Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center held its Pinktober luncheon event Friday afternoon at the Westwood Event Center in Poplar Bluff.
The goal of the luncheon was to not only open discussion about the issue of breast cancer but also to walk everyone through the process of preventative screenings from start to finish in hopes of easing minds and encouraging more participation.
Family Nurse Practitioner Amy Pennington was the first-panel member to address the crowd stating, “basically my goal is, from the very beginning we recommend males and females come in for annual exams. During the exams, we’ll go over all of the preventative measures you need based upon your age,” said Pennigton. “We’ll start with mammograms, starting around 40. We will get you scheduled to do your annual mammogram. We will go over self breast exam, how to do those and when to do those and we’ll go over all of your risk factors to see if you need anything else.”
She went on to explain the hospital has the ability to do genetic testing, as well as the ability to link those in need to necessary resources such as payment and insurance assistance.
“I am one of the mammography techs at Bluff Imaging and Women’s Center. We do screening mammograms at our facility as well as diagnostic,” said Radiologic Technologist Becky Eyler. “When you see your primary caregiver, they can refer you to us and they can schedule it or you can call and schedule it yourself. The screening process is about 10 minutes,” said Eyler. “We offer diagnostic mammograms as well as biopsies, the screening — you will get it and we will send you a letter in about a week.”
Medical Oncology Manager Kelly Boxx said, “If you end up having a positive mammogram and have a biopsy done, you might get a referral to a medical oncologist. Your first appointment, you will meet with the physician and he will go over what stage cancer you have and what type of cancer you have, so you can come up with a treatment plan that is right for you.”
Boxx went on to explain there are many treatment options for breast cancer. Patients may choose to have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. There is also hormone therapy, IV medication, as well as IV and oral chemotherapy, immune therapy and radiation therapy.
Radiation Oncologist Dr. Jay Locke was the next panel member to address the crowd.
“Radiation oncology is part of the overall plan for most breast cancer patients, but not all, so it will depend on the staging or the type of cancer you have,” said Locke. “Radiation therapy, people have a lot of misconceptions about it — it is kind of magical because it’s kind of painless and invisible, but it also has to be very carefully given.
“You have to have high-quality equipment and high-quality people to do it.”
The team of folks he works with are all highly experienced, highly capable and they carry out treatment every day for the benefit of patients, he said.
An oncology nurse navigator is also available to those in need once a positive result is received.
Registered Nurse Bethany Waggoner said, “I help guide the patients through their cancer journey, from diagnosis into survivorship.
“There are a lot of resources out there and I connect those patients with those resources.”
Waggoner also helps identify barriers like transportation and financial distress due to high copays, and helps find ways to address those.
The informative panel discussion came to a close with questions from the audience, one of which pertained to the lack of support groups in the area.
Becky Paukner and Physical Therapist David Byrne of Ozark Total Healthcare spoke with Waggoner after the panel discussion stating they had the room and staff necessary to assist with laying the foundation for a cancer support group.
“As soon as that patient mentioned that me and Becky looked at each other at exactly the same time. We’ve got the room, we’ve got the space and this was great, it was very informative,” said Byrne.