Franciscan St. Francis Health physicians among U.S. News ‘Top Doctors’ list

INDIANAPOLIS – More than 30 Franciscan St. Francis Health physicians have been singled out by U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s annual “Top Doctors” listing.

The Top Doctors list was compiled with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America’s Top Doctors, among other consumer health guides. Nominations came from physicians in academic medical centers and private practices, specialty hospitals and regional hospitals.

Castle Connolly’s physician-led research team reviewed each nominee’s training, achievements and appointments, along with other credentials.

U.S. News Media Group provides a free searchable directory available at www.usnews.com/top-doctors that lists nearly 30,000 peer-nominated physicians across the country.

Franciscan St. Francis physicians and their specialties include:

Richard Beardsley (family medicine)

William Berg (interventional cardiology)

Michael Elmore (gastroenterology)

Erica Eugster (pediatric endocrinology)

Thomas Fairchild (otolaryngology)

Jack Farr II (orthopedic surgery)

Peter Garrett (radiation oncology)

Marc Gerdisch M.D. (thoracic surgery)

Charles Hughes III (plastic surgery)

Denise Johnson Miller (surgeon)

Martin Kaefer (urology)

Baron Kidd (pediatrics)

Robert Kinn M.D. (cardiac electrophysiology)

Charles Kinsella (pulmonology)

Frederick Lane (colon and rectal surgery)

G. Todd Lemmel (gastroenterology)

S. Chase Lottich (surgeon)

Jonathan Mandelbaum (surgeon)

Mary Lou Mayer (medical oncology)

David Moore, M.D.  (gynecologic cancer)

Dan Nordmann (pain management)

Jeffrey Peterson (family medicine)

David Pound (gastroenterology)

Ana Priscu (endocrinology)

Dawn Salvatore (vascular surgeon)

Juan Sanchez (pediatric endocrinology)

Bridget Sanders (colon and rectal surgery)

Richard Shea (cardiologist)

Barbara Sturm (dermatology)

James Thompson (medical oncology)

Jan Jansen (hematology)

Olaf Johansen (colon and rectal cancer)

Jeffery Pierson (orthopedic surgery)

G. Alan Von Stein M.D (obstetrics/gynecology)

U.S. News Media Group provides a free searchable directory available at www.usnews.com/top-doctors that lists nearly 30,000 peer-nominated physicians across the country.

More than 1,000 physicians are employed or have practice privileges at Franciscan St. Francis’ hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville.

Nearly 170 physicians are members of St. Francis Medical Group, a multidisciplinary team practicing in 46 groups throughout central Indiana. These physicians offer a variety of primary care and specialty care services and all practice at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

To learn more about St. Francis Medical Group, go to www.stfrancisdoctors.org.

‘Mammothon’ offers convenient breast cancer screenings, other services

INDIANAPOLIS – With early detection, diagnosis and treatment options, more patients are beating breast cancer. Yet, many women don’t seek annual mammography screenings for a variety of reasons.

Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis wants to make it more convenient for women. That’s why it’s sponsoring Mammothon, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 7.

The event will be held at the Breast Center area near entrance 5 at 8111 S. Emerson Ave.

In addition to mammograms and consultations with physicians and specialists, the hospital will provide free bone density, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings; free chair massages and skin care demonstrations by Lancóme Cosmetics; and refreshments and door prizes. Those scheduling a screening mammogram during the event will receive a free Vera Bradley® gift.

The mammograms are by appointment only and can be made by calling 855-837-8830. All major insurances are accepted.

For those who qualify, financial assistance is available through the Little Red Door Cancer Agency. Call 317-925-5595 for more information.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer occur annually in the United States. The survival rate has improved significantly because of mammogram screenings.

In addition to clinical exams, the ACS recommends that women 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should keep on doing so for as long as they are in good health.

Although regular mammograms can reduce breast cancer deaths by more than 30 percent, nearly one-third of eligible women do not get regular screenings.

To learn more about Mammothon, breast cancer and services available at St. Francis Cancer Center, go to www.mammothon.com.

St. Francis Hospital to open Breast Clinic Feb. 3

INDIANAPOLIS – The Breast Cancer Center of Excellence at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers will soon see patients in a new multidisciplinary clinic.

The Breast Clinic allows patients to be evaluated in one visit by physicians in specialties such as breast and reconstructive surgery, medical oncology and radiation oncology. These physicians also will consult with radiologists and pathologists to evaluate imaging exams, biopsies and surgical pathology reports.

“The goal of the breast clinic is to provide an easily accessible and streamlined avenue for evaluating patients with suspicious exam results or symptoms and, if necessary, develop a concise treatment plan for patients diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Kent Brumbaugh, executive director of St. Francis Cancer Center.

The clinic, which opens February 3, will be located at the offices of Denise Johnson Miller, M.D., director of the St. Francis Breast Surgery Program at 5255 E. Stop 11 Rd, Suite 250, and is open Wednesdays from 8 to 11:30 a.m. for scheduled appointments.

Nurse navigator Janice Leak, M.S.N., will coordinate patients’ schedules and consult with physicians to develop treatment plans. Patients and families seen in the clinic are an important part of developing an individual plan of care during their visit.

For scheduling information, contact Leak at 317-782-6704, or via e-mail at Janice.Leak @ssfhs.org.

More information about the St. Francis Cancer Center is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.

St. Francis-sponsored group offers support to breast cancer patients

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – There’s more to fighting cancer than good medicine and technology. That’s why St. Francis Cancer Center offers a well-designed support program to help breast cancer patients.

Designed for those with breast cancer, this group provides a safe place to share thoughts, feelings and gain practical information from others in similar situations at any treatment stage.

The group meets the first Monday of each month from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville, OB Classroom, 1201 Hadley Road. Their next meeting occurs Monday, July 6.

The sessions are offered free, however, registration is recommended. Caregivers are welcome.
To register, call 317-782-4422 or visit StFrancisHospitals.org/cancer for more information.

Nurse navigator will guide breast cancer patients through treatment

INDIANAPOLIS – Janice Leak, M.S.N., has been appointed as a nurse navigator at the St. Francis Breast Cancer Center of Excellence.

She will assist breast cancer patients and their families in coordinating diagnostic appointments and physician visits, help them manage their symptoms, provide education, make patients aware of clinical trial availability and very importantly, easing patient anxiety.

Leak is part St. Francis’ team of nurse navigators with other nurses assigned to help patients with colorectal and lung cancers. In 2006, she became St. Francis’ first nurse navigator, serving patients diagnosed with oral and head and neck cancers.

A resident of Indianapolis, Leak is a nurse practitioner and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Indiana University. She has held several positions in the 35 years she has worked at St. Francis, most notably as an oncology nurse and educator.

Leak has led and coordinated various cancer-related clinical, educational and patient support programs during her tenure at St. Francis.

She is on faculty for the nursing education program at Indiana Wesleyan University and has been a frequent lecturer at the University of Indianapolis and the IU School of Nursing. Leak also has held several leadership positions in the local chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society.

To learn more about the Cancer Services at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, go to http://stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.

New radiation therapy offers more effective, precise targeting of cancers

INDIANAPOLIS – Radiation therapy at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is being delivered in a revolutionary way, providing physicians with more options and flexibility to precisely treat cancerous tissue.

It’s called TomoTherapy®, and it uses thousands of radiation beamlets delivered continuously 360 degrees around the patient.

Designed and built in the Midwest, the TomoTherapy unit at St. Francis is the first in use in central Indiana. Tomo means “slice” and since cancer is diagnosed looking at every angle, treatment can be given precisely to every slice with the help of computer assisted tomography (CT) scans generated by the TomoTherapy machine.

"St. Francis has recognized the need to provide the most precise treatment planning and delivery capabilities,” said Peter Garrett, M.D., medical director of oncology at St. Francis. "In patients we have treated to date, our expectations have been exceeded in the amount of healthy tissue that we can spare and by the quickness of the treatments, leading to a more convenient experience for the patients.”

Patients are treated with a helical mode of delivery (360 degrees of continuous treatment) which results in maximum dose delivered to the cancer site while sparing normal structures.

Patients are scanned before each treatment to confirm accuracy and then are targeted similar to a CT scan. The initial scan takes about five minutes and treatments, which are painless, begin immediately after the scan.

During a patient’s six-to-eight weeks of treatment, many physical changes can occur. Tumors shrink, organs move in the body and patients can gain or lose weight. This means initial treatment plans may be changed during therapy.

To accommodate these physical changes TomoTherapy uses an adaptive planning system. Since the TomoTherapy planning system is part of the overall unit, adjustments can be made to the original plan during the overall course of therapy, ensuring radiation delivery to the cancer immediately.

TomoTherapy is a complete package of treatment planning software, quality assurance tools, image acquisition and treatment delivery. Since all the data is in one system and not transferred between multiple systems, there is less risk of error.

Types of cancers ideally treated with TomoTherapy are prostate, head and neck and the central nervous system and all cranial tumors. All have critical normal tissues that are necessary to avoid yet require high doses of radiation for adequate treatment.”

The first patient treated with TomoTherapy was in 2003. More than 100 units are now being installed worldwide, according to TomoTherapy officials

More information about the Cancer Care Services program at St. Francis is at http://stfrancishospitals.org/cancer and at http://stfranciscancercare360.org. To learn more about TomoTherapy, go to www.tomotherapy.com.