Fw: from AWARE - UAE Article

[Guest guest]

Story from July 8 issue of the Seattle Columbian was recently posted on

AWARE website. (Association of Women for the Advancement of Research and

Education) No byline provided -- author unknown.

http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/Inthenews/fibroidtumors.htm

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Last updated 09/01/99

In The News

New Treatment for Fibroid Tumors

New Treatment Offers Hope To Women Suffering Fibroid Tumors

July 8, 1999

SEATTLE (AP) - Since October, a storm of demand from long-suffering women

has boosted the number of Seattle-area hospitals offering a new treatment

for fibroid tumors from one to five. It's no surprise. Previously, the only

treatments were surgical removal, after which tumors often grow back;

hysterectomy, a traumatic option that eliminates the possibility of

child-bearing; and drug therapies that offer only a short-term remedy.

While not life-threatening, uterine fibroid tumors can be painful and cause

a host of complications, including sterility. They are suffered by 20

percent of American woman and by 40 percent over the age of 40, though only

a third experience symptoms. The new procedure, called uterine artery

embolization, shrinks fibroids by blocking their blood supply with tiny

plastic particles injected into an artery. It requires only a tiny incision,

a local anesthetic and one night in the hospital. The procedure was a

godsend for one 43-year-old Seattle woman, whose benign fibroid tumor was so

big she looked eight months pregnant. Five months later, her tumor has

shrunk significantly and continues to do so.

Another woman, Terry Keenan of Seattle, says the pain and excessive monthly

bleeding her fibroids caused have disappeared since she underwent the

procedure in February. Fibroids, whose cause is unknown, tend to shrink

after menopause, which probably indicates an estrogren connection. But many

women don't want to wait that long. The new technique has been available in

France since the early 1990s and at a few U.S. hospitals since 1996. Demand

has increased since the procedure was featured on an Oprah Winfrey show. In

October, Providence Seattle Medical Center became the first local hospital

to offer the procedure and has performed about 20 of them. It now is also

offered at the University of Washington Medical Center, Northwest Hospital,

Everett's Providence General Medical Center and Evergreen General Hospital.

" It's a pretty slick procedure " that's getting good results, said Dr.

, who performs the treatment at Providence Seattle.

Long-term clinical studies comparing outcomes with those of other

fibroid-fighting treatments are yet to be done. But the technique has long

been used for other medical conditions, including shrinking other kinds of

tumors. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists consider the

procedure experimental and recommends it be performed only as part of a

study, a spokesman said.

Most women's health-advocacy groups so far are cautious but neutral, noting

that the track record for uterine embolization is short. Whether the new

technique preserves fertility remains unsettled. A small number of women

have experienced early menopause following the treatment, possibly because

it cut off blood supply to the ovaries. It appears a larger number have

become pregnant and given birth. But for now, most doctors recommend the

procedure only for women who do not want to become pregnant - generally

women in their late 30s or 40s, when fibroids become most troublesome.

Uterine embolization also carries a small risk of infection, which can lead

to a hysterectomy. The treatment also is not appropriate for any woman with

a very rapidly growing tumor, which could be cancerous and require other

treatment.

Symptoms improve in about 85-90 percent of cases, according to follow-up

reports from practitioners. Though the shrunken fibroids remain, they

essentially turn into scars, causing symptoms to decline or disappear.

Though uterine embolization is less invasive than hysterectomy, the

procedures cost about the same, largely because of the expensive, high-tech

equipment required for the new treatment. Shorter hospital stays and fewer

medication may cut costs overall, but cost-comparison studies are lacking.

Some insurance plans consider uterine embolization experimental and do not

pay for it. Others consider it experimental but consider coverage on a

case-by-case basis.

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Guest guest]

BTW, Jeffery (quoted in the article) is a doctor who has

posted to the embo egroup with info about insurance coverage of UFE.

At 01:17 PM 9/26/99 -0700, Carla wrote:

>Story from July 8 issue of the Seattle Columbian was recently posted on

>AWARE website. (Association of Women for the Advancement of Research and

>Education) No byline provided -- author unknown.

>

>http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/Inthenews/fibroidtumors.htm

>

>

>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

>Last updated 09/01/99

>In The News

>

>

>

> New Treatment for Fibroid Tumors

>

>New Treatment Offers Hope To Women Suffering Fibroid Tumors

>

>July 8, 1999

>

>

>SEATTLE (AP) - Since October, a storm of demand from long-suffering women

>has boosted the number of Seattle-area hospitals offering a new treatment

>for fibroid tumors from one to five. It's no surprise. Previously, the only

>treatments were surgical removal, after which tumors often grow back;

>hysterectomy, a traumatic option that eliminates the possibility of

>child-bearing; and drug therapies that offer only a short-term remedy.

>

>While not life-threatening, uterine fibroid tumors can be painful and cause

>a host of complications, including sterility. They are suffered by 20

>percent of American woman and by 40 percent over the age of 40, though only

>a third experience symptoms. The new procedure, called uterine artery

>embolization, shrinks fibroids by blocking their blood supply with tiny

>plastic particles injected into an artery. It requires only a tiny incision,

>a local anesthetic and one night in the hospital. The procedure was a

>godsend for one 43-year-old Seattle woman, whose benign fibroid tumor was so

>big she looked eight months pregnant. Five months later, her tumor has

>shrunk significantly and continues to do so.

>

>Another woman, Terry Keenan of Seattle, says the pain and excessive monthly

>bleeding her fibroids caused have disappeared since she underwent the

>procedure in February. Fibroids, whose cause is unknown, tend to shrink

>after menopause, which probably indicates an estrogren connection. But many

>women don't want to wait that long. The new technique has been available in

>France since the early 1990s and at a few U.S. hospitals since 1996. Demand

>has increased since the procedure was featured on an Oprah Winfrey show. In

>October, Providence Seattle Medical Center became the first local hospital

>to offer the procedure and has performed about 20 of them. It now is also

>offered at the University of Washington Medical Center, Northwest Hospital,

>Everett's Providence General Medical Center and Evergreen General Hospital.

>

> " It's a pretty slick procedure " that's getting good results, said Dr.

> , who performs the treatment at Providence Seattle.

>ETC>>>>>>>>>>>>

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