin has been named by Upper Chesapeake Health as medical director of the UCH Patricia D. and M. Scot Kaufman Cancer Center. The Kaufman Cancer Center is currently under construction on the UCMC campus in Bel Air and is expected to open in the fall. Nivatpumin is well-known to Harford County, where he is a medical oncologist with Upper Chesapeake Hematology/Oncology, a mainstay in the community.

Former Sen. Paul E. Tsongas of Massachusetts was admitted to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston yesterday for further treatment of lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, officials of the hospital said.Mr. Tsongas, a Democratic Party presidential candidate last year, was reported in good condition. He entered the hospital for monitoring of the chemotherapy he is receiving in his latest battle against lymphoma.Mr. Tsongas, 51, said in a statement that he had asked Dana-Farber officials not to issue further statements about his condition until the treatment is completed.

Older men with early-stage prostate cancer may be better off waiting and having regular checkups and tests to monitor their cancer than having surgery or radiation therapy, says a new report.The study in yesterday's Journal of the American Medical Association is likely to stir controversy among doctors and the public about the effectiveness of surgery and radiation to treat prostate cancer, the most common kind of cancer among American men.Surgery and radiation for men older than 60 with early stages of prostate cancer may not help them live longer and may put them at risk for complications, particularly impotence and incontinence, which may "severely degrade quality of life," the study said.

Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday that its first-quarter loss narrowed as sales of its Gliadel treatment for brain cancer grew. The Baltimore-based company also told investors in a conference call that it was discontinuing development of its Lidomer treatment for post-surgical pain and narrowing the focus of its efforts to develop the cancer treatment Paclimer as part of cost-cutting moves. Guilford reported a net loss of $13.5 million, or 45 cents a share, on revenue of $6.2 million.

The children of a 62-year-old Indiana woman are trying to pressure a Maryland biotech company into treating their mother's pancreatic cancer with an experimental drug not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The three daughters of Connie Loughman held a news conference at their parents' Indianapolis home yesterday, pleading for access to the drug. They have launched a video on YouTube devoted to their mother's plight and set up a Web site asking people to e-mail executives at Gaithersburg's GenVec Inc., which is testing the promising cancer treatment.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine has begun construction of a $200 million proton center that will bring the latest in cancer treatment to the region and double investment in the University of Maryland's growing BioPark in West Baltimore. University officials will join state and local officials, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, for an official groundbreaking Tuesday at the site of the 110,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to treat 2,000 cancer patients a year.

Doctors had hoped to operate on the cancer in Rhio Weir's lungs that January morning almost two years ago. But when Weir, a 63-year-old underwriter for a title company, awoke, he was told the tumors were in the lining of his lungs and couldn't be removed. "The doctor told me the news was very bad, that the only thing I could do was radiation and chemotherapy," the Los Angeles man recalls. But there was something else Weir could do - and did. He stepped outside the circle of conventional cancer therapy for aspects of his treatment.

Brides-to-be can browse hundreds of designer and gently worn wedding gowns at the Brides Against Breast Cancer "Tour of Gowns" this Valentine's Day weekend at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel. "These brides are really progressive because they can buy their dresses anywhere, but they choose Brides Against Breast Cancer because it supports a great cause," says Amy Paulishak, vice president of business development for Brides Against Breast Cancer. "Every time a bride finds her gown, we ring a bell and the DJ makes an announcement.

Living with cancer is not easy, but HealingPoint Acupuncture and Healing Arts in Columbia offers services to help ease the pain. Bridget Hughes founded HealingPoint as a general acupuncture practice with her husband, Brandon, in 2001. “We had no idea at the time that we would become so integrated into the oncology community in Howard County,” she says. After a local oncologist realized one of her patients had recovered from the severe side effects associated with radiation and chemotherapy after an acupuncture treatment at HealingPoint, word spread throughout the community.

As a radiation oncologist here in Bel Air, I wanted to share an issue that could affect the cancer treatment of a great many of our friends and neighbors. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a change to the way free standing radiation oncology practices are reimbursed for their services. The end result is a $300 million cut to cancer care, which will have unfortunate consequences for patients who require radiation treatment. Most patients with cancer require radiation treatments in the course of their care.

The pastel-colored ball of yarn made its way from one tiny hand to another at the Camp Kesem "empowerment ceremony," with each camper unraveling their part of a common, painful thread. What bound them together was cancer — which had come barreling into the lives of the children who attended the camp hosted by Johns Hopkins University students and recent alumni. For many, this week was the first time they realized that they weren't the only ones navigating a childhood derailed by the disease.

The underlying medical condition that contributed to the death of writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron and is forcing ABC news anchor Robin Roberts to get a bone marrow transplant is a rare and complicated disease that scientists are still trying to figure out. Both women were afflicted with myelodysplastic syndrome, a group of disorders caused when the body produces damaged blood cells. Abnormal cells can eventually outnumber good cells, leaving people with low blood cell counts and needing transfusions and other treatments.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine has begun construction of a $200 million proton center that will bring the latest in cancer treatment to the region and double investment in the University of Maryland's growing BioPark in West Baltimore. University officials will join state and local officials, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, for an official groundbreaking Tuesday at the site of the 110,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to treat 2,000 cancer patients a year.

The director of the National Institutes of Health has refused to "march in" and give CellPro Inc. license to patents owned by the Johns Hopkins University for a cancer treatment system.CellPro had invoked an obscure legal provision to get around a federal judge's ruling that CellPro infringed on Hopkins' patents by building and marketing a blood-filtering device for cancer patients.Under the "march-in" clause of the Bayh-Dole Act, the government can grant a compulsory license if the public is being deprived of access to a vital product.

Upper Chesapeake Health (UCH) is pleased to announce that it has named Dr. Philip Nivatpumin has been named by Upper Chesapeake Health as medical director of the UCH Patricia D. and M. Scot Kaufman Cancer Center. The Kaufman Cancer Center is currently under construction on the UCMC campus in Bel Air and is expected to open in the fall. Nivatpumin is well-known to Harford County, where he is a medical oncologist with Upper Chesapeake Hematology/Oncology, a mainstay in the community.

When a young woman is diagnosed with cancer, getting pregnant is probably the last thing on her mind. But if she wants children in the future, it's something she should think about. The chemotherapy and radiation treatments used to treat cancer can hurt a women's fertility. Nearly 10 percent of the 1.5 million diagnosed with cancer each year are of childbearing age, according to the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Melissa M. Yates, an assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins Fertility Center, says these women need to think about fertility preservation before they begin treatment for cancer.

Our lawmakers in Annapolis have an opportunity to eliminate a significant disparity in access to chemotherapy for the thousands of Marylanders treated for cancer each year. The access issue is one of cost and the difference in how much insurance companies require patients to pay for intravenous chemotherapy vs. oral chemotherapy. Simply put, when cancer patients are treated with intravenous chemotherapy drugs - which for years were virtually the only treatment option - their share of the costs under most insurance plans is limited to office visit co-pays, usually about $20 or $30 per session.