CentraState - Healthy Directions

The Power of Positivity: Battling Myeloma eyes momentarily while listening to a friend, she would fall asleep. The Monroe Township resident, now 72, went from specialist to specialist with symptoms such as erratic blood pressure and swelling in her legs. Eventually, two CentraState Medical Center physicians made the correct diagnosis: multiple myeloma. C Abhijit Chatterjee, MD, board-certifi ed internist Abhijit Chatterjee, MD, board-certified internist and geriatrician on the medical staff at CentraState, has been Carole's primary care physician for the past nine years. In August 2009, arole Murphy was 68 years old when she noticed she was so tired that if she rested her Carole was admitted to CentraState under Dr. Chatterjee's direction due to dizziness and a sudden drop in blood count. She received a blood transfusion and underwent a bone marrow biopsy. Based on the biopsy results, Thomas Drabik, DO, RPh, nephrologist with Nephrology-Hypertension Associates of Central Jersey and on the medical staff at CentraState, determined she had developed multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects the bone marrow's plasma cells. KEEPING IT ALL TOGETHER Following her diagnosis, Carole underwent six months of chemotherapy under the care of Aileen Chen, MD, hematologist and oncologist with Monmouth Aileen Chen, MD, hematologist and oncologist Middlesex Hematology-Oncology and on the medical staff at CentraState. Dr. Chen referred Carole to an outside facility, where Carole received a stem cell transplant in January 2010. She continues to visit the Center every three months for follow-up care. Because of her compromised immune system, Carole has had ups and downs over the past two years. She has been treated at CentraState by Ramanasri Kudipudi, MD, infectious disease specialist, for a bacterial infection and pneumonia, but Dr. Chatterjee has been with her each step of the way, visiting her in the hospital and providing her with routine healthcare. "Managing several specialists and multiple treatments can be quite a maze," Dr. Chatterjee says. "The role of a primary care physician is to take care of a patient's needs and serve as a guide to the best outcome." INTIMATE CARE In addition to exceptional medical care, Carole, who is now in remission, received personalized attention from her physicians. Conversations with Dr. Chatterjee were filled with meaningful dialogue about her family and friends and other kinds of personal issues cultivated over the course of a nine-year relationship. "My positive attitude about cancer comes from my doctors, who have always encouraged me," Carole says. "Patients should have confidence in their CentraState doctors and never give up hope." CentraState has more than 75 primary care physicians on staff. For more information about primary care or to find a primary care physician on the medical staff at CentraState, call (866) CENTRA7 (866-236-8727) or visit www.centrastate.com/primarycare. HD Comprehensive healthcare coordinated by her primary care physician allowed Carole Murphy to successfully battle myeloma. www.centrastate.com November/December 2011 7

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