The Journey Continues, Part III
In December of 2008, Dr. DuPree, along with esteemed colleagues cardiologist Dr. Deirdre Walsh and Ob-Gyn Dr. Amy Harvey, launched a weekly radio show called The Medical View: East Meets West (www.themedicalview.tv ). The show is intended to educate, empower and enlighten their listeners as to how to create a healthy balance of healing the body mind and spirit through combining Eastern modalities of healing integrated with the latest medical breakthroughs in Western technology. The show is presented live on Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on WWDB 860AM and on Live web stream at www.wwdbam.com . “We do not get paid to do our show,” Dr. DuPree said. “We want to feature great doctors on our show to allow our listeners to be educated by the best. You have all of these shows teaching people how to invest in their financial future but, if they don’t invest in their most important resource – their physical and emotional well being – it doesn’t matter how much money they have in the bank because they’re not taking it with them. Dede is a phenomenal cardiologist, Amy is an amazing Ob-Gyn and I’m the breast surgeon so, from a woman’s health perspective that pretty much covers everything.”
Dr. Dupree is now serving as the Medical Director of the Breast Health Program at Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center in Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania. “The people on the team, Michael Laign, and Shelly Urofsky have been great. The leadership sets the tone for the program and their support will really enable the program to focus on the needs of the patients. I chose Holy Redeemer because we had common goals and they had already committed to enhancing their breast health program. By partnering with them, I can offer my patients a complete experience which stresses a holistic approach to healing. We seek to care for the total person by delivering comprehensive services, excellent quality, and meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of the women we serve. My partners and I are optimistic about transitioning the model to its new stage at Holy Redeemer.” Dr. DuPree practices with breast surgeons, Stacy Krisher, MD and Catherine Carruthers, MD in their private practice, Comprehensive Breast Care Surgeons, located in Bensalem, PA.
Dr. DuPree views Holy Redeemer’s (www.holyredeemer.com ) recently launched new marketing campaign as a sign that she is in the right place. “The campaign is directly in alignment with my philosophy of breast care. It speaks to caring for the whole person through a continuum of care and embracing life fully throughout the many changes it brings.” The campaign theme, “Life’s Calling,” resounds with Dr. DuPree because it reflects her beliefs about life and healthcare— Life is a journey and holistic care and services help make the journey longer, richer and more rewarding.
Holy Redeemer offers a workout facility on the hospital campus as physical fitness is integral to overall health and wellness, and Dr. DuPree encourages her patients to do the “hard work” of taking care of themselves. Encouraging fitness is a part of Dr. DuPree’s holistic approach to caring for her patients. Recently, Dr. DuPree took her patients physical conditioning to the next level. With the support of The Healing Consciousness Foundation (www.hcfbucks.org ) she engaged her personal trainer, Vaughn Hebron and Rachel Speller, to work with these amazing women who are all breast cancer survivors. “Vaughn and Rachael train our survivors twice a week. They started their workouts in October and they are inspiring and amazing. These are all women who have gone some combination of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy and most of them are boomers! You have to see their pictures on Vaughn’s website (www.vmovement.com ). They are listening to the messages I’ve been giving them and our foundation is affording them the opportunity to do this.”
When Dr. DuPree and Holy Redeemer leaders began collaborating on enhancing their breast health program, it seemed natural for Holy Redeemer to sponsor the Medical View radio show, as yet another means to continue to educate women. “We’re informative, we have a wide audience, and Holy Redeemer brings additional resources and medical talent to the show” she said.
Dr. DuPree recently wrote an article entitled “Maintain Your Breast Health by Knowing your Risks” in Bucks County Woman Magazine, October 2009 where she talks about the risk factors for developing breast cancer that you can change. “These are the risk factors you have control over. Why would you let them control you? You shouldn’t wait until you are diagnosed with cancer to make those changes!”
“My foundation provides holistic services to our patients diagnosed with breast cancer. We now have fitness, wellness and acupuncture in addition to reiki, massage, reflexology and psychological counseling. In January we will begin cooking classes to teach our breast cancer thrivers how to eat a healthy diet. I’m closing the loop and covering all of our bases.”
On March 27th Dr DuPree will be a featured speaker at
Voices for Healing…Our Planet…Ourselves
The conference is an integrative breast cancer conference.
Her two lectures:
Blended Medicine: How East meets West (CME session)
Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 9:05-9:55am, with another 10 minutes for Q&A.
How Survivors become Thrivers
general audience on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 11:45am – 12:30pm.
Dr. DuPree will essentially close the session of guest speakers before Olivia Newton John makes some final remarks.
www.wcupa.edu/voicesforhealing
Tickets for the keynote address on March 26 featuring Olivia Newton-John are $25 per person. Conference tickets are $65 for Professionals, $35 for General Admission and $25 for West Chester University Students. Tickets for the concert starring Olivia Newton-John range from $50 – $100 apiece. Weekend passes, including tickets to a gala dinner and the concert, are also available. For tickets, log onto http://www.wcupa.edu/VoicesforHealing
To read MORE Magazine’s features on Dr. Beth DuPree, click on the links provided below…
MORE Magazine: The Good Doctor
By Melinda Henneberger
http://www.more.com/2026/4208-breast-cancer-doctor–beth-dupree
MORE Magazine: How Dr. Beth Dupree Saved My Life
by Leslie Gruenberg
http://www.more.com/8717/5765-how-dr–beth-dupree-saved
More Magazine: “Mammologist Found”
By Beth DuPree, MD FACS
www.themedicalview.tvwww.more.com/8717/9104-breast-cancer-specialists-wanted
More Magazine: What to do if you find a breast mass
By Beth B DuPree, MD FACS
http://www.more.com/8717/3318-what-to-do-if-you
More Magazine: How to get a Second Opinion Fast
By Beth B DuPree, MD FACS
http://www.more.com/8717/8816-how-to-get-a-second
Weekly Radio show
Breast Cancer.org Expert
http://www.breastcancer.org/search.jsp?terms=Beth+DuPree
“Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk” Lifetime TV
http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/health/lower-your-breast-cancer-risk
Bucks Women’s Magazine October 2009, Maintain Breast Health by Knowing Your Risks
By Beth B DuPree, MD FACS
The Journey Continues: Part II
In April of 2008, Beth’s 83 year old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She described her mother as being a person who would invite the family to lunch to eat at noon and the food was on the table by 12:01. “One day, we didn’t eat lunch until 2:00 because my mom forgot to put the stuffing in the oven,” We thought she was suffering from mild dementia but it was getting progressively worse. Dr. DuPree said. “By July, things had escalated to the point where my dad couldn’t continue to care for her. In August, my sisters and I met, and eventually hired, an amazing woman with tremendous experience with the aging population. She met with my sisters and me, and then spent a day and a half with my parents. Based on her observations, she said there was absolutely no way my mom could remain in their house, that something bad could potentially happen if they remained in their home.” The sisters visited a retirement community called Country Meadows that offered Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s’ Day Care. “It’s a fabulous place,” Dr. DuPree said. “My sisters and I moved my parents from their six bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment on September 30th, the anniversary of my brother’s death. It was one of the most painful days because my mother did not want to leave her house. The first couple of months were really tough but now my mom has stabilized and is very happy there.”
She talks with her mom now but, after just a half hour, her mom has no recollection of their conversation. “It’s part of life and it’s the hand that we were dealt,” she said. “I remember when my girlfriend Chris was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease and thinking how horrible it was that this beautiful mind is trapped in a body that can’t function. Now I have my mom with a relatively healthy 83 year old body and a mind that doesn’t match. It makes you appreciate what you have and reminds you to do things that are important to you now instead of putting it off until later. Many baby boomers are dealing with this situation because our parents. Join us next week for Part III of The Journey Continues.
The Journey Continues: Part I
When we last spoke with Dr. Beth DuPree in 2007, she was serving as the Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Comprehensive Breast Care Institute at DSI of Bucks County, the first comprehensive breast care hospital in the country. The goal of the hospital was to educate and empower people to prevent cancer by taking care of themselves and, when diagnosed with cancer, help prevent future health disease from developing. Since that time, Beth’s personal and professional lives have taken many unexpected turns.
Exactly a year ago, Beth returned to the hospital from her annual spa weekend “Escape with More” at Miraval Tucson, AZ only to receive a phone call on Monday afternoon from one of the owners of their building. He said, “Beth, I just got off a conference call and DSI is closing the hospital on Friday” and, that quick, her world collapsed around her. “I had patients on radiation therapy and others scheduled for surgery,” Dr. DuPree said. “You create this patient care model and the patients love it and are thriving, but because of business decisions, radiation therapy was held up. The man who designed the building and the CEO of the company initially built this hospital as more of a palace instead of a facility the size we needed. It was overbuilt and underfunded. From the beginning of last November to January, I knew at any time the rug could be pulled right out from under us. I was worried about my patients’ care and my employees losing their jobs.”
Dr. DuPree began suffering with abdominal pain that she believed was stress related. After undergoing tests, she learned that she needed to undergo a sigmoid colon resection. “My surgeon was Dr. Mark Zebley, and he and his partner, Dr. Steve Fassler, performed the procedure laparoscopically,” she said. “I went in the hospital for surgery six days before DSI closed the doors. I really started to question myself. Was I stupid to use the passion that drove me to come here to build this place?” She credits her personal trainer, former Eagles and Broncos running back Vaughn Hebron at VMS Movement Specialists, a fitness center and personal training studio in Newtown, for helping her be physically and emotionally strong. “I have worked out with Vaughn three days a week for the past two years and I can honestly say that I would not have survived what I went through last year if I hadn’t been in good shape.”
After going through the surgery and being out of work for three weeks, Dr. DuPree took a step back from everything and, when the news of the hospital’s closing hit the newspapers, she found the reaction surprising. “I received call after call, inviting me to consider moving our program to surrounding area hospitals. They wanted our patient care model. I realized then that the patient care model was a success although the business model had failed.”
Tags: comprehensive breast care, dr dupree, health disease, patients care
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