Think Pinker

Breast cancer in post menopausal women brings new issues and new concerns when it comes to treatments. It seems there’s been a break through in just what that treatment should involve. In The Daily Times says that recent studies have shown the combination of drugs can be most beneficial to pot menopausal women preventing tumors from reoccurring and improving their quality of life.

SingHealth, Parkway Health, and a variety of pharmaceutical companies recently met to discuss the latest ammunition at keeping a patient free of the return of breast cancer after suffering post menopausal breast cancer.

During the seminar Dr. Fong discussed that the relationship between breast cancer and estrogen and that in post menopausal women this relationship is well defined. Thus the use of Aromatase inhibitors when used to reduce the estrogen levels makes them an excellent tool to use in the reduction of repeat breast cancer however this treatment can only be used by post menopausal women.

Chemicals injected into the body kill the cancerous cells or the breast cancer tumors. However oncologists have ignored the harmful effects of chemo on other parts of the body and also on the bones. It’s hoped that a more concentrated combination of drugs might be a better solution.

Until now Tamoxifen has been a big player in the post treatment of breast cancer and it has shown good results in keeping the return of breast cancer at bay. Today’s conference is looking at alternatives to chemo treatments and how Tamoxifen combined with other drugs such as the Aromatase inhibitors could produce a better overall outcome for post menopausal breast cancer.

According to Science Daily when the tumor cells in the breast acquire the capacity to move around and invade other tissue metastases is much more likely to occur and treating breast cancer becomes a lot more difficult.

At the base of the breast is what’s called the basement membrane which surrounds the mammary gland. It acts as a barrier in the spread of the cancer cells. The tumor proteins must actually penetrate this barrier for the cancer to be able to spread.

On June 16 of 2008 the Journal of Cell Biology published that this mechanism of cell formation relation to metastases and some types of breast cancer could become part of a new method of testing for breast cancer early.

Earlier publications, showed where researchers had used a model of metastatic breast cancer cells to show that the proteins sec3, sec8 and IQGAP1 transport vesicles containing proteases to the invadopodia. Their research showed that without sec3, sec8 and IQGAP1 the vesicles cannot be fastened to the ends of the invadopodia and so the cells fail to escape into the surrounding tissue.

A following published study done by Philippe Chavrier and colleagues showed that the protein Vamp7 fuses protease-containing vesicles with the membrane of tumor cells. Only then can the tumor proteins penetrate the basement membrane.

In English what does all this mean to women or men for that matter? It means that thanks to these scientific discoveries researchers now understand why breast cancer is so much more aggressive than other cancers. And that translates into potentially different treatment regimes that include blocking the action of the tumor at the underling basement membrane, stopping it’s potential to aggressively attack other body parts.

According to Sky News breast cancer survival rates are on the rise. In fact, from 1946 when the survival rate was 37% to 1998 when the survival rate was 77% was more than double, and it continues to rise.

Here’s some interesting stats from the Cancerwise site. In the 1940’s 72% of the women had a 5 year survival rate where as today that rate is 97%. That’s pretty exciting! And according to Dr. Levin the death rate continues to drop which is even more exciting.

But so dose the number of breast cancer cases which makes these numbers even more significant since the 1940’s where around 10,000 cases where as in 2007 there were an estimated 200,000 cases of invasive breast cancer.

Why is the number of breast cancer cases on the rise? The increase is partially a result of women having children later in life and having fewer children.

There are some risk factors you should be aware of – these include your family history, your age, and the age at which you had your first child. Postmenopausal obesity, using HRT after menopause, early menarche, late menopause, and obesity all increase your risk of breast cancer.

It’s important that you do regular breast self-examinations and that you have regular mammograms. If you are over the age of 40 you should have a mammogram each year, while under 40 should have a clinical breast exam every few years. The earlier the detection of breast cancer the more likely you will have a successful outcome.

If you are in need of breast cancer information there are many excellent resources online, and of course your doctor can answer any questions you might have. If you discover a lump please don’t procrastinate. Remember the earlier your breast cancer is treated the better your outcome.

Breast cancer survival rates are on the rise and that’s certainly worth celebrating.

In a perfect world we would no longer have to worry about breast cancer for it would be extinct. But we don’t live in a perfect world, and each day women are having lumpectomies to remove cancerous tumors from the breast.

Oncologist’s and cancer surgeons are recognizing that in their quest to eradicate the cancer they haven’t always done a marvelous job of dealing with the aesthetics of the breast. Not surprising since their focus has been on the cancer itself.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a small number of cancer surgeons are learning how to remove the tumor and cosmetically repair the breast during one surgery. Doing both of these procedures at once is beneficial to both physical healing and psychological healing.

There is a significant reduction in complications that can occur as a result of too many consecutive surgeries. And there is a reduction in stress and depression that are often associated with breast cancer survivors.

Although a quick weekend course won’t likely give the surgeons all the necessary skills to improve the way breast cancer tumor removal is handled, most would agree it’s an excellent starting point to create more awareness and over time improve skills.

According to the American Cancer Society 178,480 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, and any improvement in the way in which surgery is handled is welcomed.

One day breast cancer may be completely eliminated, something we read about in historical medical texts but right now it is still a very real disease and surgeons, researchers, and scientists are all working towards its elimination

It seems we’ve reached a new day when it comes to the fight against breast cancer. According to the CBC it seems a British woman who is now 14 weeks pregnant will be the first woman ever to deliver a baby that will be guaranteed free of any hereditary breast cancer. But how is that?

Medical science has identified the gene that is responsible for hereditary breast cancer which means they can identify the genetic marker, and it seems their science is being put to the test right now.

In this case, it was a result of in vitro fertilization. The father’s side had three generations of women who had developed breast cancer. One of the healthy embryos was free of the gene so it was used to ensure if the child was female she would not be faced with breast cancer, at least not from a genetic source.

What does this mean to women around the world? For women using in vitro fertilization the process of identifying the gene is now available to all, and it’s anticipated that pregnant women will one day also have the opportunity to know if their fetus is carrying the gene. The problem is that only 5% of breast cancer is actually genetic. That leaves 95% that’s environmental in nature. Some believe that good healthy children may be aborted just because of the marker gene yet those children may never develop breast cancer.

It’s important to look past the ethical debate here and recognize the potential that this type of research has over the long term. Perhaps in the future this same technology could be used to screen young girls, so that they could be better monitored for hereditary breast cancer, which could be caught at a much earlier stage.

Wherever this may take us in the future remains to be seen, but one has to admit it really is a step towards a cure or a prevention of hereditary breast cancer.

Each year about 240,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 40,000 will die from it.  There is no way to prevent it for sure, but there are things you can do to lower your risk.  There are risk factors that are innate and you are simply born with them and there are other that you can control.  To fully understand your risk of breast cancer you need to look at these risk factors. By understanding your risk of contracting breast cancer you can work with your doctor to try to lower these risks.  Just because it runs in the family doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it – so don’t be disheartened about that. 

The things you don’t have control over include your race, genes, sex, age, menopausal status, drugs and treatment, menses onset and family history.  The things you can control are pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormone replacement therapy use, alcohol, smoking, diet, exercise and your weight.

You can lower your risk for breast cancer by taking care of your breast health.  Doing regular self breast exams is one good way to take care of your breast health.  This can help detect breast cancer at an early stage and can be very effective in protecting your breast cancer health.  

You can also educate yourself about breast lumps, cysts, tumors and other breast abnormalities.  The more education you submit yourself to the better chances you have of staying aware.  When you are aware of changes in your breast than you’ll be able to detect things early, which will lower your chances of developing full blown diseases. 

There is hope that breast cancer may one day be preventable.  Estrogen is the cause of almost 80% of breast cancer there are many studies that are focused on drugs to affect estrogen levels.  There have been some luck with estrogen receptor modulators that can help in preventing breast cancer.  There is also work being done to prevent mastectomies from having to be performed.  

According to a recent study coffee and tea drinking do not increase the chance of getting breast cancer.  This study was recently published by one of China’s largest news agencies, Xinhuanet.com.   

Dr. Davaasambuu Ganmaa of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts said that with the large group of women he studied there was no elevated risk between those who drank coffee and tea and those who didn’t.  This means that caffeine does not seem to elevate one’s chances of getting breast cancer. This is great news for all the women out there who love their morning cup. The doctor also made comments that when used in moderation they are very safe beverages to drink.

This study was entitled the Nurses’ Healthy Study and it followed woman who were between the ages of 30 and 55 when they began the study.  This study tracked 85,987 women – a remarkably large sample.  This sample size is excellent in terms of producing results that are more accurate than a smaller sample. 

During the 22 years of tracking the women, 5,272 of these women developed breast cancer.  However, there was not an increased risk among those who drank four or more cups of coffee in comparison to those who only drank one or two cups per day. 

The study also took into play other factors that could potentially make an impact on the likelihood of breast cancer.  These factors were age, history, body mass, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol consumption, family history, how many children, hormone therapy and menopause. 

Overall this study helps us to understand more about factors at play in developing breast cancer or not.  It can be hard for us in our daily lives to regulate what we eat and when we eat it.  Knowing that coffee and tea are still acceptable beverages makes things a lot easier in our day-to-day existence.  To ready the full article please go to the following link.  

According to a Georgetown University researcher, eating soy products during puberty can lower the risk of breast cancer.  A certain chemical known as genistein in soy products is what protects women, but only if eaten during puberty.  This was published in the British Journal of Cancer.  Now these scientists must find out why this soy seems to help women out and protect them from breast cancer, which is the most commonly found cancer in women.

         According to the researcher it’s all about timing and if they can learn why this protection happens they’ll be able to prevent more cases of breast cancer.  Although there are a number of different theories of why eating soy during puberty can help lower breast cancer risks, no one knows for sure why this happens.  The researches have followed Asian women during puberty and afterwards who naturally eat soy in large amounts in their diet.  They have shown that the protective effect can lead to 50% reduction in the chance of breast cancer when soy is eaten during puberty. 

         Besides their human studies they have also studied these effects on mice and rats.  In rats the evidence has shown that eating genistein showed a reduction in developing mammary cancer.  However, exposure to soy to the fetus or in adults does not help as much as when it is consumed during puberty.  Some study suggest it is because it got rid of the kinds of cells where breast cancer originates or made these cells fewer in number. There is also evidence that this chemical helps to contribute to the production of beneficial proteins in the body that may have an effect on lowering the chances of getting cancer. 

         If you have young daughters, it could be worth introducing soy products in their diets.  Soy products such as tofu, soy milk and other products are delicious and healthful – and just could lower their risk of developing breast cancer later in life. 

For breast cancer patients who happen to suffer from mood or anxiety disorders can be at a great risk of having posttraumatic stress disorder after hearing the news.  This study was done at the Ohio State University Medical Center where it find that out of 74 breast cancer patients about 16% of them had post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD within a year and a half of diagnosis.

The women who suffered from PTSD were known to have had a mood disorder such as depression or problems with anxiety than those who had not had such disorders before.  Those suffering from anxiety disorders seemed to have been even more likely than those who had depression alone to suffer from PTSD following a breast cancer diagnosis. 

For these women who have already suffered from anxiety and mood disorders it is not surprising that they developed post traumatic stress disorder.  For those that are about to undergo cancer treatment it can be a stressful situation, but for those already prone to such problems than it can be even worse. 

One way to combat this problem is that those who’ve been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and also have a history of such mood and anxiety disorders is that they receive special counselling and help at the time of their diagnosis.

Studies have also show that some women have ‘subsyndromal’ PTSD.  This means they had many symptoms of PTSD but not full-blown.  This was found in about 20 percent of women.  These women were more likely to have had some mood disorders, but not as likely to have and an anxiety disorder. 

The study also found that people who had previously abused alcohol or drugs that they were more likely to have such symptoms.  Of those women who developed PTSD about a third had had problems with alcohol and substance abuse.

If you fit this profile and have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, than you should consider getting more help to avoid suffering from PTSD.  You can find out more and read the full findings on this website.

Good nutrition is key for everyone, but its even more critical for someone fighting breast cancer.  After she had breast cancer twice,  Diana Grant Dyer, a nutritionist came up with a diet for battling cancer.  She was struck again in 1995 at the age of 45 and was hit with a very aggressive breast cancer.  She was angry and upset when she had this diagnosis so she was set on beating cancer and doing everything in her power to do so.  This included eating the right things. 

Many scientists are not sure what the best thing is for cancer patients and breast cancer patients in particular to consume.  Diana didn’t have time to lose so she decided to do as much research as possible to find out about a great diet plan.  She needed to see if she could muster eating this healthy too – so from her diet plan to the kitchen, she’d need to see if it was feasible. 

Its been five years since she’s had cancer and it hasn’t come back. She knows there is no magic cure for cancer out there, but she does know too that diet can play a real role in preventing cancer.  She claims to have a ton of energy these days and tells others who want to switch to the diet to try just one piece at a time. It can be hard to completely change one’s eating habits all at once, so just give yourself time and do it step by step.  Here’s a couple of her tips from her successful diet plan:

Grains – Everyday you should eat between three to six whole grain foods.  This means cutting out the white bread and opting for other grains.  You can choose between brown rice, bulgur, quinoa and other types of dark grains.  You should also buy products you like that are made from whole grains – this can include cereal, bread and even tortillas.  Since you are eating fiber rich foods you’ll be lowering estrogen in your body and this might help fight breast cancer. 

Beans – Eating one to two servings of beans everyday.  You can put them on almost anything and it’s easy to make them if you buy them in a can.

Nuts – Eat nuts a few times a week.

Fruits & Veggies – Eat at least nine servings a day. 

For more of her diet and health information check out this article.