Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month – New Treatment Advances at Penn

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer affects 1 in 57 women in the United States and two thirds of those diagnosed are age 55 or older. The fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, diagnosis is often made after the disease has progressed since there are typically no distinct symptoms in its early stages. The symptoms often associated with ovarian cancer include abdominal or pelvic pain, bloating, difficulty eating/feeling full quickly and urinary urgency or frequency. Penn Medicine is making the prevention, early detection, and treatment of ovarian cancer a priority.

Penn Medicine researchers are working every day to create new therapies and increase each woman’s chance for a cure. The Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC) is developing new approaches to treating ovarian cancer to improve survival rates and enable women affected by this disease to live a better quality of life.

The OCRC utilizes personalized immunotherapy, which is an innovative treatment approach using the patient’s own tumor to derive cancer vaccines and cell–based therapeutics. The OCRC is currently enrolling patients in three phase I/II clinical trials for patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

Learn more:
Gynecologic oncology services at Penn Medicine
Personalized immunotherapy
Clinical trials being done at Penn Medicine

Penn Medicine in Your Community

This fall, look for Penn Medicine at events throughout the Philadelphia region.

Do you live near Valley Forge? Visit Penn Medicine's Fall Fair on Saturday, September 22nd.
Live close to Woodbury, NJ? Stop by the Penn Medicine Woodbury Heights area at the First Annual Woodbury Fall Arts Fest on Saturday, September 29th.
A little closer to Radnor? Join Penn Medicine Radnor for the 35th Annual Radnor Run on Sunday, October 28th.

To learn more about where you can find Penn Medicine in your community and what free screenings will be offered at each event, visit the links below.

• Penn Medicine Valley Forge Fall Fair
• Woodbury Fall Arts Fest
• Penn Medicine Radnor Run

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, there is a vast array of treatments available for those who develop prostate cancer.

Penn's Abramson Cancer Center has access to every treatment option for prostate cancer. When a patient comes to the Abramson Cancer Center, the individual prostate cancer is assessed by a multidisciplinary team of physicians specializing in urology, radiation oncology and medical oncology. Abramson Cancer Center experts come together to ensure that patients receive the treatment that is best suited for their individual case. Treatment options include but are not limited to:

• Active surveillance (sometimes called “watchful waiting”) 
• Radiation therapy, including proton therapy at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center 
• Radical prostatectomy, including robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery 
• Cryosurgery 

Through research, Penn's Abramson Cancer Center collaborates with Penn Radiation Oncology and Penn Urology to advance treatments for prostate cancer and find ways to combat the disease.

Learn more about prostate cancer care at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center at PennMedicine.org/prostatecancer 

Find out about proton therapy - the world's most advanced radiation treatment

Penn Dermatology Practice Opens at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

Penn Dermatology has opened a new practice at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. The recently renovated office is located in the Medical Arts Building, Suite 106.

Marie Urberti-Benz, MD and Douglas J. Pugliese, MD see patients at this new location. Dr. Urberti-Benz has provided dermatologic care to patients at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for several years. Dr. Pugliese is new to the practice and has a clinical focus in general dermatology and wound care. He is currently accepting new patients.

Penn Dermatology physicians are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of skin, hair and nail disorders as well as cosmetic and aesthetic services. The dermatologists, dermatologic surgeons and dermatopathologists diagnose and treat patients with a full spectrum of dermatologic conditions as well as rare skin conditions.

Learn more:
Dermatology services at Penn Medicine
Dr. Pugliese 

Penn Cardiology Now in Somers Point

World-class heart care is now available in a new South Jersey location. Penn Medicine’s new cardiology practice in Somers Point Brings some of the region’s most renowned heart specialists to the residents of southeastern Atlantic and northern Cape May counties. The physicians at Penn Cardiology Somers Point offer the highest level of cardiac care with access to the expertise, resources and research available only from Penn Medicine.

The full range of cardiovascular services available at Penn Cardiology Somers Point includes:

• Consultative cardiology
• Echocardiography
• Long-term electrocardiographic monitoring
• MUGA scans (heart function assessment)
• Stress echocardiography
• Stress and pharmacologic nuclear stress testing
• Vascular testing

Practicing cardiologists at Penn Cardiology Somers Point:

• David Arluck,  MD
• Katherine Dowd, MD
• Steven E. Kornberg, MD
• Jacob L. Levin, MD, FAAC
• Beth Wolfson, APNC

See a full list of Penn Cardiology community locations

For more information or to schedule an appointment with a Penn cardiac physician, please call 800-789-PENN.

Now at Penn: Gamma Knife® Perfexion™

Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ is the latest form of precision radiation therapy for treating cancer. This non-surgical treatment uses 192 sources of radiation to precisely target tumors, lesions and other intracranial structures.
Radiation therapy damages cancer cells and tumors, preventing them from multiplying. The Gamma Knife was developed in 1968 and primarily used to treat intractable pain and movement disorders. Compared with earlier Gamma Knife versions, Perfexion offers an expanded reach for treating metastasis anywhere in the brain and can also treat multiple locations in a single session.
Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ is one of a full range of treatment options for benign, malignant and metastatic cancer that Penn Medicine offers patients in the Philadelphia region. Currently, Penn Neurosurgery treats as many as 300 patients in the Penn Gamma Knife Center—the most of any hospital in the Philadelphia region.

Learn more:

• Gamma Knife® Perfexion™
• Penn Neuro Surgery

Beyond Breast Reconstruction: 3-D Areola Tattooing

As a leader in breast reconstruction, Penn Plastic Surgery offers comprehensive services for women at every stage of the breast reconstruction process, from the initial surgery to nipple reconstruction and tattooing.

Breast reconstruction is a surgical procedure to recreate the shape and appearance of a woman’s breast. Most commonly, the procedure is done as part of a mastectomy – surgical removal of the entire breast as treatment for breast cancer.

Plastic surgeons perform two types of breast reconstruction. Implant reconstruction uses breast implants or tissue expanders to recreate the shape and appearance of the breast. Autologous tissue reconstruction uses tissue from the belly, back or thighs to reconstruct the breast. Although autologous tissue reconstruction is more extensive, it can provide an emotional benefit for women looking to use their own tissue to reconstruct their breast and is often performed at the same time as the mastectomy.

After breast reconstruction, many women choose to have nipple reconstruction, including nipple tattooing. Nipple tattooing, or micropigmentation, re-pigments the area to make it look more realistic.

Nipple tattooing is performed by Mandy Sauler, a micropigmentation specialist in  plastic surgery at Penn Medicine. Sauler is a skilled tattoo artist who specializes in 3-D nipple tattoos along with tattoos for other cosmetic purposes. Working for more than a decade as a tattoo artist, Sauler now focuses on permanent cosmetics and micropigmentation. She is board certified by the American Academy of Micropigmentation, and is a member of the Society of Permanent Cosmetics.

Schedule an appointment with Penn Plastic Surgery

Learn more about breast reconstruction