Dr. Jason Radecke is not your typical breast cancer surgeon. You can blame his genes.
The handsome and athletic Radecke, (a former college wrestler at Clemson University), carries the “BRCA” gene in his DNA. That particular gene makes him 12 times more likely to develop breast cancer than other men and roughly as likely as the average woman.
Radecke’s uncle is currently battling stage four breast cancer and his 19-year-old (male) cousin just underwent a bilateral mastectomy or the removal of both breasts. Radecke’s father is also BRCA-positive. “It runs in my family,” says the general surgeon with a wry, slight smile of understatement.
Empathy for both men and women diagnosed with this disease comes easily to Radecke. With a wife, two sons and a newborn daughter, he knows firsthand what his breast cancer patients face in terms of fears for their families.
According to the National Institutes of Health the disease claims almost 40,000 lives a year in the United States and its etiology is a frustrating mystery.
“No one,” says NIH, “knows why some people get breast cancer.”
Other highly reputable sources including breastcancer.org and Kuerer’s Breast Surgical Oncology point to factors such as diet, genetics, the use of hormonal contraceptives, alcohol use, child-bearing, weight and body mass index as among the most probable solutions to that puzzle. But so far there simply isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer that explains why some people get the disease and others don’t.
We do know that breast cancer rates are much higher in developed nations such as the U.S. and Europe than they are in developing countries. Possibly this is due to longer lifespans in the western world, (breast cancer is far more common in those over 50 and many in developing countries don’t typically live much past that age). Other studies point to the high fat content in the diet of both men and women in developed countries.
Nonetheless, Radecke looks at the disease a little differently than most doctors. For him, it’s personal.
The Mayo Clinic estimates that between five and 10 percent of all breast cancers are linked to genetics. Other studies put that number much higher and some even point to statistical likelihoods as high as 27 percent. That’s probably why Radecke and his partner, Dr. Patrick Domkowski, approach the disease with a particularly personal fervor.
Part of that fervor can be seen in the way they choose to fight breast cancer. They gang up on it.
Depending on an individual patient’s circumstances, that might mean bringing medical and radiation oncologists into the picture from the very beginning along with plastic surgeons, pharmacists, occupational therapists and other specialists to help patients fully understand the game plan for both pre and post-operative care.
Since the National Cancer Institute says some 232,340 cases of female breast cancer and 2,240 male breast cancers are reported in this country every year, that’s a lot of planning, but Radecke says it’s more than worth the effort.
After all, breast cancer does its best to gang up on its victims.
As with other cancers, breast cancers occur when cells begin growing abnormally: They divide far more rapidly than healthy cells do and continue growing until they form a lump or mass. They may even “metastasize” or gang up on other healthy cells and spread uncontrollably through the entire breast and then move on to lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
The good news, according to Radecke, is that just about every aspect of diagnosing and treating breast cancer has dramatically improved in recent years and the survival is now as high as 80 to 90 percent: Far higher than for other forms of cancer.
“One of the biggest things that most people may not be aware of,” explains the 38-year-old surgeon from the University of South Carolina medical school who served his residency at Baltimore’s famed Union Memorial hospital, “is how the diagnosis process has changed.”
In order to get a tissue sample or biopsy, patients used to have to undergo an actual surgical procedure complete with anesthesia, incisions, lost hours from work and days of waiting for the results. “Nowadays,” Radecke continues, “we use a needle biopsy for the tissue sample and have the result in hours. That’s a big change.”
On the surgical side Radecke points to modern “minimally invasive” techniques he uses. They allow him to remove the cancer without removing the breast in a “lumpectomy” and that can be just as effective in preventing future cancers as a total breast removal.
For patients taking a cue from film star Angelina Jolie and opting for mastectomies, Radecke’s “gang up on cancer” approach allows for immediate breast reconstruction with a plastic surgeon to take place at the same time, in the same operating theatre, as the cancer surgery. “It’s wonderful,” Radecke exclaims.
Advances in radiation treatments, says the energetic surgeon who practices at the Riverside Surgical and Weight Loss Center and the Sebastian River Medical Center, also means cancer-killing beams can be aimed more precisely today than ever before. The radiation now doesn’t damage the surrounding cells and tissue the way it did just a few years ago.
Radecke suggests that, in addition to talking with their primary care physicians, anyone with questions about their personal status and susceptibility to the disease should check out what he calls “the tried and true” gold standard known as the “Gail Model” – a breast cancer assessment tool on the National Cancer Institute’s website at http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool/ and take the survey themselves.
Despite Radecke’s youthful appearance he says he’s, “done hundreds . . . of breast cancer surgeries” and is thankful for the opportunity to have helped so many patients.
“Cancer,” says Radecke, “is a big deal. When someone walks out of your office and you can use the word “cured,” it’s a wonderful thing.”
Dr. Jason Radecke is with Riverside Surgical & Weight Loss Center and the Sebastian River Medical Center. His office is at 14430 U.S. Hwy. 1 in Sebastian. The phone is 772-581-8003.
