Dr. Mark Clemons is the head of Breast Medical Oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital and a principal investigator at The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research. He received his early medical oncology training at Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, which is Europe’s largest comprehensive cancer centre. His post-graduate studies focused on the ways that breast cancer resists chemotherapy, and he has investigated the feasibility of suppressing DNA repair systems as a means of overcoming chemotherapy resistance. It was his vision to create a program focusing on the care of women diagnosed with locally-advanced breast cancer (LABC).
Locally-Advanced Breast Cancer LABC is a disease characterized by breast tumours that may be large (greater than 5 cm) with or without lymph node involvement, or tumours that extend beyond the breast tissue into surrounding skin or muscle. One particularly aggressive form of LABC is called inflammatory breast cancer. LABC is difficult to treat and also likely to re-occur. LABC accounts for 10 to 15% of all new breast cancer diagnosed in North America.
The LABC program at PMH is led by specially-trained oncology nurses who centre on patient needs, treating not just the disease but each individual who has to undergo treatment. Treating the patient means helping a woman deal with difficult issues of body image changes, interruptions to her career, premature menopause, loss of fertility, and the ever present risk of dying of her cancer.
Bone Metastases Unfortunately, bone is the most common organ that breast cancer comes back in. When cancer comes back in the bones, many patients are faced with the consequent problems of pain, suffering, fractures and shortened survival.