CCCB expands its practice with medical oncologists Dr. Blaine, Dr. Badolato
BBN - Vol. 29 No. 8 (Feb. 21, 2011) - by Ken Datzman

BBN Special Focus - Cont'd from page 1: The patients receive excellent medical care and they feel comfortable coming here because of the staff — from the person who greets them in the lobby to their doctor.” Dr. Badolato said he is reading a new book titled “The Emperor of All Maladies:A Biography of Cancer,” authored by Siddhartha Mukherjee, a medical oncologist, researcher and award– winning science writer who did advanced training at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. In his book, Dr. Mukherjee, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision. The result is a “New York Times” best–seller that eloquently chronicles a disease that humans have lived with, and died from, for more than five thousand years.

“It is a fascinating book, a very good read for just about anybody who is dealing with cancer for the first time,” said Dr. Badolato, adding that the author talks about the “despair that pervaded medicine in the 1930s” because there was no treatment for cancer then. Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues, Dr. Badolato said. Cancer is not one disease but many diseases, he said. In fact, there are more than 100 different types of cancer.
The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division, Dr. Badolato said. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. “When there is cell mutation, it changes the DNA. And when the DNA changes, it changes the product of that gene. I think that what we need to come to is an understanding at the molecular level of what really causes a cell to become cancerous, and then find a way to fix the genetic mistakes that led the cell to become cancerous,” Dr. Badolato said.

Dr. Blaine says for “select cancers, molecular therapy is already changing the way we treat cancer. And it is changing the survival rates of specific cancer patients.” As a youngster competing in sports in the Virginia Beach, Va., area, Dr. Blaine excelled in gymnastics. One day while practicing her routines she felt a sharp pain in her leg, especially when kneeling. “I thought perhaps I had bumped my leg or something.”

The lump grew over the next two months and she finally went to see a doctor. “And it wasn’t the injury that I thought it was.” She was diagnosed with sarcoma, a type of cancer that develops in certain tissues, like bone or muscle. Immediately, her life changed. “I went through treatment for a year and a half. Fortunately, I was cured,” Dr. Blaine said, adding that she wore a brace and a leg
cast for four years.She had two operations on her leg, one at age 16 and the other at age 21.

To rid herself of the cast, she underwent “experimental surgery” on her leg. “Three months later I was able to remove the cast and the brace forever.” But it took her “four years to find a surgeon who could do the experimental operation,” she said. All this impacted her ability to work in certain fields because she could not stand for long periods of time. So she took a full–time job in accounting, where she could sit, and began studying for her bachelor’s degree at Old Dominium University in Norfolk, Va. “I did accounting for an emergency–room physician.”

She also did accounting for an attorney’s office and even worked multiple jobs in order to pay for her college
education. “I was determined to get my degree. It took me 12 years to finish it because I was working full time,” Dr. Blaine said.

She said she never “got disillusioned with accounting. I love accounting to this day. I have high respect for accountants. But I didn’t feel like it was what I really wanted to do as a career. So I took about a year off from my studies to figure out my career path. I decided to switch my major from accounting to biology. After I graduated from ODU, I applied to medical school.” At the time, she was working for a law office. The principals of the firm wrote letters of recommendations on her behalf to the Medical College of Virginia, where she was accepted for her M.D. studies. She rotated through radiation oncology, pediatric oncology and medical
oncology at MCV, before deciding upon the latter for her practice specialization.

Dr. Blaine holds board certifications in medical oncology and hematology. She completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine in Winston–Salem, N.C. Dr. Blaine furthered her training by completing a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at USF’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. She was appointed instructor and assistant professor of the Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Malignant Hematology Program at USF.

She also completed a master of public health in epidemiology, with an emphasis in clinical investigation, at USF. Her clinical interests include benign and malignant hematology, as well as breast cancer. Dr. Blaine once practiced in Lake County before moving to Brevard. “I really love this area, the people and the community.”

Dr. Badolato was awarded his medical degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, which is now affiliated with Drexel University College of Medicine. He did his residency in internal medicine at Abington Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania, and was fellowship– trained in hematology and medical oncology at Drexel University.

“When I moved from Pennsylvania to Brevard County it took me a long time living here before I stopped feeling like I was on vacation,” said Dr. Badolato. He says “this is a great community in which to practice medicine and to raise a family.”

He has certifications in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Badolato’s clinical interests focus on adult oncology and hematology. To treat specific cancerous tumors, CCCB uses the Cyberknife Robotic Radiosurgery System, a noninvasive computer–controlled robotic modality. The system automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real–time throughout the treatment. Dr. Badolato said this enables the Cyberknife System to deliver high–dose radiation with pinpoint precision, “which minimizes damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. It’s fascinating technology. Computers have done so much to change radiation therapy. Hopefully, those applications can be applied to the molecular world.”

In December, Accuray Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., the company that developed the Cyberknife System, announced that it had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance to market “Lung Optimized Treatment,” a new component of the Cyberknife VSI System. The FDA Cyberknife approval gives physicians greater flexibility in delivering treatments to patients with lung cancer, the most common and deadly cancer worldwide.

Recent studies have found radiosurgery to be an effective treatment option for medically inoperable lung– cancer patients as “it provides good control and survival rates.” Treating these tumors is particularly complex because of the movement with respiration and nearby critical structures, physicians say. In general, Cyberknife can be used to treat a full range of cancerous tumors, including breast and prostate.

The VSI System received the 2010 “Minnie for Best New Radiology Device” award from AuntMinnie.com, the largest and most comprehensive community Internet site for radiologists and related professionals in the medical– imaging industry. The award was presented at the recent annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North
America. The event was held in Chicago.