19th annual NSMC Cancer Walk set for Sunday

SALEM – The 19th annual North Shore Medical Center Cancer Walk, a benefit event that has raised more than $14 million since its inception to fight cancer, gets under way Sunday.The 6.2-mile route begins and ends at Salem Willows Park. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and the event has a rolling start beginning at 8 a.m.The walk is the North Shore’s largest single-day fundraising event. This year, all proceeds will directly benefit the relocation of the NSMC Cancer Center in Peabody to the new Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers.Last year, the proceeds assisted with the expansion of the cancer center that was under construction and is now a state-of-the-art oncology facility. The Danvers ambulatory care center was designed to offer comprehensive and coordinated medical, surgical and radiation oncology care in a community-based environment,Organizers note that registering for the cancer walk is easy. Anyone interested in participating by walking or making a donation can register online at www.nsmccancerwalk.org or call toll-free 866-296-6900. Walkers will find an array of entertainment and refreshment breaks along the route.According to Kate Evans-Correia, a spokeswoman for NSMC, the cancer walk provides critical financial resources for an important cause, as evidenced by case studies like that of Charles Breen of Lynn.”After hearing of Charlie Breen’s ordeal with throat cancer, it might be hard to understand why he would consider himself one of the lucky ones,” she said.Breen, 58, was diagnosed with throat cancer in the summer of 2005 after discovering a small lump on the base of his tongue. He sought advice from an oral surgeon who told him it was “probably no big deal” but suggested a biopsy just in case. As it turned out, Breen had a tumor than needed quick removal.Two weeks after the surgery, Breen remained in extreme pain and was referred to the NSMC Cancer Center. “Once I went there, all the red flags were raised,” said Breen, a longtime Lynn resident.Following a needle biopsy at Salem Hospital, he was sent to Mass General Hospital for a consultation with a team of doctors, including Dr. Eric Weber, a radiation oncologist at NSMC Cancer Center. In order to remove the tumor, doctors freed Breen’s tongue from the floor of his mouth and cleaned the site. Using a graft from his left wrist, doctors then reconstructed the floor of Breen’s mouth. It was also necessary to remove his bottom teeth.But the ordeal was far from over. The cancer had metastasized to other parts of Breen’s mouth and neck. He underwent a radical neck surgery. Without it, his chances of survival would have been greatly reduced, Correia said.Ten days after the neck surgery, Breen was back at the NSMC Cancer Center to undergo chemotherapy and radiation, under treatment by Dr. Gauri Bhide, a medical oncologist, and Dr. Derek Chism, a radiation oncologist.”It’s amazing what they did. Outside, you can’t tell. I just have a scar. All the students though at Mass Eye and Ear come and look at it,” said Breen, amused by the attention. “They cut me ear to ear. They peeled me back like a banana.”The chemotherapy and radiation was undeniably difficult. “It’s like an atom bomb exploded in your mouth,” said Breen, noting that the actual treatment pales in comparison to the recovery process. Due to the tongue tissue removed, Breen was unable to talk or swallow and had to relearn those skills.Beverly D’Angelis was Breen’s speech therapist at NSMC. “I saw her a couple times a week for a long time,” said Breen. “She would have different kinds of food to try, but mostly it was the swallowing. It was very painful.”Despite the hardship, Breen has described himself as a lucky man. In his support group for survivors of head and neck cancers he encountered a man with identical medical problems who also had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Yet another cancer survivor was scheduled to have his jaw replaced with titanium. “I look at them and say, I’m so lucky. There’s al