Harpist , students promote
healing through melodies
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Patients at Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center's Comprehensive
Cancer Center were privy to a decidedly dif
ferent . kind of treatment at the facility
ruesday. In addition to their regular regi
men of medications and therapy, a handful
of those on hand at the center got the chance
to visit with an internationally known
harpist.
Christina Tourin, founder of the
International Harp Therapy Program, visited
the bedsides of eight patients as part of the
1 nterpat^o^a^jurp training program held at
ihgSflHjBKnter October 2-9.
^^^^^^^ive - international students
accompanied Tourin on he|- visit, which
included the training event and three public
concerts. Coordinated by WFUBMC's
Visual and Performing Arts program in con
junction with the Cancer Center, the week
long affair was spearheaded by Dr. Richard
McQuellon, a counseling psychologist and
professor in the Department of Internal
Medicine at the medical school and director
of Psychosocial Oncology and Cancer
Patient Support Programs.
"We try to do the best we can to heal our
patients and this is another
WFUBMC Photo
Harpist Christina Tourin with a patient.
voice in her music. It is said to soothe the
body and help reinstate equilibrium which
may have been interrupted by illness.
McQuellon says he's seen it work. His
mother received the theranv after
method," commented McQuellon,
who also serves as an adjunct pro
fessor for the program. "There
art so' many studies that support
the effect of music and relaxing."
The patients were chosen
based on need and the likelihood
that the therapy would have the
desired effect, McQuellon said.
"We tried to select clinical
problems that would be amenable
to this and patients who were
interested," he related. "A single exposure
to the music can be quite useful."
A second generation harpist, Tourin
founded the International Harp Therapy
Program in 1995. The program is based on
the belief that music and spirituality are
valuable components of the healing process.
Tourin uses what is called a resonant
tone, echoing the tone of each patient's
having colon surgery.
"A hospital is a very noisy
place - lots of bustling action - not
really a place to rest and relax..."
he stated. "The vibrations and the
sound were very helpful for her."
McQuellon accompanied
Tourin as she moved from room to
room Tuesday, playing each
natient music that was tailnrprl to
Dr. McQuellon
match his or her internal rhythm.
"She's a Derformer and a thera
r
pist; she can do anything with the instru
ment. It's pretty remarkable," he reported.
"She has a calming effect on people in gen
eral, but her music in particular was tuned
just right today."
For more information about the
International Harp Therapy Program, visit
www.harprealm .com .
Former Clinton confidant
will give speech at UNCG
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE ?
Maria Echaveste, White House deputy
chief of staff in the second term of President
Clintoir, will speak at The University of
North Carolina at Greensboro Tuesday, Oct.
14. ,
Echaveste's visit is part of UNCG's 2008
Human Rights Event, "Working Toward a
World Community." She will speak at 7 p.m.
in Elliott University Center Auditorium.
The lecture, sponsored by the Qffice of
Multicultural Affairs, is free and open to the
public.
Echaveste is a frequent guest on PBS'
"To'the Contrary." She also co-founded the
Nueva Vista Group, a policy, legislative
strategy and advocacy group working with
non-profit and corporate clients.
She was raised in Texas, one of seven
children born to Mexican immigrants. The
fatnily later moved to California, where she
received a B.A. in anthropology from
Stanford University in 1976 and a law
degree from UC Berkeley's Boalt Law
School in 1980. Following her graduation
from Boalt, Echaveste specialized in corpo
rate litigation at Wyman Bautzer in Los
Angeles and at Rosenman & r
York. mm ?
From 1993 to 1997, Echaveste served as
the administrator of the Wage and Hour
Division of the Department of Labor.
Maria Echavesle
?
Echaveste left the Department of Labor
to become director of public liaison at the
White House from February 1997 to May
1998. From 1998 to 2001 , she served as both
assistant to the president and deputy chief of
staff. Echaveste managed Clinton's domestic
policy initiatives on education, civil rights,
immigration and bankruptcy reform.
Echaveste is now a lecturer at Boalt. She
lives in California and Washington, D.C.,
and works as a consultant.
SEEING OUR err* I
The Art of Defining a Place^ \
HOW DO YOU SEE WINSTONSAIEMf Seeing the City: Sloan's New York,
House Museum of American Art October 4, 2008-January 4, 2009, c
parks, theaters, store windows, buildings, and monuments In the
How do we envision our own city in the twenty-first century?
JOIN THE DISCUSSION AT REYNOl.DA HOUSE "Seeing Our,
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follows each forum.
OCTOBER 9, 7 P.M. The Face of Our City: Architectural Charact
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REYNOLDA HOUSE MUSEUM of AMERICAN ART
2250 Reypolda Road, WinMon-Salcm, NC 27106
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Supported by the Art t Council of Win/ton Salem & Horsyth I'outity
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century.
tfifinipg a
i reception
Settlement
frimx page A7
the largest provider of sub
prime mortgages in the
United States.
Under the settlement.
Countrywide has agreed to
modify loans -for eligible
borrowers so they will be
better able to afford to keep
their homes. Countrywide
has also agreed to stop mak
ing problematic high-cost
mortgages and payment
option adjustable rate mort
gages.
In addition. Bank of
America and Countrywide
will pay $150 million to par
ticipating states to help con
sumers who have already
lost their homes to foreclo
sure. Bank of America and
Countrywide will also pay
up to $70 million for reloca
Cooper
tion assistance to borrowers
unable to stay in their
homes, and will waive up to
$6Q-$80 million in prepay
ment penalties and default
fees.
Countrywide is expected
to start the loan modification
program by Dec. 1. The
company says that it will
reach out to eligible cus
tomers by that date.
Countrywide has also said
that it will halt foreclosure
proceedings against home
owners who are likely to
qualify for loan modifica
tions under the agreement.
Countrywide customers
can call 800-669-6607 toll
free for more information or
visit the company's Web site
a t
www.countrywide.com. North
Carolinians who are facing
foreclosures and who are not
Countrywide borrowers can
$ft free help by calling the
HOPE hotline toll-free at
888-995-HOPE.
Cancer
from page A10
or stereotactic biopsy can be
performed in the office.
Rarely should a patient be
taken to the operating room
for an excisional biopsy. A
skin punch biopsy may also
be needed. Once the diagno
sis of inflammatory breast
cancer is made, it is classi
fied as either Stage 3b
(locally advanced) or Stage
4 (the cancer has spread to
other organs). The stage
describes the extent of a per
son's cancer; stage 4 being
the most advanced.
Remember, inflammatory
breast cancer tends to grow
rapidly and is very aggres
sive. That is why this cancer
has a higher stage at diagno
sis than other breast cancers.
How is inflammatory
breast cancer treated?
The treatment for inflam
matory breast cancer starts
with chemotherapy. This is
different from the treatment
of the majority of other
breast cancers that starts
with surgery. Being treated
with chemotherapy before
surgery is called neoadju
vant ch&motherapy. The
chemotherapy usually con
sists of an anthracycline
(doxorubicin or epirubicin)
and a taxane (paclitaxel or
docetaxel). If the cancer
cells have too much of the
Her-2 protein (i.e. Her-2
positive) than another drug
called trastuzumab or
Herceptin may be given as
well. The purpose of
chemotherapy is to control
or kill cancer cells, includ
ing cells that may have
spread to other parts of the
body.
If the cancer has not
spread to other organs flf the
body and/or the chemothera
py1 causes the tumor to
shrink, then surgery can be
performed. The surgery usu
ally involves a mastectomy
with removal of lymph
nodes in the underarm.
Radiation to the chest wall is
used after surgery to prevent
the disease from recurring
locally. Additional
chemotherapy may be war
ranted.
What is the prognosis for
patierfts with inflammato
ry breast cancer?
The prognosis, or out
come of the disease, for
patients with inflammatory
breast cancer is worse than
the prognosis for patients
with non-inflammatory
breast cancer. Because
inflammatory breast cancer
is more likely to have spread
to other organs at the time of
diagnosis, the overall 5 year
survival is between 25-50
percent. These numbers are
averages, and each patient's
outcome is different. It is
important to talk to your
doctor about your individual
outcome and care.
In conclusion, inflamma
tory breast cancer is an
aggressive cancer that needs
to be treated with urgent
neoadjuvant chemotherapy
followed by multimodality
surgery and radiation thera
py. Ongoing research is
needed to improve survival
in this subset of breast can
cer. O
- Contribution by
Marissa H. McNatt, MD
Do you need further
information or have ques
tions or comments about this
article? Please call toll-free
1-877-530-1824. Or, for
more information about the
Maya Angelou Center for
Health Equity, please visit
our website:
http://www.wfubmc .edutmin
ority health.
BlueCross BlueShield
of North Carolina
Your plan for better healthT
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U4570, 9/08 H3449_4143, 9/11/08, H3404_ 4143, 9/11/08