Stem Cell Clinic

Editorial: UT Health’s new teaching hospital will boost region – Laredo Morning Times

Express-News Editorial Board

Dr. William L. Henrich, president of UT Health San Antonio, said a new teaching hospital will complement what is currently offered at University Hospital.

Dr. William L. Henrich, president of UT Health San Antonio, said a new teaching hospital will complement what is currently offered at University Hospital.

Dr. William L. Henrich, president of UT Health San Antonio, said a new teaching hospital will complement what is currently offered at University Hospital.

Dr. William L. Henrich, president of UT Health San Antonio, said a new teaching hospital will complement what is currently offered at University Hospital.

Editorial: UT Healths new teaching hospital will boost region

A planned 144-bed teaching hospital on the UT Health San Antonio campus slated to open in the spring of 2024 will boost enrollment for many health programs so crucial for the region and state.

The medical school alone could see an increase of 22 students in each enrollment class. The number of medical residents could grow by 100 to 130 slots by 2027. Currently, 1,000 residency slots are offered through UT Health San Antonio.

This is great news for medical and other students training for health professions who want to complete their education in Texas. It will help address the shortage of providers in Bexar County and across the state. Historically, many doctors remain in the communities where they complete their medical training.

The San Antonio hospital would become the fourth operated by the University of Texas System. The others are in Dallas, Galveston and Tyler.

Most of the UT System health science centers have partnerships with independently managed hospitals in their communities.

Most new hospital projects arrive with much fanfare. This project has been quietly moving along over the past year with little public awareness or discussion.

The University of Texas System regents last month placed the nearly $400 million project on its capital improvement program and are expected to appropriate construction funds at their November meeting.

The hospital will be located on 12 acres in the South Texas Medical Center provided by the San Antonio Medical Foundation. The eight-story hospital will be adjacent to the Mays Cancer Center, formerly known as the Cancer Therapy and Research Center. The jointly run UT Health San Antonio-MD Anderson program is a National Cancer Institute-designated research center. The hospital and the cancer center will be connected by a skybridge.

A 530-space parking garage is also included in the project.

Background information provided to the regents describes a high-acuity hospital offering treatment programs in cancer, neurosciences, orthopedics, urology, thoracic surgery and bariatrics.

A distinct, competitive advantage of the hospital will be the unique leading-edge therapies and early-phase clinical trials in the many disciplines in which the university has expertise, including immunologic and stem cell therapies in oncology and diabetes, the backgrounder states.

The construction of a second teaching hospital in San Antonio raises concerns about the multibillion-dollar investment taxpayers have made in the Bexar County Hospital District, which includes University Hospital and some two dozen University Health System clinics.

University Hospital has long been the primary teaching hospital for UT Health San Antonio, and much of its recent expansion including the new 400-bed Womens and Childrens Hospital now under construction alongside University Hospital has been in large part to accommodate the patients seen by UT Health San Antonio doctors.

Will the two be duplicating services and competing for patients?

UT Health San Antonio President William L. Henrich and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the two hospitals will work in partnership. The hospital district and UT officials are negotiating a memorandum of understanding to that effect, Wolff said.

Henrich said the new hospital will not replicate any services and will complement what is currently offered. He said the new facility will allow for the expansion of the health science centers three primary missions clinical care, biomedical research and education.

Our clinical practices have been growing 8 to 10 percent a year, Henrich said. We have about $300 million in research on campus, and we need more access to clinical trials. Sophisticated clinical trials in cancer, rheumatology, gastroenterology and this hospital will afford us the opportunity to carry out those trials, and that will be a unique feature of this hospital.

In addition, the new hospital is expected to create 750 to 850 new jobs.

This is an important project for San Antonio and Texas. It will expand higher education opportunities, help address the doctor shortage in the state and provide a lift to the local economy by creating skilled jobs.

We look forward to a thriving partnership between UT Health and the University Health System.

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Editorial: UT Health's new teaching hospital will boost region - Laredo Morning Times

Mum’s message to the complete stranger who saved her son’s life – LincolnshireLive

A mum says the surprise baby she feared she would lose because of a rare genetic disorder is now living a normal life thanks to a bone marrow transplant from a complete stranger.

Former clinical psychologist Zoe Alderson has told how her son Henry was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, affecting just 125 people in the UK meaning he needed monthly blood transfusions.

But everything changed in April 2019 when Henry who has Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA), which is caused by the bone marrow failing to produce red blood cells received a successful bone marrow transplant.

Zoe, 33, of Harwich, Essex, said he went from relying on transfusions to stay alive to having the blood count of a normal child his age, adding: We have no idea who provided the bone marrow, but not a day goes by when we dont think about that person. We will be forever in their debt.

At one point, it felt like we would never have a normal life, now you cant tell Henry apart from any other happy four-year-old.

Zoes own health problems began with fatigue, headaches and irregular periods throughout her teens.

But, in 2004, when she saw her doctor after her breasts began lactating, a blood test revealed she had higher than normal levels of the hormone prolactin. Amongst other things, it encourages the growth of breasts and lactation during pregnancy.

I didnt have a clue what was wrong with me, she explained.

I wrote it off as being stressed and nothing more.

Referred to Colchester Hospital in Essex in November 2004, an MRI scan revealed she had a benign 1cm tumour on her pituitary gland, at the base of her brain and was put on a prolactin inhibitor which she still takes to this day and, within six months, the tumour shrank to 3mm.

Doctors told me it was classed as a brain tumour, but I didnt need to panic, she continued. They said I might face some difficulty getting pregnant, though.

My periods were so irregular afterwards, that I never expected to conceive.

I wasnt that bothered, either, as I was just happy to be told the tumour was benign.

Meeting her husband Craig, 40, a graphic design company manager, at a work Christmas do in December 2007, within a year they moved in together.

But, firmly on a career path, they flew to Mombasa, Kenya, for an intimate wedding with their nearest and dearest on March 17, 2010 and thoughts of having children could not have been further from their minds.

Zoe said: We really werent fussed, or thats what we told ourselves.

She continued: We were both career driven and in our prime. Wed never even discussed the possibility of IVF or adoption it just wasnt on the radar.

But all that changed in January 2015, when Zoe was plagued with morning sickness.

I hadnt had a period for years, she said.

But Id been sick for a solid few days.

She continued: At first, I dismissed it as a bug, but when it lasted over a week, I thought I should do a pregnancy test before I saw a doctor.

I picked one up from the supermarket and when it came back positive, I just sat in the bathroom having a bit of a cry.

It was such a shock, it was just crazy.

She continued: Craig was absolutely thrilled, though, for someone who had said he wasnt fussed about having a baby.

But soon Zoe was haunted by the feeling that something wasnt right, with the pregnancy.

Then, at the 12-week scan, in early April 2015, the couple were told their baby showed signs of a genetic defect and was unlikely to survive to full-term, after finding a worrying amount of fluid around his head which is often an indicator of chromosomal defects in a foetus, according to the NHS.

Zoe said: Craig, ever the optimist, was convinced wed walk in and everything would be fine and dandy.

But moments after finding the heartbeat, the womans face dropped and before I knew it there were five medics huddled around the screen looking at the scan.

We were asked to wait down the corridor where doctors explained there was a high chance the baby had a genetic defect and was unlikely to survive for two more weeks.

Given chorionic villus sampling (CVS) a prenatal test to detect birth defects after three days the results came back negative for the most common conditions, but further testing for rarer defects left the expectant parents playing an agonising waiting game.

It felt like we had already written off our baby at that point, said Zoe.

We were carrying out the testing as an insurance policy, to see if there was a chance we could pass on any faulty genes in the future.

She continued: We were offered a termination but decided to let nature take its course.

And nature clearly had a positive plan for their baby boy, who continued to grow at a healthy rate.

We hit 14 weeks, then 20, then 24 and somehow we even made it to 36 weeks, Zoe said.

She continued: We still didnt have the results back from the genetic screening, but making it so far surprised everyone.

The consultant was amazed, he said hed never seen such a poorly foetus survive to this point.

But, just days after the milestone scan, Zoe could not feel the baby moving and rushed to Colchester Hospital, where a scan showed he was in distress.

Concerned, doctors performed an emergency C-section, delivering baby Henry on November 20, 2015.

When Henry was born we didnt know what was wrong with him still, said Zoe.

He let out a cry, but was ghostly white and was rushed to neonatal intensive care.

His pale complexion meant doctors assumed Henry had suffered from a placental haemorrhage in the womb, with a blood test showing he had a low red blood cell count.

Placed in an induced coma, the tot spent three weeks in intensive care, receiving three blood transfusions, to build up his red blood count.

I didnt get to see him on the day he was born, Zoe recalled. But I sent Craig down right away to keep an eye on him.

She continued: After the blood transfusions, he looked like a proper baby again and I couldnt wait to get him home.

Discharged at the beginning of December, the new parents were told to bring Henry in at the first sign of anything unusual.

He screamed around the clock and would not take to the bottle, but it was only when Henry turned deathly pale, on Christmas Eve, that the couple rushed him back to the hospital, where further tests revealed his red blood cell count was dangerously low leading to another transfusion.

For the next three months, every month, the couple would return to the hospital for Henry to receive a blood transfusion until, at four months old, he had a bone marrow biopsy.

Up until that point, all they could tell us was that Henry was anaemic, but that they didnt know why, Zoe explained.

The consultant examined the biopsy straight away and said it looked like he had DBA.

She continued: It was the first time wed heard of it, but as soon as we got home and Googled it, wed basically diagnosed Henry ourselves.

Two months later, by then six months old, his CVS results made the diagnosis official.

And, from then onwards, little Henry needed a blood transfusion every month with doctors telling his parents this would continue for the rest of his life.

Zoe said: It felt like Groundhog Day. After the transfusion hed be full of energy and behaving like a normal child.

But slowly, as the days passed, you could literally see the life draining out of him.

It sounds awful, but by the end of the month he really did look dead.

When he reach 18 months old, the couple were told Henrys body was suffering from an iron overload, because of his numerous blood transfusions.

To avoid iron poisoning which can cause severe damage to major organs he began taking iron chelation drugs, to remove the excess mineral from his body.

Administered through an IV, which Henry was hooked up to every night, Zoe said: It was such a difficult period for us.

She continued: It was bad enough seeing him deteriorate each week, without having to start sticking a needle into him every night as well.

He hated it at the time, but was fine during the day. Looking back, he was remarkably brave.

But when Zoe was told in February 2019 that he would need to be hooked up to the iron chelation machine 24 hours a day, she put her foot down.

Thats when I drew the line, she said. It wasnt fair expecting that of a child and I said I wanted them to look into alternatives.

Thats when doctors said Henry would be eligible for a bone marrow transplant.

After that, by then aged three, things moved quickly and, just six weeks later, Henry was matched with a tissue donor.

Then, in the last week of April 2019, he had chemotherapy to wipe out his existing bone marrow, before having a central line fitted, allowing the new stem cells to pass through his blood stream.

Put on immunosuppressants a type of medicine which stop the body from rejecting donor tissue for 12 months, Zoe said she witnessed a miracle, as she slowly got her boy back.

He hasnt needed a blood transfusion since he had the bone marrow donation, she said. Hes a completely different child.

She continued: Hes full of energy around the clock now not just for a few days a month.

I dont think we realised just how poorly he had been for the last four years until he recovered. That had become our normal.

Taken off immunosuppressants in May 2020, a month later, blood tests revealed that Henry had the blood count of an average four-year-old.

For his whole life hes been in and out of hospital and now, finally, he can start to live like any other kid, said Zoe.

Ringing the end of treatment bell was such a big deal for all of us.

It felt like the end of that chapter in our lives.

Desperate to raise awareness of DBA and the importance of bone marrow donation, Zoe now has an important message she wants to send to whoever saved her sons life.

Were so grateful to whoever it was that donated their bone marrow for Henry, she said.

To anyone else out there who isnt on the donor register, please sign up.

She continued: All it takes is a bit of your spit sent in the post and it could quite literally save someones life.

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Mum's message to the complete stranger who saved her son's life - LincolnshireLive

Important to balance benefits of cancer-related care with risks related to COVID-19: Dr Hari Menon – Express Healthcare

While explaining how healthcare organisations have reinvented and adapted to the new normal to ensure that citizens get definitive cancer care during the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Hari Menon, senior consultant, haemato-oncology, Cytecare Cancer Hospitalcautions that demographic changes alone will cause cancer cases to double over next two decades in India and therefore suggests three top measures that can accelerate the countrys fight against cancer, in an interaction with Viveka Roychowdhury

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted access to cancer care in India?

The pandemic has altered every aspect of life worldwide. Understandably, the impact on access to cancer care in India was unavoidable especially during the initial lockdown. However, over the last couple of months, healthcare organisations have reinvented and adapted to the new normal to ensure that citizens get definitive cancer care during the crisis.

Its important to balance the benefits of cancer-related care with the risks related to COVID-19. At Cytecare, our primary concern has been to ensure that patients continue their treatment while alleviating their concerns about compromised immunity leading to infection. Here are a few measures that we took:

What is Indias burden of cancer cases and how is it projected to increase in the next five years?

According to the National Cancer Registry Programme Report, 2020, there are 1.39 million cancer cases in India currently. By 2025, the number is estimated to reach 1.57 million.

The report, released recently by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), finds that tobacco-related cancer contributes to 27.1 per cent of the total cancer burden about 370,000 cases in 2020.

It is expected that demographic changes alone will cause the number of cancer cases to double over the next two decades. Currently, non-communicable disease is the second leading cause of adult death in urban India and fourth leading mortality cause in rural India.

What are the most prevalent cancers in India and do we have an epidemiological study of cancers to prevent them or lessen incidence in the next generation?

The term cancer refers not just to one disease, but a collection of several diseases, with wide-ranging characteristics that usually call for varied treatments. In India, cancers of the lung, mouth, stomach, prostate cancer and oesophagus are the most prevalent among men, while breast and cervical cancer rank the highest in terms of prevalence among women.

The National Cancer Registry Programmes Report, 2020, notes that cancers of the gastrointestinal tract (in men and women) account for about 19 per cent of the countrys cancer burden. The report also states that the incidence of breast cancer is rising, while cervical cancer is declining.

Another insightful study published in The Lancet Oncology last year had stated that cervical cancer could be potentially eliminated as a public health problem in India within the next 60 years given the promise shown by the vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV) and cervical screening made more accessible.

Better and early diagnosis of cancer through screening and awareness campaigns has improved the chances of survival and quality of life. To what extent?

Early detection with specified treatment protocols is critical for better long term outcomes. Delay in diagnosis can lead to compromised outcomes to treatment. In fact, it also means giving more aggressive treatment inviting complications and impinging quality of life. A delay in detection will consecutively cause the cancer cells to spread in the adjacent areas of the affected region, thus increasing the morbidity. Also, in the absence of early detection and simultaneous treatment, the patients cancer-related disability increases, thereby dipping the chances of survival.

We have observed that early detection is particularly true for superficial cancers such as breast, head and neck and cervical cancers among others. We need to spread more awareness about the importance of screening programmes and invest in diagnostic facilities at local healthcare centers across the country.

Also, the five-year survival rate increases significantly when the cancer is detected at an early stage I or II, as compared to the more advanced stage III or IV tumours. Given the socio-economic inequalities in access to healthcare and the high out-of-pocket expenditure in India, these are important factors to consider.

It is a perceived notion that cancer afflicts the Indian population about a decade younger than their western counterparts. However, this may not be entirely true given that the older population are less inclined to come forward for treatment and may present at more advanced stage as compared to younger population. Therefore early diagnosis and treatment becomes all the more significant.

Are cancer care facilities, from screening, diagnosis, and treatment, accessible and affordable to all patients in India? Especially in rural areas? How successful have government schemes like Ayushman Bharat been while addressing these issues?

Theres no denying that India is grappling with inadequate infrastructure and poor access to healthcare. The country has merely 0.98 oncologists per million population.

It is also true that cancer treatments can be expensive most of the time because the treatment involves a comprehensive approach involving not only the management of the patient and his well-being but also supportive care management of disabilities that might be temporary or permanent and the need to get them back to main stream after a curative treatment has been implemented.

As the worlds largest fully government-financed health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat could be the game changer. Right now, there are about 150 oncology packages that cater to patients from economically disadvantaged sections of the society. Once Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) under Ayushman Bharat succeed in screening effectively for cancers, detection and timely treatment can become a reality for the 1.3 billion population.

There are three top measures that can accelerate Indias fight against cancer:

How has the National Cancer Grid worked to solve these issues? In terms of teleconsultation, reference network etc?

At a conceptual level, the National Cancer Grid represents a collaborative approach for addressing cancer at the national level. By bringing together institutions both in public and private sector under one roof, it can ensure uniformity in protocols and implementation of cancer care and treatment. The potential is immense and there is a lot of promise for this umbrella organisation to implement definitive therapy for cancer patients, while also addressing methods to improve cancer care in the future

What is the future of cancer care in India, at institutions like Cytecare Cancer Hospital? In terms of expansion and investment plans to reach more patients, cover more types of cancers, offer the latest treatment options in cancer care in India?

We know a lot more about this complex disease today than we did a decade or two ago, thanks to cutting-edge cancer research that is being conducted across the globe. Right from prevention and early detection to treatment of late-stage disease, there are several encouraging developments.

Diagnostic scans are getting more accurate and radiation treatments come with lesser side effects today. The development of immunohistochemistry (IHC), markers for various cancers, liquid biopsies and genetic tests have transformed the way we diagnose and tailor cancer treatments. Similarly, the development of newer drugs for targeted treatment and breakthroughs in stem cell research and gene therapy are paving the way for effective and personalised cancer care in the future.

At Cytecare, we are committed to building a more patient-centric cancer care system, with an organ-site approach. Our endeavour, since our inception in 2016, has been to get the finest multidisciplinary team of clinicians to work together with a holistic approach. Currently, we have a world-class team of 22 cancer specialists the largest such team in India that understands and evaluates each patients unique journey.

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Important to balance benefits of cancer-related care with risks related to COVID-19: Dr Hari Menon - Express Healthcare