Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

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BREAST CANCER MYTHS: TRUE OR FALSE?Myths surrounding breast cancer abound. Some have no factual basis at all (eg, Using anti-perspirant, drinking caffeine, and wearing an underwire bra will all increase your risk.). But others have a kernel of truth. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we spoke with Angela DeMichele, MD, of Hematology-Oncology, to get the facts.

ALL BREAST LUMPS ARE CANCEROUS.Not true. In fact, most lumps are not, especially in pre-menopausal women. “A lump may be a cyst or a normal change in the tissue during a woman’s cycle. We often watch the lump during a monthly cycle to see if it changes.” It’s less common for post-menopausal women to have benign lumps, but bottom line: “We take every new lump seriously, no matter what the patient’s age.”

I FOUND A LUMP BUT MY MAMMOGRAM WAS NEGATIVE SO IT WAS NOTHING.Not necessarily. Post-menopausal women have more fatty tissue in their breasts which makes them more transparent; a mammogram can more easily pick up changes. A younger woman’s breast tissue, on the other hand, is glandular, which makes it harder to get a clear picture. “Any persistent lump — even in the face of a normal mammogram — should be biopsied to make sure no cancer cells are present.”

I HAVE A FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER SO I’LL GET IT, TOO. While having a family history can raise your risk, the majority of people who get breast cancer do not have a genetic connection. Still, it’s always important to know your family’s medical history. If you have multiple cases of breast cancer in your history — especially if they occur under the age of 50 — or cases of both breast and ovarian cancers, you have an increased risk.

WEIGHT CAN INCREASE MY RISK.Yes. Although not well understood, women with a BMI (body mass index) of over 30 have an increased risk of breast cancer. “Not only is the risk for getting breast cancer higher but the chance of recurrence is greater as well if a person is obese.”

BREAST CANCER IS PREVENTABLE.Not 100 percent, but there are several ways to minimize your risk and improve the likelihood of catching it early and in a more treatable stage:

•Get an annual mammogram, starting at age 40. “It’s the best screening tool we have.”• Keep your body weight down, with a BMI of 25 or lower.•Get regular exercise. • Do monthly self-exams. A sizable fraction of breast cancers have been found by women

during self-exam.• Know your family history, of both parents. “A person is just as likely to inherit the breast

cancer gene from a father as from a mother.” Genetic testing will help calculate your risk.

(Read about Penn’s new breast cancer research programs on page 2.)

Any persistent lump — even in

the face of a normal mammogram

— should be biopsied to make sure

no cancer cells are present.

— Angela DeMichele, MD Hematology-Oncology, Penn Medicine

INSIDE

Two Nurses Honored with Top Recognitions .............2

New CAREs Foundation Grant Winners ..........................3

Fifty Years of Caring for Moms and Babies ....................3

Join Penn’s Medicine’s Heartwalk Team ........................4

Volume 23 Number 21 October 19, 2012

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TWO NURSES HONORED WITH TOP RECOGNITIONSRita Adeniran, DrNP, RN, CMAC, NEA-BC, has been named one of this year’s 20 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows from across the country. She joins a select group of nurse leaders chosen to participate in the three-year, world-class leadership development program that will enhance nurse leaders’ effectiveness in improving the nation’s health-care system.

As a fellow, Adeniran will provide strategic leadership and direction for diversity, inclusion, and culturally competent health-care services for the organization. Her appointment is in recognition of her many contributions and aspirations to improve the health and healthcare delivery system of our nation.

Adeniran was also recently named director of Diversity and Inclusion at HUP. Previously, as Global Nurse Ambassador, she led initiatives to bring recognition to HUP Nursing as a global leader and strategic resource center for clinical nursing education advancement, leadership development and cultural competence in clinical practice.

Rhoda Redulla, DNP, RN, Professional Development specialist, was selected by the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates to become one of eight national scholars. This inaugural program is designed to educate and train appropriately prepared GI and endoscopy nurses in order to build a repository of research applicable to the GI/endoscopy setting. A key responsibility will be to serve as SGNA’s mentors in the organization’s nurse fellow program.

The Scholars Program will help SGNA, a professional organization of nurses and associates dedicated to the safe and effective practice of GI and endoscopy nursing, provide training for nurses who will advance gastroenterology and endoscopy nursing through the development of evidence-based research and practice.

NEW PENN CENTERS TACKLE BREAST CANCERTwo recently created programs at the

Abramson Cancer Center will focus on

preventing and treating breast cancers,

using multidisciplinary approaches in

research and patient care.

• The Basser Research Center will support research on known mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are linked to greatly increased risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The Center will contribute to all stages of research and clinical care related to BRCA-related cancers, emphasizing outreach, prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship.

• 2-PREVENT (PREvention, SurVEillance and iNTtervention) will examine major unmet needs of breast cancer patients in the post-treatment survivorship period. This ACC Translational Center of Excellence will pursue innovative approaches to predict, prevent, monitor, detect and treat recurrent breast cancer as well as address adverse side effects related to treatment.

` Rita Adeniran

` Rhosa Redulla

NEW CAREs FOUNDATION GRANT WINNERSCongratulations to the latest recipients of a Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant:• Shirley Arrington, HIM Department

(HUP) — Community Outreach, Pine Hill Primitive Baptist

• Killeen Shuda, CICU (HUP) — Girls on the Run Philadelphia

• Eileen Agiya, Penn Home Infusion, Nursing (HCHS) — Home Infection Control

• Jack B. Lewis, Office of Diversity and Community Outreach (PSOM) — Penn-SHC Anti Bullying Project

• Delane Casiano, Psychiatry (HUP) — The Maternal Wellness Initiative

• Tom Volkert, Penn Home Care and Hospice Services (HCHS) — My Place Germantown

• Robert Bonacci, Medical Student (PSOM) — Health and Vitals Screening in a Primary Care Clinic for Latinos

• Joanne Miles, Accounting (HUP) — Heeding God’s Call — Faith Based Gun Control Advocacy

The CAREs Foundation awards grants for expenses (not including salary support) directly related to new or existing community outreach activities. Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted until December 1, 2012. For more information or to apply, please visit http://uphsxnet.uphs.upenn.edu/community/CARE/foundation-grant.html.

MAKE IT COUNTS

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FIFTY YEARS OF CARING FOR MOMS AND BABIES When Sue Stabene, RN, coordinator of HUP’s Childbirth Education Program and Penn Special Delivery, came to work on HUP’s labor and delivery unit in 1962 — straight out of HUP’s School of Nursing — it was truly a different world. Natural childbirth was not yet an option for new moms. Soon-to-be dads stayed in the waiting room down the hall, smoking, while their wives were in labor. Nurses were responsible for sterilizing glass syringes, calculating medication doses, and mixing IVs. “If a patient needed codeine, we had to crush a tablet and add saline to make it a solution.”

By the 1970s, interest in natural childbirth was growing and Stabene became certified to lead childbirth classes. “Up to that time, most women had a caudal, which is similar to an epidural but the patient had to lie on her side and stay hooked up,” she said.

Fathers were finally allowed to witness the birthing process in that decade and baby monitors were brought onboard. “Before that, we placed our hand on the patient’s belly and listened to the fetal heartbeat with a fetoscope,” she said. “I remember the prototype for the fetal monitor. It was huge! We could barely fit it into the patient’s room [which were all semiprivate].”

When breastfeeding began to gain in popularity, Stabene trained to become a lactation counselor. “There were only a few of us at that time who taught the women who wanted to nurse. They didn’t receive the support that they do today, with our lactation teams.” Stabene is now part of a nine-member Lactation Nurse Specialist team at HUP.

Employees and spouses of Penn Medicine and the University are eligible to join Penn Special Delivery, a program that offers many perks, including:

• Free educational classes on childbirth, parenting, and becoming a sibling.

• Free pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting e-newsletter.

• Individualized pre-pregnancy counseling, including first trimester screening.

• No personal balance billing of co-pays for obstetrical and anesthesiology fees not covered by your insurance.

To learn more about the program, call 1.800.789.PENN or Sue Stabene at 215.662.3243.

` Sue Stabene celebrates 50 years at HUP.

PennSpecial Deliveryat the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Labor & Delivery itself has evolved as well. In 1962, it was located on Dulles 4 with one three-bed room, one double and three single rooms. Over the years, it was moved to Dulles 6 and then Ravdin 7, which has 13 large private rooms (four have Jacuzzi’s!).

Over the years, Stabene became a mentor to hundreds of nursing and medical students, and residents. “I helped George Coukos when he was a medical student and mentored many of our attendings, including Christos Coutifaris, Samantha Pfeifer and Debbie Driscoll [the current OB/G chair].”

In her ‘spare’ time, she also managed to raise three children, run a food co-op, start a Town Watch with her husband, and volunteer for the American Heart Association.

Stabene’s decision to specialize in obstetrics resulted from a favorite instructor in nursing school and she’s never looked back. “It’s my first love and I’ve never been sorry,” she said. “I’m still challenged and thrilled to be in this field.”

DID YOU GET YOUR FLU SHOT?If not, there’s still time to get it on the Ravdin Mezzanine, from Monday, October 22 through Friday, October 26, from 7:30 am to 8 pm each day. Starting Monday, October 29, employees can receive the vaccine in Occupational Medicine on 4 Penn Tower. Remember to first print out your bar-coded consent form. You can access on www.pennmedicine.org/employeeselfservice. For more information about the flu vaccine and the UPHS influenza policy, click on 2012-13 Flu Campaign under ‘What’s Hot.’

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CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONFERENCE 2012Health Care Reform: Reshaping Access and Delivery of Care to Vulnerable Populations is the focus of Penn Presbyterian’s third annual Cultural Diversity Conference, to be held on Friday, October 26. Special guest speaker will be the Honorable Chaka Fattah, US Congressman of Pennsylvania’s 2nd Congressional District. Keynote speaker will be Rita Adeniran, director of Diversity and Inclusion at HUP. The conference will be held from 7 am to 4 pm in the Philadelphia Heart Institute, Room 106 (PPMC campus). Cost is $5 for UPHS employees and students with a valid ID; $20 for non-employees.

For more information and registration, go to What’s Hot on the Intranet home page. For questions, email crystal.mitchell@uphs.upenn.edu or colleen.bynum@uphs.upenn.edu.

WALK TO SUPPORT JUVENILE DIABETESThere’s still time to join the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Walk, to be held on Sunday, October 28. The three-mile walk will begin at 10 am starting at the Philadelphia Art Museum. To register or for questions, contact Wendy Palma at wendy.palma@uphs.upenn.edu or call 215.662.3880.

JOIN THE PHILLY HEART WALK TEAM TODAYMake a heart healthy decision! Walk with the Penn Medicine community to support the American Heart Association (AHA) in the fight against heart disease and stroke. The 2012 Philly Heart Walk takes place on Sunday, November 4, at 10 am, starting at Citizens Bank Park.

Our group’s challenge this year is to recruit 1,800 walkers for the Philadelphia-based walk and raise $130,000 for cardiovascular disease and stroke research. Join a team to help us reach our goal! If you can’t attend the event, you can still support the AHA and the Heart Walk by making a donation. To register and learn more about the walk and how you can donate, go to Pennmedicine.org/heartwalk.

If you know someone who would like to become a team captain or register as a walker, please contact Kate Balog at 215.575.5241 or Julie Taylor at 215.575.5233 from the American Heart Association.

Heartfelt Thanks From the moment PennSTAR arrived to transport my father to HUP, my family and I hoped we

made the right decision about where to go for the next level of stroke care. A week later, when [he was] being discharged from HUP, we were certain we had made the right choice…. My father spent the week in the Neurology and Step-Down Care unit [Silverstein 9]. Each and every one of the staff we met and worked with not only provided top-notch care and professionalism but also showed genuine care and concern for their patients — my father was not just a room number. The nursing staff were terrific….The administrative staff at the desk seemed to always know each patient and their caregivers…. The telemetry staff was also above par.

There is one incident that stands out; the night we found we had parked in a garage that closed earlier in the evening. We walked around the building trying doors…. Finally we went up to the second floor Bridge entrance from Perelman to HUP. That’s where we found a security guard who turned out to be our knight in shining armor. He kindly explained that there was a security guard in that building and he would radio to her. And then he said, ‘I hope everything you are going through here works ok.’… Whether it is the training that your staff is provided, from security up to chief neurologists, or the hiring practices implemented … it’s working!

HUPdateEDITORIAL STAFF Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer

Trissy Harding Designer

ADMINISTRATION Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

CONTACT HUPDATE AT: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104

phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu

HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.

Friday, November 212:30 pm to 1:30 pmFocus on Neuroendocrine Tumorswww.oncolink.org/webchat

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heartPHILLY

2012