Experimental concentrated breast cancer radiation therapy offers new options for women who live far away from treatment facilities

A study at the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center designed to make  radiation treatment more accessible to women who face obstacles such as distance, transportation problems and time constraints is proving promising. The idea is to cut daily trips to the cancer center to once a week, says Dr. Anthony Dragon, a radiation oncologist at U of L. It also has the added benefit of cutting treatment costs by better than half.

Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports that Dragun led a previous study that found that "about a third of Kentucky women with early-stage breast cancer didn’t get recommended radiation treatments after lumpectomy surgery. Among those least likely to get radiation were rural Kentuckians, the elderly, African Americans and women in the Appalachian region of the state. Women who did not get recommended radiation were 60 percent more likely to die during the time they were studied."

Dragun told Ungar that the folks at U of L were not satisfied with just gathering those numbers, they wanted solutions to the problem. Dragun said the new experimental regimen is yielding good results, with women who get weekly radiation reporting similar levels of side effects as those getting radiation every day. Ungar notes that some outside experts say the approach does seems promising, but one critic was concerned about breast appearance results after the once-a-week treatments.

According the National Cancer Institute, more than 3,070 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Kentucky in 2009 and was responsible for 614 deaths.  (Read more) 

Rural teens more likely to abuse prescription meds; Operation UNITE launches 'Accidental Dealer' to guard medicine cabinets

A University of Kentucky study has shown rural teenagers in Kentucky are 26 percent more likely to abuse prescription drugs than those living in urban areas, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mary Meehan reports. The study concludes 13 percent of teenagers living in rural areas have said they used prescription drugs recreationally. Only 10 percent of urban youths have tried them.

Dr. Jennifer Havens, right, spearheaded the study. She is a professor of epidemiology at UK's Department of Behavioral Science in the College of Medicine. "This is one of the first studies to show that hard data," she said.

Karen Kelly, director of Operation UNITE, a federally funded anti-drug program for Eastern Kentucky, said she was pleased to have the data. "We were excited when we heard about those numbers," she said. "A lot of times in small communities, people don't think there is anything to be concerned about."

The study looked at data from 17,872 participants ages 12 to 17 in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It showed teens are getting pills from medicine cabinets in their home, which has prompted UNITE to launch "Don't Be an Accidental Drug Dealer. The program, which Meehan reports started in Knox, Clay and Wolfe counties last week, will inform communities about prescription drug abuse through town hall-style meetings and public service announcements. (Read more)

The program has also started in Breathitt County, with a training meeting last Thursday to make volunteers and key personnel "aware about keeping the lid locked on prescription and over-the-counter medications," Jeff Noble reports for the Jackson Times-Voice. "For some that attended, the session was more than just basic information – it was an eye-opener that mirrored their concerns," Noble writes, citing a statement from Kelly: “In Eastern Kentucky, the average age of first-time drug abuse is 11 years old, so this is a particularly critical issue.” Karen Bunn, chair of the Breathitt UNITE Coalition, told Noble that the program needs volunteers to work. (Read more)