Key to the Cure supports CTRC
Saks donated a percentage of its store sales during the four days of shopping and 100 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of the 2013 Key to the Cure limited-edition T-shirt designed by Emilio Pucci.
Over the past four years, Saks has donated more than $70,000 to the CTRC to support breast cancer research and treatment. This year’s event was celebrated with a luncheon chaired by CTRC Board members Nancy Torgerson and Mertie Wood.
Saks presented three Key to the Cure awards in recognition of exemplary service. Award recipients were Pam Burdick, president of the Cancer Center Council; Lupita Martinez, LMSW, M.B.A., OSW-C, CTRC’s social worker; and Jessica McCray, RN, breast cancer survivor and neuro-oncology nurse at the CTRC.
Appointments and awards
George Crawford, M.D., MACP, professor of medicine and associate director of the Internal Medicine Program, was elected governor of the Southern Texas Region of the American College of Physicians (ACP). He will be installed as the governor-elect at the national ACP meeting in April 2014. Dr. Crawford is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease and has been a faculty member at the Health Science Center since 1997.
Carlos Roberto Jaén, M.D., Ph.D., FAAFP, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in October. Election to the IOM is one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Dr. Jaén is a family physician whose research on improving patient-centered care and community health has drawn international acclaim.
Leslie Myatt, Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research, was named a Fellow ad Eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists this fall in London, England. This prestigious designation is awarded to only five individuals per year who are not members of the college and have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the science or practice of obstetrics and gynecology.
Ronald M. Stewart, M.D., FACS, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, trauma surgeon at University Hospital, and physician with UT Health San Antonio, was appointed by the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as the next chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma. The committee is dedicated to all phases of injury care from prevention to rehabilitation.
Teamwork produces outstanding book for students, teachers
Working with David Baker, medical illustration supervisor in Creative Media Services, who has worked at the Health Science Center for 18 years, Dr. Weaker developed the book over the course of three years, but "the textbook represents the culmination of 38 years of professional school teaching," Dr. Weaker said. "The thought that through this book I could be influencing the education of students outside the walls of the Health Science Center is a wonderful sense of accomplishment."
Baker said he has had opportunities to work with faculty members on a few books at the Health Science Center during his tenure.
"Faculty members who write books go above and beyond the call of duty as they are also tasked with teaching, conducting research and providing clinical care. There are very few who are able to accomplish it," Baker said. "It’s quite an achievement for both the author and the artist to see a book published and available."
The 512-page book, published by F.A. Davis Company, was printed in September and is available for purchase at the Health Science Center bookstore and worldwide online.
Vulcan Funshoot celebrates 20 years
What is an endowment?
An endowment is the most lasting way to support the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health science universities.
An endowment is a permanent gift that provides one of the most secure sources of future revenue. It is a gift to the Health Science Center that is permanently invested and a steady stream of annual income is created every year to support a specific activity or program of the donor’s choice.
Endowments can be established to support student scholarships, recruit and retain distinguished faculty, provide lectureships or support world-class research.
The minimum gift amount level to establish an endowment is $10,000. Endowments can be funded in a variety of ways. Donors may choose to fund the endowment in its entirety or endowments may be pledged and paid out over a period of time up to five years. For example, an endowment at the $50,000 level may be created in installments of $10,000 per year for five years. Endowments may also be created through gifts of stock, a charitable trust or through a bequest in an estate plan.
An endowment is often named to recognize the donor, or to celebrate a loved one, a mentor, a colleague or a treasured friend. It is a thoughtful gift that creates a legacy of remembrance for you and your loved ones and makes a lasting, meaningful difference in the lives of others.
For more information or help with wording to create an endowment, contact Senior Director of Gift Planning Kent Hamilton at 210-567-5001 or Hamiltonw@uthscsa.edu.
Guiding Latinas to good health
It was like a small, round bean; solid and smooth. Jovita De Leon, 62, described the lump she felt in her left breast. Over time as it grew, she felt something else deep in the pit of her stomach - fear. It was enough to scare her into seeking a doctor.
Visits to the doctor were not common for De Leon who doesn’t have health insurance and whose income is limited by the number of sewing jobs she can get. She works as a seamstress out of her home on San Antonio’s West Side. Without a vehicle, transportation to a doctor’s office is problematic. But this time she needed to get there. "What if the lump was cancer?" she thought to herself. As a mother, grandmother and caretaker of her 94-year-old ill father, De Leon couldn’t afford to be sick. Her family needed her.
It took two weeks, but with help from her grown children and money from her job, De Leon was able to gather the $75 needed for a visit to the doctor. After her clinical exam, De Leon still didn’t have all the answers. She knew it was serious when the doctor told her it was urgent she get a mammogram.
"He even gave me my money back," De Leon said. The physician sent her home with a list of phone numbers for clinics that offered low-cost scans. Even with $75 and clinic phone numbers, De Leon, who only speaks Spanish, had problems communicating her needs over the phone and trouble saving the $300 needed for the test.
Months passed and De Leon began to feel sick and listless. She had fever and intense pain. After several failed attempts to secure a mammogram, her morale was shot.
It was the fall of 2011 and Thanksgiving was quickly approaching. On one of De Leon’s many sleepless nights, she saw an advertisement on television for an upcoming free health fair to be held in front of San Fernando Cathedral. It seemed to be De Leon’s last hope. So her daughter, Gabriela Benavides, drove her downtown the next day. They arrived at 7 a.m. But to their dismay, police officers were closing down the streets. A fire that ignited in a building nearby caused the cancellation of the fair. Discouraged, desperate and in pain, De Leon prayed for help and hope.
Study shows Latinas left behind
A national research study conducted by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) in the Long School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and the Redes En Acción: National Latino Cancer Research Network, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute, showed that the average time for Latinas’ to receive a definitive diagnosis of breast cancer was 60 days, compared with just 27 days for non-Hispanic white women. The study was published this year in the journal SpringerPlus.
Institute of Medicine member Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., who leads the Institute for Health Promotion Research in the Long School of Medicine, has spent more than 30 years directing programs focused on reducing chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Latinos in South Texas. She is the Dielmann Chair in Health Disparities Research and Community Outreach and the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Endowed Chair in Cancer Healthcare Disparities and Outreach at the CTRC.
"This lag time puts Latinas at greater risk of being diagnosed with larger tumors and more advanced-stage breast cancer. The delay can affect prognosis," said Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., who is an author on the study and director of the IHPR and Redes En Acción. "With cancer being the leading cause of Latino death, this study also signals a greater need for ethnically and culturally appropriate interventions to facilitate Latinas’ successful entry into, and progression through the cancer care system."
For De Leon, the time delay was much longer. It was an entire year after she first discovered the lump in her breast that she learned about a University Health System financial assistance program for Bexar County residents, signed up and received the referral for the diagnostic mammogram she needed.
By then, she could see the lump protruding through her skin. The imaging revealed several more tumors that had developed. A biopsy was the next step and she was put in touch with doctors at the University Health System mammography Center at the Cancer Therapy & Research Centers (CTRC) at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.
"As soon as I came to the CTRC, everything moved fast," De Leon said. Two days later, she underwent a seven-hour biopsy and finally received the news she’d waited so long for. De Leon had two types of cancer - invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ with focal micro-invasion. Invasive ductal carcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed breast cancer in women. It grows through the milk duct walls into the surrounding breast tissue and can spread to other parts of the body. Ductal carcinoma in situ is more contained, but is the precursor for invasive cancer.
Doctors told De Leon she’d need surgery immediately.
Two weeks before Christmas, on Dec. 9, 2011, De Leon underwent a complete mastectomy (surgical removal) of her left breast at University Hospital. Alfredo Santillan, M.D., performed the procedure. Dr. Santillan is a UT Health San Antonio surgical oncologist and assistant professor in the Long School of Medicine.
"My luck changed that day," De Leon said. "Dr. Santillan was very warm. He spoke to me in Spanish. He understood me. He was very kind and he saved me. I will always be grateful to him."
In addition to the care she received at the CTRC, De Leon was introduced to Guadalupe Cornejo - a woman she calls "mi ángel de la guardia," (my guardian angel). Cornejo is a patient navigator who works at the UT Health Science Center’s IHPR.
Patient Navigator Guadalupe Cornejo (left) pays a visit to patient Jovita De Leon at her home on the city’s West Side. Photo by Lester Rosebrock, Creative Media Services
Guiding patients to good health
Studies at the IHPR and its Redes En Acción network, led by Dr. Ramirez and her team, found that extra support for patients from trained patient navigators, like Cornejo, can lead to faster diagnosis and shorter time delays between an abnormal mammogram and definitive diagnosis - whether positive or negative for breast cancer - than those who did not receive navigation. Services provided by navigators include culturally sensitive support and help overcoming barriers related to transportation, child care, insurance, language and more.
"We’re now testing if patient navigation also can speed the lag time Latinas have from receiving that diagnosis to starting their treatment," Dr. Ramirez said. Her team includes Cornejo, Armida Flores, Arely Perez and National Study Coordinator Sandra San Miguel.
Cornejo follows up with De Leon on her doctor appointments, prescription renewals and connects her with accessible health care resources. Last year, Cornejo introduced De Leon to a community-based wellness center for women surviving cancer where she now receives counseling and participates in a support group for Spanish-speaking cancer survivors. There, De Leon was also fitted for a prosthesis and special bra, which she received at no cost.
"Jovita could have died if she hadn’t gotten help," Cornejo said. "She’s a strong woman. She just got lost in the system. I’m helping her find her way back."
De Leon said her future is brighter. "I feel loved and I have my self-esteem again. I learned that there are really good people out there who you can trust, who will listen to you and take good care of you. This is a very good program. There should be more like it."
For more information
Learn more about the Institute for Health Promotion Research and the patient navigator program at ihpr.uthscsa.edu. Visit the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at cancer.uthscsa.edu or call Sheri Ortiz at 210-450-5512.
Cliff Despres of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center, contributed to this story.
Model of excellence in women's health
What if that special woman in your life - your mother, grandmother, sister or friend - was sick? What if she needed a doctor, medication or a medical procedure to make her better?
Today, women make up almost half of the U.S. labor force. About 40 percent of all households with children under 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family. Single moms account for 8.6 million of those. And, grandmothers are more often becoming primary caregivers for the 1 in 10 children who live with a grandparent.
At The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, researchers and physicians understand the profound impact women have on our lives and society. That’s why women’s health care is a top priority.
The following pages illustrate just a few examples of how Health Science Center researchers, such as Leslie Myatt, Ph.D. (pictured left), and clinicians, like Ildiko Agoston, M.D. (right), are collaborating and leading efforts to enhance the care and services provided to women of all ages and backgrounds in San Antonio and South Texas.
Source: Pew Research Center
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In Memoriam: First president was innovator
The UT Health Science Center community, Texas and the nation lost a pioneer with the passing of Frank Harrison, M.D., Ph.D., on Aug. 9. He was 99. As the first president of the Health Science Center, Dr. Harrison paved the foundation for a strong faculty and administration and positioned the university as a model of excellence in education and research.
Soon after The University of Texas System Board of Regents named Dr. Harrison as president on Nov. 4, 1972, he named deans for the Long School of Medicine and Dental School of the Health Science Center and established the institution’s Executive Committee. During the 1970s, a $3 million laboratory animal resources area was completed as part of a $15 million School of Medicine expansion project and the Board of Regents authorized plans for a $9.5 million library building.
The School of Nursing and Dental School buildings were constructed and dedicated. Dr. Harrison oversaw the transfer of the School of Nursing from the UT System into the Health Science Center, and presided over the establishment of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Allied Health Sciences (now the School of Health Professions). He also launched the Health Science Center Development Board. It was a time of tremendous growth, and Dr. Harrison’s graceful leadership always accentuated the positive.
The Health Science Center, at its establishment, enrolled 500 students, employed 1,000 faculty and staff, and conducted sponsored research of $3 million. By September 1984, upon Dr. Harrison’s retirement, the Health Science Center enrolled more than 2,300 students, employed more than 3,000 faculty and staff, and conducted sponsored research of $32 million.
Prior to his presidency at the Health Science Center, Dr. Harrison pursued a long and distinguished career of service within the UT System, notably at UT Southwestern, where he was associate dean of graduate studies. In 1966, UT System Chancellor Harry Ransom asked Dr. Harrison to launch the graduate program at UT Arlington. Within two years, Dr. Harrison had established six graduate departments approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Named president in Arlington in 1968, he fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and openness while demonstrating the desirable ability to run a tight ship. He was a detailed and skilled administrator who worked behind the scenes in advance of official actions to ensure their success.
Dr. Harrison was born on Nov. 21, 1913. The son of a Dallas neurologist, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Southern Methodist University and studied for two years at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. at Northwestern University.
UT Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, said Dr. Harrison’s legacy of innovation and collaboration in education and research helped mold the university into the success it is today. "Dr. Harrison will be remembered and appreciated for generations to come," Dr. Henrich said.
Center for Excellence in Women’s Health launched
Experience, collaboration and support fuel new center
"Women are at the core of our lives and world," said Leslie Myatt, Ph.D.
For nearly 40 years, Dr. Myatt has dedicated his life to reproductive science and women’s health care. He focuses on applying basic bench research to clinical problems and translating his findings into better ways to diagnose and prevent diseases and disorders that plague women.
His passion stems partly from observing many of the strong women in his life. He describes his mother, aunts and two grandmothers as being determined and influential, yet sensitive and supportive of their spouses and family. As a young boy growing up in Yorkshire, England, Dr. Myatt remembers helping his family care for his paternal grandmother when she was diagnosed with diabetes, and his maternal grandmother during her final days battling bladder cancer.
Today, Dr. Myatt sees the same determination and support from his wife, Angela Elizabeth Myatt, with whom he has two children, George, 25, and Louise, 20. Angela earned her Master of Science in Information Science degree from the City University in London. She is an expert in information retrieval, teaches evidence-based medicine and serves as the curriculum liaison librarian for the School of Medicine at the Health Science Center.
Dr. Myatt said his wife has been the pillar holding their family together during some of their toughest storms. "Angela has single-handedly dealt with family crises during my frequent work-related absences, and even kept the children safe during two actual tornadoes and a hurricane that hit when I was out of town."
In 2008 while Dr. Myatt was in Austria attending a research conference, the powerful remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through Cincinnati, where they lived at the time, leaving behind a trail of destruction. "When I got home, there was a huge tree lying across our yard and driveway. Angela had taken care of our children and our home through it all. She is amazing," he said.
Myatt on a mission
Motivated by his family philosophy and insatiable quest for new scientific knowledge, Dr. Myatt is on a mission to help solve some of the most vexing problems affecting women today. In the process, he intends to help provide new opportunities for women scientists and physicians to lead these critical efforts.
"We still do not know what causes preterm labor or preeclampsia. These problems affect a vast number of women worldwide and have a tremendous emotional, societal and economic impact. These are just two areas where we have a lot of work to do."
Dr. Myatt is professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research. He came to the Health Science Center after serving as a faculty member for 22 years at the University of Cincinnati where he directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Physician Scientist Training Program and the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Scholars Program.
"Pregnancy is where life begins for the child and is a critical time in the life of the mother," Dr. Myatt said. "It’s like a mapping system or computer programming, determining the future course of health for both the mother and child."
Dr. Myatt likened pregnancy to a "stress test" for the mother. "If a woman fails the stress test because she develops gestational diabetes or hypertension, that means she needs careful and regular follow up during and after she gives birth and, importantly, throughout the rest of her life." Failure of the stress test, Dr. Myatt said, could be the signal for a host of other disorders that the mother and child could develop in the future, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, cancer, diabetes or psychiatric or mood disorders.
Dr. Myatt and his research team study how genes interact with environmental factors such as pollutants, lifestyle, diet, stress, and disease during pregnancy, and affect the mother and child. They also study how the placenta regulates fetal growth and development as it supplies nutrients to the fetus. When the placenta is compromised by the environment inside or outside the womb, preterm birth can also occur. Dr. Myatt said that children born prematurely face serious and sometimes lifelong health problems.
Dr. Myatt has published more than 220 research papers in his field and has a long history of funding from the NIH.
Endowment opens window
This year, Dr. Myatt was named the holder of the Quincy and Estine Lee Endowment, funded by a gift from the Estate of Estine M. Lee and a matching gift from Francisco González-Scarano, M.D., dean of the Long School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs. Dr. Myatt also was named the director of the newly created Center for Excellence in Women’s Health at the Health Science Center.
"The generosity of the Estine M. Lee Estate and the decision to create the center shows a strong commitment by this institution and the community to women’s health. It opened a window of opportunity for us to excel in this area," Dr. Myatt said. "Women comprise 50 percent of the patients we see throughout our Health Science Center and UT Medicine clinics.
Dr. Myatt explained that the national decline in federal funding for research and education that began several years ago triggered the closing of many centers for women’s health across the country, including the closing in 2007 of the center that had been established at the Health Science Center.
"It is time to rejuvenate and expand our efforts and attract additional funding," Dr. Myatt said. "A new dynamic center in women’s health here on our campus will re-establish us as having the only center of this kind in Texas."
Connecting and collaborating
The new Center for Excellence in Women’s Health will be a multidisciplinary, coordinated effort by multiple departments and community partners to connect, consolidate and advance all aspects and efforts of women’s health care, research, education, leadership and community service the Health Science Center offers.
A large portion of research conducted across the various schools concentrates on women’s health. Obvious areas include perinatology and gynecology. Dr. Myatt said the center will work to identify and emphasize additional research opportunities in areas that may not be so obvious but that affect large number of women. Obesity, diabetes, depression, cardiovascular disease and cancer are some of those.
"Furthermore, San Antonio is notable for its predominantly Hispanic population and significant military presence. These present unique opportunities for us to bring researchers together to strengthen existing programs and develop new discoveries that benefit these groups," Dr. Myatt said.
Health care partners such as University Health System, the South Texas Veterans Health Care System and the network of researchers across the nation, who are connected by the university’s Clinical Translational Science Award, will make valuable contributions. An advisory board, including community leaders, will help guide the center’s efforts.
Umbrella for growth
UT Health San Antonio, the clinical practice of the Long School of Medicine at the Health Science Center, offers comprehensive care for women of all ages. Most recently, UT Medicine created the Women’s Comprehensive Health Institute at its Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC). The institute serves as a one-stop destination where women can achieve annual health care assessments in one place on one single day.
Dr. Myatt said that under the umbrella of the Center for Excellence in Women’s Health, the new institute and other clinical programs will benefit from access to new community outreach efforts such as health fairs that invite women to participate in clinical and research programs offered by the university. Women’s health research seminars and annual symposiums are also planned.
"All of these programs working together enhance our research and clinical enterprises," Dr. Myatt said.
Through curriculum expansion and career development, fellowship and mentoring programs, Dr. Myatt said the center will also focus on increasing the number of female faculty, students and fellows participating in women’s health activities and increase the number of women faculty at the university overall. He said grant applications for funding support are underway.
Philanthropy crucial to success
Because the NIH and other state and federal funding sources have remained relatively flat for the past few years, Dr. Myatt said funding from private donors and foundationsis crucial to the success of the center.
"The generosity of donors like the Estine M. Lee Estate has given us the start. Now we hope the community will join with us to continue our momentum," he said.
One group that will help advocate for the center is the Council for Excellence in Women’s Health. Mary Henrich, wife of Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., co-chairs the council with Graciela Cigarroa, wife of Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., chancellor of The University of Texas System. They lead a group of more than 100 influential women community leaders from San Antonio and South Texas who volunteer and serve on the council.
The goal of the council, which was formed in 2007, is to improve the physical and mental health of women in San Antonio by building awareness for women’s health issues. Through various outreach activities, they promote a greater understanding and need for support of women’s health care programs and initiatives.
Since its establishment, the council has raised $84,000 (including matching funds from the President's Council), and has provided more than 32 scholarships to students enrolled in the five schools at the Health Science Center.
"I am excited and honored to be able to work with so many talented individuals at the university and partners in our community toward elevating women’s health care, research, education and outreach in this city," Dr. Myatt said.
"The Center for Excellence in Women’s Health is an opportunity that everyone can and should be a part of, and one for which everyone will greatly benefit in the long run."
Women’s liberation: Doctor relieves disconcerting disorders
When a woman has the sort of problem that’s usually not discussed, she can find deep knowledge and a sympathetic ear in Elizabeth Casiano, M.D.
A fellowship-trained urogynecologist with UT Health Physicians, Dr. Casiano has extensive training and experience treating conditions that affect female pelvic organs and the muscles and connective tissues supporting them. These conditions include urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, when one or more pelvic organs slip downward from their normal position.
A woman might be embarrassed to tell anyone - even her physician - that she’s having such a problem. Still more common, Dr. Casiano said, is seeing women who have waited years to be evaluated because they thought their difficulties were a normal part of aging.
"They think it’s something they have to live with as they get older," said Dr. Casiano, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. "A lot of older patients have stopped doing things because this is interfering. They really want to get back to their activities, the things they used to enjoy."
Women should not feel alone in having these problems. Up to 40 percent of women will have enough symptoms of urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse to merit medical evaluation and treatment, which usually brings significant relief.
The specialty was a natural fit for Dr. Casiano, who arrived in San Antonio as a child due to her father’s military service. He is also a gynecologist, and by the time she attended Incarnate Word High School, she knew that she wanted to be a physician, too. "I always give my dad credit for that because I used to go around with him on the weekend," Dr. Casiano said. "He loved his job, and I was inspired by that."
She went to Brown University, where she completed an eight-year combined program in liberal medical education. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2000 and her medical degree in 2004.
From there, Dr. Casiano went to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for residency and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for a fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. She joined UT Medicine in 2011 and is one of two fellowship-trained urogynecologists in San Antonio.
"We are thrilled to have Dr. Casiano on our faculty and seeing patients of UT Medicine," said Mark Funk, M.D., medical director of the UT Medicine obstetrics and gynecology clinic, located at the Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC). "The expertise she brings for the care of women with the most complicated pelvic organ prolapse and urinary problems is extraordinary. She is able to greatly improve the lives of women suffering from symptoms of these pelvic conditions."
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Casiano or other UT Medicine obstetricians or gynecologists, call 210-450-9500.