Kansas City, Kan- Key points from today’s guests:

Morning Rounds – Updates on the Latest News

Dr. Krishna Reddy, radiation oncologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and hospitals nationwide are pushing for early detection by offering lung cancer screenings tomorrow.
• Eligibility for low-dose CT lung cancer screenings includes those age 50-80 who have a 20-pack year history of smoking or more. A pack year is the number of packs per day that someone was smoking.
• The screening involves laying on a table and passing through the CT scanner. It only takes a couple of minutes.
• Talk to your primary care provider about this. The top reason people don’t get these low-dose screening CTs is because they don’t know about them.
• These are approved by Medicare, but check with other insurance and your provider about other coverage.
• Our ability to treat lung cancer is increased if we can catch it early. Treatment options could be surgery or targeted radiation.
• We have an excellent chance at curing it when we are able to detect it early.

Focus Topic

Mackenzie Patrick, had prophylactic mastectomy

• Due to a BRCA2 gene mutation and a family history of cancer, Mackenzie opted to undergo a prophylactic double mastectomy at age 26 to reduce her risk of breast cancer.
• Despite other options like increased screenings, she chose this option for better peace of mind.
• She stressed the importance of having a genetic test to help make smarter health decisions.
• Mackenzie consulted with the High-Risk Breast Cancer Center, which provided her with options and information about her genetic mutation.
• She said the pros outweighed the cons, especially since she was able to reduce her risk to less than one to five percent.
• Her surgery was earlier this year and she said her recovery has gone well.
• She said everyone has different circumstances and whatever is best for you may be different for other people, but it is important to have discussions.

Dr. Kelsey Larson, breast surgical oncologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• Angelina Jolie’s public announcement about getting a mastectomy in 2013 really helped us be able to have those conversations about this.
• From a national level, there are clear guidelines about patients who may benefit or who may consider risk-reducing mastectomy.
• There are women who are at a slightly elevated risk of breast cancer who would not qualify because the risk of surgery does not outweigh some of the other risk factors.
• We have a high-risk team who helps patients stay on top of their breast health.
• Patients need to talk to their doctors about genetic testing, especially if there is a family history of cancer.
• For BRCA gene mutations, it’s about 50-50 that children can inherit it from their parents, and they can come from either the mom or dad.
• Many patients can undergo increased screening, which may include a yearly mammogram alternating with an additional test, such as a breast MRI, ultrasound, or contrast mammogram.

Monday, Nov. 11 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Her doctors thought she suffered a stroke in college, but it turns out her immune system was attacking her brain. Learn more about the surprising diagnosis and life-saving treatment.

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