October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I wanted to post some useful information and links.  It is very important that women over the age of 40 receive a yearly mammogram.  Depending on family history, some women start even earlier than that.  It is vital to have regular mammograms as well as regular breast self-examination.  The earlier cancer is found the easier it is to treat.  If caught early enough, chemotherapy is not needed.  Common treatment for early cancer is radiation therapy as well as tamoxifen or other hormonal therapy.

If you do not have insurance, many local health departments or community organizations offer free or low cost screening.  Also, the Susan B. Komen Foundation can help.   Komen Affiliates fund breast cancer education, screening and treatment projects for those who need it most.  Find information at

http://ww5.komen.org/LowCostorFreeMammograms.html.  They also have a page called Insurance and Other Financial Issues Related to Breast Cancer Care.

 

Common kinds of breast cancer are—

 

 - Ductal carcinoma. The most common kind of breast cancer. It begins in the cells that line the milk ducts in the breast, also called the lining of the breast ducts.

 

       - Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The abnormal cancer cells are only in the lining of the milk ducts, and have not spread to other tissues in the breast.

 

       - Invasive ductal carcinoma. The abnormal cancer cells break through the ducts and spread into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

 

- Lobular carcinoma. In this kind of breast cancer, the cancer cells begin in the lobes, or lobules, of the breast. Lobules are the glands that make milk.

 

        - Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). The cancer cells are found only in the breast lobules. Lobular carcinoma in situ, or LCIS, does not spread to other tissues.

 

       - Invasive lobular carcinoma. Cancer cells spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. These invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

 

(Above descriptions are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

 

For more information, check out these links:

 

Breast Cancer (PDQ): Treatment (National Cancer Institute)

 

 http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)

 

Breast Cancer (MedlinePlus health topic)

Breast Cancer links

I've already posted some other breast cancer information during this month, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but I wanted to add a few more links to some other authoritative information.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/breast

What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_Breast_Cancer_Early_Detection.asp?sitearea=

Breast Cancer: Early Detection (American Cancer Society)

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/index.jsp

Breast Cancer Treatment and Side Effects (breastcancer.org)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/breastcancer.html

More information on breast cancer from MedlinePlus

Surgery for Breast Cancer

Here is another in a series of posts on breast cancer during the month of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Surgery is a very common part of the overall treatment for breast cancer.  Some patients may receive chemotherapy before surgery that will reduce the size of the tumor so less of the breast will have to be removed during surgery.  Surgery can also determine how far the cancer has spread.

The least invasive types of surgeries are breast-conserving surgeries.  With this type of surgery, only part of the breast is removed.

Lumpectomy – Only the breast lump is removed, as well as some of the normal tissue surrounding the lump.  Radiation therapy is usually given as a follow-up to a lumpectomy

Partial Mastectomy – More of the breast surrounding the lump is removed.  Radiation therapy is also given following a partial mastectomy.

Patients who undergo breast-conserving surgery may have some lymph nodes under the arms removed so they can be examined to see if the cancer has spread.

OTHER TYPES OF SURGERY:

Total Mastectomy – This surgery removes the whole breast that has cancer.  Some lymph nodes under the arm may be removed so they can be examined.

Modified Radical Mastectomy – In this surgery the whole breast that has cancer, some of the lymph nodes under the arm, the lining over the chest muscles, and sometimes, part of the chest wall muscles are removed.

Radical Mastectomy – In this surgery the breast that has cancer, chest wall muscles under the breast, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed.

Follow-up treatments to surgery include radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

After a mastectomy, reconstruction surgery may be considered.  This may be done at the time of the surgery or sometime in the future.  You can discuss these options with your doctor.

For more information on breast cancer and breast cancer surgery, check out these links:

Breast Cancer (PDQ): Treatment  (National Cancer Institute)

Detailed Guide: Breast Cancer  (American Cancer Society)

Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis  (Susan G. Komen for the Cure) - PDF

Breast Cancer Research

Much research is being done in the treatment of breast cancer.  Below are summaries of just two of the studies that have been published recently.

Advanced Breast Cancers, Higher Death Rate Seen in HRT Study

A 2010 study with findings about the link between breast cancer and combined hormone replacement therapy strengthen the argument that estrogen and progestin should be used only conservatively to treat symptoms of menopause.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and it reinforces earlier research from the Women’s Health Initiative that found women ages 50-79 who received estrogen and progestin face a higher risk of breast cancer.

For more information on this study, visit this American Cancer Society page:  Advanced Breast Cancers, Higher Death Rate Seen in HRT Study

Some Women May Not Need More Extensive Lymph Node Surgery for Breast Cancer

 Clinical trials have shown that surgeons can remove less tissue from women who have early-stage, lymph node-negative breast cancer without increasing their chances of the disease returning or affecting their overall survival.

 

A study, led by Dr. Armando Giuliano, was published in the February 9, 2011 Journal of the American Medical Association.  The study demonstrates that a surgical practice called axillary lymph node dissection isn’t necessary for some women with early-stage disease when cancer cells are found in the adjacent lymph nodes.

For more information on this study, visit Some Women May Not Need More Extensive Lymph Node Surgery for Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

And for more information on breast cancer research, visit What's New in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment? (American Cancer Society)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I will be featuring information on breast cancer throughout the month of October.  I thought I’d start a brief introduction in this post.  Breast cancer will affect 1 in 8 women at some point in their lives.  Breast cancer has the second highest death rate among women behind only lung cancer.

Here are some risk factors for breast cancer:

- Age - the chance of getting breast cancer rises as a woman gets older

- Genes - there are two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested.

- Personal factors - beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

     (from the National Cancer Institute)

Here are some great links for you to check out:

Breast Cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Detailed Guide: Breast Cancer (American Cancer Society)

Breast Cancer Information

I thought I'd do one more breast cancer-related post for the month of October.  I want to share a link with you if you are searching for quality health information.  The National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus database has a great breast cancer health topic page.  That page has links to information on all aspects of breast cancer, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, nutrition and much more.  Check it out for more information.

Collards and carrots may ward off breast cancer

Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'm posting some breast cancer-related items throughout the month. I came across another article about breast cancer so I thought I'd share that with you. The article is about a study which found that collards and carrots may ward off breast cancer in black women. There were conflicting results from the study concerning white women. If you want to read the whole article, here is the link: Collards and carrots may ward off breast cancer. (This link will only be good for 90 days from the date of this post.)

Breast Cancer Screening

It is important to catch breast cancer at an early stage in order to increase the chances of successful treatment. Earlier this month I posted some information on mammograms so I thought that I would share some links to some other useful information on screening and testing. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry has a very informative page on the types of tests for breast cancer. The goals of breast cancer testing are to identify genetic risk in high risk patients, detect and diagnose breast cancer in its earliest stages, determine how far it has spread, evaluate the cancer’s characteristics in order to guide treatment, monitor the effectiveness of treatment, and monitor the woman over time to detect and address any cancer recurrences. Check out this link for more information: Breast Cancer: Testing.

Here are some other useful links for more information on various aspects of breast cancer risk and screening:

Breast Exam (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Understanding Breast Changes: A Health Guide for Women (National Cancer Institute)

Environmental Factors and Breast Cancer Risk (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) – PDF

Atlas of Human Body: Breast -- Disorders (American Medical Association)

Mammograms

Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I will be posting information periodically on various aspects of breast cancer. Since early detection is important for a positive outcome, I am posting a couple links to information on mammograms. These links will provide information concerning recommendations for getting mammograms, the different types of mammograms and other very useful information.

Mammograms (National Cancer Institute)

Mammograms: Frequently Asked Questions (National Women's Health Information Center)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

During the month of October I will be featuring various information on breast cancer. Next to skin cancer, it is the second most common cancer among American women. There are many diffrent kinds of breast cancer and I will be spotlighting them during the month.

Here are the most common kinds of breast cancer:

Ductal carcinoma. The most common kind of breast cancer. It begins in the cells that line the milk ducts in the breast, also called the lining of the breast ducts.

• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The abnormal cancer cells are only in the lining of the milk ducts, and have not spread to other tissues in the breast.
• Invasive ductal carcinoma. The abnormal cancer cells break through the ducts and spread into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

Lobular carcinoma. In this kind of breast cancer, the cancer cells begin in the lobes, or lobules, of the breast. Lobules are the glands that make milk.

• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). The cancer cells are found only in the breast lobules. Lobular carcinoma in situ, or LCIS, does not spread to other tissues.
• Invasive lobular carcinoma. Cancer cells spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. These invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.
  

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

About 10 to 20 percent of breast cancers are triple-negative, but most people have never heard of it before. Triple-negative breast cancer needs a different kind of treatment than other breast cancers because they are estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptornegative and HER2 negative. Chemotherapy has been shown to be the most effective treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. If you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, you may be interested in reading the booklet LIVING BEYOND BREAST CANCER‘S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER. For information on other types of breast cancer, visit the MedlinePlus breast cancer page.

Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer last September and has been chronicling her journey on her blog. Check it out at http://jengriffinblog.blogspot.com

Check out the video below to see a special segment on Fox News Sunday naming Jennifer the special Mother's Day Power Player of the Week.



If the video doesn't work, try this link: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4185624/special-mothers-day-story