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The NYECC Support Group Therapy: A Recap!

Posted on October 27, 2017

The New York Eye Cancer Center Support Group, sponsored by the Eye Cancer Foundation, met for the second time on October 13, 2017. Members in attendance were in varying stages of their treatment and recovery, ranging from a few months to over a decade! Karen Campbell, a licensed clinical social worker with years of experience in oncology and vision loss, led the group in their discussion.

Group members shared the struggles of living with cancer and what their “new normal” is like, such as the need for ongoing scans and check-ups. Anxiety and depression around loss of control, feelings of isolation, and worries about the future were common themes, as was the need for ongoing support. Techniques for coping with these experiences and stressors were discussed and Karen lead the group in a guided imagery relaxation exercise that members found helpful.

Dr. Finger’s associate, Dr. Olszewski, was also in attendance and said, “Mental health is such an important part of overall well-being and quality of life, especially after a life changing diagnosis, such as ocular melanoma. We saw the perfect opportunity to introduce holistic care to the practice by starting this support group. Thanks to the support of the Eye Cancer Foundation, we are working hard to provide monthly group meetings for patients with this diagnosis. Karen Campbell is a natural fit for steering the meeting, given her experience in dealing with patients with both cancer and vision loss.

It was my pleasure to attend our second group session. Although I do not have a personal history ocular melanoma, I shared my experiences as a provider in this practice. I also have family members with cancer diagnoses and shared my feelings and point of view as a member of their support systems. I found Karen’s guided breathing exercises particularly enlightening; I felt an immediate wave of calm wash over me as she spoke, which stayed with me, even after I left the meeting. I truly believe that many of our patients would benefit from attending these group sessions.”

Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement regarding the date, time, and place of the next NYECC Support Group session.

The Eye Cancer Foundation Annual Appeal

Posted on October 19, 2017

As the year draws to close, as we round out the end of 2017 with holidays celebrating unity, generosity and love, now comes the time for reflection. The year 2017 marked great, landscaping efforts in the field of eye cancer research and training from The Eye Cancer Foundation, culminating perhaps most fantastically with the profound success of The Second Eye Cancer Working Day held in Sydney, Australia, among many other exciting projects. The achievements of this year have served as poignant reminders that hard work and focused philanthropy can support great progress. These accomplishments, shared throughout the buzzing Eye Cancer Foundation’s website, could not be completed without the generous help of donors. For this, the volunteers at The Eye Foundation are extremely grateful.

Your support enables The ECF team to provide much needed fellowship opportunities for new eye cancer specialists from previously unserved countries. As you may know, 7,000 babies with retinoblastoma die each year in the less developed world. The ECF has made a priority of training eye cancer specialists for these countries and will need to support them upon their return. The 2020 initiative , which aims to train 20 retinoblastoma doctors in 20 underserved countries, has already provided fellowship education for 12 deserving ophthalmologists. The ECF’s partnership with The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) enables this, ensuring the quality of training these fellows receive. It is through your support that these fellowships were established with success, and because of this, children who were born to less fortunate circumstances have a chance at vision and life.

The ECF is especially excited to have sponsored The Second Eye Cancer Working Day, an event bringing together eye cancer specialists from around the world, which embodied much of what The Foundation is all about. In the Working Day, there were sections on developing big data registries used to answer questions that could not be addressed by single center studies. There were initiatives for standards in fellowship education, Dr. Tero Kivelä presented an initiative to promote doctors reporting their clinical outcomes. In addition, The ECF’s open access surgical text and movie atlas was highlighted, and will become public within the next sixth months.

Your gift today demonstrates your dedication to supporting an exciting, functional, and deeply important effort to promote multi-center and international cooperation in ophthalmic oncology. Your gift today will save both vision and lives all over the world. With so much to look forward to, The ECF team hopes they can count on your support.

Please consider making your gift to The Eye Cancer Foundation today, and be a crucial part in this fight against eye cancer. Donate by visiting The Eye Cancer Foundation website, eyecancercure.com, or simply click here.

Eye Injections 101

Posted on October 12, 2017

An intraocular injection (i.e., an injection made directly into the eye) may sound intimidating, uncommon, and dangerous. But did you know that intraocular injections are one of the most common surgical procedures practiced today in the United States? These injections are used mostly to treat macular degeneration, a deterioration of the sensitive, central portion of the retina (the macula) that makes it the leading cause of vision loss in Americans, more than cataracts and glaucoma combined (American Macular Degeneration Foundation). In 2005, Dr. Paul T. Finger discovered that these intraocular injections can be used towards another effect: in the vision-sparing treatment of radiation retinopathy.

Radiation retinopathy, or neuropathy, occurs as a side effect of the radiation used to treat orbital tumors or melanoma. When radiated, the retina and optic nerve may be progressively damaged over time, which can lead to permanent loss of vision if left untreated. Thus, intraocular injections of ANTI-VEGF therapy, such as Avastin or Eyelea, can help to suppress this retina and optic nerve damage caused by radiation treatment.

At The New York Eye Cancer Center, we aim to provide you with the best possible information regarding intraocular injections to ease any misgivings. We are constantly monitoring our patients who have undergone treatment to watch for signs of radiation retinopathy, and if injections of ANTI-VEGF therapy are required. For these patients, we have published a video that provides all necessary information regarding their expected injections, and what they can expect before, during, and after therapy. We stress, particularly, that treating radiation retinopathy is similar to the concept of treating hypertension (high blood pressure) or diabetes; the drugs administered will diminish the damage for these long-term medical conditions.

You can watch this video below at your convenience:

Eye Injection: Intraocular Injection at The New York Eye Cancer Center from Paul T Finger on Vimeo.

We have more upcoming videos available for public viewing at The New York Eye Cancer, so kindly consider keeping eyecancer.com in your bookmarks to stay tuned for them!

New Details Regarding the NYECC Support Group!

Posted on October 10, 2017

As you may have read in our blog the week prior, The New York Eye Cancer Center is pleased to announce that we, with the support of The Eye Cancer Foundation, are hosting periodic group therapy sessions for our patients. Life after diagnosis and treatment of an ocular melanoma can cause stress and anxiety. Although it’s normal to feel this way, many people do find that having a solid support system is crucial in finding their bearings and coming to terms with “a new normal”, both of which are important in overall quality of life.

Friends and family can be excellent support systems, but there can also be a benefit to sharing your feelings with other patients who have had very similar experiences. The New York Eye Cancer Center Support Group is seeking to provide you with this emotional outlet. Our support group is facilitated by wonderful licensed clinical social worker, Karen Campbell.

You can find Karen’s short biography below:

“I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and have been practicing in the field for 24 years. In addition to my private psychotherapy practice, most recently, I was in the Director of Vision Rehabilitation Services at the Lighthouse Guild. I started up the Social Work Department at Lighthouse International in 2010 and, as part of that, developed and faciliated the Department’s Support Group program. I also have a background in medical social work, including oncology, having worked at NYU/Langone. I have found support groups to be a valuable way for people to manage their medical challenges and address issues such as family adjustment, depression, anxiety and loss. Although I work primarily with individuals and couples in my private practice, I really enjoy working with groups!”

Karen brings to the practice her years of experience in counseling patients with both cancer and vision loss, making her a perfect fit for the NYECC family.

You can meet her and other patients at our next group therapy session at the NYECC on Friday, October 13, 2017 at 1:30 PM, Eastern Standard Time.

We hope to see you there!

And to stay updated on all upcoming sessions, please keep our website, eyecancer.com in your bookmarks!

Plaque Brachytherapy Can Now Help More Patients Facing Enucleation

Posted on October 6, 2017

Eye-sparing plaque brachytherapy can now help more patients with uveal melanoma versus enucleation.

The American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) reports that more patients with uveal melanoma will be able to spare their eye by widening the criteria for plaque brachytherapy.

It had been 10 years since guidelines for the treatment of uveal melanoma were published — but now, updated ABS consensus guidelines have been newly established by the ABS-Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force. Using clinical experience with eye cancer and knowledge of the literature, 47 radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and ophthalmic oncologists from 10 countries were able to produce these collaborative guidelines.

To view these published guidelines via PubMed, click here. For your convenience, we have here a summary of the updates ABS guidelines for plaque brachytherapy treatment:

Tumor classifications were updated to reflect the AJCC T-staging system.
Utilizing this system, T1, T2, T3, and T4a-d uveal melanoma patients can be treated, after counseling about likely vision, eye retention, and local control outcomes.
Small melanomas can be treated at the eye cancer specialist’s discretion (not only for evidence of growth)
Uveal melanomas near, touching (juxtapapillary) and surrounding (circumpapillary) the optic nerve can be treated with radiation therapy; however patients with tumors in this location as well as subfoveal tumors and those with exudative retinal detachments may have poorer vision outcomes and local control.
Extrascleral tumor extension does not exclude patients from plaque brachytherapy, unless they are classified as T4e (extraocular exrtension is >5mm in diameter).
Clinical diagnosis of uveal melanoma is still considered adequate for treatment (no change from 2003 guidelines). Histopathologic verification is not required.

The ABS recommends, additionally, that plaque procedures be performed in specialized centers with expertise in ophthalmic brachytherapy. Their report discusses guidelines for plaque and radionuclide selection (including dose prescription), and follow-up after brachytherapy.

Previously, some patients may have felt like enucleation was their only possible treatment, and undergoing a surgery to remove the eye is no easy decision. These new ABS guidelines will help to expand the number of patients eligible for plaque brachytherapy and reduce the number of patients requiring enucleation. With these results, some patients who fit these new criteria have been shown another avenue for hope. And for one’s journey through eye cancer treatment, hope is exceptionally valuable.

Come back next week at eyecancer.com for more information regarding enucleation vs. plaque brachytherapy!

A New Support Group for Eye Cancer Patients is Available!

Posted on September 28, 2017

Stress and anxiety following treatment for choroidal melanoma have been well recognized among patients and studied among doctors. In fact, The NIH-funded Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study reported on 209 patients with medium-sized melanoma treated with either brachytherapy or enucleation. In this sub-study, their goal was to compare the quality of life between treatment groups using questionnaires.

After questioning patients, researchers found that those undergoing radiation therapy had better quality of life outcomes related to their vision, such as driving, near activities, and binocular vision. After three to five years post-treatment, this benefit did decline, paralleling a decline in vision for the brachytherapy-treatment group (this, of course, predates the advent of vision-sparing anti-VEGF therapy).

However, in the scientific article published for the study, researchers state that “certain patients treated with brachytherapy, particularly those with pre-existing symptoms of anxiety, may suffer from increased risk of anxiety as compared with patients treated with enucleation during follow-up (Archives of Ophthalmology).”

At The New York Eye Cancer Center, we are currently participating in a study evaluating patient reported outcomes after plaque brachytherapy for choroidal melanoma. The more we understand a patient’s reception of plaque brachytherapy and the effect their treatment has had on their lives, the more we can specialize our care for each individual. We strive to offer compassion and understand what our patients are going through on a personal and psychological level. In an effort to help patients deal with their stress and anxiety, The New York Eye Cancer Center has begun to host a support group specifically for eye cancer patients and survivors. Please join Karen Campbell, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), who will facilitate this group. Sponsored by The Eye Cancer Foundation, this group therapy session will be held on Friday, October 13, 2017 at 1:30 pm at The New York Eye Cancer Center. Join us to have your voice heard among peers who understand what you are going through!

For your convenience, please consider downloading this flyer for the Support Group that contains all necessary information. We will host more sessions in the future, so in order to stay tuned for announcements on upcoming dates, please check back on eyecancer.com regularly!

Chemotherapeutic Eye Drops 101

Posted on September 26, 2017

If you’ve been recently diagnosed with an eye cancer, such as ocular surface squamous neoplasia or conjunctival melanoma, it’s normal to feel a little nervous – but, there’s good news. It is possible to treat some of these cancers with topical chemotherapy eye drops, like interferon alpha (also called Intron A), instead of surgery. Interferon is commonly used in injection form; however, in 2008 Dr. Finger and his team discovered that interferon in topical eye drop form is very effective at treating tumors on the eye. It also has the additional benefit of causing fewer side effects in the body!

The following video demonstrates the proper technique for chemotherapeutic eye drop instillation. These instructions will be the same regardless of the type of chemotherapy eye drop you are using (e.g. Intron A, Mitomycin C, 5-FU). It’s fine to ask a family member or friend for help, but most people find that they are able to put drops in themselves without a problem.

The New York Eye Cancer Center Instructions for Chemotherapy Eye Drops from Paul T Finger on Vimeo.

The steps are written out below, for your convenience:

STEP 1: Wash your hands and put on latex gloves, if possible.
STEP 2: Lie down flat or recline back in a chair.
STEP 3: Look DOWN and pull back the UPPER EYELID.
STEP 4: Put the drop on the TOP part of the eye.
STEP 5: Slowly close your eye and keep it closed for FIVE MINUTES.
STEP 6: Make sure to gently wipe away any excess.
STEP 7: Wash your hands again.

Note that it’s easier to instill these drops when you are lying down. Also, remember to keep these drops refrigerated and to wipe any excess that you may blink out to prevent irritation of the skin. Most patients tolerate these drops very well, but if you have any concerns or comments, please make sure to speak with your doctor.

Stay tuned for more educational videos by keeping eyecancer.com in your bookmarks!

Apples or Oranges

Posted on September 19, 2017

“Sharing a common scientific language (staging systems) allow us to communicate our ideas and enable progress” writes Dr. Paul T. Finger in Foundational Elements for Collaboration in Ophthalmic Oncology; a recent editorial published for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Communication is vital in nearly all areas of life, and the medical field makes no exception. In order for doctors to compare their results, they must describe the stage (size and distribution) of the cancer they are treating. This is the only way oncologists can effectively discuss and coordinate the care for patients around the world. And towards this goal, Dr. Finger as Chair of the Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force for The American Joint Committee on Cancer has worked over 12 years to create, write, and publish three editions of The AJCC Cancer Staging Manual and most recently its sister equivalent for the UICC.

As Dr. Finger explains, the AJCC staging system was made from the collective effort of 10 subcommittees, composed of more than 50 eye cancer specialists across the world. These doctors came together to develop a clinically useful textbook describing, with rigorous detail, the methodology of classifying eye cancers. In fact, working together, these systems represent the greatest consensus work yet created by the eye cancer specialty.

You may have heard of a tumor classified as “stage 2” or “stage 4”, benign or malignant, and so on, but how do doctors come to this conclusion? Staging a tumor relies on rules on how to measure and locate tumors in the eye and/or thought the body. By gathering a large profile of data from tumor patients, the AJCC team has also analyzed how tumor size or failure of initial treatment can be used to predict the risk for metastasis.

With this common staging system shared between doctors from The United States to Indonesia, patient care is streamlined and made more effective. The AJCC’s wide pool of data allows for a more precise system, which is tremendously useful for eye cancer specialists otherwise unable to access international resources. This is the immediate effect of doctors adopting this system, but the long term effects are equally as influential.

And to stay updated on all Eye Cancer Foundation news, as well as information on the latest eye cancer research, please keep eyecancer.com in your bookmarks!

Iris Biopsy 101: The Finger Iridectomy Technique

Posted on September 11, 2017

In order to examine the existence and extent of an iris tumor, a biopsy may be required — but what is a biopsy, exactly? For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, a biopsy is a sampling of tissue taken from a certain area of the body in order for doctors to closely evaluate a patient’s pathology. Every biopsy is different. However, they can sometimes be invasive and cause discomfort. For a patient undergoing a biopsy in an area as delicate as the eye, this may feel intimidating.

This important factor has contributed to Dr. Finger’s development of the Finger Iridectomy Technique (F.I.T), a minimally invasive but very effective method of biopsy. This technique allows for a large amount of tissues and cells to be biopsied, optimizing sample size while minimizing discomfort for patients.

In this video, Dr. Krystine Olszewski from the New York Eye Cancer Center provides an approachable checklist on what to do before and after an iris biopsy. She discusses the required medication to be taken, as well as what is to be expected in the follow up exam.

Iris Biopsy; Finger Iridectomy Technique from Paul T Finger on Vimeo.

To stay tuned for upcoming videos as well as be informed on all the latest updates in eye cancer research, keep Eyecancer.com, the website for the New York Eye Cancer Center, in your bookmarks!

Get to Know: Dr. Paul T. Finger

Posted on September 7, 2017

The New York Eye Cancer Center is dedicated to combining both science and technology with a human touch, offering a holistic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of eye cancer. The Founding Director, Dr. Paul T. Finger, aims to extend his streamlined medical approach to others with the focus of not only helping doctors work together, but also providing easy-to-understand information. This is very important for patients who feel overwhelmed by the scope of medical terminology and technology. Every day, swift strides are being made towards a brighter future for eye cancer patients all around the world.

Here at The NYECC, a series of videos have been made and published, ranging from lectures for training specialists, to videos for patients on what to expect throughout the stages of their care.

In this video, Dr. Finger timelines his 30+ year medical career. He discusses his pioneering of the Palladium-103 plaque procedure for intraocular tumors, imaging methods for many eye cancers and anti-VEGF therapy now used world-wide to suppress radiation complications, plus more.

Meet Dr. Paul T. Finger, Director of The New York Eye Cancer Center from Paul T Finger on Vimeo.