PYNK Update on CH Morning Live
Set your alarms because you won’t want to miss this!
BRIGHT Run will be under the bright lights at CHCH-TV, with an appearance on Morning Live, scheduled for Thursday June 8 at 7.20 a.m.
Event chair Nancy McMillan will appear with Dr. Nidhi Kumar Tyagi, a medical oncologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre, who focuses on breast and gynecological cancers.
“Many young friends in our BRIGHT Run community share my excitement that we are bringing a PYNK Program to Hamilton,” Nancy said. “PYNK will ensure that the unique needs of young women diagnosed with breast cancer get the attention they deserve.”
Nidhi is the co-lead, with BRIGHT’S Bindi Dhesy-Thind, in developing the new program aimed at patients under the age of 40 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“A young person diagnosed with breast cancer has unique needs and needs special supports during their cancer journey,” Nidhi said. “The PYNK program will help them through complex care during a very emotional time.”
BRIGHT Run, in partnership with the Toronto-based Jesin-Neuberger Charitable Foundation, is funding the new initiative. The JCC program will be the third in the province; the other two are in Toronto.
Nidhi has many young women in her clinical practice, as do other oncologists in Hamilton. She stresses that the PYNK program is not a physical clinic, but a multi-disciplinary program with a PYNK care co-ordinator to help the patient navigate through their different needs and support them through their cancer journey.
The unique aspects of care for this age group include the genetic implication of a breast cancer diagnosis, discussion of fertility preservation and pregnancy issues, care for young families, and loss of income after diagnosis.
Nidhi said other important issues faced by young women include: surgical decision-making such as double mastectomy and breast reconstruction; psychosocial factors related to emotional distress and isolation; dealing with the short- and long-term complications of cancer therapies; and fear of recurrence. There is also a need for age-appropriate information and support for this population.
Nidhi is no stranger to the BRIGHT Run, having participated since 2013. In 2018, she began bringing her now seven-year-old twins, who refer to BRIGHT as the ‘Running Party!”
