In early April, Maina Foundation founder and president, Alka Shrikhande, and board members David Schultz and Manju Soni, met with staff at the hospital to tour their state-of-the-art cancer management facility and to see the laser equipment Maina Foundations donation help fund. Above, L-R: Lisa Bazinet, Gen Schies, Manju Soni, Suzanne Plante, Alka Shrikhande, David Schulz, Donna Handley, Tiffany Rindell
Here’s a short write-up from the hospital.
“Thanks to the Maina Foundation, post-mastectomy breast cancer patients who develop lymphedema – a painful swelling of tissue – will be able to receive cutting-edge low level laser treatments in both Norwich and Waterford.
To provide this service, each piece of laser equipment costs $3,000. The Maina Foundation covered the cost for both, bringing the technology and training to staff at Hartford Healthcare Rehabilitation Network office in Waterford and the Backus Outpatient Care Center in Norwich.
Linda Hodgkins, manager of the Lymphedema Clinical Program for the Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network, has been advocating for this technology for years. She said breast cancer surgery and treatment can have a devastating effect on the body’s lymph system, especially when nodes are removed as part of treatment. Those changes can result in the backup of fluid, leading to lymphedema in the arms, hands, fingers, chest and back.
Typical treatment of lymphedema is called complete decongestive therapy (CDT), which includes massage, bandaging, exercise and skin care. Adding the laser treatment to the mix increases the success of reducing hardened scar tissue and getting the fluid to better flow through the body – it makes the CDT more effective.
Tiffany J. Rindell, regional director of Rehabilitation for the East Region, noted that “By integrating this advanced technology, we can significantly expand our ability to address the specific needs of our patients with breast cancer, bringing effective and innovative care directly to those who need it most.”
‘Having generous donor support from the Maina Foundation makes adding top-tier treatment like this possible.’”