Wellness Trails is back for October Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Before the COVID-19 pandemic spelled the end of most in-person gatherings, Cape Cod Healthcare’s Wellness Trails program was a popular forum for those interested in learning more about the latest ways to stay healthy. With things returning to normal now, Wellness Trails is back, and needed more than ever, according to Kumara Sidhartha, MD, MPH, an internal medicine physician and Medical Director of the Cape Cod Healthcare Accountable Care Organization and the Employee Health Plan.
“What the pandemic highlighted is the importance of wellness; the importance of individuals taking charge of their own health; taking the proactive steps necessary to be healthy,” he said.
The first Wellness Trails event in more than two years – “Proactive Breast Care” - will be held on Oct. 26, 2022. The event, which will run from 6-7:30 p.m., will be a virtual program, in the interest of allowing as many people as possible to participate. Dr. Sidhartha will speak to the health habits that help prevent the disease. He will be joined by Cape Cod Hospital Breast Surgeon and Director of Breast Services Jill Oxley, MD, who will speak on the importance of early detection of breast cancer through regular screening.
Correction: the final bullet on slide 9 (~07:17) should read “Survival is dependent on stage at diagnosis"
Those who were most at risk of serious illness and death during the pandemic were those with co-morbidities or other chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart conditions and cancer, Dr. Sidhartha explained.
“This understanding drove home the importance of wellness,” he said, which is why the return of Wellness Trails is especially welcome.
Past attendees of Wellness Trails events (videos of some past events can be viewed on the Wellness Trails web page) in post-event surveys praised the program as a “bonus for patient education,” and a “positive community service.” Wellness Trails was an outgrowth of the popular Vivapalooza Wellness Expo presented by the former Emerald Physicians primary care practice and drew more than 2500 people.
At the Oct. 26 Wellness Trails event, Dr. Sidhartha will discuss his recommendations for ways to stay healthy, overall, and to take care of your breast health, specifically. In a sneak peak, he said if people made one lifestyle change to reduce their cancer risk – eat a wholesome unprocessed, plant-based diet for as many meals as possible - they would improve their breast and overall health considerably.
“It sounds really simple and that’s the beauty of it,” he said. “It’s simple and it’s so profoundly powerful.”
At the Wellness Trails event, Dr. Sidhartha will elaborate on this piece of advice and give details about how to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, and what kinds of foods are especially healthy.
Dr. Oxley will focus her remarks on the importance of breast cancer screening and at what age women should start. She will discuss the myths and misconceptions around screening that can hold women back from it and will stress the importance of early detection of cancer as the best way to ensure a positive outcome.
“Survival is highly dependent on the stage of diagnosis, and with screening mammography, we are able to detect the majority of breast cancers at very early stages, when the disease is limited to the breast and has not spread to lymph nodes or distant body parts,” she said.
Future CCHC Wellness Trails programs will be announced soon and will likely include an event in February in honor of American Heart Month.
