They wear many hats-fathers, professionals, volunteers
(From reports by Linda Brogan, Helen Farrell
and Kitty Taylor)
There are lots of men at the medical
center who are fathers — and good ones
at that.
Being a good father is time consuming.
Yet some medical center fathers who are
also busy professionals have made the
time to actively participate in a wealth of
local volunteer activities.
Three such professionals are Drs.
William Bradford, Robert Habig and
Craig Tisher.
Bradford is an associate professor of
f
pathology and assistant professor of
pediatrics. He has served as associate
dean for undergraduate medical
education from 1974-1978.
As he prepared to relinquish his duties
as associate dean, the Davison Society
presented him with a plaque (April 28,
1978) "in appreciation for outstanding
and dedicated service as associate dean of
students."
Awards from students are especially
important to him, and he said: "It is a
privilege to serve as associate dean. I
think we have the best medical students
in the country."
Bradford is 1978 president of the
Y.M.C.A. where he coaches in Little
League, t-ball and basketball. He also has
served as head of the program committee
of the Y.M.C.A.
Bradford was inspired as a youth by an
adult who cared, and he has made
working with young people a high
priority in his life. He has two children,
both active in sports.
Habig is deputy director of Duke
Hospital Laboratories. He was a key
volunteer during volunteer service week
Duke University
Medical Center
Intercom
this year in Durham.
He devotes a lot of his time to scouting,
having worked as a Durham cub master
for Lion's Club Pack 17 for the past three
years.
"I was a cub and then a boy scout when I
was a youngster," Habig said. "So I
believe in it as an activity. I know that
scouting is good for kids."
He spends one vacation week each
summer working with the Cub Scout Day
Camp and will serve as director of the day
camp this summer.
(Continued on page 3)
VOL. 25, NO. 24
JUNE 16, 1978
DURHAM, N.C.
She prescribes good food for cancer patients
By Michelle F. Robertson
Staff Writer
Comprehensive Cancer Center
Smce most of us were very young
children, we've been bombarded with all
sorts of helpful admonishments on how
to maintain good health. "Eat your peas.
They're good for you," is an all too
familiar phrase in most families — a call to
arms which parents use to teach their
children good eating habits.
The passing of time often dulls these
early childhood lessons, until people are
faced with the stark reality of illness or
disease. For the person with cancer, this is
especially important. And there's a young
woman in the medical center who's
determined to see that her patients
realize that.
So every weekday morning about 8
a.m. Pat Custer, R.D., clinical dietitian in
the Department of Dietary Services,
begins her trek through the orange, blue,
red and green zones of the hospital
corridors to visit her patients. All of them
have some form of cancer and all of them
could benefit from a better nutritional
state.
The rapidly multiplying cells of a
cancerous tumor are in constant
competition with the rest of the body for
the nutrients provided by food, Custer
explained. Usually the cancer is the
winner, devouring many of the body's
essential nutrients as it grows.
The side effects of many cancer
treatments — nausea, diarrhea,
stomatitis (mouth ulcers) and anorexia
(loss of appetite) — rob a patient's
nutritional reserves even more, she said.
Custer said studies have shown that
patients respond better to treatment if
%
they can maintain a good nutritional
balance. And that's what she tries to help
them do.
Perhaps the most important thing a
patient can do for himself is be conscious
of the problems of maintaining his weight
during the course of the disease and
treatment and do everything he can to
help maintain it, she explained.
Often what Custer prescribes seems
too simple to be that important.
"Lack of good nutrition is a problem but
there are simple things that can be done,"
she said. "Most of what needs to be done
is to modify the consistency of the diet so
that it is softer and easier to swallow, and
increase the calories."
She recommends such high protein,
high caloric foods as milkshakes, custards
and puddings. Soft, non-acidic foods such
as macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle
soup or any creamed soup are also highly
recommended.
(Continued on pnge 21
EMPTY NOW, BUT NOT FOR LONG-The
ramp leading up to the main entrance of the
Edwin A. Morris Clinical Cancer Research
Building is quiet and empty now, but the
building will soon see plenty of activity.
Radiation therapy in the sub-basement began
treating patients June 5, and one of the first
was 4-year-old Tekisha Faison (photo at right),
getting acquainted with Dr. Lowell Miller,
director of the Division of Radiation Therapy.
The Morris Building's ambulatory clinics will
open June 26, and inpatients will be admitted
on July 5. See related photo on page 3. (Photos by
Parker Herring)
■