Breast Cancer Calendar

October
Ongoing:
Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Breast Cancer Support Group. 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. 7 pm. Breast Health Center. Prostate Cancer Support Group. Meets 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. 7 pm. 631-376-4444.

Through October 4 Sunday
WMHO “Pink Lemonade for a Cure.” FUN’d raise for a good cause! Set up a Pink Lemonade stand anywhere on Long Island now until the “Walk for Beauty, Walk for Life” on October 4.

3 Saturday
SASS Foundation Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day. 9 am. The LI Marriott. Meet the Experts Town Hall Forum. Book signing, continental breakfast, workshop awards Luncheon and keynote address. 516-794-3800.

4 Sunday
Islip Breast Cancer Coalition presents A Day at the Races. Belmont Park Race Track. 12:30 pm. $55 includes Clubhouse admission, program and 3 hour classic buffet luncheon. 631-968-7424 or email ibcc@optonline.net

“A Simple Act of Kindness is a Thing of Beauty.” Breast cancer awareness and haircutting fundraiser to benefit LI2Day Breast Cancer Walk. Hosted by HairSpray in Smithtown. 10 am. 631-471-7080.

7 Wednesday
Live Comedy Cafe presented by Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition. 7 pm. The Metropolitan, Glen Cove. $60 donation. Complimentary hot buffet. 631-547-1518.

10 Saturday
South Fork Breast Health Coalition 5th Annual Artist and Celebrity Bird House Auction. Benefits new Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Southampton Hospital. 5:30 pm. Parrish Memorial Hall, Southampton Hospital. 631-726-8715.

11 Sunday
West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition “Closing In On Cancer.” 11:30 am. Bay View House at Captain Bill’s. RSVP Oct. 1. 631-669-7770.

12 Monday
Pilates for Pink. 10 am. Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center. $15 members, $18 non-members. 516-822-3535 x 318.

14 & 28 Wednesdays
New Island Hospital hosts free Community Health Fair. New Island Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center. 2 pm - 7 pm. To receive free health screenings you must pre-register. 516-520-2440.

15 Thursday
Hatha Yoga for You: A Free Workshop Series for Breast Cancer Patients. A program of the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program. 7 to 8:30 pm. Adelphi University Alumni House. Bring comfortable clothes, a mat, firm blanket, bottled water. Pre-registration required. 516-877-4325.

16 Friday
North Fork Breast Health Coalition Art Auction to benefit Lend A Helping Hand. Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard, Southold.
7 pm. Free. 631-208-8889.

17 Saturday
Breast Cancer Help, Inc. joins 1in9 and Hewlett House for Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Nassau Coliseum. New York Islanders vs San Jose Sharks. 7 pm. Mezzanine $65, upper mezzanine $25. 631-675- 9003 or visit www.breastcancerhelpinc.org or Hewlett House at 516-374-3190.

22 Thursday
“ Breast Cancer research in 3D” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cultural Series. Grace Auditorium. 7 pm. Lecture by
Senthil Muthuswamy, Ph.D. http://events.cshl.edu/events/13.html

Stony Brook University Medical Center 6th Annual Breast Cancer Update for the Community. Free. WMHO Educational & Cultural Center. Stony Brook Village Center. 6:30 pm to 9 pm. 631-444-4000.

27 Tuesday
Mather Hospital 4th Annual “Evening of Fabulous Food.” Benefits The Prostate Center at Mather Hospital. Blackwells Restaurant. 6 pm. $50. 631-476-2723 or www.matherhospital.org/food

16th annual Breast Cancer Celebration of Survivorship of the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program. Adelphi University Center Ballroom. Free. 6:15 pm. 516-997-8545.

November

22 Sunday
The Great Prostrate Cancer Challenge 5K Run. 5K run and health fair along the 18 holes of the Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course. 631-247-0100.

Brookhaven Lab and Hybridyne Imaging Technologies, Inc.,
Win R&D 100 Award

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Hybridyne Imaging Technologies, Inc., of Toronto, Canada, have won a 2009 R&D 100 Award for developing a compact gamma camera for high-resolution imaging of prostate cancer. The camera system, called ProxiScan, is a nuclear medical instrument that can localize cancer tissue in the prostate gland in detail at an early stage, which is important for the successful diagnosis and early treatment of the potentially deadly disease.

R&D Magazine gives R&D 100 Awards annually to the top 100 technological achievements of the year. Typically, these are innovations that transform basic science into useful products. The 2009 awards will be presented on November 12, in Orlando, Florida.

The common way to diagnose prostate cancer – the second leading cancer among men, next to lung cancer – is through a blood test that measures the levels of a protein produced by the prostate gland called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. Elevated PSA levels may indicate prostate cancer, but with a high number of false-positive detections. Often, then, men must have an invasive biopsy, normally guided by ultrasound imagery. Other methods for confirming a diagnosis of prostate cancer include conventional nuclear medical imaging techniques, such as positron emission spectroscopy and single photon emission computed tomography.

However, the current imaging methods have limitations. Benign and cancerous tumors cannot easily be distinguished by ultrasound, and fibrous tissues can be mistakenly identified as tumors if patients have had radiation treatment of the prostate previously. Traditional nuclear imaging systems produce lower-resolution images and are less efficient than Brookhaven’s compact digital camera. Also, the detectors in current systems are too large to be used in trans-rectal probes.

In contrast, the new cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)-based gamma camera is small enough for trans-rectal prostate cancer diagnosis, after the patient is injected with a tracer radiopharmaceutical. The high-resolution CZT detector is the cutting-edge technology that drives the novel system. Using this new technology, the working distance between the imaging system and the prostate gland is minimized, allowing urologists to obtain better images with a smaller amount of injected radioactive tracer, compared to conventional nuclear medical systems.

Although the CZT-based system was designed to reveal prostate cancer, it can be modified for imaging other cancers, such as cervical, uterine, colorectal and breast cancers. It can also be optimized for surgical use as a probe to guide the removal of cancerous tumors while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.

CZT detectors have fostered the development of new instruments for measuring radiation. Numerous medical, industrial, scientific, environmental and homeland-security applications exist for this technology, including handheld instruments to reduce the trafficking of nuclear materials and portable field instruments for environmental monitoring and remediation.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation Research and Development has been the principal sponsor funding the development of CZT detectors, and Hybridyne Imaging Technologies funded the design and engineering of the new compact gamma camera. The inventors have 16 patents on the technology, ranging from detector design and fabrication to imaging. Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages Brookhaven Lab, has a patent pending on the advanced CZT detectors.

Surgical Pavilion Named Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery

Peconic Bay Medical Center has announced that its recently completed new surgical pavilion will be named The Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery in recognition of a substantial gift from the John Kanas family.
The Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery is the crowning achievement of the most technologically advanced construction project in the medical center’s history. In addition, the Kanas family’s donation is the largest single gift to the $10 million capital campaign associated with PBMC’s largest expansion project in more than 25 years.

The Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery incorporates the most advanced patient safety systems available today, including the most sophisticated medical air filtration systems, comprehensive emergency power capabilities and latest generation sterilization equipment. Each 650-square-foot operating room incorporates the world’s most advanced high definition surgical video integration systems, special shadow-eliminating operating room lights, and unique video and audio conferencing allowing real-time, remote medical consultation around the globe. The oversized operating rooms are built to exceed the design standards for the most complicated operative procedures. The Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery has been selected as a national demonstration site for the Steris Corporation, one of the world’s largest operating room supply companies.
“The Kanas family’s generous donation is a quantum leap forward for advanced surgical care in Suffolk County,” said PBMC President and CEO Andrew J. Mitchell. “We are indebted to the Kanas family for their gift and for their confidence in our vision for healthcare excellence on the East End.”

“The naming of the Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery is a key milestone in our quest to bring healthcare excellence to our communities,” said Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation chairman Gordon Huszagh. “We are deeply appreciative of the Kanas’ generous support.”

In addition to five state-of-the-art operating rooms, the 20,000-square-foot floor includes a 12-bed ambulatory surgery area with individual bedside flat screen televisions, four individual pre-surgery anesthesia suites and a comprehensive 12-bed post anesthesia care unit. The $35 million facility was designed by Perkins and Eastman, an international healthcare architectural firm, and built by Axis Construction, Long Island’s premier healthcare construction management company.

LI 2Day Walk Awards $380,000 to Grassroots Breast Cancer Organizations

LI2DAY held their annual appreciation luncheon at Carrabba’s of Smithtown to thank its sponsors. Their contributions enable the organization to donate 100% of the funds raised by walkers to local breast cancer organizations, research laboratories and the LI2Day Scholarship Fund. The 6th Annual LI2Day Breast Cancer Walk held on June 6 and 7, raised over $380,000 despite the state of the economy.
With the help of volunteers, walkers, beneficiary organizations, government officials and the business community, LI2Day has moved from a vision to a very successful reality. In just six years, LI2Day has raised nearly $2.5 million dollars for the women, men and families of Long Island who are suffering the effects of breast cancer. Knowing that more Long Islanders will be able to receive assistance only validates why so many support LI2DAY. The luncheon is a way to recognize the effort, strength and dedication of those who support LI2DAY’s initiatives.

Long before they hit the pavement in June participants spend months training and collecting donations to meet their $1,000 fundraising goal. The following participants were recognized for raising over $3,000 each: Tara Adams, Linda Finer, Alison MacMilan, Christine Wicks, Patty Matonti, Valerie Barbam, Linda Geremia, Keely Harris, Gail Jensen, Lora Piro, Carissa Stavrakos, Pat Miller, Ronald Tramazzo, Mark Sauvigne, Stacey Kerley, Debbie Kneidl, Rita Mahoney, Carol Oakley, Mike Polansky, Ellen Schreiber and Debra Trosper.

LI2DAY awarded local beneficiary organizations funds for programs to help alleviate the financial strains and day-to-day stresses of fighting breast cancer. The following organizations received grants from LI2DAY Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program: Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition; Brentwood Bay Shore Breast Cancer Coalition; Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center Women’s Health & Resource Center; Cancer Services Program of Eastern Suffolk; Cancer Services Program of Western Suffolk; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Cure Mommy’s Breast Cancer; Friends For Life Foundation; Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition; Islip Breast Cancer Coalition; Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer; North Shore Neighbors Breast Cancer Coalition; Sisters of Greater Long Island; Southampton Hospital Breast Cancer Center; South Fork Breast Health Coalition; South Nassau Communities Hospital; WALK for Women’s Breast Cancer Fund; The Witness Project and the West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition for Long Island Inc.

The LI2Day Breast Cancer Walk in cooperation with its beneficiary organizations help Long Islanders in a million ways which include Lend a Helping Hand and Similar Programs assisted more than 1,000 families from Manhasset to Montauk Point, providing transportation to/from treatment, meals, housekeeping, childcare, medical expenses, financial assistance and much more. Education and Awareness through lecture series, educational brochures, health fairs and in-school high school health programs helped more than 14,000 students. Early detection is key and Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Women’s Imaging applied funds to purchase digital mammography equipment assisting in 4,000 additional procedures performed annually. Breast cancer counseling and support for over 38,318 survivors and their families was provided to Long Islanders. Self esteem aids including wigs, prosthesis, bras and more are essential to healing and often are not covered by health insurance, but funds from the LI2Day Walk go towards the purchase of these items.
Acute financial aid programs assisted more than 347 families with one-time grants to help with loss of income, mounting expenses, medication and child care. Research grant to provide critical start-up funding for new CSHL faculty member Dr. Mikala Egeblad, whose breast cancer research studies will ultimately provide important information that will suggest ways to block the recruitment of myeloid cells to tumors, thus preventing breast cancer metastasis. Scholarships for high school seniors who are the children of families affected by breast cancer. Thirty Long Island students have received $75,000 in LI2DAY Scholarship Awards. SOS Program provided funding or services for those who have lost a loved one to breast cancer including financial assistance to offset the cost of funeral expenses, childcare, housecleaning and food services. Newly diagnosed breast cancer patient outreach programs have distributed more than 4,000 gift bags containing vital information resources, seatbelt softeners, books, CD, movie passes, etc.

For more information on the LI2Day Breast Cancer Walk visitwww.li2daywalk.org or call 631-863-2DAY. Registration is currently open for the 7th Annual LI2Day Breast Cancer Walk which will be held on Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6, 2010. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Be sure to check Networking® magazine for upcoming LI2DAY events.