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Old 05-20-2005, 05:34 PM   #1
Rich
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http://tinyurl.com/bphg3

Article published May 20, 2005
LRGH to offer more cancer 'trial' treatments

LACONIA—Lakes Region General Hospital announced Thursday that local cancer patients will have access to a greater number of clinical trials through the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

The local hospital currently conducts 18 cancer trial programs. Dana Farber holds 270 trials, and LRGH will choose relevant programs from among that number. The trials will primarily deal with breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer, and they will be chosen with regard for the needs of the local community.

"The area should be very proud," said Jane Cumming, who is currently enrolled in an LRGH trial program [EM] one comparing the effect of two hormonal agents, arimidex and aromasin, on breast cancer. Cumming explained that, after she learned she had cancer, the option of a clinical trial seemed like the right choice.

"It was nice to know that I didn't have to travel far," she said. Cumming said the trial not only gives her an opportunity to fight the cancer, but it allows her to do some good for others. The discoveries and observations that come from her case will help future cancer patients in their struggle against the disease.

Mary-Jo Gaff, currently enrolled in another breast cancer clinical trial at LRGH, agreed that the proximity of the hospital was a major factor in convincing her to opt for a somewhat experimental program. Gaff is six weeks away from completing a 52-week trial coupling chemotherapy with a drug called herceptin.

She says her experience has been wonderful. "It's every week that I come to the hospital," she said, "(But) I don't have to travel."

The program of clinical trials at LRGH is fairly new. "We started the oncology program here probably ... 13 or 14 years ago," said Medical Oncologist Dr. Bob Friedlander. Since that time, he explained, the program has grown significantly. It employs three doctors, a physician's assistant, many nurses, and, currently, 35 patients. Beyond that, the oncology-hematology program coordinates with doctors from other departments to form a "tumor board."

"The tumor board is a great forum," Friedlander said. It opens lines of communication between doctors [EM] from surgeons to oncologists [EM] about individual cases.

"We really have all the components that a major cancer center has, but on a smaller scale," Freidlander went on. But, he said, "What makes the program really is the nursing service."

Gaff and Cumming agreed. "There aren't enough words to describe the nursing staff at this hospital," Gaff said. Cumming found a few, though, calling the nurses "upbeat" and "amazing" and "absolutely wonderful."

Clinical trials come with drawbacks, however. Program Coordinator Dawn Coleman, a registered nurse, explained that the trial drugs and therapies often have side effects, both known and unknown. Some of those side-effects are serious. Patients who opt for the trial do so on a voluntary basis, though, and are watched very carefully. They are also fully informed about the risks related to a clinical trial program.

Gaff said that the herceptin she takes with her chemotherapy may cause heart problems, and that her heart is monitored on a regular basis. But, she said, the benefits of the trial program far outweigh the drawbacks. Clinical trials offer cancer patients the opportunity to receive new therapies that would not otherwise be available.

The experimental programs are organized into three levels. LRGH will only hold level three and, occasionally, level two trials. Level one clinical trials are held almost exclusively at major cancer centers and research institutions. They involve the first testing of a drug or therapy on humans, and require extensive support staff.

Level two and three trials are held at many hospitals throughout the country. Information gathered from those programs is forwarded to the research team conducting that particular trial.

In the case of Gaff's herceptin program, the preliminary results were so positive that the therapy became available to the public before the expected date for the program's completion.

Medical Oncologist Dr. Charles Catcher, part of the three-physician trial team at LRGH, said of the program, "We are very pleased that we can provide many of the same clinical trial opportunities with the same level of safety and expertise as the larger hospitals and research centers."
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