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Health & Fitness

RESEARCH

PROFILE

Positive Attitude

Cancer

A diagnosis of breast cancer
doesn't dampen her zest for life.

Editor's note: October is Breast Cancer
Awareness Month.

B

arbara Hubert, 71, of West
Bloomfield is a busy woman.
Between volunteering at the
Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington
Hills, taking continuing education courses,
meeting with her book group and staying
active at her Farmington Hills synagogue,
Adat Shalom, she doesn't have time to
pause for illness.
Three years ago, though, illness forced
her to stop.
Hubert at that time underwent what
she calls "catastrophic" surgery to mend
a progressively deteriorating back. Going
through physical therapy and shots to help
alleviate pain, she said she was running
about three months late in getting her
annual mammogram. And that's when she
received an earth-shaking diagnosis: breast
cancer.
"It was a tremendous shock:' she said,
adding that no one in her family had ever
had cancer. "I told my kids,`You'll never
have to worry about me dying of cancer
because I'll die of a heart attack first:"
Not only did Hubert have breast cancer,
it also had spread to her liver. "I hadn't felt
anything; she said. "I was told I had a lump
in my breast. It was under my left breast
and it was sizeable — 31/2 centimeters:'
Hubert underwent 40 weeks of chemo-
therapy, 27 radiation treatments, a lumpec-
tomy and additional breast surgeries at
the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center.
She lost her hair, something she called her

"crowning glory" in her youth.
Hubert's husband, Leslie, had been treat-
ed for kidney cancer at Karmanos a year
prior to her diagnosis. She said both she
and Leslie consider the Karmanos Cancer
Center in Farmington Hills their home.
"I'm grateful that Karmanos is here,' she
said. "I'm in the hands of people who are
compassionate, caring and competent. You
can feel comfortable talking to the staff.
They are dealing with life and death, but
they are focusing on life'
Hubert met with Lawrence Flaherty,
M.D., professor of medicine and oncology
at Karmanos and Wayne State University
School of Medicine in Detroit. Dr. Flaherty
put her on the chemotherapy medicine
Herceptin, something she considers lifesav-
ing.
"It was serendipity that Herceptin was
available,' she said. "Dr. Flaherty told me,
`Five years ago, you wouldn't be here had it
not been for the drug:"
The American Cancer Society estimates
that 192,370 new cases of breast cancer
will be diagnosed in women this year and
an estimated 40,170 women will die of the
disease.
For that reason, Dr. Flaherty said women
need to be proactive in preventing breast
cancer and detecting it early.
"A diet low in fat, exercise and moving
towards an ideal body weight are things
that can prevent the risks of breast cancer:'
he said.
Flaherty advises all women to get a
baseline mammogram between the ages of
35 and 40. If a woman has a family history

Could cure be aided
by lowly fruit fly?

of breast
cancer, she
should have
an initial
screening
performed a
decade earli- Barbara Hubert
er than when
the earliest family member was affected. In
other words, if your mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer at the age of 40, you
should have your first screening at age 30.
"I think that the important point in all
breast cancer management is for women
to obtain yearly mammograms and make
sure that they do self examinations so that
these cancers can be detected at the earliest
point:' he said.
Hubert said she has drawn strength from
many sources — her husband of 56 years,
her children, her friends and her faith, plus
remaining optimistic.
"I don't know that anyone knows what
they can go through until they do',' she said.
"I have a positive outlook. The alternative is
walking around, being negative. Every day
you spend worrying about things is a day
you lose'
Today, Hubert is full speed ahead with
her life. She and Leslie continue to attend
many support groups at Karmanos. She has
regrown a full head of hair — her original
color of black with very few grays in it, to
her delight. The couple is also planning a
trip to Brazil in December.
"I have the belief that I will get through
this:' she said. "Being positive is a choice. I
just feel things are going to be good."

Recipes For Hope

K

roger customers can enjoy reci-
pes and help battle breast cancer
when they purchase
limited-edition Recipes for Hope
cookbooks, available exclusively
at local Kroger stores.
The cookbooks are on sale
during October — National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
According to Dale
Hollandsworth, public rela-
tions manager, the Kroger Co.
Michigan Division, 100 percent
of the proceeds from the Recipes for Hope
cookbook, which sells for $9.99, will ben-
efit breast cancer research at the Barbara

Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.
Kroger partnered with Clear Channel
Radio, WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 and
Diet Pepsi to develop the cook-
book, which offers 200 recipes
provided by Kroger customers,
Clear Channel listeners and
WXYZ-TV viewers.
"We are very grateful for the
extraordinary support of Kroger
and its customers:' said Nick
Karmanos, vice president of
development, Karmanos Cancer
Institute. "Kroger has been a great partner
and a strong advocate for women's health.
By purchasing a cookbook, individuals will

help support the important work being
done at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in
the fight against breast cancer."
Recipes for Hope features gourmet and
everyday recipes such as Texas Caviar,
Quinoa Blend Bell Pepper Tomato Soup,
Motown Mary's Comfort Meatloaf,
Chocolate Lava Muffins and Bavarian
Pretzels. The cookbook also includes a
recipe for homemade doggie treats, along
with details about the importance of early
detection of breast cancer, self-examina-
tions and risk factors.
For information about breast cancer
services, call 1 (800) KARMANOS or go to
www.karmanos.org.

A

n Israeli researcher dis-
cussed novel ways to iden-
tify treatment for cancer
during a visit to Metro Detroit on
Sept. 9.
Dr. Amir Orian, from the Vascular
Biology and Cancer Research Center
at the Technion-Israel Institute of
Technology, explained how his col-
leagues at the cancer center are put-
ting together forces using original
methods to find a cure for cancer. He's
working with Nobel Laureate Aaron
Cicanover, Professor Israel Vlodaysky
and Professor Gera Neufeld.
His comments before alumni,
friends and supporters of the
Technion was hosted by Detroiter
Joan Abrahams.
"As cancer is
currently the
No. 1 killer in
the western
world:' Orian
said, "ways to
detect cancer
early, to fight
the disease
and treatment
Dr. Orian
follow-ups are
greatly needed." He described how
fruit flies could be used to identify
genes that are involved in human
cancers and may serve as drug tar-
gets and markers for early detection.
After completing his doctoral
studies, Orian turned his focus to
cancer research. As a postdoctoral
fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Center in Seattle, he first learned of
the genetic power of the Drosophila
(fruit fly) as a new way to study
a critical player in cancer. Using
Drosophila, he could answer funda-
mental questions about the causes
of cancer, particularly those of the
brain and blood.
He returned to the Technion
Faculty of Medicine in 2005. He
and his team are studying how the
improper regulation of a particular
network of genes can result in leuke-
mia, lymphomas and tumors of the
nervous system.
In 2007, for his novel approach in
cancer research, Dr. Orian received
the Wolf Foundation's Krill Award,
awarded to excellent young investi-
gators in exact sciences.

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October 22 • 2009

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