13134 Cornerstone 2.07 New - Winthrop University Hospital

Winter 2006 • 2007
Lung Cancer Center
(continued from page 6)
previously at another facility, and felt
frustrated and frightened when her
condition did not improve. The team
created a multidisciplinary treatment
plan that involved surgical removal of
her malignancy by thoracic surgeon
John Goncalves, MD, and a course of
chemotherapy prescribed and supervised
by Dr. Schneider. When asked
about the care she received at
Winthrop, Ms. Malloy simply stated,
“I’ve been to other hospitals, and I
feel Winthrop is the best. I have no
doubt they saved my life.”
When people are facing a lifethreatening
illness, most find that it is
not only vital to have the best and
most advanced treatment, but it’s also
important to know that that they are
regarded as individuals and that their
concerns are really heard. That’s what
64-year-old Joan Aspromonte experienced
when she came to the Lung
Cancer Center with metastatic lung
cancer that had spread to her thigh.
“This was an unusual case,” said
thoracic surgeon Scott Schubach, MD,
Chairman of Winthrop’s Department of
Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
“Normally, after operating on the secondary
site, we would not operate on
the lung; we’d recommend additional
treatment such as chemotherapy or
radiation. Ms. Aspromonte expressed a
desire to restrict treatment to surgery,
and noting that she was otherwise
healthy and functioned well, we agreed
that for this patient, the most aggressive
approach to optimized care would be
lung surgery without further therapy.”
Six years later, Ms. Aspromonte
remains a grateful cancer survivor.
“Dr. Schubach and Dr. Schneider listened
to every word I had to say,” she
recalled. “They did everything possible
in my best interest. I was lucky.”
She was more than lucky. She had
come to Winthrop’s Lung Cancer
Center, where “we take state-of-the-art
treatment and tailor it to individual situations,”
said Dr. Schneider. “Ms.
Aspromonte’s case warranted doing
something that was a little different. We
recognized her unique circumstances
and designed a treatment that was
appropriate and beneficial for her.”
MS Treatment Center
(continued from page 8)
In addition to the clinical team
that practices at the Center, Winthrop
offers a community-based team
approach. Eileen Boylan, RN, certified
in MS care, provides specialized
nursing care to patients with MS and
their families. Her work includes
training patients and families to
inject medications, as well as helping
patients to manage the often-unpredictable
and fluctuating symptoms
they can experience.
The MS Center also offers officebased
infusions of the newest MS
medication, Tysabri ® , recently approved
by the FDA and recommended for
patients who have not responded well to
other MS medications. The MS Center is
one of only five centers on Long Island
certified for intravenous administration
of Tysabri ® . Denise Cheng, RN, also certified
in MS care, recently joined the
team to oversee the infusion of this new
drug. “We are happy to be able to provide
this service to our patients who
come to the Center once a month for the
infusion,” said Ms. Cheng.
Research
Research at the MS Center is
extensive. Currently participating in
several multi-center clinical drug
trials, the Center is also one of 15
facilities in New York State collaborating
to study patient outcomes and
risk factors for developing MS. In
addition, Dr. Gottesman and his staff
conduct original research, including a
The unique strategies employed
by the Center have fostered improved
health and optimism for hundreds of
lung cancer patients at Winthrop. For
more information, call (516) 663-
4637 or visit www.winthrop.org. ■
study of the safety and tolerability of
a double dose of Betaseron ® , the first
FDA-approved medication that effectively
reduced the exacerbation rate
of MS by a third.
“We are fortunate to be in a position,
by virtue of the clinical research
we conduct at Winthrop, to be able to
offer our patients new therapies such
as Tysabri, that would otherwise not be
available to them,” said Dr. Gottesman.
Education
The MS Center has also assumed a
leadership position with regard to disseminating
information about the
disease. Ms. Friedman-Urevich recently
founded the Long Island MS Nurse’s
Society, with professionals devoted to
sharing information about MS clinical
care, as well as educating patients
about the latest treatment options. “We
strive to continuously elevate our standard
of care, and raise awareness about
available treatment,” she explained.
“People can cope with a lot if they have
the proper knowledge and support.”
As a result of its wide ranging services,
cutting-edge treatment modalities
and extensive research, the MS Center
at Winthrop has received recognition,
as well as accreditation, from both the
National and Long Island MS Societies.
For more information, call
Winthrop’s Institute for
Neurosciences at 1-866-NEURO-Rx or
visit www.winthrop.org. ■
18 Cornerstone