Event celebrates breast-cancer survivors

After treatment, patients can begin the transition from surviving to thriving, says Beth Baughman DuPree, medical director of the Breast Health Program at Holy Redeemer Health System in Bensalem, Pa.

With treatment over, “you find that the life ahead of you is far brighter than you could have ever expected,” she says in a telephone interview. “Cancer is that permission slip to change the things in your life that probably need changing anyway.”

	If you go WHAT: “Beauty and the Breast,” a breast cancer educational seminar and women’s health fair WHEN: Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. with a lunch break from noon-1:30 p.m. WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Albuquerque, 11000 Broadway SE HOW MUCH: Free but people must register to attend. Call 559-6216 or email csullivan5@phs.org.d>

Dupree will discuss “How Survivors Become Thrivers” as keynote speaker at “Beauty and the Breast,” a breast cancer educational seminar and women’s health fair at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Albuquerque at 11 a.m. Sept. 24. The day is organized by the Anita Salas Memorial Fund, a nonprofit that helps New Mexico women with biopsies, treatment and other services, in collaboration with the Central New Mexico affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

DuPree founded the first comprehensive breast care hospital in the U.S. and is the author of “The Healing Consciousness: A Doctor’s Journey to Healing.” In the book she describes her shift from a “left-brained Western surgeon to a far more right-brained healer,” she says.

With her integrative approach to treating cancer, DuPree says healing extends beyond the operating room.

She gives patients a chance to choose what works best for them. One patient may benefit from hypnotherapy or yoga; another might need help with healthy cooking, she says. The same goes for how people survive the disease.

“As you’re treating the cancer, you’re treating the individual,” she says.

DuPree’s philosophy reflects the integrative approach of “Beauty and the Breast,” says Colleen Sullivan-Moore, an event organizer and Anita Salas volunteer.

“Beauty and the Breast” is designed to meet patient needs across the cancer spectrum with medical and emotional support, says Sullivan-Moore. In addition to expert speakers, 60 booths will offer massage therapy, acupuncture and information from nonprofit organizations that help people with cancer.

Spanish-language interpreters will be available throughout the day.

At 9:30 a.m., Dr. Brian Potts, medical director of breast imaging at High Resolution Women’s Imaging Center, will give a talk called “Mammography Saves Lives.” Potts will focus on early screening, he says. He supports American Cancer Society guidelines that say women without a strong family history of breast cancer should have annual mammograms starting at 40. Women should do monthly self-exams and have annual physicals, he says.

“The idea is to find breast cancer early,” he says. “When we find breast cancer early it’s much easier to treat.”

In New Mexico, many women have not been screened. A 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation report on health disparities in the U.S. found that 37 percent of American Indian women, 33 percent of Hispanic women and 30 percent of white women aged 40-64 in New Mexico had not had a mammogram in two years.

More screening has contributed to a 30 percent decrease in breast cancer deaths in the past 30 years, Potts says. When Stage 1 breast cancer is detected, 98 percent of patients survive at least five years, he adds.

Following Potts’ talk, Barry Tong, a genetic counselor and regional medical specialist for Myriad Genetic Laboratories Inc. in New Mexico and Houston, will discuss “Breast Cancer and Genetic Risk.”

From 1:30-3:30 p.m., a team of specialists will review a hypothetical breast cancer case. The panel will discuss a woman who is at risk for the breast cancer gene and will need chemotherapy, radiation and help with survivorship.

“Beauty and the Breast” is geared toward women who have or have had breast cancer or know someone with the disease, says Sullivan-Moore. About 400 people attended last year.

“Breast cancer really impacts the entire family,” says Sullivan-Moore, a nurse navigator at Presbyterian Cancer Center, who helps guide patients through cancer care. “Anyone attending has had some brush with cancer.”

A $20 noon luncheon hosted by the Central New Mexico Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure will feature Beverly Laird of the Komen Advocates in Science Steering Committee. To register call 265-4649 or see www.komencnm.org.