- Patient Stories, Plastic Surgery & Skin CareGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAfter years of struggling with a large chest, Elliot Gordon (name changed for privacy) decided to look into top surgery, which is the removal of breast tissue to create a more masculine appearance. It’s a form of gender-affirming care. Gordon developed breasts at a young age and not only found them uncomfortable but as they got older, they did not identify as a woman and did not want breasts. “I never liked having breasts. They caused back and neck pain,” says Gordon. In addition, Gordon has a strong family history of breast cancer. They reached out to Luminis Health to learn about surgical treatment options. After learning about Gordon’s discomfort, identity and family history, the breast surgery and plastic surgery teams decided to work together to treat Gordon. A Luminis Health breast surgeon performed a double mastectomy to remove breast tissue. The plastic surgery team worked on the reconstruction and design of incisions to give Gordon an aesthetic flat closure. “It was a great experience,” says Gordon. “Everyone treated me with respect and kindness. I could not have asked for a better team.” “It was an honor to treat Gordon,” says Derek Masden, MD. “Not only did surgery reduce Gordon’s risk of cancer, it helped them feel comfortable in their own skin.” In Gordon’s case, the surgery was considered a mastectomy, which is used to treat breast cancer and can be done preventatively for those with a high risk of developing cancer. In other cases, breast removal for gender-affirming care is considered top surgery. While not related to cancer, it is incredibly important for the lives of transgender people. Here are a few benefits of gender-affirming care: Improves Mental Health: Gender affirming care can significantly reduce gender dysphoria, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues that transgender individuals may experience. Improves Body Satisfaction: Hormone therapy and surgeries can help transgender individuals feel more comfortable and satisfied with their bodies, reducing feelings of distress or discomfort associated with physical characteristics incongruent with their gender identity. Strengthens Relationships: Gender affirming care can help transgender individuals build healthier relationships with themselves and others by fostering self-acceptance, authenticity, and open communication. Supports Long-Term Health Outcomes: Gender affirming care can contribute to better long-term health outcomes by addressing both physical and mental health needs, ultimately reducing healthcare disparities among transgender individuals. If you or someone you know is interested in gender-affirming surgery, please visit our Plastic Surgery group to request a consultation.0
- WellnessGeneral Page Tier 3BlogSpring has sprung, even if nature hasn’t quite caught up. Saying goodbye to winter in part means shedding any leftover holiday eating habits. Spring cleaning is about doing away with eating habits that ultimately don’t make you feel healthy and happy. Here are some tips to redirect your eating habits: Skip the juice cleanses, detoxes, and fad diets Quick fixes won’t result in any lasting weight loss. Depriving yourself isn’t healthy and is actually counterproductive, setting yourself up for a diet ‘merry go round.’ For long-lasting, sustainable changes, slow and steady wins the race. Overly restrictive diets often exclude entire food groups, which can cause you to skimp on important nutrients like fiber. Stop with the juicing. Tidy your kitchen De-clutter cabinets, give the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer a once over and throw out or donate the foods that are sabotaging your wellness goals. If you are really looking to tune up your eating habits, be mindful of the junk foods you keep stocked in the house. Restock your shelves with fresh, less processed choices. Organize spaces by placing the healthiest items at eye level. Line the counters with fresh fruits and vegetables to encourage more consumption. Make one meal a day vegetable based Try to add more vegetables to dishes that already have them present, such as soups, salads, pasta salads, tacos, or make a variety of cold vegetable dishes for sides at lunch and dinner. As we move into a new season, take the opportunity to include ‘in season’ fruits and vegetables into your diet. Slash the Sugar Winter is candy season from Halloween until Easter. The goal here isn’t to remove every granule of sugar from your diet in a frenzy, but to consider minimizing the added sugars that can contribute to fatigue, diabetes and heart disease. Try replacing some of the sugars in sweetened drinks and snacks with healthier options. Rely on natural sugars in fruits to get your sweet fix. Stop taking out and start cooking Eating healthier takes effort. Planning and putting in the time to cook is worth it and will become habit forming, not to mention cheaper. Taking control of how you fuel your body will pay in dividends with good health. Cut back on alcohol Summer evening happy hours and vacations don’t make it easy, but aim to cut down on your drinking. Alcohol is not only worthless in terms of nutrition but it can cause you to make less healthy food choices while you are drinking. Some libations can even promote appetite. Moderation with all behavior change is preferred, which includes drinking. Perhaps save indulgences for the weekends, and devise a non-alcoholic spritzer for a substitution. Be mindful Trying to eat mindfully is helpful whether you are striving to lose weight, gain weight or eat healthier. Tune into your body’s hunger and satiety cues. Avoid skipping meals and then later fall into snacking on treats that are not usually heathy options. The most important thing is to take inventory, make a plan and move ahead to eating and feeling better. Authors Ann Caldwell and Maureen Shackelford are nutritionists and registered dietitians at Anne Arundel Medical Center. To reach them, call 443-481-5555. Originally published April 3, 2018. Last updated Sept 17, 20250
- Cancer CareGeneral Page Tier 3Blog“Overcoming obstacles and reaching for the stars” was the message retired NASA astronaut and cancer survivor Don Thomas shared at the 2017 National Cancer Survivorship Day event. The Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) DeCesaris Cancer Institute hosted the annual event. Don shared his experience of overcoming barriers as the first cancer survivor to go to space. His talk made me think about how patients may feel ‘lost in space’ when navigating the complicated cancer care journey, including survivorship. The cancer journey includes living with, through and beyond cancer as a chronic disease. Survivorship is a distinct phase of the experience. Here are some experiences people living beyond a cancer diagnosis face and advice to help navigate. Managing late or long-term effects of cancer or its treatment. Learn as much as you can about self-management of side effects. This promotes your independence and better control over the situation. Consider rehabilitation services to maintain or restore physical abilities or control symptoms. And be sure to ask questions and communicate any concerns with your healthcare provider. Returning to work. Decide, in advance, how and what you will share with coworkers. This is a personal choice. Set limits for the discussion if you choose to have the conversation. Also, familiarize yourself with laws and regulations that protect against workplace discrimination, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Changing your lifestyle to reduce risk of cancer recurrence. Exercise routinely, at least three to five times per week, and be physically active. Eat healthy foods, including the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Minimize or eliminate alcohol intake. And maintain or get to a healthy weight. Research shows that obesity increases the risk of cancer recurrence. Continuing with follow-up care. Pay attention to new, persistent or unusual symptoms. See your healthcare provider regularly. Also, get recommended screenings to detect early cancer. Early detection can result in better treatment options and outcomes. Adjusting to relationship changes. Reach out for support, whether it’s one-on-one counseling, support groups, or another cancer survivor or supportive person. It’s also important to recognize that a cancer diagnosis impacts the entire family. Different personalities react differently to stress. A cancer diagnosis opens up uncharted territory in a person’s life. But you are not alone in navigating the complicated cancer care journey. And that includes navigating survivorship. There are mentor programs, such as Survivors Offering Support (SOS) at AAMC, that provide peer-to-peer mentorship and emotional support. For more information, contact AAMC’s oncology concierge at 443-481-5864 or visit www.askAAMC.org/cancer/survivorship.php. Author Madelaine Binner is an oncology nurse practitioner at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Originally published June 19, 2017. Last updated May 15, 2018.0
- Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogFor most pregnant women, prenatal appointments are typically a one-on-one experience with an OB/GYN or midwife. But a growing trend in prenatal care called CenteringPregnancy® is shifting the way women receive care during pregnancy. CenteringPregnancy® combines the one-on-one provider experience with group prenatal care. Over the course of 10 prenatal visits, women receive routine prenatal care and spend time discussing pregnancy health topics with a group of 8 to 12 expecting moms who are all due at the same time. With this group-based program, moms not only receive personalized prenatal health care, they also have an opportunity to build friendships and community that can support them throughout pregnancy and motherhood. What does a CenteringPregnancy® visit include? CenteringPregnancy® visits include health assessments, a belly check with your provider and discussion time with the group of moms. Meetings start at 16 weeks of pregnancy and continue through the moms’ due date month. Unlike typical one-on-one visits, CenteringPregnancy® visits last between 90 minutes and two hours. This means moms get 10 times the average time spent with a provider during a prenatal check-up. Health assessment Every CenteringPregnancy® meeting starts with a health assessment, which is a time to check and record your basic health data. What’s unique about the CenteringPregnancy program is that you’ll learn how to take your own weight and blood pressure and document the information in your own chart. Belly check Each meeting also includes one-on-one time with your provider for a private belly check. You can also use this time to ask private questions that you may not feel comfortable sharing with the rest of the group. Group discussion In addition to the health check-ups, most of the CenteringPregnancy® visit includes ample group time with fellow moms and their partners or support people. During the group discussion, your care team will lead conversations and interactive activities that cover important topics like nutrition, stress management, common discomforts, labor and delivery, breastfeeding and infant care. The group discussion period always includes time for moms to discuss and ask questions about topics that are important to them. What are the benefits of CenteringPregnancy®? CenteringPregnancy® has been shown to improve the lives and outcomes of pregnant women. While the program may not be for everyone, it can bring many benefits for expecting moms and their families, including: Empowering moms to take charge of their own health Helping moms create friendships that can support them throughout pregnancy and motherhood Encouraging positive health behaviors and better health outcomes Helping ease anxiety and feelings of isolation that many new moms face Research has also shown that CenteringPregnancy can improve birth outcomes, such as: Lowering your risk of preterm births Reducing low birth weight Increasing breastfeeding rates In fact, a 2015 study done by the Yale School of Public Health found that group prenatal care can help the health of mother and baby. The study showed that women who participated in group prenatal care were 33 percent less likely to have babies with a low birth weight. The moms who had group care also had babies who spent less time in the neonatal intensive care unit. Is CenteringPregnancy® covered under my insurance? Group prenatal care like CenteringPregnancy® is usually billed to your insurance plan as a prenatal visit, so there shouldn’t be extra out-of-pocket costs for participating. Because CenteringPregnancy is your prenatal visit, it isn’t considered to be an added service, such as a childbirth education class. However, it’s important to talk with your insurance provider first to check your coverage. To learn more about CenteringPregnancy® and whether it’s right for you, talk to your provider or care team. Contributor: Ginny Bowers, Certified Nurse Midwife and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).0
- WellnessGeneral Page Tier 3BlogGetting ready to welcome a new member of the family comes swaddled with so much joy, excitement and expectation. But as a mom-to-be, you’re likely having moments of stress with that anticipation, too. Let’s face it — pregnancy can feel overwhelming sometimes. Nurturing and helping a new life grow requires a lot from you — physically and mentally. Of course, you need to make your growing baby’s needs a priority, but to do that well, you need to make yourself a priority, too. Sound too indulgent? If you’re one of those women who aren’t used to putting yourself first, it probably does. But it’s a good-health habit that will help you mother well in the years ahead when family life pulls you in many directions and you need to recharge. Here are six tips to help you find a balance during pregnancy and beyond: 1. Feed yourself and your baby well When you’re pregnant, you and your baby need a double dose of good nutrition to help nourish all the changes your bodies are going through. But, if pregnancy has you feeling nauseous, eating anything may be at the bottom of your to-do list. Or, maybe the only thing that sounds even a little tempting doesn’t score many points when it comes to logging nutritious food. Thankfully, morning sickness usually fades away by the end of your first trimester, and you can focus on eating the “good stuff:” plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, low-fat dairy and whole grains. Fuel yourself well and you’ll do the same for your baby. 2. Get plenty of rest Feeling tired during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, is normal. Some days, all you can think about is bedtime. When fatigue hits, nap when you can. Of course, work schedules, other kids, and day-to-day tasks of keeping up with life can make it tough to catch 40 winks. Discover the joy of a power nap. Putting up your feet and shutting your eyes for a quick 5-15 minutes is often all the recharge you need. Do your best to shut down early enough at night to give yourself a solid 7-9 hours of sleep. 3. Get moving If you’re healthy and your pregnancy is on track, don’t let your expanding baby bump keep you from being active. Regular exercise during pregnancy is energizing, mood-lifting, and a great way to work out stress. The American College of Gynecologists recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensive activity. That doesn’t mean training for a marathon. Thirty minutes five days a week of any activity — a brisk walk, raking leaves, bicycling — that raises your heart rate and works up a sweat does the job. Of course, talk with your doctor about exercising during pregnancy, even if you were active before. 4. Practice mindfulness Take time to tune in to your mind, body and baby. When you’re feeling stressed, tired or overwhelmed, shutting out the world and connecting with how you feel can be the reset you need. Journaling is one way to focus on how you’re feeling and track changes you and your growing baby are going through. You’ll also like having a record to look back on. 5. Drink up Making an effort to drink plenty of water may not seem like self-care when you’re making all those trips to the bathroom, but it takes more water to keep your system running for two when you’re pregnant. Your body needs water to: Build new tissue Carry and absorb nutrients Digest food Flush out wastes and toxins Form amniotic fluid Produce extra blood When you get in the recommended 64-96 ounces of water a day, you’re showing you and your baby lots of love. 6. Get the nest ready Creating order may be just what you need when you’re feeling and seeing so many changes in your body. Making lists of things you want to get done before you welcome your baby will help you feel more in control, which can help whittle away stress and anxiety. Don’t go crazy and overwhelm yourself with more to do than you can manage. Keep that list simple and top it with what’s most important. This was originally published in the Enquirer-Gazette. Authors Chasheryl Leslie, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Luminis Health Ob-Gyn Bowie.0
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