Perspectives from those who live it everyday.

Michelle Potter

I never thought I’d be exposed to such a wide variety of expert musicians and performers working as a communications coordinator in the Cancer Center.  Through the Cancer Center’s Art of Healing Performing Arts Series, I have the exciting opportunity to work with high caliber musicians from the Peabody Institute, local ballet dancers, and even a former Temptation, all showcasing their talents to our patients, families and staff. And I never imagined how one hour of music every month could touch so many lives.

Think about the impact a favorite song or musician has on you. Music has the power to calm and console or to energize and invigorate. Now, think about the impact music can have in a cancer center. Many patients and families have told me how our Art of Healing concerts have impacted their lives.  One story of music’s power was told by oncologist Evan Lipson in his podcast with Susan Liss, spouse of a pancreatic cancer patient who created a music library for other patients.

The inspiration for the Art of Healing Program came from the Kimmel Cancer Center’s former director, Martin Abeloff, M.D. in 1998 and is funded by the Emmert Hobbs Foundation. When our new clinical facility, the Weinberg Building, was opened more than a decade ago, Dr. Abeloff wanted an uplifting environment, mixing scientific and medical expertise to heal the human body while comforting the human spirit. 

Together with inspirtational artwork hand-selected for the building, the Art of Healing Performing Arts Series has continued each year. And though Dr. Abeloff died from leukemia in 2007, the legacy of his Art of Healing Program continues to comfort patients and families.

Valerie Mehl

I was listening to the radio as I was driving in my car, and the lyrics in the song struck me.  It went something like this, “Cancer doesn’t discriminate or care if you’re just 38.”  I thought to myself, “Well, yes it does.”  Cancer has always been and remains a disease of aging.  Perhaps the greatest risk factor for cancer, in general, is old age. As I wrote in an article a few years ago, “the real face of cancer has wrinkles.”  According to National Cancer Institute data, the average age at cancer diagnosis is 66.  Less than six percent of cases are diagnosed in people age 35 to 44, and for those younger than 35, cancer rates are lower still. 

This song also made me think of a question about ovarian cancer my colleague recently received from a reporter.  The reporter wanted to know if ovarian cancer treatment affected a woman’s ability to have children.  Of course, it does, but what the reporter failed to recognize was that the majority of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are beyond their childbearing years.  

When, I hear or read such things, I worry that there is a misperception that cancer is more common among younger adults than is factually true.  I worry because misperceptions about cancer create fear, and fear causes people to take actions that may not be medically necessary or even beneficial.

Now I recognize that even though the odds are most definitely in favor of those under 66, if you happen to be one of the rare but unfortunate individuals diagnosed at a younger age, these odds do not bring much comfort.   This, however is where personalized cancer medicine  may have its greatest impact.  It has the potential to use science to identify those who need and will benefit from intervention—the six percent, if you will—and, at the same time, identifies who can be left alone. Currently, many cancer experts suspect that the general population is being over screened, and those at the greatest risk for cancer are under screened. Kimmel Cancer Center scientists are working to set a new standard, using their discoveries to develop a model that would appropriately screen those at greatest risk but move away from over screening those who don’t need it.

Similar progress can be made in treatment.  In the latest issue of Promise & Progress I write about a study led by urologist Dr. H. Ballentine Carter that finds no harm in delaying treatment in men over 65 who have low-grade prostate cancer.  Instead, he says, the best option may be a watch and wait approach  in which the patient’s cancer is closely monitored.  More than 200,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer, and the majority of them have a low risk of dying from their disease if treatment is deferred, Dr. Carter says.  Yet, shockingly, more than 90 percent of these men choose some form of treatment. 

It is important to understand that excessive screening and treatment does not save or improve lives.  Every intervention comes with its own set of risks.  Personalized cancer medicine strives to reduce risks and enhance benefits.  As our Kimmel Cancer Center Director says, “it gets the right treatments to the right people at the right time.”

Evan Lipson, M.D.

For Carrie Wells, a powerful and positive part of surviving breast cancer was attending a retreat with women who shared similar journeys. Being surrounded by other survivors was a chance for connection, education, relaxation and healing. So moved was Carrie by the retreat experience, she felt compelled to help other cancer survivors find equally valuable opportunities. Carrie launched SurvivorsRetreat.com, a website that offers a comprehensive, searchable database of cancer survival retreats.

Click below to hear her story.

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