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A few months after turning 40 in August 2010, Kristin Ballister decided to follow her doctor's advice and schedule her first mammogram. She had the test right before the holidays, and she remembers getting "the dreaded call that I had to come back." The mammogram indicated a small tumor in her left breast. A subsequent biopsy determined it was cancer. "There were no problems—no signs or symptoms that anything was wrong," says Kristin, a Freehold mother of two. "Thank God I had turned 40 because I do not know what would have happened if I hadn't had that mammogram." While her breast lesion was small, follow-up tests determined cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes, liver and bones. It was an invasive, stage 4, cancer. LIVING WITH CANCER Once breast cancer has reached stage 4, it's no longer considered potentially curable. However, new treatments are providing more hope than ever that even noncurable cancers can be kept in remission, allowing patients to lead normal, active lives, says Bhavesh Balar, MD, a board-certified hematologist and oncologist on staff at CentraState Medical Center. "We are heading in a direction in which we treat many types of cancer as a chronic disease," Dr. Balar says. "Not to downplay the seriousness of cancer, but the approach is similar in concept to how we manage other chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease." In February 2011, Kristin began four months of chemotherapy, and in a matter of weeks her cancer was already in remission. Later that year, she had a lumpectomy and radiation treatments to target the specific area of her breast lesion. During the past three years, Kristin has continued regular treatments meant to keep her cancer in remission. Her regimen includes a medication that blocks cellular receptors that can make cancer cells grow and divide faster and a medication that helps strengthen her bones. HOPE FOR THE FUTURE As recently as June of this year, a positron emission tomography, or PET scan, showed no abnormal cancer activity, Dr. Balar says. Kristin is back working as a claims policy specialist with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, and enjoying every moment with her two daughters, Madison, 15, and Cheyenne, 8. She is weighing additional treatment options, including mastectomy, and is hopeful that continuing advances in therapy will offer her more options in the future. She also hopes her story encourages other women to pursue regular mammograms. "By the end of my chemotherapy, I was feeling much better and more confident that things were working and I was on the road to recovery," she says. "I've been in remission ever since, and I hope and pray that it stays this way." Call 732-294-2778 or visit www.centrastate.com/appt to schedule your mammogram today. HD www.centrastate.com Fall 2014 3 The Importance of Mammograms Bhavesh Balar, MD, board-certified hematologist and oncologist Kristin Ballister has overcome breast cancer and is appreciating her time with her children Cheyenne (left) and Madison (right). CentraState will be hosting a Women's Wellness Event on October 6. For more information about the event, visit www.centrastate.com/livewell or call The Star and Barry Tobias Health Awareness Center at 732-308-0570.