ONEMISSION
Roswell Park Patient Newsletter December 2016
A Tranquil Scene For Those Under Stress
Rodney Taylor remembers traveling to
Maryland every year for family reunions in
his father’s hometown, and the view from the
back seat of the car as trees flashed by. The
Buffalo artist shares that sense of journey in
Song for My Father, an expansive oil painting
of birch trees that welcomes visitors to the
lobby of Roswell Park’s new Scott Bieler
Clinical Sciences Center.
Artist Rodney Taylor, right, with
Roswell Park President & CEO
Candace Johnson, PhD, in front
of his work Song for My Father
(oil on canvas, 2016).
Phillip O. Taylor served as an x-ray technician
at Roswell Park from 1957-1989.
www.roswellpark.org
Before he picked up his brush, Taylor
considered carefully how visitors would view
the painting, realizing that many of them
would be rushing by on their way to a clinic
appointment. “A lot of times patients are
coming and going, and there’s not a lot of
time to sit and study. I was thinking of the
movement when they walk by this painting,
that it would capture something for them.”
Even glimpsed in passing, the scene pulls
viewers into the outdoors. The papery
white bark of the trees stands out against
a green-and-gold autumn background and
the suggestion of water
in the distance. The
natural setting serves as
a tribute to Taylor’s late
father, Phillip O. Taylor,
who worked as an x-ray
technician at Roswell
Park from 1957 until
his retirement in 1989.
Outside his professional
life, Phillip Taylor was an
outdoorsman who loved
fishing and horses and
horseback riding. “My father was well liked,”
says the artist, “so it’s really nice that people
[who knew him] can see this and reference
him, bringing their own feelings, like when
they would go on fishing trips together.”
When Rodney Taylor was a boy, he
sometimes met his father at Roswell Park so
they could have lunch together. Along the way
he walked past patients who were waiting for
x-rays, their eyes keen with worry. More than
three decades later, that still-vivid memory
reminds him that for patients, survivors, and
caregivers alike, a cancer diagnosis is “very
stressful.” Taylor has experienced that stress
firsthand: “I was a patient in a hospital for a
very long time. I had kidney failure. I spent
ten years in dialysis, and I had two kidney
transplants.
To have something to
take your mind off it
for a little while is very
beneficial to your health,
he adds.
Trees, he says, are part of the natural world
that everyone finds comforting, and so he
hopes that the birches in his painting will
be a source of comfort and tranquility for
everyone who walks past — even those who
are in a hurry.
1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724)
Questions? Suggestions?
Email [email protected]
or write to: Public Affairs Office,
Roswell Park Cancer Institute,
Elm & Carlton Streets,
Buffalo, NY 14263.
One Mission delivers news, information,
and stories of hope and inspiration to the
patients and families served by Roswell
Park Cancer Institute, in keeping with
Roswell Park’s mission to understand,
prevent, and cure cancer.
This patient newsletter is written,
created and designed by the Institute’s
Department of Marketing, Planning,
Public Affairs and Customer Relationship
Management, with content contributed by
various other departments.
Around the Park
Paint Box cards pass along the
love from our pediatric patients
When you’re choosing holiday cards and gifts this year, take a
look at the 13 new designs in the Paint Box Project Collection for Cancer Cures.
Every item features artwork by our pediatric cancer patients and their siblings, and
a portion of the purchase price supports patient-care programs at Roswell Park.
You’ll find cards with Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter themes —
including some that celebrate Buffalo, the Queen City! — as well as gift
bags and tags, treat bags, calendars, mugs and glassware, napkins and
placemats and even guest towels. All merchandise can be customized.
EXPLORE THE FULL PAINT BOX PROJECT COLLECTION
AT WWW.PAINTBOXPROJECT.COM. SELECT CARDS ARE
ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE ROSWELL PARK GIFT SHOP.
Early arrival?
Check our extended
valet hours
Roswell Park’s valet service is now available even earlier than before, from
6 am-6 pm, Monday-Friday (except for holidays). Just pull up at the main entrance
to the hospital and an attendant will park your car while you head inside. The
service costs just $1 in addition to the regular rate for parking in the ramp.
For further details about parking, visit www.roswellpark.org/visitors/parking.
Season’s best gift: whole blood or platelets for our patients
The lives of many cancer patients
depend on donations of whole blood
and platelets — whole blood to replace
any lost during surgery, and platelets
(special blood cells) to prevent
uncontrolled bleeding after injury.
These folks from Roswell Park’s Clinical Research Services
Department rolled up their sleeves together to donate for our
patients (l. to r.): Deeponpaul Singh, Patricia Manderscheid,
Heather Werner, Carrie Andruszko, Aaron Pry.
2
If you’re healthy, please take time this holiday season to
save a life with a donation. It takes between 45-60 minutes
to donate a pint of whole blood and between 90-120
minutes to donate platelets.
When you donate at the Roswell Park Donor Center, your
donation stays right here to help our patients. Bonus for
you: cookies, an entry into a raffle for fabulous monthly
prizes, and the knowledge that you helped save someone’s
life. Learn more and book an appointment online at
www.roswellpark.org/donor-center, or call 716-845-8275.
Information on this page is provided by Roswell Park’s Patient Education
Department. Questions or comments? Please call 716-845-8784.
Patient Education Notes
Rehabilitation and the Road to Recovery
Cancer and cancer
treatments can
cause a wide range
of symptoms,
and the physical
and emotional
difficulties that
go with a cancer
diagnosis can be
overwhelming.
Common physical
problems include
weakness, muscle
and joint pain,
lack of endurance,
reduced stamina,
trouble with
balance, and
lymphedema
(swelling) or pain caused by any disruption to the lymph
system. If you are suffering from these types of symptoms,
rehabilitation services can significantly reduce your
discomfort, revive your strength and balance, and improve
your quality of life.
Rehabilitation services are aimed at relieving some of the
symptoms of cancer as well as the side effects that may
result from surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or
tests or treatments. This can be achieved through physical
therapy, which helps you to regain mobility and alleviate pain,
and occupational therapy, which can improve your
WHAT’S PRE HABILITATION?
TURN TO P. 8 OF THIS ISSUE TO FIND OUT.
Rehabilitation services are available Mon.-Fri., 8 am-4:30 pm.
Need an evaluation? Ask your health care provider for a referral.
4
ability to perform
everyday tasks.
Approximately
one in four
patients has some
sort of cancerrelated condition
or impairment
that could be
improved through
rehabilitation.
Located on the
first floor of the
hospital, Roswell
Park’s Rehabilitation
Services Center
provides patients
with physical,
Carolyn Miller works with
occupational,
William Oishei in Roswell Park’s
and lymphedema
Rehabilitation Services Center.
therapy. If you feel
you might benefit
from these services, ask your doctor for a referral and set up an
appointment to meet with a therapist for an initial evaluation.
The evaluation will help the therapist understand your condition
and outline a plan of care for reducing your discomfort and
improving your strength and functional abilities.
Roswell Park’s physical and occupational therapists are
all specially trained in cancer-related issues, and three are
certified lymphedema specialists. They will work with you
on exercises and techniques that can help you improve your
health during treatment and speed your recovery.
The Patient Experience
Information on this page is provided by Roswell Park’s Office of the
Patient/Family Experience. Questions or comments? Please call 716-845-8114.
You Asked for It:
Patients Inspired
Our New Chemo
Orientation Program
Amy Lesakowski, right,
helps Kristy Gossel prepare
for chemotherapy.
If your treatment plan includes chemotherapy, you may be nervous
or confused about what to expect. Help is on the way, thanks to
a new orientation class created by Nancy Bertran, MSN, RN, and
Jeannette Jackson-Rose, BSN, RN — both nurse administrators
of the Chemotherapy and Infusion Centers — and Roswell Park’s
Patient Education team.
Kara Eaton-Weaver, Executive Director of the Patient/Family
Experience, says the class was developed because “so many
patients told us they wished this kind of offering had been available
when they started their treatment. They brought the idea to us.”
The class covers the ABC’s of chemotherapy — what it is, how
to manage side effects, when (and which person) to call with
questions or concerns, and information about helpful resources at
Roswell Park and in the community. Every participant receives a
free Chemo Support Kit, funded by donations to the Roswell Park
Alliance Foundation, with a tote bag, water bottle, and information
to help you manage your treatments.
The class is offered in both the morning and afternoon one day a week
in the new Scott Bieler Clinical Sciences Center next to the hospital,
and in the evening once a month at Roswell Park’s Amherst Center.
www.roswellpark.org
Amy Lesakowski, Operations Coordinator in the Patient Education
Department and manager of the chemo orientation program, is
also available to meet with patients in the Chemotherapy and
Infusion Center. “We want to make sure patients understand the
chemotherapy process and are prepared for their appointments,”
she says. “Being prepared and knowing what to expect, especially
on the first day, can relieve anxiety.”
“We believe the orientation program will help patients and their
families feel confident and in control,” adds Megan Battaglia,
Senior Education Facilitator. “We’re here to support them every
step of the way.”
The Resource Center for Patients and Families offers
videos, books, pamphlets, and many other helpful
materials. The center recently opened a branch in the
Chemotherapy Infusion Center specifically for those whose
treatment plan includes chemotherapy.
1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724)
Finding Joy in the Holidays after a Cancer Diagnosis
Tips from Four People Who Learned How
For many people, December 1st ushers in the holiday season
with a flurry of shopping, decorating, and baking. For Andrew
Bouquard, it’s the anniversary of the day he was rushed to the
emergency room because of major complications caused by a
large tumor in his chest — a day followed by chemotherapy and
a bone marrow transplant to treat his late-stage immunoblastic
non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Reach out
Twenty years later, that memory remains strong amid the
celebrations. Nineteen at the time of his diagnosis, today he’s
a husband, father, and Senior Research Subject Protection
Specialist at Roswell Park.
We asked Bouquard and three other cancer survivors — all
Roswell Park volunteers — to recall how they felt when cancer
interrupted the holidays, and to offer advice for patients and
their loved ones who are going through the same thing this year.
Here’s what they told us:
If you’re the patient…
“In the beginning, everybody’s always there, but they can
suddenly go away, and that can be tough,” says Bouquard.
Sometimes that happens because friends aren’t sure whether
you’re feeling well enough for a call or visit, he adds. “When
survivors reach out to their friends, that’s one way of keeping
those relationships going.”
Bouquard kept in touch by exchanging Christmas cards with
friends. And when he wasn’t able to attend Bills or Sabres
games, his parents ordered pizza and invited everyone to
their house to watch the games on TV. “That really gave me
comfort, and brought family and friends together,” he says.
In 2011, after Sara Sade’s second cancer diagnosis, she
splurged on an iPad so she could hold video chats with
out-of-town family members during Hanukkah. A volunteer
with Roswell Park’s pet therapy program and the Resource
Center for Patients and Families, she has faced breast cancer,
melanoma, and metastatic melanoma. At one point, “I couldn’t
walk, I couldn’t talk,” she recalls. Video chats enabled her
sisters “to see me and communicate with me. It brought us
closer. It was an incredible link to the outside world.”
When my body said,
OK, it’s time for a nap,
I would do that.
– Sara Sade
Put on your supervisor hat
Breast cancer survivor and patient advocate Averl
Anderson wards off depression during the holidays by
keeping her family close. “My grandchildren bring me joy,”
she says. “Live, love, and laugh!”
dinner and go shopping for gifts. I may help make dinner,
or I may not.” What’s most important is “just being part of
the holiday season — maybe decorating the tree, even if I
just sit there while they decorate and I supervise.
She has learned to set aside the expectations of
Christmases past. “I can’t do all of that, cook the big
“Realize and recognize your limitations, and don’t exceed
them,” she advises.
6
Averl AndersonAndrew BouquardAlicia Keller
Sara Sade
Christmas, my transplant anniversary, and my birthday
— I celebrate them more than I probably would have if this had never happened.
– Andrew Bouquard
If you’re the friend or loved one of a patient…
What to give? What to serve? Just ask
Before you order a fancy fruit basket or box of chocolates, check with the
person who’s in treatment to find out if any foods are off limits, suggests
Alicia Keller. After her diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, “I was put
on what’s called a ‘low-microbial diet,’” she explains. “Many foods were
restricted or had to be thoroughly cooked.”
So when planning holiday meals, “ask if the patient has any dietary
restrictions, or if foods have to be prepared in a certain way, so when the
meal is presented, they can feel that they’re part of the experience.”
Keller says people often ask what they can buy for her or how they can
help. “I always say, ‘Donate blood!” So many cancer patients need blood
products. I would not be alive if it were not for the transfusions I received.
“Give blood! Give platelets! It’s a really simple, easy process, and you can
save multiple lives.”
Find Ways to
Celebrate and Be Grateful
“I cherish every minute, every second of my life,” says
Averl Anderson.
It’s a sentiment shared by all four of these survivors.
“Even though a lot of bad things happened, to this day a
lot of positive things come out of it, too,” says Bouquard.
For Sara Sade, that feeling is especially strong when
she’s home with her husband on New Year’s Eve. One
year she nodded off before the clock struck midnight,
but “my husband woke me up, and we drank sparkling
cider and brought in the New Year together,” she says.
“He wanted to instill that there was a lot to celebrate
and a lot to be grateful for.”
Don’t forget the cancer patients who are in the hospital.
Holiday cheer goes a long way to brighten people’s spirit.
At the holidays and every day, family and prayer
— those are the most important things for me.
– Averl Anderson
www.roswellpark.org
1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724)
– Alicia Keller
RPCI Cancer Talk Blog & eNewsletter
For straight talk from Roswell Park experts and survivors,
visit our blog to read patient-focused news you can
use about cancer detection, prevention, research and
treatment. Read inspiring stories and learn about the latest
therapies, tips for living with cancer and much more.
CANCER
ncerTalk
.org/Ca
rk
a
llP
e
w
Ros
VISIT
Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter that
highlights our most popular posts from the Cancer Talk blog.
Sign up at: RoswellPark.org/cancertalk/sign-up.
From Rehab to Prehab:
Roswell Park Introduces Training before Treatment
If you were an athlete, you wouldn’t wait until after a competition
to start training. You’d work to build up your strength ahead of
time so you’d be in top physical condition for the contest ahead.
The same idea is changing the approach to physical rehabilitation
for cancer patients who are about to enter treatment: Just add a
“p” to make it prehabilitation.
Putting that notion into practice, last summer Sai Yendamuri, MD,
FACS, Chair of Roswell Park’s Department of Thoracic Surgery,
teamed up with Andrew Ray, PT, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation
Science at the University at Buffalo, to introduce prehabilitation for
lung cancer patients. Roswell Park is “one of few” programs in the
country to offer the service, Yendamuri says.
“The theory is that the stronger you are before having surgery,
the better you’re going to be coming out, so your recovery will
be a little easier,” explains Bryan Wittmeyer, MS, PT, Director of
Rehabilitation and Wellness Services at Roswell Park.
“Lots of patients who come in for surgery are smokers and have
damaged lungs,” he says. “That may make it impossible for them
to withstand surgery.” In addition, removing a lung — or even part
of lung — will make it harder for any patient to breathe easily, and
can also increase the risk of post-surgery pneumonia.
We know what radiation,
chemotherapy, and surgery do to
the body. They’re debilitating. So if
someone is already out of shape,
they’re going to struggle even more
after treatment.
Yendamuri and Ray are encouraged by the results of “prehab” in
the first lung cancer patients who completed it. The very first was
a woman in her 40s whose lung function was so poor that surgery
was almost out of the question. But Ray guided her in the use of
a training device that helped her strengthen the muscles used in
breathing. “She did so well that she was able to have the surgery,
and she got out of the hospital sooner than expected,” he says.
Wittmeyer says he and his staff are also providing rehab for
patients who are preparing for blood and marrow transplantation
(BMT). And the team is working to introduce prehab for bladder
cancer patients who are scheduled for cystectomy (removal
of the bladder), to help them get in shape in advance through
cardiovascular and strengthening exercises. The goal: a shorter
hospital stay and faster, easier recovery.
Wittmeyer plans to expand the prehab program when
Rehabilitation Therapy and Wellness Services moves to a new
home on the first floor of the hospital in 2017, giving even more
patients the chance to train for treatment.
Dr. Yendamuri, left, with a patient.
stay connected
30593