Page 32 - Healthcare News Nov_Dec, 2020

Cancer Connection Continues to Serve Clients During Pandemic
NORTHAMPTON — Cancer Con- nection’s free cancer-support ser- vices, like befriending, can make people who are dealing with the uncertainty, isolation, and grief of cancer feel less isolated and more hopeful.
“To face the challenges of our illness or of caring for our loved ones, we need someone who will meet us where we’re at and listen without opinion, pity, or judg- ment. Someone who will let us talk, laugh, or cry if we want to. Someone who will help us remem- ber that we are still the person we were before a cancer diagnosis,” Participant Services Director Sheila Kelley said. “Whether you or a loved one have just been diag- nosed, are in the middle of treat- ment, or have finished treatment and still need support, we encour- age you to call and leave a message
for our befrienders.”
Cancer Connection calls its
center a haven where befriend-
ing is woven into every aspect of its work to support people with cancer as well as their caregivers and family members. Before the pandemic, the center hummed with people talking individually or in groups, dancing to music in a movement class, lying down and receiving acupuncture or mas- sage, and even playing harmonica together in a class taught by a par- ticipant who wanted to give back.
“In-person services are currently paused, since people with cancer are in a COVID high-risk catego- ry,” Kelley said. “Please, tell your friends and family facing cancer that we are here for them, though, in ways that address the difficul- ties the pandemic poses for people with cancer and those caring for
them.”
They can take advantage of
music and movement, as well as mindfulness, through videoconfer- encing. The center has temporarily retooled its integrative therapies, with Reiki, reflexology, and mas- sage therapists providing sessions via telehealth focused on calming strategies. Its support groups also continue through remote technol- ogy.
Typically, Cancer Connection funds these free services with the proceeds from its entrepreneurial arm, the Cancer Connection Thrift Shop, and gifts, grants, and fund- raising events. “This is anything but a typical year,” Executive Director Beverly Herbert said. “We face an emergency, which I don’t say lightly. A serious financial
gap, like that faced by other area nonprofits, has been caused by the
pandemic-related closure of our Thrift Shop for five months, March through July, and event cancella- tions. We have been working hard since August to raise $250,000 to close the gap.”
The Thrift Shop reopened Aug. 5 “to great demand,” Herbert added, “and, thanks to grants and dona- tions, we’re now over 80% of the way toward that goal, toward se- curing our future. So many people have volunteered, made financial contributions, and donated to
and shopped at our Thrift Shop. They’ve even organized their own fundraisers. But we need to keep going. If we don’t reach our goal, we won’t be able to survive 2020 intact, putting hundreds of local people who depend on our com- forting and strengthening supports at risk of losing them.”
Healthcare Heroes to Be Celebrated Virtually on Jan. 14
SPRINGFIELD — Due to spikes in COVID-19 cases across Mas- sachusetts and the U.S., the Healthcare News and its sister publication, BusinessWest, will celebrate the Healthcare Heroes class of 2020 with a virtual event on Thursday, Jan. 14 from 4 to 5:15 p.m.
The event — which will fea- ture sponsor videos and remarks, as well as honoree acceptance remarks and honoree story recaps
— will be free and accessible
via a link at businesswest.com.
A recording of the event will be available on businesswest.com and healthcarenews.com following the program.
This year’s Healthcare Heroes, all of whom are being recognized for their efforts to battle the pandemic, each in very different ways, include Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health; Christopher Savino, Emeline Bean, and Lydia Bris-
son, clinical liaisons for Berkshire Healthcare Systems; Friends of the Homeless; the Nutrition Department at Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc.; the staff at Holyoke Medical Center; the Institute for Applied
Life Sciences at UMass Amherst; Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, director of Spiritual Life at JGS Lifecare; Mag- gie Eboso, Infection Control and Prevention coordinator at Mercy Medical Center; Jennifer Graham, home health aide at O’Connell Care
at Home; and Helen Gobeil, staffing supervisor at Visiting Angels West Springfield.
The Healthcare Heroes program is sponsored by Elms College (pre- senting sponsor), Baystate Health and Health New England (present- ing sponsor), and partner sponsors Bulkley Richardson, Comcast Busi- ness, and Trinity Health Of New England/Mercy Medical Center.
Baystate Health Recognized as Hidden Scar Center for Excellence
SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Health announced it has been recognized as a Hidden Scar Cen- ter for Excellence for Hidden Scar breast-cancer surgery, making it one of the region’s only breast-care programs to achieve this designa- tion. Baystate Health is expanding options for women in Western Mass. with a procedure that ef- fectively treats the cancer while optimizing cosmetic results.
Each year, approximately 253,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer that requires surgery. Statistics show that
one out of eight women will be impacted, with many unaware of all the surgical options available, including less invasive approaches that can help restore their self-
image and allow them to begin the emotional healing process. Five-year survival rates for breast cancer are high, but the surgery scars left behind are more than a physical reminder. They impact confidence, intimacy, and mental well-being for many women. But living with noticeable scars after surgery is no longer necessary.
“Hidden Scar breast-cancer surgery allows our surgeons to re- move the cancerous tissue through a single incision made in a hidden area, preserving the natural shape of the breast while reducing visible scarring. Patients who undergo this approach experience optimal clinical and cosmetic outcomes and are at no higher risk of recur- rence than patients who undergo
any other surgical technique,” said Dr. Holly Mason, section chief for Breast Surgery at Baystate Health. “A breast-cancer diagno- sis is difficult enough. Baystate Health is committed to enabling our surgeons to perform complex, in-demand surgeries with greater confidence and give more women access to transformative options.”
Performing breast-cancer surgery through a smaller incision requires consistent illumination through- out the surgical cavity, so surgeons can clearly see and effectively remove the tumor. Using Stryker’s Intelligent Photonics technol-
ogy to improve visibility during procedures such as lumpectomy and nipple-sparing mastectomy is critical.
“I am proud we can offer this surgery to the women in our com- munity. All of our breast surgical oncologists have been trained in Hidden Scar techniques, allowing us to provide cutting-edge cancer surgery and improved aesthetics,” said Dr. Danielle Lipoff, Baystate Health breast surgeon, who, along with Mason and Baystate’s newest breast surgeon, Dr. Jesse Casau- bon, perform the Hidden Scar technique at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Mason and Lipoff also bring the procedure to patients at Baystate Noble Hospi- tal in Westfield, and Casaubon at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.
32 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM NOV./DEC. 2020