Breast Cancer: October 2006 Archives

Pretty unusual article in the ocean of news related to the Breast Cancer awareness. I cannot say agree with it, but I let you to decide for yourself.

"In a national media campaign that includes newspaper and TV ads, the upstart organization is advising women to "think before you pink" because - get this - they consider corporate donations to fight cancer research tainted by the profit motive."

"Perversely, this organization blames corporations for doing too much - and, at the very same time, not enough."

Read more below.

The genetic map shows that nearly 200 mutated genes, most previously unknown, help tumours emerge, grow and spread.

The discovery could also lead to better ways to diagnose cancer in its early, most treatable stages, and personalised treatments, Science reports.

The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say the findings suggest cancer is more complex than experts had believed.

by Jacki Donaldson, The Cancer Blog, 27 Oct 2006

Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life -- recently began offering a new resource for breast cancer survivors, for both the newly diagnosed and those with metastatic disease.

"The first few weeks after diagnosis can be extremely difficult emotionally, and women with advanced disease often do not get the support and resources they need," said Jean Sachs, LBBC executive director. "We want to give them an understanding of their choices to help them make informed decisions regarding their physical and emotional health."

NEW YORK -- Health experts claim regular mammograms are still the best way to catch breast cancer early, but there are ways to help prevent the disease in the first place.

 

According to the American Cancer Society, if every woman lived to be 85, one out of eight would develop breast cancer. There are many risk factors. Some of them you can control; others others you can't, such as genetics.

 

"One of the most well-identified risk factors for breast cancer is inheritance," said Dr. Clifford Hudis, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

- study shows.

 Oral contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer by an average of 44 percent, a comprehensive analysis of world studies on the link between breast cancer and contraceptives has found.

Published in the journal of the Mayo Clinic this month, the key article examines findings from a careful analysis of international studies conducted between 1980-2002. Entitled “Oral Contraceptive Use as a Risk Factor for Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis, the article finds an increased risk for breast cancer of 44 percent, in pre-menopausal women who took or were taking oral contraceptives prior to their first pregnancy, compared to women who had not used oral contraceptives. 

EUROPEAN parliamentarians yesterday gave the green light to a European-wide breast cancer screening programme, following news that the risk of dying from the disease was twice as high in some countries.

The joint resolution was adopted in the plenary session as part of ‘International Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ and called on the European Commission to present without delay the progress report on steps taken by member states’ to lower breast cancer mortality rates.

MEPs also called for measures such as nationwide screening programmes, interdisciplinary breast units, reintegration into the job market and research into breast cancer prevention and treatment.

A project to allow breast cancer experts to discuss patient treatment via video has won an excellence award.

Telemam was set up in 2005 to allow consultants from Dumfries and Galloway, Lothian, Fife and the Scottish Borders to hold "virtual meetings".

It is hoped the scheme could eventually be extended to allow patients to have direct consultations by video link.

by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 24 Oct 2006

My father taught me that when you have a problem, find someone else who has the same problem and talk to them about it. Real life experiences trump almost every other kind of information. Although women are 100 times more likely than men to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and less than one percent of breast cancer patients are men, men do get breast cancer.

Some of the signs of breast cancer include:

* Lump or thickening in the breast.
* Skin dimpling or puckering.
* Development of a new retraction or indentation of the nipple.
* Redness of scaling of the nipple or breast skin.
* A spontaneous clear or bloody discharge from the nipple.

by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 23 Oct 2006

It is no secret that our culture has a fascination with celebrities. In attempting to figure out exactly why, I have come to the conclusion it might be no more of a mystery other than they are people we all know in common. As human beings, we are naturally intrigued by other human beings.

But if I try to talk to you about my neighbor, and you do not live in my neighborhood, you will have no idea who I am talking about or how to relate information I am sharing about that person because you have no point of reference. However, celebrities are people we all know of -- they become familiar in that we hear about them every day -- we see images of them every day in the news.

by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 20 Oct 2006

Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter, and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow was honored with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Humanitarian Award at the annual symposium and luncheon event at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Crow has joined the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to promote breast cancer prevention and raise funds for research in finding a cure.

During her music tour with John Mayer, Crow donated 50 cents of every concert ticket sold to the breast cancer organization. She also offered a breast cancer t-shirt with her logo design for sale with 100 percent of the profits donated to BCRF. The t-shirt is now available on Crow's website.

by Jacki Donaldson, The Cancer Blog, 21 oct 2006

The breast cancer drug Tykerb may be one of the future wonder drugs available for women left with limited options for treating advanced-stage disease.

Tykerb, manufactured by British-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC, is currently an experimental drug that delays growth of tumors nearly twice as long as standard chemotherapy in patients who no longer respond to Herceptin -- a targeted drug that significantly decreases chances of recurrence for women with HER2 positive breast cancer. Herceptin blocks the swift growth of an aggressive protein on the cell's surface while Tykerb does its work on the inside of the cell. Herceptin is given intravenously. Tykerb is given in pill form.

In January of this year, 15 year-old Lisa Norris, from Girvan in Ayrshire, received massive overdoses of radiation while being treated for a brain tumor at the Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow. Determined to be caused by human error, the 17 overdoses caused severe pain with burns and blisters on the back of her head, neck and ears.

Lisa was initially diagnosed with a brain tumor in October last year. At the same time the staff told her of the overdosing error, they also told her that her tumor was gone. Extensive oxygen treatment was given to attempt to offset the damage done by the overdosing of radiation.

There has been quite a lot of attention to the Breast Cancer. While I personally think that every cancer and cancer victims should get the same amount of awareness, it seems that there are some results. Many articles, news, studies, such as this one.

"We need to make sure our elected officials see the cancer threat in it's true perspective. For example, translating cancer deaths into terms deemed more newsworthy by the media, cancer deaths amount to three jumbo jets crashing each day! One bill in Congress is for $109 billion for Iraq and Katrina; that contrasts to $5.08 billion that cancer research and advocacy groups are convinced is a modest amount for the NIH's National Cancer Institute, the main engine for funding US cancer research"

As it was seen on French TV, it's a known fact that synthetic estrogens may trigger breast cancer. Now it's all over the web, and I can share it with you.

Estrogen which is an important component of the contraceptive pill and HRT, has been known to trigger breast cancer. Uncannily, the manufactured chemicals portray structures very similar to estrogen, and scientists feel strongly about these chemicals being the culprit behind the rise in breast cancer cases.

Another study.

They found that for every 2,000 women invited to have mammograms, one would have their life prolonged but 10 would endure potentially devastating and unnecessary treatment.

Sometimes I really wonder who decides to run such studies. And why these studies were not performed earlier...

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- A new report shows breast cancer rates have more than doubled in the past 20 years in Australia, but more women are surviving the disease than before.

The report, issued Monday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the National Breast Cancer Centre (NBCC), shows the number of Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer each year has more than doubled in two decades, from 5,318 in 1983 to 12,027 in 2002 and an estimated 13,261 this year.

By Lauren Giordano, 15 Oct 2006

More than 500 walkers recently participated in the Community Walk for Breast Cancer, which raised more than $56,000.

The fourth annual walk, sponsored by the Miles for Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, took place Oct. 8 at Locust Grove on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie. Participants included those fighting breast cancer, friends and family, and 75 survivors.
The Miles for Hope Breast Cancer Foundation provides funding for support services for people affected by breast cancer.

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by Kristina Collins, 11 Oct 2006

Five Rivers Winery is partnering with distributors in more than a dozen states to raise funds to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For every bottle of wine sold during the month of October, one dollar will be donated to the foundation. Five Rivers produces Central Coast wines from California. The labels are adorned with whimsical goddess images.

The company feels that the imagery works well with the fundraising drive, which will be promoted as an effort to "Save a Goddess". Five Rivers says that any winery can support a good cause and provide attractive labels but they feel they also deserve attention for the quality of their wines. Priced around ten dollars, the wines of Five Rivers provide a lot of bang for their buck.

by Chris Sparling, The Cancer Blog, 10 oct 2006

They were calling the bout David and Goliath, and for obvious reasons. In one corner stood Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett, a veteran heavyweight who, for all intents and purposes, is in the twilight of his career. To most, his 6'3" stature would be quite intimidating. But, when your opponent is the 7 foot tall, 320 pound Nikolai Valuev, you quickly take on the role of David to this big Russian's Goliath. Like the so many who tuned in to HBO to watch this title fight, I was unfortunately rather disappointed by the lack of action and mediocre displays of boxing talent on the part of both fighters. But, there was something about this fight that was unlike so many others.

by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 10 oct 2006

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation College Scholarship Award Program offers college scholarships of up to $10,000 a year over a four-year period to students who have lost a parent to breast cancer.

To qualify, the applicant must be a high school senior or graduate -- aged 25 or less -- and reside within the service area of an established Komen Affiliate that is participating in the Scholarship Program.

The application deadline is November 1st. To learn more and download an application online, visit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation College Scholarship Award Program webpage.

By Daniel DeNoon, WebMD, 10 Oct 2006

f you're inactive, overweight, and worried about breast cancer, the change of life is a great time to change your life.

New data from the Woman's Health Initiative suggest that postmenopausal women who exercise and keep their weight down substantially reduce their risk of breast cancercancer.

Researcher Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD, is director of cancer prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and professor of medicine and public health at the University of Washington, Seattle. She's also the author of Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer.

New UC Davis research supports the recent hypothesis that both ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive breast cancer develop from the same breast cancer progenitor cells. The research was reported at the annual meeting of the International Association for Breast Cancer Research in Montreal last month.

"The implication of these studies and others is that the genetic code for breast cancer is probably written at the pre-cancerous stage, so the rest is predestined," said Robert D. Cardiff, professor of pathology and director of the Mutant Mouse Pathology Lab at the UC Davis Center for Comparative Medicine. "This has profound implications for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer."

MONDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they've spotted a new breast cancer susceptibility gene that might someday help women ascertain their risk for the disease.

Women with mutations in the gene, called BRIP1, have twice the normal risk of breast cancer, British researchers report in the November issue of Nature Genetics.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Breast cancer survivors are 37 percent more likely to commit suicide than other women, and the elevated risk persists for at least 25 years after diagnosis, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Previous studies have looked at suicide risk in breast cancer survivors, but most have not examined the long-term risk and none have included women in the U.S., note Dr. Catherine Schairer, from the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues.

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by Jacki Donaldson, 8 Oct 2006

When a question or concern or worry related to breast cancer pops into my head, I typically find myself parked in front of my computer in search of instant answers, instant comfort, instant wisdom. There are several different websites I consult -- each one different from the others, each one complementing the others. They are my reference tools, my handbooks, my encyclopedias. They offer me a clear picture of a confusing, cloudy disease. And here they are -- seven super websites that have been become staples in my life.

The Cancer Blog

If you are reading this post, then you know how to reach The Cancer Blog. There's nothing like it for timely cancer-related news, the latest in cancer research and information, connections to cancer survivors everywhere, and general health tips and techniques. Written by breast cancer survivors who have traveled their own bumpy cancer roads, each post -- there are several per day -- published on The Cancer Blog is fresh, insightful, and full of personal passion.

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by Dalene Entenmann, 7 Oct 2006

Work gives us a sense of purpose; a way to provide for ourselves; and social contact -- all important to health and wellbeing. For those facing the struggles to survive cancer, work can represent a normalcy needed in a time where not much else seems very normal. The activity of work can reflect a hope that even though cancer has temporarily disrupted daily life, one day it will get better -- we are going to get better. Not losing your job when you must go through cancer treatment is a way of having your place in society saved. A message, we will all be here when you get back -- your work life will be here when you can come back.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new review of various studies has identified five gene variants possibly linked to breast cancer.

A team called the Breast Cancer Association Consortium collected data from more than 20 research groups. Those groups were each conducting breast cancer research on a total of 16 "single nucleotide polymorphisms" (SNPs) -- gene variants potentially linked to breast malignancy.