Dr. Constance D. Lehman and Dr. Barbara Goff to Receive Health Breakthrough Awards From Ladies' Home Journal

NEW YORK, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Ladies' Home Journal today announced Dr. Constance D. Lehman and Dr. Barbara Goff of the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance as recipients of its second-annual Health Breakthrough Award, which recognizes medical professionals who have transformed their area of health with results that dramatically benefit women and families. They will be honored along with seven other doctors and researchers at the Health Breakthrough Awards Luncheon in New York City on August 7th, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Diane Salvatore. The honorees will also be featured in the September issue of the magazine, on sale August 14th.

Lehman, professor and director of Breast Imaging at University of Washington School of Medicine and director of radiology at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, receives this honor for her work as principal investigator of a 22-site American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial that evaluated the ability of magnetic resource imaging (MRI) to detect cancer in the healthy breast of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer typically have a five to 10 percent chance of developing cancer in the healthy breast within 10 years. Because of its three-dimensional imaging, an MRI scan can find many of these tiny cancers in the other breast. Women can then treat both simultaneously, avoiding a second round of surgery and chemo, and even an unnecessary mastectomy.

"Without question, breast imaging is one of the most exciting areas in imaging," Lehman says. "It provides so many opportunities to have an impact on women's lives."

Goff, professor and director of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Washington and a gynecologic oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, is being honored for conducting two studies that for the first time detailed early warning signs for ovarian cancer. These signs include increased abdominal size or bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full very quickly, and increased urinary urgency or frequency. Goff's research led to a consensus on guidelines from the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the American Cancer Society and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologist.

"When ovarian cancer is caught in stage one or two, the cure rate is 70 to 90 percent," says Dr. Goff. "Unfortunately for the many patients who are diagnosed when their disease has progressed, the cure rate is 10 to 20 percent."

The Ladies' Home Journal team, including Health Director Julia Kagan and Medical Adviser Dr. Marianne J. Legato, founder of the field of gender-specific medicine, combed the country for nominees by reaching out to medical schools and organizations, teaching hospitals, foundations and government agencies and poring through newspapers and medical journals. Lehman and Goff were selected from a candidate list of nearly 100 accomplished professionals.

"These medical professionals are among the most dynamic thinkers in the country, and their innovations directly save lives and improve care for millions of American families," says Salvatore. "I am thrilled to be able to showcase them in this compelling, must-read report, and to celebrate them at our lunch."

Ladies' Home Journal's 2007 Health Breakthrough Award recipients also include:

-- Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine -- Discovered a significant third source of stem cells that can assume the characteristic of many specialized cells in the body potentially replacing diseased or damaged tissue: human amniotic fluid and the placenta. Like embryonic stem cells, amniotic cells double in number every 36 hours, providing scientists with ample material. The more mature amniotic cells are less likely to develop tumors, and patients can avoid rejection issues. -- Dr. Minesh P. Mehta, program leader of Radiation and Imaging Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of Human Oncology at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; & T. Rock Mackie, researcher at the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of Medical Physics and Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health -- Their work with the TomoTherapy Hi·Art system allows doctors to more specifically delineate the shape of a malignant tumor and then direct a carefully calibrated dose of radiation at it, thus minimizing damage to healthy tissue and helping patients avoid many side effects. Targeting also means doctors can safely deliver more radiation per dose and potentially slash treatment duration. -- Dr. Mark S. Smith, chairman of Emergency Medicine at Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital; & Dr. Craig F. Feied, director of the Institute for Medical Informatics at Washington Hospital Center -- Their revolutionary software system Azyxxi allows hospitals to quickly access vital patient information from a variety of sources. It is poised to transform healthcare by decreasing patient wait time, streamlining diagnostic and treatment protocols, and minimizing doctor errors. -- Dr. Todd A. Kuiken, director of the Amputee Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago -- Created the world's first neural-controlled, prosthetic arm. The bionic arm is possible thanks to Kuiken's targeted muscle reinnervation procedure, which reconnects major nerves that used to travel down a patient's arm to healthy chest muscle and skin. Then, simply thinking about moving the arm generates nerve impulses that are sensed by the electrolodes that direct the arm to move. Three joints can be moved at once (hands, wrists and elbows). -- The Marianne J. Legato Gender-Specific Medicine Award goes to Dr. Ethel S. Siris, the director of the Toni Stabile Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis and the Madeline C. Stabile Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation -- As leader of the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment (NORA) study, she has taught patients and health professionals volumes about the course of this bone-thinning disease for both women and men, the central principle of gender-specific medicine. Through this work, she is striving to transform osteoporosis from an inevitable part of aging to a preventable disease.

The Health Breakthrough Awards reflect Ladies' Home Journal's long history of health-advocacy journalism dating back more than a century. The magazine helped to spur the formation of the Food and Drug Administration, put an end to bogus medications and break the taboo of silence about sexually transmitted diseases. Most recently, Ladies' Home Journal has worked with readers to support legislation to make imported produce safer and improve care in nursing homes. The magazine recently delivered more than 7,000 petitions to Congress in support of the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act (HR 3875).

About Ladies' Home Journal

Founded in December 1883, Ladies' Home Journal magazine has been inspiring, informing and entertaining women for more than 120 years. Published monthly by Meredith Corporation , Ladies' Home Journal has a circulation of 3.8 million and a readership of 13 million. The magazine's interactive online companion, http://www.lhj.com/, has 1.8 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month.

Contact: Dean Forbes, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

206-667-2896; dforbes@fhcrc.org