Conquering Colon Cancer - Renown Health

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Renown institute foR canceR 18 Feature WRITTEN by bRANDI SCHLoSSbERG Hala moddelmog, President and ceo of susan G. Komen for the cure, delivers the keynote address at the first Nevada cancer control summit. Joining forces Nevada cancer control summit unites stakeholders in cancer care Renown joURneY mokIng CessatIon pRogRams, Colon-CanCeR S sCReenIngs and healthCaRe foR the unInsuRed weRe among the many topICs addRessed at the nevada CanCeR ContRol summIt dec. 5 at the peppermill Resort Casino. the event, held by the nevada Cancer Council (nvCC) — a group of healthcare providers and stakeholders throughout the state — is expected to become an annual event. the summit was an important “check-in” point for the nevada Cancer Control plan, which was put together and published two years ago by the nevada Cancer Council. sheila Baez, Rn, mn, aoCns, chair of the nevada Cancer Council steering committee and Cancer program manager at Renown Institute for Cancer, said participants were “looking at policy change at the state level and how to improve quality of care and access to care for people with cancer in nevada.” In addition to lobbying for tobacco caNcer QuicK Fact: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. — State of Nevada control efforts, the nvCC is also working to improve access to care by publishing a comprehensive statewide resource guide for those affected by cancer in nevada. “educating patients is key,” said Baez. “each state has been funded by the Centers for disease Control to put together and implement a cancer control plan,” Baez said. “now that we have a plan, it’s up to the providers to make changes and improvements.” the plan addresses the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer, as well as end-of-life care and survivorship. It sets goals in each of those areas and projected timelines for reaching them. three priority issues under the nevada Cancer Control plan include the use of tobacco settlement money for smoking cessation programs; increasing the rate of colon cancer screenings throughout nevada; and improving access to care for all cancer patients, including the uninsured and underinsured. “the first nevada Cancer Control summit brought together people from throughout the state who deal extensively with these issues,” Baez said. “we also brought in people from other states that have put together innovative and successful programs addressing these areas.” hala moddelmog, president and Ceo of susan g. komen for the Cure, delivered a keynote address on access-to-care issues and solutions. susan g. komen for the Cure is a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer. “we also had a panel on national access-to-care issues, which included hala moddelmog and was led by tom kean, executive director of C-Change,” Baez added. Composed of key leaders in cancer care, C-Change is based in washington, d.C., and works to create policy change on the national level. “if we can identify cancer earlier, it’s more curable. and if we can help our poor and underinsured access care, our cancer rates will go down.” Sheila Baez, RN, MN, AOCNS, Cancer Program Manager at Renown and Nevada Cancer Council Chair another summit panel focused on healthcare access in nevada. experts in pediatric cancer care, minority cancer care and end-oflife issues participated. another Renown expert and panel participant, John gray, md, focused on increasing colon-cancer screening throughout the state. dr. gray is medical director of the Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care, a physician with gI Consultants in Reno, and leader of the nevada colon-cancer task force under the nevada Cancer Council “we also brought in dr. tim Byers, deputy director, Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center, where they have free colonoscopy screenings for the underinsured, which they funded through their tobacco tax,” Baez said. the summit also included a discussion of nevada smokingcessation efforts, as well as the role of tobacco settlement money in funding these efforts. “tobacco Control in nevada: Current program & Challenges” was led by Charlene howard, tobacco prevention and education program manager for the nevada state health division, and dileep Bal, md, district health officer for the kauai district health office in hawaii. “we wanted to look at how other states approached these issues and what they did,” Baez said. “this summit was an educational opportunity not to be missed for anyone dealing with cancer patients.” aside from educating stakeholders on the issues and goals involved in the nevada Cancer Control plan, the summit served as an evaluation of current efforts and a fertile ground for new initiatives, along with input on proper funding. “If we can identify cancer earlier, it’s more curable,” Baez said, “and if we can help our poor and underinsured residents access care, our cancer rates will go down. “the overall goal of the nevada Cancer Council,” she added, “is to improve quality of life and access to care for individuals with cancer in the state of nevada.” as chair of the nevada Cancer Council and Cancer program manager at Renown Institute for Cancer, Baez believes that she is in an ideal position to make great strides with the cancer care provided in northern nevada. ■ For more pictures from the Nevada Cancer Control Summit, please see the Community Outreach section on page 30. For more information about NVCC, visit www.nevadacancercouncil.org. renown.org 19
Renown institute foR canceR 20 Feature WRITTEN by bRANDI SCHLoSSbERG ahead of the trend experts unite to treat digestive and liver cancers T hRoughout hIs 25-yeaR CaReeR, John gRay, md, found hImself In a seRIes of fRustRatIng sItuatIons. a specialist in digestive and liver care, dr. gray dealt with patient cases on a regular basis that would benefit from the input of other experts, such as surgeons or oncologists. whenever possible, he would reach out to these other experts for discussion on complex patient cases. he also had doctors coming to him, to hear his opinion on their own patient cases that had ties to the digestive system or liver. however, finding time for such in-depth discussions among busy physicians made this spontaneous system at best hit-or-miss. “It is frustrating when you come up with clinical issues that you know you need to discuss with all your colleagues, but there is not really a way to have that discussion,” dr. gray said. Impelled to provide the best possible patient care, dr. gray buckled down and began working with colleagues and hospital administrators to create a diverse forum for doctors. today, the Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care exemplifies this latest approach to healthcare: Bring together an array of medical experts to plan treatment for a specific disease, often on a case-bycase basis. since 2007, the Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care has been one of the few centers in the nation that uses a team approach to address digestive and liver diseases, including cancer. “It’s a crucial way for us to improve the quality of care to our community in the broad spectrum of digestive diseases,” said dr. gray, medical director of the Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care. “there are over 100 digestive diseases, and most are treated by several different physicians.” these digestive diseases span the spectrum from constipation and peptic ulcers to colon and pancreatic cancer. Conditions that affect the bowels, intestines, colon, esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas, stomach and liver all fall under the umbrella of digestive and liver disease. the institute is dr. gray’s brainchild: from primary care doctors, gastroenterologists and hospitalists to radiologists, oncologists and surgeons, he hoped to create a forum for the host of experts who deal with digestive and liver diseases. caNcer QuicK Fact: Regular use of established screening tests can prevent the development of cancer by finding and removing abnormalities. Renown joURneY — American Cancer Society John Gray, mD, medical Director of the renown institute for Digestive and Liver care. dr. gray presented his vision for this institute to key leaders at Renown roughly four years ago. Renown health leaders, along with dr. gray, worked for about three years to secure the technology, experts and organization necessary to open the Institute for digestive and liver Care. “we started out with a few projects we felt would benefit the community most — areas that needed the most improvement,” dr. gray said. “for instance, we know that in our community, colon cancer screening compliance is lacking. the institute is working with the nevada Colon Cancer task force to increase colon cancer screening.” addressing pancreatic cancer also has been a priority for the institute. a complicated and potentially lethal disease, pancreatic cancer requires top-notch care, including the most advanced “it’s a crucial way for us to improve the quality of care to our community.” John Gray, MD, Medical Director of the Renown Institute for Digestive and Liver Care technology and experienced physicians. according to dr. gray, pancreatic cancer is especially dangerous because it typically doesn’t create symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to spread — and by that time, it’s often inoperable. he suggests screening for those who have a family history of pancreatic cancer and also avoiding cigarettes, which have been linked to this type of cancer. the location of the pancreas within the body — close to several key structures, like the stomach and liver — adds to the lethality of the disease and increases the complexity of treatment and surgery. fortunately, Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care has stepped up to help patients with pancreatic cancer by providing top-notch care. “we’re setting up a pancreatic cancer center of excellence,” dr. gray said. “we now have a very large team to develop protocol on how best to assess and treat pancreatic cancer.” the Institute of digestive and liver Care also is home to a stateof-the-art technology known as endoscopic ultrasound, or eus, which can be used to detect and provide detailed information on a variety of digestive and liver diseases, including pancreatic cancer. “eus did not exist in our community, and Renown was the first to bring this new technology to nevada,” said alan olive, administrator for Renown south meadows medical Center. “purchasing this equipment, and hiring two physicians who are experts in eus, was the first step in establishing the Institute for digestive and liver Care.” according to dr. gray, Renown is the only facility in nevada that offers eus, a procedure that allows a doctor to obtain images and information about the digestive tract and the surrounding tissue and organs. “It’s the most accurate way to stage (pancreatic) cancer and know if it’s operable,” dr. gray said. “the very best pancreatic cancer surgeons won’t even consider working in a facility without endoscopic ultrasound.” with this top technology, Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care has drawn these expert surgeons, along with other experts, to become a center of excellence in the west for pancreatic-cancer care. as such, the Institute is equipped to participate in national research, giving patients access to the newest care through clinical trials. similar programs currently are under way for liver cancer, as well as esophageal and colon cancer, as the Institute for digestive and liver Care strives to become a center of excellence across the board. “we plan on addressing at some point all forms of digestive cancer,” dr. gray said. “we addressed pancreatic cancer first because we thought it had the most room for improvement.” each disease-specific program within the Institute for digestive the institute for Digestive and Liver care committee meets monthly. committee chairs (pictured from left to right): Dr. chen, Dr. Pezanoski, Dr. Nachiondo. (Not Pictured: Dr. Gray and Dr. Nason). and liver Care is led by a physician with expertise in the treatment of that particular disease. “we have physician champions in each area — an expert or sponsor who is leading each team,” olive said. “they, in turn, work with a team of specialists to come up with best practices.” Renown Institute for digestive and liver Care is at the leadingedge of a healthcare trend that calls for physician collaboration in the patient treatment. “this approach really applies across all disease spectrums,” dr. gray said. “It’s a fertile ground where we can get new ideas and help solve major problems and ensure patients are receiving the highest level of care.” ■ John F. Gray, mD, FacG John Gray, MD, has specialized in gastrointestinal (GI) and liver care for the past 25 years. He is the Medical Director of the Renown Institute for Digestive and Liver Care and a physician with GI consultants, both located in Reno. Dr. Gray has served as President of the Washoe County Medical Society, former Chief of Staff of Renown Regional Medical Center and Nevada State Governor for the American College of Gastroenterology. renown institute for Digestive and Liver care committee chairs John Gray, MD, Steering Committee Chair and CME Subcommittee Chair Daniel Nason, MD, Esophageal Subcommittee Chair James Nachiondo, MD, Tube Team Subcommittee Chair Jon Pezanoski, MD, GI Bleeds Subcommittee Chair Victor Chen, MD, Pancreatic Subcommittee Chair renown.org 21
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