DoDLive | Tag Archive

Medical Monday: Defeating Cancer

Filed under DoD News by jtozer on July 18, 2011 at 9:00 am {no comments}

Cpl. Austin Saunders, a gun team leader with Charlie Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, endured five months of aggressive chemotherapy, after being diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes in February of 2010. (By Sue Ulibarri, MCoE Public Affairs)

From www.army.mil

FORT BENNING, Ga. – Cpl. Austin Saunders, a gun team leader with Charlie Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, admits he’s a bit of a competitive guy. He likes to reach his goals, whatever the odds; “mission complete” is his credo.

In March of 2010, the odds seemed to stack up against him when at the age of 20 he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes. The devastating news came just two years into his enlistment contract as a member of the Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment.

“I’ve always focused on my short-term goals in order to accomplish my long-term goals. I like a challenge, and I like to win,” he said. “So when I was diagnosed with cancer, my first thought was — this is going to interfere with my plans to get my Ranger tab and deploy with my guys.”

Saunders, a Grayson, Ga., native, set his sights on becoming a member of the Regiment shortly after high school. At the time he considered it his long term goal.

“I played a lot of sports while in school, so my competitiveness always kept me focused on being on the winning team. After high school I knew I wanted to be part of the ‘best,’ which lead me to joining the Army to be a member of the 75th (Ranger Regiment),” he said.

When he found out about the cancer, to him, overcoming cancer became his short-term challenge.

“I was diagnosed February 2010, but it really didn’t hit me until I started chemo (therapy). Then I realized this is serious stuff,” he said. Saunders’ painful reality of cancer came in the form of five days of continuous, aggressive chemotherapy treatments administered every other week for five months at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.

“The (chemotherapy) treatments I went through were pretty aggressive. Most patients over the age of 25 won’t be able to handle the high toxicity levels, but I pretty much made up my mind to go through whatever it takes to beat this,” he said.

The treatments Saunders received were clinical trials limited to patients with a history of physical fitness and mental toughness. Saunders was an ideal candidate based on his conditioning at the Regiment.

“Before all this happened, I felt like I was moving steadily along in reaching my goal,” he said. “I was at the Regiment, and working toward going through RASP (the Ranger Assessment Program) and then to Ranger School. My unit was gearing me up physically and mentally for it, I was so ready.
(more…)

Medical Monday: TRICARE Covers HPV Screening

Filed under DoD News by jtozer on June 6, 2011 at 9:00 am {3 comments}

TRICARE took another major step forward in meeting its goal to improve health and provide optimal coverage for its 9.6 million beneficiaries with the recent addition of the human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test to its growing list of approved preventive services. Preventive care is vital for the early detection and treatment of serious issues that could affect your health.

TRICARE’s preventive services help keep you and your family healthy. HPV DNA testing increases the chances of discovering cervical cancer early, allows for prompt treatment and improves survival.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cervical cancer is the easiest type of cancer to prevent. TRICARE now covers the CDC recommended cervical cancer screenings, as part of the coverage for regular Pap smears and pelvic exams for women aged 30 and older. HPV DNA testing coverage is retroactive to Sept. 7, 2010.

The HPV DNA test is used to find a high-risk HPV infection that can cause cervical cancer. Doctors perform the test by collecting cells from the cervix at the same time as a Pap smear is performed. The cells are analyzed to determine whether they’re precancerous and if you may require treatment. You don’t need preauthorization for HPV testing, and won’t have to pay copayments or cost-shares for any routine cervical cancer screenings.

TRICARE also covers the CDC recommended vaccine series to prevent HPV infection in girls. The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls 11 or 12 years of age. Doctors may start the series in girls as young as 9 years old, and can give catch-up vaccinations through 26 years of age for those who have not completed the vaccine series.

For more information on TRICARE preventive services, visit www.tricare.mil/preventiveservices.

Medical Monday: Leading with Cancer

Filed under DoD News by jtozer on May 30, 2011 at 9:00 am {no comments}

By Col. Wayne Monteith, 50th Space Wing commander
From www.schriever.af.mil

Col. Wayne Monteith, 50th Space Wing commander. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Dave Ahlschwede)

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo – Six months ago I would have never used leadership and cancer in the same sentence. I would likely have not even used these two words in the same week. That was before Dec. 13, 2010. I am a wing commander and I am working through colon cancer. I’ll be honest; if not in my current position I would have done my best to hide this illness from all but my immediate family.

Let’s face it; senior military leaders do not get ill and if we do we certainly don’t discuss it openly. But I believe there is a reason for my illness and it may be as simple as advocating the benefits of routine screenings recommended by our medical professionals.

The week of Dec. 6, 2010, I had one of the best experiences of my career. The officer and enlisted leaders of the 50th Space Wing spent the week in San Antonio visiting the outstanding Airmen at the 737th Training Group, Lackland AFB, specifically those who conduct Basic Military Training and the defenders at Camp Bullis.

The highlight of my career was the opportunity to be the reviewing official at a BMT graduation. Brand new Airmen standing tall on the parade field and a gallery full of proud family and friends. I was never prouder to be an Airman and was convinced my life could not get any better.

After all, I was serving and leading a phenomenal wing, I was blessed with a wonderful family and dear friends and my health appeared to be far better than my age might suggest.

While I didn’t “feel” it, in April of last year I turned 50. Along with hitting the half century mark, at 50, the mighty medics recommend a colonoscopy.a great input for most, but I was far too busy for such mundane affairs. And quite frankly, even if I expanded my “bucket list” to ten thousand items a colonoscopy still wouldn’t appear.

A root canal maybe, but someone invading my personal space, even for a good reason, no way!

(more…)

Medical Monday: Cancer Awareness Day, A Survivor’s Story

Filed under DoD News by Ian Graham on February 7, 2011 at 11:00 am {no comments}

By Dann Pickens

First and foremost I am a cancer survivor. I was born at Fort Lawton, Wash., where parts of “An Officer and a Gentleman” was filmed. I am a son of an Army corporal so I guess that is where my Army career starts. I am a retired infantry sergeant first class with 24 years total time in the Army, and I was among the last draftees being drafted Jun 20, 1972. After my retirement from the Army was official, I was hired by the Department of the Army working at Fort McNair in Washington DC. We have been with DoD as a civilian family, still stationed at Fort McNair for an additional 14 years bring our combined service to just a hair over 38 years.

Wikipedia defines a cancer survivor as an individual with cancer of any type, current or past, who is still living. That would be ME!

My trek began officially on my birthday in 2008 with confirmed diagnosis of esophageal cancer (adeno-carcinoma, stage 4). Metastasis had occurred with growths in each lung, the liver and throughout the lymph nodes of the torso. At that point in time, my prognosis was rather dim and I was not a candidate for either radiation or surgical treatment of the myriad of tumors so we went into chemotherapy right away.

(more…)

Quest to Quit Continues After Great American SmokeOut

Filed under DoD News, Pentagon Channel by Ian Graham on November 20, 2009 at 8:42 am {no comments}

The Pentagon Channel recently interviewed Dr. Jack Smith, the acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy, about the Great American SmokeOut. The SmokeOut is put forth as an awareness day, encouraging smokers and other tobacco users to quit.

While highlighting the SmokeOut is important, and the day is certainly a noble cause – its aim is to get the entire nation to not smoke for one day in the hopes that users will see they can commit to completely quitting – it’s just as important to keep the idea in mind as we continue on after the SmokeOut.

Everybody who’s been through a school D.A.R.E. program, the Boy or Girl Scouts, or just about any other youth organization knows what smoking can do to you. Your risk for lung, mouth and throat cancer increases; you breathe in carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene and tar (to name a few); and you stain your teeth and make your breath smell awful. Ask any 12-year-old, they can tell you.

But what Smith said is something less well-known. In the focus to prevent kids from starting in the first place, most anti-smoking campaigns ignore the benefits one can have if they quit smoking. Physiologically, he said, our body recovers from smoking damage very quickly. Immediately, a smoker will show medical improvements once they quit.

“If someone is a smoker or tobacco user, the very best thing they can do for their health is to quit,” Smith said.

(more…)