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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which means you’re probably seeing ribbons and the color pink on almost every corner. This “pinkwashing” in October serves as a constant reminder of the disease. For those affected by breast cancer, it also makes October a hard month to emotionally navigate. 

Increased awareness is crucial for the fight against breast cancer, but it needs to extend beyond the flood of pink ribbons in October. Here are some ways you can join us in turning Pinktober awareness into year-round action:

• Support survivors and those affected by checking on them to see how they are faring with the increased reminders.

• Honor the many lives affected by reminding your loved ones (and yourself) to schedule and keep regular GYN appointments that include a clinical breast exam.

• Remain breast-health aware throughout the entire year by educating yourself on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, along with the proper technique for conducting regular self-breast exams.

UAB Radiation Oncology is proud to be a part of the National Cancer Institute-designed O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and a breast cancer program that ranks among the best in the nation. Patients who come to UAB Medicine for breast cancer treatment have access to the full array of specialists within our system, along with a wide range of patient resources to support you physically and emotionally. For more information on UAB Medicine breast cancer patient care and resources, visit https://www.uabmedicine.org/patient-care/conditions/breast-cancer?medallia=occ-survey. 

The UAB Departments of Radiation Oncology and Cardiology are looking for patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) not controlled by medications and catheter ablation.

The trial will allow patients suffering from VT despite standard of care regimens to undergo non-invasive cardiac radioablation (CRA; a type of stereotactic body radiotherapy) to the area of the heart responsible for their symptoms. Stereotactic body radiotherapy is delivered with a device called the linear accelerator, which is primarily used to treat patients with cancer.

UAB is one of the first centers in the U.S. to obtain a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational device exemption for use of the linear accelerator in this capacity on a phase I/II trial.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, a center which pioneered this promising technique in the U.S.

For more information on the RAD 1901 trial, please contact Adelyn Gillon, clinical research coordinator, at 205.975.3019 or agillon@uabmc.edu.