Cancer edition: 2017
The 2017 Cancer Edition highlights stories of survival, loss and hope. Cancer changes many people — not just the patients but also caregivers. For Diane Mitchell, whose husband, Jerry, died from pancreatic cancer in 2014, handling that responsibility — and loss — taught her things about herself she never thought possible. For Phyllis Smith, who has been the smiling face at Wayne Radiation Oncology for 13 years, a breast cancer diagnosis taught her to see those patients in a new light and with more empathy. The 2017 Cancer Edition also includes information about medical advances in diagnosis and treatment as well as advice from area doctors.
Cancer edition 2017: A look at the numbers
Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related death in Wayne County, with rates that nearly double the statewide average. From 2009 to 2013, 398 people died from lung cancer in Wayne County. During the same five-year period,...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: Tobacco and cancer
Tobacco-related cancers remain a problem as tobacco consumption holds its grip on about 20 to 30 percent of the population. Dr. Jim Atkins at the Southeastern Medical Oncology Center said the center sees about 70 to 80 new lung cancer...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: Rallying around the need
Southeastern Cancer Care's Cures for the Colors and the Bill Outlaw Foundation are nonprofit organizations that can help cancer victims weather financial difficulties.. "Cures for the colors was started when it became apparent that our patients needed assistance with basic...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: Coping with the loss
When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, the lives of those charged with caring for them take on a laser-focused quality. Caregivers serve as nurses, cooks, chauffeurs, therapists, confidants and more, their day-to-day existence warping around the disease nearly...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: From the Doctor ---- An ounce of prevention
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we heard our grandmothers say that many times.It is true in cancer as well. The good thing is that there are steps you can take to help prevent cancer. ...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: Finding the strength
At 46, Eli Hudson seemed to be the definition of a healthy man, yet he began feeling like he had no energy. After doing blood work, his doctor said he was anemic. That was December 2016. "I was so mildly...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: From the doctor ---- Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is the cancer of the cervix, which is the lower, narrow end of the uterus. The cervix connects the vagina to the upper part of the uterus. The uterus is where a baby grows when a woman is...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: A long battle
Amy Woodard knew something wasn't right. She just needed a doctor to listen. She had endometriosis, so the symptoms weren't totally out of line. But the heavy bleeding in-between periods and the sharp abdominal pains concerned her. Her physician at...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: The value of imaging
Two imaging tests are now offering doctors and patients some of the latest technology in identifying the early stages of cancer. Wayne UNC Health Care and Wayne Radiologists added 3-D digital mammography testing equipment a year ago, and the hospital...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer edition 2017: Becoming the patient
For 13 years, Phyllis Smith has been one of the warm, smiling faces greeting patients at Wayne Radiation Oncology. Despite witnessing all the cancers and conditions that brought people through those doors, nothing prepared her to be on the receiving...Published: Oct 8, 2017 4:03 PM Full Story
Cancer editon 2017: From the Doctor --- Counter your odds of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and the first most common in the United States. There are expected to be around 161,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses and approximately 26,7000 prostate cancer deaths in 2017 in...Published: Oct 8, 2017 3:18 PM Full Story