News, Updates & Events: UTMB Cancer Center at Victory Lakes

More than one third of Texas women still receive unnecessary breast biopsy surgery

Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy. At UTMB, minimally invasive biopsies are used more than 98 percent of the time. [read more]

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 Free Screening Mammograms for women in our community.

UTMB Health and The Ruth Kempner Endowment for Breast Cancer Screening are partnering to provide free screening mammograms for uninsured women in our community. The Susan G. Komen foundation has stated that a significant number of uninsured women in Galveston County are not receiving their annual screening mammograms. In an effort to reach these uninsured women, UTMB Health is bringing the mobile mammography van to churches in Galveston County on June 2 and 9. Uninsured program participants DO NOT need to be members of these church congregations in order to receive a free screening mammogram. However, participants will need to PRE-REGISTER for the program and meet the eligibility criteria here. 

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Cancer Survivors Day

On Wednesday, June 5, UTMB Health will celebrate Cancer Survivors Day. Cancer is a journey that must not be taken alone. Help, support and guidance are available. At our events in League City and Galveston, we'll be celebrating Cancer Survivorship. We know life after a cancer diagnosis is still meaningful and productive. If you are combating cancer or are a cancer survivor, love or care for someone affected by cancer, or are a health care professional with an interest in cancer, walk with us as we celebrate life. Events are at 1:30 at the Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes, and at 4:30 outside the John Sealy Hospital on the UTMB main campus in Galveston. Join us for music, refreshments and fellowship.  [Get additional details]

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New prostate technology serves patients in Houston

Houston Business Journal, May 3, 2013

UTMB’s Dr. Eric Walser is among a few doctors pioneering a new prostate cancer treatment that has the potential to draw patients from around the country to the Houston region for care. New technology available in recent years enables physicians to take an image of the prostate, locate the cancer and remove it with a guided laser. Now, with a clear image of where the cancer is, Walser can use an MRI-guided laser to treat precise areas of the organ, all on an outpatient basis.

 

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Jan 8, 2013: The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is a UTMB patient education series where attendees get to hear great speakers, gain new insights, and enjoy a free breakfast. It's a great way to start your day. Below, watch a webcast of Dr. Karen Powers' recent presentation:

“Going for Bust: Breast Reconstruction After Cancer Surgery”

Dr. Karen L. Powers earned her M.D. at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. She completed her general surgery and plastic surgery residencies at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Powers completed a fellowship in breast microsurgery at the University of Utah, Division of Plastic Surgery in Salt Lake City, Utah. As an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Dr. Powers's special interests are breast reconstruction, microsurgery, wound healing, and medical education. Her research projects include: utilization and outcomes of breast reconstruction; national practice patterns and disparities in care among patients with breast cancer; and effects of radiation on reconstructed breasts.

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Exercise and Cancer

by Dr. Victor S. Sierpina, the W.D. and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professor of Integrative Medicine at UTMB. Originally published in the Galveston County Daily News.

In early 2013, UTMB’s Cancer Center at Victory Lakes will be joining the ranks of most major national cancer centers in offering Integrative Oncology consultation services. These will include medical consultations regarding evidence-based, proven complementary therapies for those anywhere along the spectrum of cancer: for prevention, for relief from side effects of treatment, in survivorship and prevention of remission, or for palliative care. Patients will also be offered counseling and recommendations regarding nutrition, stress management, and exercise.

Exercise plays many important roles related to cancer. For cancer prevention, as little as 30 minutes of exercise five times a week can reduce the risk of cancer, most convincingly for cancers of the breast and colon. Exercise helps reduce cancer risk by improving energy balance and fat distribution, reducing the obesity, stress management, improving antitumor immune defense, improving antioxidant defense and DNA repair. Exercise also improves transit time in the colon, increases ventilation of the lungs, and modifies the balance of multiple hormones thus reducing the risks of colon, lung, ovary, breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers. [read more on the Working Wonders blog]

 

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UTMB Health 2012 Komen Houston Race for the Cure - Oct. 6

On Saturday, October 6, 2012, the world’s largest 5K run/walk took place and we were a part of it! Join us next year: we invite you to join UTMB Health for the 2013 Komen Houston Race for the Cure.

If you have any questions, please contact one of our team captains: Amineh Baradar ambarada@utmb.edu (409) 772-0504 , or Barbara Petit bhpetit@utmb.edu / (409) 772-1285. Thank you for your support!

Click here to join or donate to UTMB Health's Race for the Cure!

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Look Good…Feel Better Program

The Look Good … Feel Better program is a free workshop that helps women to cope with the side effects of cancer treatment. However, participants say it’s less about what it does for women on the outside and more about how it makes them feel on the inside.

The national program, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, has served more 650,000 women since its inception 20+ years ago. UTMB has been offering the popular program for several years. Experts will provide step-by-step guidance on makeup and skin care, and tips on prosthesis fittings and hair pieces. The workshop provides a comfortable, supportive atmosphere with other women coping with cancer treatment, those about to go through it and those who have been there.

The event is usually hosted at the Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes. The program is free. To find out more about upcoming dates and to register, please call (832) 505-1700.

 

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UTMB Health recently celebrated Cancer Survivors Day. Cancer is a journey that must not be taken alone. Help, support and guidance are available. During our recent event at UTMB, we celebrated Cancer Survivorship. We know life after a cancer diagnosis is still meaningful and productive. If you are combating cancer or are a cancer survivor, love or care for someone affected by cancer, or are a health care professional with an interest in cancer, walk with us as we celebrate life.

Below, watch a photo slideshow from the event: