HealthyUMAGAZINE JAN 09HealthyUMAGAZINE July-Sept. 09

INSIDE > Early prostate cancer screening can help save lives> Research helps pave the way for future medical treatments> University Hospital is an accredited Chest Pain Center

Men with prostate cancer risk factors – such as a family member diagnosed with prostate cancer or being an African American – need to be vigilant in keeping up with their screenings.

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DEpENDING oN whErE you turN, you’re likely to get conflicting information about prostate can-cer screenings.

Some researchers dispute the need for the pros-tate-specific antigen (PSA) blood screenings in addition to digital rectal exams (DRE), but physi-cians who practice at University Hospital say the additional test is needed to help catch prostate cancer earlier, which helps both treatment and recovery from the disease.

“I tell patients that both PSA and DRE are war-ranted,” said Benjamin Kay, M.D., a urologist who practices at University Hospital. “Together, they are more reliable than just one or the other.”

Dr. Kay said men with prostate cancer risk factors – such as a family member diagnosed with prostate cancer or being an African American – need to be vigilant in keeping up with their screenings.

“Those men with risk factors should be screened because of a relatively higher chance of developing prostate cancer,” he said. “Because prostate cancer is prevalent in those populations, I do think early screening is warranted.”

University Hospital teams up with Lowe’s Home Improvement stores every year in September to provide free PSA screenings to men. Check the Healthy U calendar, in The Augusta Chronicle and The Aiken Standard on the third Sunday of the month, for dates and times.

Early screening, which must include both the PSA blood test and a DRE, is so vital when it comes to prostate cancer because there often are no symp-toms in the early stages. A quicker diagnosis can lead to earlier treatment, which can improve survival.

If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, you should know that University Hospital offers the lat-est surgical treatment technology – the da Vinci® Surgical System.

The da Vinci® robotic surgical system allows physicians to perform more precise surgical pro-cedures, and the system also offers many patients added benefits including:nShorter hospital staynLess painnLess blood loss and transfusionsnSmaller scarsnFaster recoverynQuicker return to normal activities

Dr. Kay warned, however, that not every patient is a candidate for surgery.

“There are a number of options available for the treatment of prostate cancer, but not every man is a candidate for every option,” he said.

Every cancer is different, so take time to talk with your physician about your treatment options to determine what will work best for you.

For more information about prostate cancer, call university’s Cancer Answer Line at 706/828-2522 or toll free at 866/869-2522.

Prostate CancerEarly prostate cancer screeningcan help save lives

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“Those men with risk factors should be screened because of a relatively higher chance of developing prostate cancer.”-Benjamin Kay, M.D., Urology

thE IMAGE oF A CLINICAL trIAL might bring to mind scientists huddled over beakers and microscopes in an attempt to discover the next medical breakthrough.

But the truth of the matter is, a vast majority of clinical trials are conducted through physician of-fices. Once the initial Phase 1 trials, which are often conducted at research universities, are complete, Phase 2 and 3 trials are usually moved to physi-cians, such as Mark Keaton, M.D., a medical on-cologist who practices at University Hospital.

It’s there that industry- and government-sponsored trials are offered to patients in the hopes that these experimental treatments will lead to better, stronger and faster treatments for the next generation of pa-tients, while helping the test subjects as well.

“We try to keep clinical trials as a treatment op-tion for most patients,” Dr. Keaton said.

The 30-35 trials open at Dr. Keaton and other phy-sician offices run the gamut of potential treatments – drug-based or device-based; sponsored by phar-maceutical companies or the U.S. government.

“These are advanced studies, so they’re Phase 2 and 3, which are much further along in develop-ment,” Dr. Keaton said. “It’s because of these trials that we have access to some drugs that are not accessible by the general public.”

Past trials Dr. Keaton has conducted have helped get approval for some of the most-effective breast cancer drugs on the market today.

Herceptin, an effective antibody that targets cancer cells that make too much of a protein called HER-2, was the focus of just one of the clinical trials conducted through Dr. Keaton’s office.

“We probably had a half dozen patients in that trial,” he said. “Some things that are now standard treatments for breast cancer were used as part of clinical trials right here in Augusta.”

There are a number of resources for those in-terested in learning more about clinical trials. The government Web site www.cancer.gov/clinicaltri-als has an extensive list of more than 8,000 current trials from which to choose. An easy-to-use search function lets people search by cancer, location and treatment type.

Carole Ehleben, director of Human Subject Research and Institutional Review Board administra-tor, also suggested talking with your physician about any clinical trials you might have an interest in.

“There is just a wide range of trials out there – both medical and interventional,” she said.

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Clinical TrialsResearch helps pave the wayfor future medical treatments

“Some things that are now standard treatments for breast cancer were used as part of clinical trials right here in Augusta.”-Mark Keaton, M.D., Medical Oncology

Why are thereclinical trials?A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful cancer research process. Studies are done with cancer patients to find out whether promising approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treat-ment are safe and effective.

Source: National Cancer Institute

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CANCEr IS A SCAry propoSItIoN; one that involves not only the patient, but family and friends as well.

University Hospital has taken that group ap-proach to care and applied it to its cancer services, and that attention to detail has earned the hospital the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award.

University is the only hospital in Georgia to re-ceive the full designation, which recognizes those cancer programs that strive for excellence in pro-viding quality care to cancer patients, and only 95 programs – 19 percent of U.S. programs surveyed in late 2008 – have achieved this level of recognition.

After undergoing an onsite evaluation, University received a Commendation level of compliance with seven standards that represent the full scope of University’s cancer program – cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical ser-vices, research, community outreach and quality improvement. The hospital also received a compli-ance rating for the remaining 29 standards.

“This is a wonderful achievement for University’s Cancer Services,” said Miriam J. Atkins, M.D., a medical oncologist who practices at University Hospital and chairwoman of the hospital’s Cancer Committee. “It really shows the residents here that there’s no need for them to go outside of Augusta to get the best cancer treatments. We’ve got it all right here.”

Patients who come to University Hospital for cancer treatments know they’re receiving experienced care from some of the regions top oncologists and surgeons, and physicians who practice at University are continu-ally looking for ways to improve that level of care.

“I think patients are pleasantly surprised when they come to University,” Dr. Atkins said. “Especially if they’ve gone somewhere else for any kind of treatment.”

For more information about university’s Cancer Services, call the Cancer Answer Line at 706/828-2522 or toll free at 866/869-2522.

Cancer RecognitionUniversity’s Cancer Services receives prestigious recognition

“It shows the residents here that there’s no need for them to go outside of Augusta to get the best cancer treatments. We’ve got it all right here.”-Miriam J. Atkins, M.D., Medical Oncology

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EvEry SECoND CouNtS when a heart attack is in progress. That’s why hospitals work to create processes and procedures that trim minutes and even seconds off diagnosis and treatment times.

University Hospital’s efforts to provide the very best cardiac care in the least amount of time have been rewarded with a full Cycle II Accreditation with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) from the Accreditation Review Committee of the Society of Chest Pain Centers. PCI refers to

those procedures used in the cardiac catheter-ization lab to unblock a clogged artery leading to the heart.

“This is something we’ve been working toward for the last four years,” said Alyson Lulham, an infor-matics nurse specialist and Chest Pain Center co-ordinator for University’s Emergency Department.

The accreditation is especially important to University because it indicates the hospital has the expertise and commitment to quality patient

Chest Pain AccreditationTime is muscle when it comes to surviving a heart attack

If you are experiencing chest pain, call 911 or go directly to the ER.

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care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of strin-gent criteria. University also underwent an onsite evaluation by a review team from the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

According to the center, University has demon-strated expertise in: nIntegrating the Emergency Department with the

local emergency medical systemnAssessing, diagnosing and treating patients

quickly nEffectively treating patients with low risk for acute

coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms

nContinually seeking to improve processes and procedures

nEnsuring Chest Pain Center personnel compe-tency and training

nMaintaining organizational structure and com-mitment

nHaving a functional design that promotes opti-mal patient care

nSupporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attackBut don’t think the recognition will lead to

University resting on its laurels. Ms. Lulham said her department is already building on areas of improve-ment to provide even greater benefits to heart at-tack patients who come to University Hospital.

“The next step is to concentrate on our low-risk cardiac patient population,” she said. “For the 40-50-year-olds with their first episode of chest pain, we’re trying to develop a pathway for them to be on an observation status.”

University has a long history of cardiac excellence, and the recognition from the Society of Chest Pain Centers is just another example of the hospital’s continued commitment to Augusta’s residents.

“Our hospital is ranked by a national standard of care for chest pain, which means we have the processes in place to take care of you in the most efficient and timely manner to save your heart muscle,” Ms. Lulham said.

University has a long history of cardiac excellence, and the recognition from the Society of Chest Pain Centers is just an-other example of the hospital’s contin-ued commitment to Augusta’s residents.

Heart disease causes about one out of every five deaths in the U.S., and in 2009 is it es-timated that nearly 800,000 Americans will have a new heart attack, and nearly 475,000 will have a recurrent attack. Every 25 seconds, an American has a heart attack, and about every minute, someone dies from one.

Know the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack so that you don’t become a statistic.

MEN’S SYMPTOMSnCrushing chest pain nPain radiating down the left arm nLightheadedness nSweating nFainting

WOMEN’S SYMPTOMSnVery unusual fatigue nUnusual shortness

of breath nNausea and dizziness nLower chest discomfort nBack pain nIndigestion or gas-like pain nPain spreading to shoulders, arm, neck and jaw

If you have any of these symptoms, call University’s Heart Information Line at 706/828-2828 or toll free 866/601-2828. A registered nurse will answer your questions and advise you on a lifesaving course of action. You can also ask for a FREE Coronary Risk Profile.

* American Heart Association Statistical Update

Heart Attack Symptoms

Web Site

Refer to the Healthy U Calendar in the Aiken Standard and the Augusta Chronicle on the third Sunday of each month for a complete list of programming. Or, log on to www.universityhealth.org/calendar.

uNIvErSIty’S CoMMItMENt to quALIty as well as transparency prompted the hospital to update its “How We Compare” site at www.universityhealth.org/compare. There you will find easy-to-understand tables detailing how University has performed on key clinical measures as reported via Hospital Compare (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), an online tool of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The updated site includes more detailed information about measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumo-nia and surgical care as well as patient satisfaction scores. The site’s scores include those reported to Hospital Compare, as well as University’s most-recent numbers as compiled by departments within the hospital.

In addition to a new look, University has also given Web users a way to see how the hospital ranks against other local health care providers as well as the top 10 percent of hospitals in the country.

This updated site is University’s way of providing consumers with the tools they need to make the best decisions regarding their health care.

to view the site, log on to www.universityhealth.org/compare.

University Hospital makes a commitment to qualityWant to know how University Hospital stacks up against other local health care providers?

See University Like You’ve Never Seen it Before

GET a bEhiNd-ThE-ScENES lOOk at University Hospital with a new series of virtual Web tours now available on the hospital’s Web site at www.universityhealth.org.

These 360-degree tours offer an unprecedent-ed look at the main hospital; the W.G. Watson, M.D., Women’s Center; and the new Heart & Vascular Institute.

These tours include areas not usually accessible by the general public and offer a glimpse of the inner workings of a large metro hospital system, so log on to University’s home page to get a unique view of the hospital.