A cause, a cure

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 12:30 p.m. (0)

Leslie Crews’ husband found it on Labor Day 2006.

A lump, no bigger than a marble, beneath her arm.  Continue reading...

 

Flower power

Locally written play brings breast cancer awareness to stage

OCTOBER 21, 2010 12:54 p.m. (0)

Five women – each with their own flaws – would have never been brought together if it hadn’t been for Abigail Elizabeth Monroe Taylor.

But there they are together at a funeral home in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to pay respects to their friend who has died of breast cancer.

Taylor, who changed her name from Polly Lou Clementine and got a job at Dollywood to start her road to stardom, sends the women off on an adventure that includes Elvis and others.  Continue reading...

 

St. Francis to expand cancer program

Health system will offer specialized treatment options

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 2:18 p.m. (1)

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is adding internationally known cancer specialists, expanding its cancer treatment facilities, improving patient access to clinical trials and offering specialized treatment options in response to a growing demand for cancer treatment in the Upstate.

An integral part of the expansion is the St. Francis Hematology Oncology Center for the treatment of blood cancers and disorders, which are among the most difficult to diagnose and treat. Doctors are able to tailor treatment by examining the cancer genes.

Three doctors will lead the center: Dr. Gary Spitzer, one of the primary physician architects of stem cell transplantation at M.D. Anderson Hospital and a doctor who helped develop treatment regimes for Hodgkin’s lymphoma now considered standard of care; Dr. Frits van Rhee, an internationally recognized specialist in the treatment of multiple myeloma and Castleman’s disease who is known for his work in gene array therapy; and Dr. Devena Alston, an oncologist with expertise in blood and solid tumors.  Continue reading...

 

Cutting edge research, it's happening here

ITOR has done pioneering work with treatments in the Upstate

MARCH 3, 2011 9:18 p.m. (0)

Sandy Fehrman’s story is a home run for the newest wave of cancer treatments and a testament to the cutting edge research and treatment being done at the Institute for Translational Oncology Research (ITOR) in Greenville.

ITOR, which is housed in the Cancer Centers of the Carolinas at the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, has done pioneering work on cancer treatments for years.

It has just been approved as a bone marrow donor site and is the only hospital in the Upstate to have a Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy accreditation.  Continue reading...

 

Opening new fronts in the ‘War on Cancer’

Spartanburg Regional’s Gibbs Cancer Center to build new center in Greer; other health systems also expanding treatment options

MAY 25, 2012 9:24 a.m. (0)

The Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System recently broke ground on a 10,000-square-foot cancer center – not in Spartanburg, but at the Village Hospital campus on Highway 14 in Greer.

The Gibbs Cancer Center opened in 1999 in Spartanburg and became affiliated with the M.D. Anderson Physicians Network in 2006. David Church, vice president for oncology and support services, said the center is expanding to the Greer area so patients will not have to travel as far for treatment. The expansion is part of the center’s master plan “to improve cancer treatment in that area,” he said. “Eighty to 85 percent of cancer care is given at a local center.”  Continue reading...