The Farber Center Monthly Newsletter 
The Farber Center
Greetings!
 
Welcome to our monthly newsletter. We will be featuring a patient story each month as well as cancer facts and newsworthy events. 
 
PATIENT STORY OF THE MONTH
NAz

     My name is Nella and it is my privilege and pleasure talking to you. I am no different from you, I got my fair share of frustration, pain, anger and disbelieve at what happened to me. I came from a very healthy family with no medical history. I have never smoked or used birth control pills. Like most people from Eastern Europe, I was involved in sports all my life and I could think about anything but cancer...

 

     In  October 2010 after three years of marriage my husband and I decided to have a baby involving IVF. During the hormonal treatment I told my fertility doctor that I would do the mammogram just "to check a box" (all few prior tests were good but I skipped one year). To my horror I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my right breast. It was stage 1 but I was estrogen and HER-2 positive. Obviously we stopped fertility treatments and my survival story began.

 

     I asked an oncologist who was recommended to me what I can do to help my body to ease the impact of chemotherapy and better manage the side effects. My doctor told me that my body would take care of itself and there is absolutely nothing I can do to make the process less difficult. Guess what? That was the last time I saw that doc!

 

     I then started looking for an oncologist who specialized in integrative cancer treatment. A friend recommended Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Chicago. A few days later after visiting Block Center I had in my hands on a comprehensive customized plan which included a nutritional program, physical therapy/physical care, mind/body care and a nutritional pharmacology program. I followed all recommendations religiously and it helped me to handle the worse days of chemo and helped me to work on recovery. I cooked for myself every day, learned  new anti-cancer recipes. I did cardio exercises on a daily basis to provide as much oxygen to my body as possible, studied and practiced stress management, did meditation, guided imagery and even played bridge to focus my mind on something other than treatment! And it worked very well and helped me through the chemo and surgery, as well as helped me to better manage side effects.

 

     When it came to radiation, I started looking not just for nice professional facilities in a regular hospital but for a place where alternative treatments are welcome and where doctors encourage patients to treat the whole body.  Thanks to my oncologist, I found The Farber Center! 

 

     When I first visited The Farber Center, I thought it is not for real! The place looked like a spa and not a medical facility. Then Vivian who is the Office Manager, absolutely amazed me with her politeness, her positive attitude, her patience and super high level of patient care service. There is nobody in New York City like Vivian! I felt that somebody put me in a cozy blanket, let me rest and took all my worries away. Registration, insurance company, payment, paperwork...everything was handled in a way like I have never seen before!  Dr. Spierer and Dr. Farber went above and beyond to get me approved to get treatment there. It was simply unbelievable!


EVENT DETAILS: For TFC patients 
Our Next Optimal Healing Environment (OHE) class will start: 

Monday February 13th  5:30- 6:30pm
Topic: Transition from ON TREATMENT to LIVING BEYOND CANCER

 

Monday February 27th  5:30- 6:30pm
Topic: EMPOWER YOURSELF

 

Monday March 12th  5:30- 6:30pm
Topic: MAKE A CHANGE
 
Please RSVP to Vivian
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH 
 This one is from one of our patients:

 "This office is so friendly that even the toilets want you to wave."

 

For those of you not in know, our toilets are hands free, you have to wave your hands over a sensor to flush. Too cute. 

 

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True or False?

Most cancers are hereditary?

 

False. All women are at risk for breast cancer, but Only 5-10% of those with breast cancer have inherited a mutation in the known breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2). 90-95% of breast cancer cases do not involve these inherited mutations.

 

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Visit them at: 
fidi:3 Hanover Square
tribeca: 275 Greenwich Street

 

yor

    Each day at The Farber Center was like going to the country club. You just don't want to leave:           Beautiful place, amazing people, great atmosphere, friendly attitude and fantastic alternative treatments like yoga, aromatherapy and reiki all complementary from fantastic therapists from Urban Zen! What else could I wish for! I was very-very happy. Everybody at The Farber Center became like my family.

 

     On November 16th when I had my last treatment, I cried. Not because my treatment was over.  Of course I was very happy that I finished my treatment. I simply cried because I was afraid that I will loose my sense of direction that I got at The Farber Center. I cried because nobody during the whole year of my cancer treatment, - lumpectomy, months of chemotherapy, two emergency room visits, seroma surgery and tons of tests and follow-up appointments, - nobody saw me as a whole person, nobody showed me so much compassion, kind attitude, patience and spent so much time with me like all those fantastic people at The Farber Center!

 

     A day doesn't go by when I don't think about those most amazing people I met at The Farber Center and send them and all their loved ones my prayers and my best wishes. I am from Russia and in old times in Russian culture person used bows as a sign of gratitude and appreciation. And this is exactly what I want to do: I bow to everybody at the Farber Center for your professionalism, your time, your devotion, for you being pioneers in the field of integrative oncology, for your understanding, for your time educating us. I want to hug and kiss everybody! Thank you very much!!!

 

PS: My special thanks to Dr. Farber for his vision and in making The Farber Center a reality! My special thanks to Dr. Spierer, my radiation oncologist and my most favorite doctor, for all the time she spent with me and for her patience! She is the coolest! My special thanks to Donna Karen for amazing ladies from Urban Zen! My special thanks to a group of radiation therapists who are absolutely #1 in New York!!!

I am forever grateful!

 

NEWSWORTHY:
Dr. Timothy Chen joins The Farber Center
 
Dr. Chen

     We would like to welcome Dr. Chen to The Farber Center family. Dr. Timothy H. Chen, MD, is a board-certified Radiation Oncologist. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Taipei Medical College's School of Medical Technology in Taiwan, Dr. Chen went on to complete his medical degree and then completed his residency at SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse. Dr. Chen served as Chief Resident of the Department of Radiation Oncology at The New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center.

 

     Dr. Chen holds special interest in the treatment of gynecologic malignancy, lung cancer, central nervous system malignancy, prostate implant, stereotactic radiosurgery, and brachytherapy (seed implantation). His passion for the field of medicine is further evidenced by his appointments as assistant professor at the SUNY Health Science Center at Stony Brook and instructor in Human Anatomy, Pathology at New York Methodist Hospital's School of Radiation Therapy Technology.

 

     In addition, Dr. Chen is an active member of various professional associations including: the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, American College of Radiation Oncology, American Medical Association, and American Cancer Society. Dr. Chen is also president at the American Cancer Society Asian Initiative. Dr. Chen is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife Laura, and two kids Krista age 13 and Joshua age 9.

 

FROM THE EXPERT: Focus on locally advanced breast cancer
 
Doc
     According to Dr. Rachel Kramer, a breast Medical OncologistMedical Oncologists agree that locally advanced breast cancer is defined as a malignancy of the breast that has not spread beyond the breast and the lymph nodes under the arm. A breast cancer is considered "locally advanced" if the tumor has one of the following: 
 
1. Size greater than 5 centimeters,
2. Involvement of several lymph nodes under the arm, 
3. Or involvement of the skin or muscles near the tumor. 
 
     Although these cancers can seem daunting due to either their large size or significant skin involvement, with aggressive treatment they are curable. Locally advanced breast cancer requires a "multi-modality" approach to treating the tumor; in other words, the patient needs a breast surgeon, medical oncologist, and radiation oncologist who join forces to fight the tumor. There is no single treatment strategy for such a treatment. Doctors usually work together to find the best plan that suits a particular patient with a particular tumor. In general, I prefer to administer chemotherapy to women with locally advanced breast cancer prior to surgery, whether a lumpectomy or mastectomy, to achieve better control of the tumor pre-operatively. Many medical oncologists believe, as I do, that chemotherapy before surgery, known as "neo-adjuvant chemotherapy", improves the outcomes in women with this type of cancer. The latest advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as the latest surgical techniques, allow us to work as a team to cure locally advanced breast cancer.