April 18, 2016 | Women in Arkansas will benefit from two grants presented to UAMS by the Arkansas affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

A grant of $87,642 will assist the UAMS Mobile Mammography Program to continue providing digital screening mammograms to women across Arkansas, with a focus on the 26 counties that lack permanent mammography facilities. The program’s mammography unit is contained in the MammoVan, a 40-foot vehicle that makes regular stops across the state.

“With our MammoVan, we go directly to the towns that lack mammography facilities and eliminate the barriers that prevent women from getting this important preventative cancer screening,” said Sharp Malak, M.D., director of the Mobile Mammography Program in the UAMS Department of Radiology. Malak, who holds a master’s degree in public health, also is assistant professor of radiology and epidemiology and director of the Breast Imaging Research Program at UAMS.

The MammoVan staff partners with community-based organizations, community health centers, work-site wellness locations and others to provide services for women in the towns where the MammoVan visits. The program also navigates patients who receive an abnormal screening result through follow-up diagnostic mammography, biopsy and referral to breast oncologic services.

A second grant of $46,328 will improve access to breast imaging and intervention services at the UAMS Breast Center. This grant also was presented to Malak.

“This grant will reduce the financial barrier many women face in seeking breast health services by providing assistance to uninsured and underinsured women,” he said.

The UAMS Breast Center, led by Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., director of breast imaging at UAMS, is accredited by the American College of Radiology in mammography, breast ultrasound, and stereotactic breast biopsy. It was the first breast center in Arkansas to introduce digital mammography, and it has been a leader in the early adoption of 3-D mammography (tomosynthesis) in the state.

Additional services at the UAMS Breast Center include dedicated breast MRI and stereotactic, ultrasound and MRI-guided biopsies.

APRIL 1, 2016 | Hugs, smiles and selfies were in plentiful supply March 31 when five professional football players made a surprise visit to patients at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

For the third year, Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive tackle and Jacksonville native Clinton McDonald recruited his fellow players to visit to the Cancer Institute and offer support for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

“We battle on the football field, but when you have cancer, you’re fighting for your life. It’s humbling to meet the patients and hear their stories. We may come to offer them support, but we’re the ones who leave filled the humility and hope,” McDonald said.

Joining him were fellow Buccaneer defensive end William Gholston, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson, and BC Lions (Canadian Football League) defensive end Lazarius “Pep” Levingston.

“We are always honored to have Clinton and his friends pay a visit to the Cancer Institute. The players are so generous with their time, sitting and talking with our patients at length about their treatment and what’s going on in their lives. It’s a special day for everyone,” said Cancer Institute Director Peter Emanuel, M.D.

Vada Adams, who regularly makes a 90-minute drive from Fordyce for Little Rock for melanoma treatment, echoed Emanuel’s sentiment.

“I’ve had such a good experience at UAMS, but when people like this come along to brighten your day, there’s not enough money in the world to pay for something like that,” Adams said.

The players stayed about two hours, visiting and taking photos with patients and family members in two infusion

clinics. Lori Parker noted she could feel the excitement in build when the nurses announced the players would be visiting. “I’ve never seen everyone so perked up in the clinic before,” said Parker, who undergoes weekly infusion treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. “Infusion Clinic 1 is such a phenomenal and

supportive environment already, but everyone here is dealing with their own struggles. It changed the whole energy in the room when the players arrived.”

In addition to their visit to UAMS, the players also are participating in McDonald’s annual Family Fun Day and Iron Sharpens Iron Youth Football and Cheer Camp on April 1-2 in his hometown of Jacksonville.

March 28, 2016 | As a nurse, Beverly Seaberg spends her time at work caring for patients. As a wife and mother, she also makes sure her husband, John, and two daughters, Cori and Caroline receive the best health care possible. Seaberg, 58, is an R.N. in the Quality Management department at UAMS. She has worked as a nurse for 35 years. Seaberg had a clean bill of health and is generally very good about taking preventive health measures.

“I got a mammogram, a pap smear, my teeth cleaned,” Seaberg said. “I took my husband to get his colonoscopy, carried my daughters to the doctor and even took the dogs to the vet.” When she turned 50, the nurse scheduled herself a colonoscopy. “I ended up canceling that appointment,” Seaberg said. “Now I can’t even remember why.”

Five years later, September 2013, Seaberg began experiencing abdominal pain and loss of appetite. She went to her primary care physician thinking it was a bladder infection. By November, her symptoms worsened and her doctor ordered a CT scan. “The scan came back showing I had a mass in my colon. That’s when I found out I had colon cancer and needed surgery.” Seaberg has no family history of colon cancer.

While she knew the importance of colonoscopies, Seaberg says the thought of being diagnosed with colon cancer was never on her radar. The diagnosis left her feeling sad, blindsided and angry at herself. “The look on my family’s faces when I told them was almost unbearable,” she said. “Because I knew this could have been prevented if I’d had my colonoscopy. I hated to put them and myself through such anxiety.”

Jason Mizell, M.D., is a colorectal surgeon at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. He says the earlier colonoscopy almost certainly would have prevented the cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends most men and women start undergoing colonoscopies at age 50. Those at high risk for colon cancer or experiencing symptoms such as rectal bleeding, anemia or a change in bowel habits may be advised by their doctor to receive the test earlier. One of the benefits of an academic medical center like UAMS is the physicians and staff are able to provide total comprehensive care in one location at one time.

Based on the results of her pre-operative testing, it was determined Seaberg would need a team of physicians to perform a complex operation involving a colorectal surgeon and urologist, with likely an oncologist to give chemotherapy after surgery. Seaberg knew she was in the right place to appropriately treat her cancer.  Seaberg says her team of physicians was both very compassionate and caring. “I let my patients know that I’m concerned about them as a whole person, rather than just their disease process,” Mizell said. “I genuinely care about them all and they can trust they’re getting state-of-the-art high quality care right here at UAMS rather than having to travel out of state to another institution.”

“UAMS has been very good to me as an employer and as a patient. I’m thankful to have the Cancer Institute 20 minutes away from my home,” she said. Seaberg had her surgery nearly two weeks later.  It was a complex operation involving removal of the colon tumor, with a portion of her bladder as well because of the large nature of the tumor.

Her surgery went well with good results, and she started chemotherapy in January 2014. The treatment lasted six months. Her message to those she meets who express anxiety or hesitation about getting a colonoscopy is clear: It can save your life. “I know people get anxious,” Seaberg says. “But all it takes is about a day of your time. It took me several months to fight for my life after my cancer diagnosis. If you have symptoms, don’t ignore them. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones.” Today, Seaberg is back at work full time. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and volunteering in the UAMS ICU.

March 21, 2016 | Health care professionals gathered at UAMS on March 11 for the opportunity to learn the latest research and treatment innovations in colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies.

Offered by the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the 19th Annual Charles William Rasco, III Symposium on Colorectal Cancer and GI Malignancies brought together physicians, nurses, pharmacists, scientists and other health care professionals. Participants had the opportunity to visit booths representing a number of programs and services related to research and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.

The symposium honors the memory of Charles William Rasco III, who lost his battle with the disease in 1994.

“One of UAMS’ primary missions is education. Events such as the Rasco Symposium are the perfect opportunity to keep up to date on the latest advances in treating colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal conditions,” said symposium course director A. Mazin Safar, M.D.

Presenters included health care professionals from several UAMS College of Medicine departments and divisions:

• Issam Makhoul, M.D., director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, and A. Mazin Safar, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, on “Cancer Screening Controversies”

• Jennifer Laudadio, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Pathology, on “Multiplex Gene Testing for GI Malignancies”

• Rang Govindarajan, M.D., professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology; Sanjay Maraboyina, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology; Juan Camilo Barreto, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, on “Virtual Tumor Board – The Use of Radiotherapy in the Adjuvant Setting After Full Resection”

• Frederick Bentley, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery, on “Best of Surgery”

• Jeffrey L. Clothier, M.D., professor and executive vice chair of the Department of Psychiatry, on “Depression and Anxiety in the Cancer Patient: Recognition, Diagnostic Considerations and Management”

• Casey Guidry, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiology, on “Radiology Essentials for the GI Oncologist”

• Rajesh Banderudrappagari, M.D., second-year fellow in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, on “Liver-Directed Therapy for Hepatoma – The CAVHS Experience”

Also presenting were Lowell Anthony, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at University of Kentucky Health Care, on “Carcinoid Tumors” and Daniel K. Brown, M.D., staff gastroenterologist at CHI St. Vincent Multi-Specialty Clinic, on “Interventional Gastroenterology in GI Malignancies.”

March 17, 2016 | Ten years ago, Lennon Tusieseina had just entered the world. Meanwhile, a team of doctors at UAMS was saving his grandfather’s life. Earlier this year, they saved his uncle, too. Lennon wanted to give something back.

Toting a jar one-third his size stuffed with dollar bills, 10-year-old Lennon recently took his birthday money to the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.  He had asked his friends to give money to donate instead of gifts.

It just seemed like the right thing to do. “I wanted to be a part of helping people,” he said. “I wanted to see my uncle standing up again.”

His uncle, Samuel “Tommy” Braswell, is still recovering at home. But the day was definitely a family affair, with grandparents John and Rebecca Foster, parents Linsay and Siona Tusieseina, and brothers Foster, 11, and Ryder, 7, all present and accounted for.

Peter Emanuel, M.D., and Mauricio Moreno, M.D., were there to welcome them. While the adults exchanged hugs and pleasantries, the three brothers amused themselves with a game of hide-and-seek around the Cancer Institute’s main lobby.

Moreno, a head and neck surgeon in the UAMS Department of Otolaryngology, had performed a 10-hour surgery on Braswell just two months earlier. He remembers the family and their dedication well, and was impressed by Lennon’s generosity.

“I was asking how this started, and basically it was his own initiative,” he said. “It’s pretty humbling to some degree to see a 10-year-old come up with that. Very impressive.”

Braswell was diagnosed with oral cavity cancer late last year.

“It all happened really quick,” said Linsay Tusieseina. “His throat was hurting for about a month, and then he went to the doctor. They found it pretty early.”

Because the cancer was close to his jawbone, it needed to be removed, along with a few of his teeth.  His jawbone was replaced with a titanium rod. A piece of an artery, veins and tissue from Braswell’s forearm were used to cover the area where the cancer was removed.

“And he got stitches,” said Lennon, who was sporting three small stitches of his own near his left eye. A pick-up basketball game had ended when he collided with a chain-link fence.

Now recovering at home, Braswell is cancer-free. “All the scans are clear and good,” said Tusieseina. “We were very thankful that Dr. Moreno was able to get it all so that no chemo or radiation was necessary.”

Lennon’s grandfather, John Foster, was diagnosed in 2006 with tongue cancer. His wife, Rebecca Foster, is a nurse at UAMS and was working in the Cancer Institute at the time.

“I was shaving and felt a little lump, but I didn’t really think anything about it,” he said. “It never went away, so I asked my wife about it. She said I needed to go to the doctor.”

He had a biopsy right after Labor Day weekend and was treated with radiation and chemo. Brendan C. Stack Jr., M.D., Anne Marie Maddox, M.D. and José A. Peñagarícano, M.D., were his doctors. Foster has been in remission now for 10 years.

“I had total confidence in my doctors,” he said. “I never really worried. There’s no way to really thank people for saving your life.”

But Lennon still wanted to say thank-you. His jar full of dollar bills, $399 in total, will go directly to the Cancer Institute to help patients like his grandfather and uncle.

“I have 10 more dollars left to bring,” he said. “I left it at home.”