Each and every day at Southern Ocean Medical Center, our physicians, nurses, team members and volunteers come together to capture the spirit of compassionate care and medical excellence that has defined our hospital for more than 40 years. It is our way of assuring that we remain true to providing each patient with a remarkable health care experience.
'At Southern Ocean Medical Center, we treat each patient like family by combining medical technology and expertise with personalized treatment. Our goal is to help every member of our community live a healthier life.' - Michele Morrison, RN, MPH, MPH, BSHA, President and Chief Hospital Executive
Identical twins Meagan McCallum and Courtney Werner have always had a unique bond. As kids, they shared their own private language. When Meagan was pregnant with her first daughter, Courtney awoke at 5 a.m. one day with an inexplicable urge to call her sister. When she finally did, Meagan answered from her bathtub, where her water had broken, and she was debating whether to call Courtney.
Courtney, who lives in Manahawkin, is older than Meagan, who lives in Waretown, by two minutes. She was often the first to try new things, such as field hockey, which Meagan would later join. That trend changed last year.
In younger patients, breast cancers are more difficult to find if the patient has dense breasts, says Southern Ocean Medical Center radiation oncologist Joseph Lattanzi, M.D., who estimates that about 10 percent of patients with dense breast tissue have underlying lesions, and about half of women under age 40 have dense breast tissue. Computer-assisted screening tools used by Hackensack Meridian Health providers give a precise breast density reading, which determines a patients risk of cancer being missed on their mammogram, adds Thomas Yu, M.D., radiologist at Health Village Imaging.
Dr. Tammaro removed Meagans lump in February, sparing her breast. When Courtney visited Meagan the day after the surgery, she kept quiet about the lump she had found. She didnt want to upset Meagan, especially without knowing what it was. But when Meagan showed her the location of her incision, Courtney couldnt hide her shock.
The following week Courtney told Meagan about her strangely similar mass. Meagan implored Courtney to ask for the ABVS ultrasound at her upcoming mammogram. I told her, Tell them what happened to me, Meagan says, because if I hadnt gotten that done, I would have cancer now and not know it.
By the time Courtney received her diagnosis, Meagan had already finished the first part of her three-step treatment plansurgeryand was onto the nextradiation. She gave Courtney the names of each of her doctors, and Courtney requested the exact same lineup.
Having all of her doctors was such a huge help, Courtney says. She did so beautifully that I had no doubt in my mind I would do the same. She told me, Everyone is going to be super nice to you, and everybody was. I never once felt like they were treating me like I was my sister. I was my own individual.
Courtney met Dr. Tammaro first. Her biopsy was scheduled in the thick of New Jerseys COVID-19 outbreak, which meant she had to go to visits alone or schedule virtual visits when appropriate. Southern Ocean oncologist Tricia Morino, D.O., prescribed tamoxifen, an estrogen-modulating drug, to treat the breast cancer while Courtney waited for her lumpectomy.
Prior to the sisters surgeries, Dr. Tammaro ordered genetic testing to determine whether a lumpectomy (which removes just the tumor) or a mastectomy (which removes the whole breast) would be the best treatment. Then, Dr. Morino ordered Oncotype testing, which determines whether chemotherapy will be an effective treatment.
Both sisters were found to be negative for genetic mutations, and although their tumors fell into the intermediate risk category based on the Oncotype, their age and cancer-free family history helped their doctors decide that chemo was unnecessary.
Meagan completed radiation on May 5, and Courtney began hers on June 24. As Meagan recovered, her progress was a preview of the road ahead for Courtney. I kept telling her, Youre going to feel like yourself again soon, Meagan says.
Looking back on the whirlwind they have faced, both women say the hardest part was watching the other go through it. I didnt even have a chance to process that I had cancer before we scheduled my surgery, Meagan says. I was 10,000 times more afraid for my sister. My experience was over and done with, but I had to watch her go through it.
Courtney echoes, I was more scared and nervous for Meagan when she was going through her cancer diagnosis, waiting for all of her test results and surgery. It felt like it took a lifetime, and time almost stood still for me, but when living through it myself, I felt like it all went so fast. I feel like I blinked my eyes and my tests, surgery and radiation were over, and I was on my way to full recovery.
The sisters had testing to determine if they carry a genetic mutation linked to their cancers, and both tested negative. Now they are onto step three, hormonal therapy, and they will keep up a rigorous surveillance program with each of their doctors to catch any sign of recurrence.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes:
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and over 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine opened in 2018, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years where it welcomed its third class of students in 2020 to its campus in Nutley and Clifton.
Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 13 hospitals, including two academic medical centers, two childrens hospitals and nine community hospitals, physician practices, more than 120 ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care and after-hours centers.
Notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades Americas 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, the number one hospital in New Jersey as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, consistently achieving Magnet recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For, one of the 20 Best Workplaces in Health Care in the nation, and the number one Best Place to Work for Women. Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.