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SAVING LIVES
Whether small and large, North Carolina’s heart and cancer centers are on the cutting edge and patients reap the benefits.
Former New Bern Mayor Dana Outlaw says it was a stroke of luck that his son Adam was with him on Aug. 28, 2022, when he had a massive heart attack in his backyard.
Adam Outlaw performed CPR to keep his dad breathing and his heart beating until the EMS stabilized him and transported him to CarolinaEast Health Center, where he landed in the capable hands of emergency doctors and cardiologists.
Outlaw believes a miracle placed Adam there.
“My son was heading to the beach to do some surfing, but conditions weren’t favorable, so he turned around and came home,” says Outlaw, 70. “One minute we were talking, and the next minute I passed out.”
At the hospital, doctors discovered a blockage caused by plaque. Outlaw was admitted for surgery to install stents in one of the arteries in his heart. He credits the speedy response from his son, paramedics and cardiologists for saving his life.
“I was dead for three minutes until my son revived me, and when I got to the hospital everyone was in place and ready to treat me,” says Outlaw. “The heart attack happened at 4 p.m., and by 11 p.m. they had finished.”
He remained in the hospital for seven days following the procedure, and today, he’s living a full life.
Dr. Alex Kirby was the surgeon who helped treat Outlaw.
“We adjusted some of his medications, and he went home,” Kirby says. “He’s maintained a healthy lifestyle and is back to his normal activities.”
Outlaw’s survival is just one example of the life-saving capabilities at CarolinaEast and in heart centers across the state.
Kirby, a Durham native, is an
interventional cardiologist at CarolinaEast, and has recently assumed an administrative role with the hospital.
He has been a part of the 55-year-old health care system for more than 20 years.
Dubbed “ultra-modern” when it opened as Craven County Hospital in 1963, the 21st century CarolinaEast Medical Center is a 350-bed, multi-facility health care provider serving the coastal Carolina region. Today, the award-winning medical center serves four rural counties – Jones, Pamlico, Craven and Onslow.
“We have three offices located here in New Bern, in Morehead City and Jacksonville, with 15 cardiologists and about a dozen advanced practice practitioners,” Kirby says.
High tech heart monitor
From boots-on-the-ground lifesaving emergency treatment to high tech preventive medicine, many hospitals with advanced cardiovascular care deploy the Cardiomems HF System, a treatment option that allows physicians to monitor their patients’ heart function remotely.
“The Cardiomems HF System is a game changer for heart failure patients,” says Dr. Sun Moon Kim, an interventional cardiologist at the FirstHealth Cardiology Reid Heart Center in Pinehurst.
Doctors place a sensor the size of a paper clip directly into a patient’s pulmonary artery during a minimally invasive procedure, and when it’s combined with a home monitoring unit, patients can take daily measurements of pulmonary artery pressure.
The device measures the fluid pressure in the lungs, and when that pressure increases, heart failure symptoms usually follow, Kim says.
“That’s an early sign of worsening heart failure,” he says. “Using the Cardiomems device reduces the number of clinic visits for our patients, and we can treat them using telemedicine in the comfort of their own homes.”
Studies show the Cardiomems HF System helps lower mortality rates and improves quality of life.
“This is just one more tool FirstHealth keeps on hand to provide cardiac care,” Kim says. “There’s still room to grow, but I’m comfortable in saying we’ve always been one of the forward-facing leaders in community medicine.”
FirstHealth also touts its cardio oncology program, launched in Spring 2024 at its new Cancer Center in Pinehurst, where cardiologist Dr. Rony Shammas is helping patients understand the harmful cardiac side effects of chemotherapy, targeted therapies and radiation to treat cancer, and assessing patients who have known heart disease or other risk factors.
“The cardio-oncology service shifts the role of the cardiologist from just treating cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy to focusing on prevention, early diagnosis, and early intervention in a dedicated and patient-centric environment,” Shammas said in a hospital-produced interview.
Dr. Kris Swiger, a cardiologist at Novant Health in Wilmington, launched that hospital’s cardio oncology program six years ago. Cancer patients inspire him with their determination and he devotes his career to keeping their hearts healthy.
“In our seven-county market, we have about 2,000 new cancer diagnoses a year at the Novant Health Zimmer Cancer Institute,” he says.
“I help patients with cardiovascular
risk factors or preexisting heart disease that chemotherapy drugs may worsen.”
Jeff Soukup, director of Novant’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Wellness Heart Center, runs an intense cardiac rehab program directed toward cancer patients to help with the frailty, muscle loss and lack of endurance that comes with cancer treatment.
Last year, the Zimmer Cancer Institute launched a 12-week cardiac rehab program for cancer patients.
Cardio-Oncology Rehab – or CORE – aims to prevent or lessen heart damage, and helps cancer survivors regain their stamina, endurance and confidence.
“The idea is to provide an exercise program that will help cancer patients maintain or improve their cardio-respiratory fitness along with their muscular strength,” Soukup says.
Besides taking a tailored biometric exercise program, two 90-minute sessions a week teach participants healthy habits. There’s also peer support from other cancer patients. Soukup says many patients don’t want to leave after their program ends, and often continue for both the health benefits and camaraderie.
“Patients walk alongside other people in similar situations and have group support,” Soukup says. “While the program improves their fitness levels, they appreciate the interplay they have with each other and the feeling of being connected.”
Swiger reckons the cardio oncology program has served at least 120 patients a year for the past seven years and has made a significant impact.
“The intensive cardiac rehab program’s most powerful motivator is just helping patients feel better at the end of their 12 weeks, and I can’t think of anything that’s more important than that,” he says.
Meeting young patients
where they are
At the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at
UNC Chapel Hill, young people
with cancer are receiving treatment tailored to their unique needs.
Inspired by the dying wish of a 15-year-old cancer patient, the UNC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program was launched in 2015, leading the nation in revolutionizing the supportive care of adolescents and young adults.
Sophie Steiner of Chapel Hill was
13 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was treated by pediatric oncologists but felt that wasn’t a good fit for her in an environment where the patients were much younger.
“Before she died, she told her parents that she wished resources were available for programs to help young cancer patients bridge the divide between those two worlds,” says Dr. Andrew Smitherman, medical director for the UNC Lineberger Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program.
“To honor Sophie, her parents, Nicholas and Lucy Steiner, launched the Be Loud! Sophie Foundation to transform care and support for adolescents and young adults with cancer,” Smitherman added.
In 2023, the Be Loud! Center for Young Adult Cancer Care, a new outpatient clinic for adults ages 18 to 39 opened on the third floor of the N.C. Basnight Cancer Hospital in Chapel Hill.
Catherine Swift, a social worker with the AYA program, says young cancer patients need the type of support that is tailored to them as individuals.
“Sometimes it’s just about spending time talking about things like fertility preservation or family planning or losing their hair or what it’s like to feel isolated from your peers and to not be able to go to prom,” Swift says.
The AYA program is also connected to a variety of nonprofit organizations, foundations and groups that provide programs like creative writing workshops, or outdoor trips, including hiking and kayaking.
“These activities help young cancer patients channel their thoughts and relearn how to trust their bodies after dealing with something so intense and disruptive as a cancer diagnosis,” Swift says.
The AYA program sees about 150 patients a year, according to Smitherman.
“It’s about trying to meet patients, their families and support networks where they are, and walk them through a tough time,” he says.
Local cyclotron
Doctors at Atrium Health Levine Cancer recently welcomed a state-of-the-art compact cyclotron accelerator for proton therapy. This 15-ton piece of equipment will power proton beam therapy at the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Proton & Advanced Radiation Center. It comes online this fall.
Proton beam therapy targets radiation precisely to a tumor, leaving the areas around it unharmed.
“This is a big deal for certain populations of patients, especially children who are at risk for issues caused by radiation to organs not impacted by cancer,” says Dr. Roshan Prabhu, the center’s director.
The dedicated Proton & Advanced Radiation Center, built in 2023, began delivering unique cutting-edge technologies, including gamma knife radiosurgery, a highly focused treatment for patients with certain brain tumors last January.
The Center also houses radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive drugs delivered through veins that focus on certain internal cancer cells. This fall, physicians will deploy the cyclotron to deliver proton therapy.
There are fewer than 50 units like this in the United States, and when all services are available to patients, the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Proton and Advanced Radiation Center will be the only location offering proton therapy treatments between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
“This technology will add to the Levine Cancer Center’s reputation as a world class cancer institution,’ Prabhu says.
Community hospitals consolidate cancer care
Two hospitals in eastern North Carolina have been expanding their cancer care services and recently consolidated them under one roof.
In New Bern, CarolinaEast Medical Center is now offering cutting-edge cancer treatments at its SECU Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Our medical oncology practice was located across town from the hospital,” says Dr. Seth Miller, medical director of clinical research and chief of medical staff. “For the last decade, the medical community has been striving to put all cancer services in one location.”
The facility opened in January 2020.
“We are by no means an academic center, but we continue to educate ourselves and stay at the forefront of science,” Miller says. “These efforts contribute to our strong reputation and are a big part of our success.”
Ronnie Sloan, president of Outer Banks Health in Nags Head, recalls a time not so long ago that there was no hospital along the Outer Banks. Patients had to drive to Elizabeth City or Norfolk, Virginia for treatment. The drive often took more than an hour.
“If there was an accident, people were transported all that way in the backs of ambulances, and sometimes even station wagons or whatever else they could find to take them,” says Sloan. “Moms would deliver babies literally on the side of the road when they couldn’t make it to the hospital in time.”
The Outer Banks Hospital opened in 2002 but was re-named Outer Banks Health in 2022. The full-service community hospital offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient services. As the Outer Banks population grew, the hospital grew along with it.
“We started with about 150 employees and today have over 500,” Sloan says.
Last January, Outer Banks Health opened the Carol S. and Edward D. Cowell Jr. Cancer Center, a 15,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility made possible through the collaboration of Outer Banks Health, ECU Health, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare and support from the Outer Banks community, which raised $6.5 million.
“We do a lot of community outreach including free cancer screenings, giving us the opportunity to connect with our residents and give back,” Sloan says. “We do about 5,000 mammograms a year and about 400 lung screenings, and in a place like the Outer Banks, where there are limited facilities, spending time and effort preventing cancer or catching it early is important.”
Before opening the cancer center, patients had to visit multiple departments all over the hospital and even across the street to receive their treatments. In 2015, the hospital began the process of consolidation and bought land across the street to build the new cancer center.
The facility features 10 infusion areas, four medical oncology exam rooms and two radiation oncology exam rooms.
“Just because we’re a small community hospital doesn’t mean we can’t do important work,” Sloan says. ■
— Teri Saylor is a freelance writer in Raleigh.