COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sponsored - Could a cancer diagnosis be in your future? A new program at OhioHealth aims to help people answer that question and give them tools to either catch potential cancers in their early stages – or keep cancer from becoming part of their life story.
The OhioHealth High Risk Cancer Clinic is designed for those at increased risk of cancer due to a family history of the disease, known genetic mutations or certain medical conditions. The high-risk clinic is a one-stop setting for personalized risk assessment, prevention and intervention.
“Our goal is to educate patients to understand their cancer risk based on their family and personal history and empower them to choose the best options for lowering that risk,” says Bushra Siddiqi, MD, medical director of the High Risk Cancer Clinic. Dr. Siddiqi says OhioHealth’s new program is unique because while many centers have high-risk breast cancer clinics, only few provide care for patients at high risk for other cancers, too. This specialized clinic will also provide long term follow up of high risk individuals.
“There is a need to increase cancer risk awareness in order to reduce the cancer burden in the population,” she says.
OhioHealth offers the high-risk clinic at three sites -- OhioHealth Arthur G.H. Bing Cancer Center, Dublin Cancer Center and OhioHealth Grant Medical Center. The clinic will focus on risk of breast, ovarian, prostate, pancreatic and colon cancers and more. Each patient seen at the clinic will get a cancer risk analysis with a personalized prevention and surveillance plan based on a thorough review of family history and personal medical history. The program leverages the expertise of OhioHealth’s certified genetic counselors by providing access to same day genetic counseling and testing, Dr. Siddiqi says.
The clinic also helps patients weigh preventive options, such as risk-reducing surgeries or medication, and connects them with surgeons and other specialists to provide comprehensive care. She encourages women who have been diagnosed with pre-malignant breast lesions to consider taking medications like tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors that can lower their risk of developing breast cancer considerably.
The clinic’s integrative medicine component supports and empowers patients through disciplines such as dietetics, acupuncture, massage and social services and prepares them to take steps to reduce their risks. As an example, Dr. Siddiqi says being overweight is clearly linked to many types of cancers, in particular breast cancer; a recent study shows that low fat dietary intervention and achieving ideal BMI can reduce breast cancer mortality.
Dr. Siddiqi urges women and their families to be aware of factors that put them at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, including those who received chest wall radiation for Hodgkin’s lymphoma under the age of 30 and those of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry who are at increased risk for being carriers of certain gene mutation that can increase the risk of not only breast cancer, but pancreatic and prostate cancers too.
"The field of genomics is advancing so quickly, and it can be difficult for clinicians to keep up with the evolving and changing recommendations in the field of high risk care,” Dr. Siddiqi says.
Patients who otherwise would be faced with random bits of information about their probability of getting cancer now can gain a broad and thorough understanding of their individualized risks and preventive options. “A lot of times I feel like these patients are lost due to lack of specialized services in this field. Here, they can be followed under one umbrella,” Dr. Siddiqi says.
To request an appointment at the high-risk clinic, call 614-566-1600. To learn more about OhioHealth Cancer Care, click here.
