For Patients and Family

Free Health Screening Opportunities

Partners in Wellness Program

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center sponsors a community-based Partners in Wellness health screening program which operates on a year-round basis. Partners In Wellness screening is free to financially qualified uninsured or under-insured individuals.  Screening tests for prostate, colorectal, breast and cervical cancer are offered. The goal of the program is to reduce the burden of cancer in Louisiana by early detection and prevention. Partners In Wellness aims to promote good health through routine screening exams and education. To make a screening appointment or to receive more information,
call  (318) 813-2225 or 1-800-582-4523.

Included in the screening is:

A general exam for men and women including:

• Blood Pressure
• Body Weight/Height
• Urine Glucose (checks for diabetes)
• Cholesterol

* 45 years of age for African Americans and other high risk groups.
Especially high risk men may be screened starting at age 40.

Partners In Wellness sites are:

New sites will be opening soon in Natchitoches and Alexandria.

PIW screening is supported by Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, the CDC Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, and the Shreveport-Bossier Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program

• Breast Cancer
• Ovarian Cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Endometrial Uterine Cancer
• Melanoma

Does cancer run in your family? You can reduce the risk. We can help.

What Is Hereditary Cancer?

Cancer is a common disease. However, some people have a greater chance of developing cancer. This may be due to gene changes that can be passed on through the family. Inherited gene changes are responsible for 5-10% of all cancers.

A careful review of your personal and family history will help determine whether cancer might be hereditary in your family.

Do you think cancer may be hereditary in your family?

If your personal or family history includes any of the following risk factors, you and your family may benefit from a visit with our cancer genetic counselors:

• Cancer before the age of 50 (Breast, Ovarian, Colon, or Endometrial)
• Families with 2 or more women with breast cancer diagnosed before the age of 50
• Women with breast cancer diagnosed 50 years old or younger, even in the absence of a family history
• Personal or family history of ovarian cancer (at any age)
• Personal or family history of male breast cancer (at any age)
• Personal or family history of bilateral breast cancer-cancer in both breasts (at any age)
• Personal or family history of both breast & ovarian cancer in the same individual (at any age)
• Ashkenazi Jewish background with a personal or family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer
• Polyposis (multiple polyps in the stomach or intestines)
• Same type of cancer in several generations of your family
• Concern about developing cancer because of family history

It is important to remember that this list is only to help you think about your family history of cancer. Not everyone who has one of these risk factors is at risk for hereditary cancer.

What does the Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center offer?

Family History Review. A review of your medical and family history to determine if there are any signs of hereditary cancer.

Hereditary Cancer Education. A discussion on how genetic changes (mutations) may increase your risk for cancer.

Screening and Prevention. A review of the screening and prevention options based on your family history.

Genetic Testing. A discussion of the testing options for certain genetic changes (mutations).

Hereditary Cancer Risk Program Staff

Gary Von Burton, MD
Co-Director, Breast Cancer Program

Benjamin D. Li, MD, FACS
Co-Director, Breast and Solid Tumor Program
Dr. Charles Knight Sr. Professor
Chairman, Department of Surgery

Mary Lowery-Nordberg, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics
Director of Molecular Pathology and Cancer Cytogenetics, LSUHSC

Mary Gutowski-Futch RN, MSN, APNG
Nurse Manager of Hereditary Cancer Program

Please call the Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program at (318) 813-1226 to set up an appointment.

If you are interested in participating in the Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program (HCRAP), please open, print and complete the following forms:

Referral Form. To enter the program (Adobe) (Word) Fax to (318) 813-1241.
Program Form. (Adobe PDF Format) (MS Word Format) Bring to your appointment.

Head & Neck Cancer Screening

Friday, May 1, 2009, the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at LSUHSC-Shreveport directed by Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD, and Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, offer a FREE screening to look for signs of cancer affecting the head and neck region.

More than 40,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with cancer of the head and neck region–those cancers affecting the mouth, lips, salivary glands, voice box, sinuses and nasal cavity. Head and neck cancer is the sixth-most-common type of cancer in the United States, and less than 60 percent of head and neck cancer patients live five years after diagnosis. More than 90 percent of all head and neck cancers could have been prevented.

The Yul Brynner Head & Neck Foundation sponsors Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week April 27 – May 3, 2009 to champion awareness of this disease. Increased awareness of oral head and neck cancers aids prevention efforts. Annual cancer screenings could result in an earlier diagnosis, lower functional disability and higher survival rates.

Call (318) 675-6262 for more information about this screening.

Prostate Cancer Screening

In September, Partners In Wellness offers a free prostate cancer screening to men ages 40 and older as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Week. Typically, clients may start making their free screening appointments for the program at the end of July. Call (318) 675-6421 for more information.

Colorectal Cancer Screening

FITCO Louisiana Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Project: This is not a research project, but a feasibility study of a new Fecal Immunochemical Test for colorectal cancer screening. Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is the major participant and coordinating center in north Louisiana.