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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Local program offers
hope for adult brain tumor patients
By Peg Jones
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., April 7, 2006 -- When you are diagnosed with
a brain tumor, time is literally of the essence. Answers and help
must come quickly. The Gwinnett Brain Tumor Program now puts more
time on the side of adult patients through immediate access and
treatment that is close to home.
Gwinnett Brain Tumor Program (GBTP) is the collaborative effort
of six Lawrenceville based physicians. Neurosurgeon Dr. Princewill
Ehirim, practicing partner with North Georgia Neurosurgical, spearheads
the program which evolved to address the needs of critically ill
patients who formerly had to seek treatment outside the local region
to receive the most advanced care.
Modeling the multidisciplinary brain tumor program at Case Western
Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received
his neurosurgical training, Dr. Ehirim has created a partnership
with five board certified specialists. Dr. Charles Wood, neurosurgeon
and Dr. Todd Williamson, both neurologists with North Georgia Neurological
Clinic; Dr. Richard Loyd, medical oncologist with Georgia Cancer
Specialists; Dr. Christopher Hagenstad, medical oncologist with
Suburban Hematology-Oncology Associates; and Dr. Mark Quinn, radiation
oncologist with Atlanta Oncology Associates' Cancer Center of Gwinnett.
Dr. Ehirim says: "Each physician routinely stays abreast of
the latest medical research and technology in his individual practice.
Now we've joined together to create a team approach which provides
patients the complete range of therapies available through major
cancer centers."
Ehirim |
In a population the size of Gwinnett and the surrounding region,
more than 100 people can be expected to be diagnosed annually with
a primary or metastatic brain tumor. Symptoms may include headaches
that are not typical for the patient and do not improve over a period
of a few weeks, weakness or numbness without clear explanation,
unexplained seizure in an adult and nausea and/or vomiting that
does not improve.
"Timely evaluation is critical," notes Dr. Ehirim. To
facilitate the process, GBTP established a 24-hour Hotline staffed
by a healthcare professional who consults with the referring physician.
Patients are first evaluated in Dr. Ehirim's office, located adjacent
to Gwinnett Medical Center. Following diagnostic testing, the team
consults to create an individualized treatment plan. One or a combination
of therapies involving neurosurgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy
may be required.
Radiosurgery is one of GBTP's most sophisticated technologies.
Utilizing a precisely targeted beam of radiation, it is often referred
to as "surgery without a scalpel" and may be an effective
alternative when open surgery is considered too difficult or dangerous.
The program's completing components include a range of support
services and access to clinical trials. GBTP is the first private,
multidisciplinary treatment program for adult brain tumor patients
in Georgia and among the first in the southeastern United States.
The program's physicians, therapists and support staff comprise
a team of over fifty healthcare specialists.
More information can be obtained by logging onto the program's
website www.GwinnettBTP.com.
Consultations, referrals or emergency care can be arranged through
the hotline 1-888-831-8361.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Oh no! Georgians have experience with carmarker
promises!
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
APRIL 7, 2006 -- Oh no! Has the State of Georgia been here before?
Yogi Berra may have said it best: ""This is like deja
vu all over again."
Brack |
We remember back to the latter days when Roy Barnes was governor.
Here Georgia was about to get a new auto manufacturing plant, a
Mercedes-Benz plant, right near our port facilities in Savannah.
Word came out of the governor's office. Yet…yet….something
was amiss. Mercedes officials would never set a date for the official
announcement.
Somehow, either German officials had really never fully committed,
and perhaps there was a misunderstanding, or someone made an error.
But the upshot was no auto making facility for the Georgia coast,
after the story dragged on for weeks.
Then came the recent announcement that the Korean manufacturer
Kia would locate a plant in Georgia in West Point. This did not
appear to be any speculation whatsoever, since here was Gov. Dr.
Sonny Perdue right there in Korea, smiling with the head of the
company, making the official announcement.
Oh boy! After the recent announcements of the eventual closing
of both the General Motors and Ford plants in Metro Atlanta, getting
a new auto manufacturing plant would be a bonanza for Georgia. And
what with neighboring states in recent years reeling in plants (Alabama,
Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, et al), at last, Georgia would
be joining this line-up of state with auto plants.
Or at least it appeared that way.
But on Wednesday, the decision by the Kia people to delay the already-set
groundbreaking of the auto facility…..makes Georgians a little
antsy.
This time it appears that all was going well with the announcement.
Now some internal problems at Kia seem to be the major hurdle. Could
it scuttle the finely-tuned plans for Georgia finally to get a new
car-building plant?
Our previous governor, Roy Barnes, was embarrassed when efforts
to locate Mercedes in Georgia did not pan out.
And four years later, here the Korean carmaker, Kia, is making
news that doesn't sound good for our sitting governor, Dr. Sonny
Perdue. Will Georgia lose a second carmaker?
We all hope it's not as Yogi Berra said, "déjà
vu all over again."
* * * * *
Meanwhile, over in Snellville, a victory of a sorts for the visual
environment. The State Department of Transportation has required
the removal of advertising banners from utility poles along Georgia
Highway 124 and U.S. Highway 78, according to Snellville City Manager
Jeff Timler.
Reason for the removal, we understand, is that the Downtown Development
Authority did not get approval from the DOT prior to the signs being
erected. Then, coupled with complaints about the extent of commercialization
of the signs, came the order for the removal. The banners are gone
on Georgia 124, and in the process of being removed on U.S. 78.
And what of the banners? They'll still be around, though not on
state thoroughfares. They will be removed to city and county roads,
we understand.
Commit pollution on state highways and that's a no-no. But apparently
it's ok on city and county roads…….don't you know!
* * * * *
One more Snellville item, this time quite positive: The city will
dedicated its new Senior Center, at 2350 Oak Road, adjacent to the
new city hall, on April 18 at 11 a.m. The new facility is three
times the size (now 12,500 square feet) of the previous center,
and will be open five days a week, and available for nights and
weekend use.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
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public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today we welcome Gwinnett Medical
Center as a new sponsor. Gwinnett Medical Center is part of what's
great about Gwinnett! In fact, no aspect of a community is more
vital to quality of life than excellent healthcare. In 2006, Gwinnett
Medical Center received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital
Award for clinical excellence, ranking among the top five percent
of all hospitals in the nation. Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth
will open later this year and will be the first all-digital hospital
in north Atlanta. To learn more, visit www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
4/7: Some Play, Some
Don't, In Sand Pile
Another great cartoon by Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
4/7: Says immigrants and illegal aliens are
not synonymous
Editor, the Forum:
Sorry Ralph (Greene of Snellville), but immigrants and illegal
aliens are not synonymous. Immigrants made the United States what
it is today and represent all that is good about America. Illegal
aliens represent all that is wrong. Let's not make criminals and
lawbreakers sound better by grouping them in with all the hard working
immigrants who have come into the United States legally.
Putting lipstick on a pig doesn't make it any prettier. Let's work
towards a solution that first stems the flow of illegal aliens into
this country. Then let's work on a plan that assimilates existing
illegal aliens into legal immigrants and punishes any employer or
organization that aids and abets those who would break the laws
of this country.
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
UPCOMING
Chamber to host transportation, environment forum
Four members of the Georgia Department of Transportation board
will meet with members of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce for a
Transportation and Environment Forum. The meeting is set for April
11 at 3 p.m.
The four members of the Board include Chairman David Doss, and
members Garland Pinholster, Dana Lemon and Robert Brown. The meeting
will be at the Chamber building in Duluth in the Stephens Room.
Following the meeting, refreshments will be served. The meeting
is free to Chamber members. To reserve a spot, contact Stephanie
Hopkins at shopkins@gwinnettchamber.org
Hopewell pastor featured
at Chamber breakfast April 21
Speaking at the April meeting of the Gwinnett Chamber Success Breakfast
will be Dr. William L. Sheals, senior pastor of Hopewell Missionary
Baptist Church. The breakfast will be April 21 at the Clubhouse
at Sugarloaf Country Club. Registration will begin at 7:45 a.m.
Cost is $35 for Chamber members, and $45 for non-Chamber members.
Registration deadline is April 19. Reservations are required. To
reserve a space, email Meghan Schroder at meghan@gwinnettchamber.org.
REVIEW
Two Brothers
in Ball Ground
"Two Brothers in Ball Ground, Cherokee County is overrated.
We went there Sunday. The overpriced barbecue sauce wasn't very
good, and the barbecue was a little dry. The place was old-looking,
which is usually a plus. I like the old bare bones look, but you
could tell that was an old place attempting to live on its reputation.
There was a fairly good crowd, apparently a lot of locals. Those
folks need to get out more and try to broaden their horizons. One
could do a lot better than that place."
-- Marshall Miller, Lilburn
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
GEORGIA
TIDBIT
Once 15 lighthouses in Georgia, only three
functional today
When British general James Oglethorpe landed on Georgia's coast
in 1733, he realized that the success of his new colony, Savannah
, depended largely on its establishment and development as a commercial
port. Only three years later, in 1736, the first lighthouse was
built in Georgia. Of the 15 lighthouses built along Georgia's ever-changing
coastline, only five remain, and three of (Tybee, Sapelo, St. Simons)
have functional lights.
Tybee Island Lighthouse |
Located at the mouth of the Savannah River, the Tybee
Island Lighthouse was the first on Georgia's coast. Maintained
by the U.S. Coast Guard until 1987, this lighthouse remains one
of America's most intact light stations, with all its historic support
structures still on site. The station is now maintained by the Tybee
Island Historical Society and is open to the public.
During the early 19th century, the small seaport of Darien was
a major shipping center. A deed signed and dated in 1808 by plantation
owner Thomas Spalding showed that Spalding sold a small tract of
land to the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment for a sum of one dollar
for building a lighthouse on Sapelo. By 1934, shipping traffic had
become nonexistent and the Sapelo station was deactivated. Today,
the lighthouse is fully restored and open to the public.
Built by James Gould in 1810, the first St. Simons Lighthouse stood
75 feet high. For economic reasons, most of the material used in
the construction was tabby, a local mixture of oyster shell, lime,
sand, and water. Gould, appointed by President James Madison, was
also the first lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse was electrified
in 1934. It was completely automated in 1953. The original third-order
Fresnel lens is still in operation. The station, maintained by the
Coastal Georgia Historical Society, is open to the public.
The Little Cumberland Island Lighthouse is located on the northern
tip of Little Cumberland Island in St. Andrew Sound. The tower,
built in 1838 by John Hastings of Boston, measures 22 feet wide
at the base, tapering to 11 feet wide at the top. Active until 1915,
Little Cumberland Island Light is now owned and preserved by a private
foundation.
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
"Are we there
yet?" doesn't always make the best question
"It is more important to know where you are going than to
get there quickly. Never mistake activity for achievement."
-- Mabel Newcomber, former professor of economics, Vasser
College, author of A Century of Higher Education for American
Women, via Deb Roberts, Denver, Colo.
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