Photos by Michael Chiabaudo
THE POWER OF COMPASSION
Christy Russell is what everyone who is living through a deadly disease needs: a doctor who can communicate.
by Eva EmersonOncologist Christy Russell was running a little late. Instead of the hour she had set aside to see a new patient who had come to her for treatment of breast cancer, Russell ended up spending two hours with the patient. This kind of dedication is what drives Russell's practice, invigorates her career and frazzles her schedule.
"I try to create a setting where there is time to discuss options with patients, where I can spend time educating them. I want my patients to become partners in their own care and to help decide what will work best for them," says Russell, M.D., associate professor of medical oncology and co-director of the newly-named Harold E. and Henrietta C. Lee Breast Center at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital.
Russell believes in the power of mind and will in battling cancer. "Patients need to be able to embrace their therapy," she says. "This means if a patient does not think a drug will work, we might consider replacing it with something else."
Russell takes a seat in her office, a room stacked with the paper trail of her career: research studies, patient histories and medical journals. She barely takes a breath when the phone begins to ring.
Somehow in the midst of the beehive-like atmosphere, Russell finds a way to give people her full attention. Michelle Hart, R.N., an oncology nurse at USC/Norris who has worked with Russell for 10 years, confirms that Russell often gets emotionally involved with her patients. "She's very quick to tears. I think it makes her more human, stronger even, to be able to cry when others do," says Hart. "Beyond being a physician, she is someone who cares about her patients' lives, not just the cancer."
Sometimes a small glimmer of another, imagined life emerges in Russell's eyes. When she was younger, she dreamed of becoming an actress. She went so far as to try to convince her parents to allow her to leave the small Pennsylvania community where she grew up for the bright lights of New York City. Fortunately, she says now, they refused.
"Luckily, I had a talent for math and science I could fall back on," she jokes.
Russell's work as a cancer physician requires daily participation in real-life dramas. She has found that helping people live through a deadly disease is even more inspiring than any penned performance.
Russell now feeds her love of the stage by giving regular lectures to community groups, residents, physicians and, occasionally, a spot on the evening news. Her topic is almost always breast cancer-how women might prevent it, how best to treat it and how to cope with that treatment.
After medical school at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Russell took a residency in Arizona, where her high school sweetheart, now her husband, was working as an architect. Upon completing her residency in medicine, she came to USC for a fellowship in hematology/oncology. She joined the faculty when she completed her fellowship in 1986. She has since been elected to the state board of the American Cancer Society and is president-elect of the local chapter.
Russell initially treated "male cancers," including testicular, prostate and bladder cancer, a long-time strength of USC/Norris faculty led by Donald Skinner, M.D. Growing up with three brothers, and now the mother of two sons, she always felt comfortable working with male patients. But she also took care of breast cancer patients who requested a woman physician. "I've been so surrounded by men in my life, it is easy to be around them. But I definitely feel more of an emotional tie to women with breast cancer, since I feel more vulnerable to that disease myself." When USC/Norris opened the Breast Health Center in 1993, Russell shifted more of her practice to taking care of breast cancer patients. "Whether man or woman, what everyone needs is a doctor who will communicate with them," she says.
Cancer screening is another area that interests Russell. Many of her patients arrive after the cancer has spread, making it much harder to treat. In general, the earlier cancer is detected, the greater the chance it can be cured. Yet, Russell notes that the majority of women over age 40 still do not have a mammogram and breast exam every year, as recommended.
"I think that most people who haven't had cancer presume they'll never get it. Most of us live in complete denial," she says, observing that this is not necessarily always a bad thing. "After all, who wants to spend their whole life worried about getting cancer? It's only a problem when that denial causes people to avoid getting screened."
Patients that Russell sees at the USC/Norris and at LAC+USC Medical Center can participate in the most advanced research projects. Russell serves as principal investigator on a number of studies of the Southwest Oncology Group, which includes top cancer physicians from the region working together to set up multi-center clinical trials for a variety of cancers. At any given time, she may be running a dozen studies with the goal of improving cure rates in women with breast cancer.
About a half a dozen new anti-cancer drugs have been developed in the last five years with the potential to help those with breast cancer. But translating these findings into true clinical breakthroughs takes time and effort, which Russell gives willingly. She focuses on finding the best ways to use anti-cancer drugs-the right combinations, timing and doses-to help the most women beat cancer.
For example, the anti-cancer drug Taxol has been used to treat ovarian cancer for years, and more recently was approved to treat women with advanced breast cancer. Russell is now studying how best to incorporate Taxol and Taxotere, a related drug, into therapy for women with early breast cancer to increase their chances of being cured.
In another study, Russell is treating women with chemotherapy before surgery, instead of after surgery. While this approach, called neoadjuvant therapy, has been used in people with more advanced breast cancer, it is not clear if it would benefit women with early breast cancer.
"There's a huge benefit to patients who receive their care at an institution where clinical trials are going on," Russell says.
"In cancer research, patients are either receiving what may be a better treatment or the best standard treatment we currently have. Because of the rigor required by clinical studies, these patients receive very high quality care. They are in a bound contract with us. We agree to keep them informed of side effects and let them know how the therapy is working. If something better becomes available during the trial, we are obligated to offer them the better treatment."
As more treatments become available, physicians hope to help women who have been hardest to cure-those with the most advanced disease. "We can now put women with metastatic cancer into remission for long periods of time, but we can not promise them a cure," Russell says. "That is why we need to push people toward early detection."
To Russell, what makes USC/Norris a special place is as much about the dedication of its physicians as its research. "The quality of any hospital always comes down to the relationship between physician and patient. We have a wonderful group of doctors here who are committed to giving to those they care for," she says.
She is a shining example of just that.
For more information about breast cancer research and treatment, or to learn about The Doctors of USC, call 1-800-USC-CARE (1-800-872-2273.)
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