CentraState - Healthy Directions

Debbie O'Melia is grateful to her gynecologist, Robert Portadin, MD, for discovering that she had anal cancer. D ebbie O'Melia says she was deeply moved by the outpouring of well wishes and support she received from friends and family on Facebook during her recent cancer treatment. Now, she hopes her social media friends are inspired by her repeated advice to pursue regular checkups and screenings with their doctors. A routine visit with her gynecologist led to Debbie's diagnosis of an uncommon type of cancer. "As soon as I found out, I immediately went on Facebook and let everyone know—go get an exam," says Debbie, 55, of Freehold. "If I could have cancer, anybody could have it." That routine checkup not only revealed Debbie's cancer, but also detected it at an early, localized stage. Her doctors say early detection is part of the reason Debbie was found to be cancer-free just four months after the start of her treatment. A ROUTINE ANNUAL EXAM Debbie, who has two adult children and two adult stepchildren, says she has tried to keep up with yearly visits with Robert Portadin, MD, a board-certified OB/GYN on staff at CentraState. Dr. Portadin says that as part of his regular checkups, he performs a digital rectal exam. During Debbie's exam in April 2015, he felt a hard mass and her stool tested positive for microscopic blood—both major warning signs for colorectal and anal disease. "She was totally unaware and had no symptoms, no pain and no visible rectal bleeding," Dr. Portadin says. "There was nothing you could see—if you didn't do an exam, you would never know it was there." When a Routine Checkup Finds Cancer Winter 2016 Healthy Directions 10

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