My Health Quest is a comprehensive magazine with all the health tips you need to stay on the path to a healthier you, while also educating you about the health and medical resources available right here in your community.
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/393541
Health Quest 10 PADDING YOUR CHANCES Your best chances of surviving breast cancer start with knowing your risk factors and increasing your chances of early detection. • Know your pattern. A genetic counselor at Health Quest can help you understand how your family's medical history can affect your risk for breast cancer. "More than 10 percent of cancers are thought to be hereditary," says Kelli Mayfarth, genetic counselor with Health Quest. "A genetic counselor can talk about the benefits and drawbacks of having a genetic evaluation." • Sew up self-exams. Beginning in your 20s, conduct a monthly breast self-exam to detect any lumps, bumps or changes in your breast tissue. • Maintain a seamless screening record. Starting at age 40, most women should have a yearly screening mammogram. Depending on your family history, your physician may recommend this test before age 40. • Address your overall health. A healthy body weight, regular physical activity, a balanced diet and low alcohol consumption are linked to a lower risk for breast cancer. When Quis found a lump under her arm during a breast self-exam, she had a mammogram at her primary care physician's office—and discovered she had stage I breast cancer. At the recommendation of several friends, Quis chose The Dyson Center for Cancer Care at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Dr. Angela Keleher, director of breast surgery and the Breast Center at Health Quest. "The whole team is wonderful," Quis says. "I'm an upfront person—I want to know what's going on. They were truthful with me about exactly what they thought, each choice I had, and what the consequences would be. I knew they would support me in whatever decision I made." A FEW ALTERATIONS Quis had a full mastectomy and decided to have traditional silicone implants. "Five weeks after I had the surgery, I had an infection in the implants," Quis says. "I learned I was allergic to sulfur—an ingredient in the antiseptic cream used after my surgery. We had to remove the first implants." After discussing other reconstructive surgery options with Keleher, Quis decided on deep inferior epigastric perforator artery (DIEP) flap, a procedure that uses tissue from the stomach to reconstruct the breast. "My insurance company wanted me to go to Syracuse or Albany to see surgeons who specialized in areas other than breast reconstructive surgery," Quis says. "The support I received from The Dyson Center for Cancer Care at VBMC staff and my physicians allowed me to have the surgery on my own terms and close to home. It was amazing." Today, Quis is healthier than ever and enjoys life with family and friends in Poughkeepsie. A Tailor-Made Treatment For Denise Quis of Poughkeepsie, New York, getting reconstructive surgery after breast cancer at The Dyson Center for Cancer Care was worth fighting for. MEASUREMENTS OF More than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. SURVIVAL With proper treatment, as many as 100 percent of women diagnosed with stage 0 and stage I breast cancer survive at least 5 years after diagnosis. After treatment, almost 90 percent of women with any kind of breast cancer survive at least 5 years after diagnosis.