Breast cancer help found in Lansing

Breast cancer survivors struggling with long-term side effects of the disease, such as fatigue and depression, are set to receive individualized advice from MSU’s Breslin Cancer Center.

A group from the Breslin Cancer Center, 401 W. Greenlawn Ave., in Lansing, received a one-year, $39,591 grant from the Mid-Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in September. The Mid-Michigan Affiliate is a nonprofit organization and one of more than 120 affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization.

The money funds a new multidisciplinary program that will give guidance and advice to breast cancer survivors and their families, said Heather Spotts, an oncology social worker at the Breslin Cancer Center and the proposal’s coinvestigator.

“Our program is the first of its kind in the Lansing area, but we’re hoping that it will bring more awareness,” Spotts said. “We’re really excited and feel positive about the program. Women dealing with (breast cancer) really have issues they want to address.”

The program, called Changing Tomorrow’s Breast Cancer Survivors, includes two components: three educational seminars and a monthly clinic, said Martha Trout, a nurse at the Breslin Cancer Center. Trout helped write the grant proposal, but said she will not be involved in its educational or clinical work.

“Survivorship is a big issue, especially among the breast cancer populations,” Trout said. “Most cancer centers are great at detecting cancers and great at treating the cancers. We’re doing such a good job taking care of the cancer, more people are surviving with longer-term effects coming up.”

Chris Pearson, the executive director of the Mid-Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said the Breslin Cancer Center’s proposal is one of 10 local applications selected by an independent review panel to receive funding.

Panelists judged each proposal on several criteria, including its potential impact on the community, the organization’s ability to carry out its proposal and how it would make a difference in one of the Mid-Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s priority areas.

“Our review panel saw this as something unique and filling an unmet need because it really takes a look at the people already diagnosed with breast cancer and helping them in a number of different ways,” Pearson said. “It’s giving people information to take charge of their own health, which could reduce their risk for a lot of other diseases.”

Officials hope to expand the program to offer clinics for other forms of cancer and add more services for breast cancer survivors. If officials choose to apply for more funding, Pearson said the odds would be in their
favor.

“In a program like this … what you’re doing is continuing to serve new individuals, which is very important because people are diagnosed with breast cancer too often,” Pearson said. “There’s many, many women and men who could take advantage of this. It could have a very high likelihood of being funded again.”