Innovative technique to fight Lymphedema launched in Kelowna on World Cancer Day

When Meghan Kreuger discovered a lump successful her bosom connected Boxing Day 2018, she was shocked.

“When I felt that lump I conscionable got that pit successful my stomach,” the now-40-year aged North Okanagan pistillate said.

Days later, her worst fearfulness was confirmed by a doc — she had an assertive signifier of cancer.

“I thought that was it for me, ” Kreuger told Global News. “My archetypal absorption was americium I going to dice and past I thought of my girl and past I thought astir my husband.”

Kreuger, who is simply a paramedic,  had invasive country to region some of her breasts, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of her lymph nodes.

She besides received aggravated attraction astatine the crab session successful Kelowna.

“I spent a full of 28 days present receiving radiation,” she said.

While her prognosis is present good, had she been diagnosed today, she whitethorn person not had to acquisition a treble mastectomy owed to attraction advancements.

Those advancements and B.C.’s archetypal surgical oncology probe programme launched  past autumn successful Kelowna are being highlighted connected this World Cancer Day.

“We tin connection treatments that precise apt they’re going to person a antithetic result due to the fact that of improvements successful crab surgery, the radiation treatments and the aesculapian treatments that we have,” said Dr. Chris Baliski, a surgical oncologist present heading up the probe program.

The newest aesculapian attraction being implemented astatine BC Cancer successful Kelowna coincides with World Cancer Day.

It involves a caller process to trim a information called Lymphedema which is swelling that tin hap aft lymph nodes are removed.

“The anticipation is that possibly we could instrumentality the chances of swelling successful the extremity down from astir 30 per cent to 10 per cent,” Baliski said. “This is an innovative method that’s typically being offered successful large centers specified arsenic Toronto and Vancouver, and present we’re bringing this to Kelowna successful the Interior.”

Trending Now

Baliski said caller attraction options, specified arsenic the Lymphedema procedure, being offered are besides helping amended prime of beingness for crab patients.

“It tin really impact however they unrecorded time to day. It tin impact golfing…day-to-day things that 1 does. If they’re a runner, possibly they can’t tally anymore,” Baliski said. “These are truly important things that we privation radical to unrecorded well, and if we tin bash thing to forestall that, I deliberation we request to bash everything we can.”

Baliski said important strides are continuously being made to assistance dainty the astir 40 percent of Canadians expected to combat crab astatine immoderate constituent successful their life, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

“Survivorship is improving and we tin expect patients to bash better,” Baliski said. “Each twelvemonth determination are improvements successful outcomes, and there’s tons of reasons for optimism.”

Despite her invasive surgery, Kreuger said she is  grateful to beryllium live with a renewed outlook connected life.

“It changed the mode I look astatine things, changed my compassion  for people,” she said “It changed everything.”