Cancer support group formed

Local residents who have had their lives invaded by cancer now have a place to go for support.

When Teresa Davenport was recovering from stage three melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, she said that she wished that Fort Scott had a cancer support group for her to become a part of. Four years later, she is finally feeling well enough to take on the challenge of starting the group herself.

The cancer support group, which met for the second time on Saturday, is important, Davenport said, because there are many cases of cancer in the Fort Scott area.

At Saturday's meeting, Boban Mathew, a hematologist and oncologist from Pittsburg, educated the group about several cancer survialship issues in addition to enlightening those assembled about the findings of the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council's recommendations concerning cancer.

According to Mathew, cancer is the second leading cause of death, with heart disease being the leading cause. However, Mathew said that the rate of deaths due to heart disease is dropping. If it continues to drop, cancer will soon become the number one cause of death in the United States.

In the state of Kansas alone, there will be an estimated 12,760 new cases of cancer in 2007. It is further estimated that 5,290 Kansans will die from cancer in 2007.

According to Mathew, a cancer survivor includes anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer in addition to those people in their lives who are affected by the diagnoses.

He said that he tells his patients that cancer is not any different than diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

"Cancer is no different from those diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease). You cannot cure them. You treat them and go on with your life," he said.

Mathew said that cancer will affect people physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually and financially. He added that at the rate that cancer is increasing today in 15-20 years there might not be enough oncologists to treat all of the patients. For this reason, there may be a need to train more physician's assistance or nurse practitioners to help in the treatment of cancer patients.

He said that once a cancer patient finishes the prescribed treatment, it is important for that person to continue to receive follow-up care.

According to Mathew, a support group is important because it involves people helping people. It is face to face group interaction. The object of a support group, Mathew said, is encouragement, facilitation of mutual support, provision of accurate information and helping people learn to cope.

The new cancer support group will meet every three months with the next meeting set for 10:30 a.m. March 8 at Mercy Health Center in the McCauley Room.