Published: October 30, 2009 12:17 am      

Breast care center nurse finds inspiration from patients

WINDBER — Losing her state prison nursing job due to cutbacks was one of the best career moves Kimberly Knapp ever made.

Knapp landed at Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center of Windber Medical Center, where she has found inspiration from the strength of the women she has met.

“I can honestly tell you: This is the best job I have ever had,” Knapp said.

“You feel like you are helping people. You feel good when you leave at night.”

The 39-year-old Central City resident has two primary roles at the breast care center. She is a research nurse, collecting data for scientists at Windber Research Institute, and she is a clinical nurse for Dr. Dianne Craig, breast surgeon, and the center’s risk reduction clinic.

Both jobs allow her to interact with women being tested for breast cancer and those being treated for the disease.

“I find most satisfying the relationship I build with these women who come in,” Knapp said

The character she sees in her patients energizes her. Many of those first diagnosed are so disheartened that they wonder if they can go on.

“The strength that comes out of this is just phenomenal,” Knapp said.

“Even the families get stronger and come together. It is absolutely phenomenal, the courage that they have.”

Courage and strength against adversity are things Knapp strives to develop in others. In addition to her role at the Windber breast care center; she is co-founder of Project Street Kids, a missionary organization working with at-risk children. The group’s preliminary work has focused on the Dominican Republic and Honduras.

“We started off working with kids in the street on drugs,” Knapp said. “It is primarily huffing glue.”

Huffing is a huge problem in third world nations. Most children who start using the method of escape do not live past their 18th birthday, she said.

Many of the impoverished children live in former banana and sugar cane fields that are prone to extended periods of flooding. Project Street Kids has built schools and shelters raised on stilts to improve their lives.

She has led several trips to the area, bringing medical teams to treat the residents.

“We saw over

500 children last time, and 200 adults,” Knapp said.

Co-founder Joanne Mekis is an artist and teacher who leads the education programs.

She sees parallels between breast cancer patients and the impoverished children. Both can demonstrate resilience and courage.

“The woman’s life is turned upside down by illness,” Knapp said. “For these children, everything is out of their control. You see they just become stronger.

“They find their faith. They find what life is really about. It is not about materialism; it is not about the people next door. It is about what is inside.”

She credits the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center team with helping women discover their inner strength. After a year and a half in her position, Knapp remains in awe of her colleagues.

“They are so good at what they do and how well they work together,” Knapp said. “We always remember this is for the optimal result for the patient.”

Knapp admits she was not an expert in breast cancer treatment when she came to Windber. At the state prison, she dealt with men’s health issues.

The experience has raised awareness of her own health. She started a regimen of monthly self breast exams she never performed regularly. She plans to have her first mammogram on schedule at age 40.

“I am surprised at the number of women who don’t get mammograms,” Knapp said. “They don’t have any breast care at all.”

Knapp believes she is involved in important research through the Windber Research Institute’s work with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and its clinical breast care project.

She interviews women undergoing biopsies for breast cancer who want to be part of the research by donating leftover tissue and blood samples to the research institute’s tissue bank.

Although most women are ready to be part of a possible cure, Knapp must tread lightly at first. Asking a woman if she wants to participate in a breast cancer study before she even has the biopsy that would diagnose cancer can be scary.

“They think we know something they don’t know,” Knapp said.

The truth is, research requires samples of healthy tissue to compare with those in all stages of cancer.

Knapp sits down with each participant and completes a 225-question questionnaire to categorize samples by age, family history, ethnicity and environmental factors.

Although the survey comes at a stressful time, Knapp said it can provide a welcome escape.

“It gives us time to talk to the patient,” she said. “It helps build up a rapport.”

That rapport helps her team achieve the Windber center’s founding mission of creating a patient-friendly setting for one-stop breast care.

“The key is, you have to work together for that patient to have the best outcome,” Knapp said.