Think Pinker

It’s important to eat right all the time but while fighting breast cancer it’s even more important. Proper nutrition can play an important role in your ability to recover from treatments. Nutrition should be combined with exercise and staying at a healthy weight.

Healthy eating means you’ll eat a wide variety of the foods that are very good for you. By eating right you’ll get all the vitamins, minerals, protein, and carbohydrates that you need.

A balanced diet includes not just the right foods but a balance of those foods. You also need to make sure your calorie intake is in sync with your calorie output. You can calculate your calorie intake so you know what you need to be taking in.

Your body needs the right proteins to help you stay strong throughout your cancer treatments and after them. The same applies for carbohydrates and fat. All of these will play an important role in helping your cells to rebuild.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants that can help you while you fight your breast cancer and after too. Don’t forget about water – your body is made up of 2/3 water and yet we commonly do not take in enough water to ensure we don’t become dehydrated. This is even more important while you are having treatments.

Vitamins and minerals can be obtained from your food, however it’s tough to know for sure that you’ve gotten everything you need. By taking a supplement you can relax knowing that your body really is getting the vitamins and minerals necessary.

Fighting breast cancer takes a little bit of medical intervention, a little bit of attitude, and a little bit of nutrition, so make sure you’ve got it all.

According to China Daily a direct link has been established between psychological distress and breast cancer. According to BioMed Central young women who have had severe emotional events in their life, are considered to be at high risk and they should be treated accordingly.

This isn’t the first study to conclude stress can increase ones risk of developing breast cancer. Swedish Research has shown that women are twice as likely to develop breast cancer if they are under high levels of stress.

Situations considered stressful include tension, anxiety, fear, and sleep disturbances related to work or family. One of these studies was conducted over 40 years ago and came up with the same results – stress is bad. Why didn’t it get the exposure it should have? Well because it was thought there were a lot of other factors that contributed as well, so that stress itself would not be the underlying factor.

Since that very early study many studies have been conducted that continuously show that you are twice as likely to develop breast cancer if you are stressed. That means although you might not be able to take stress out of your life, it’s important that you lean how to release that stress so that it doesn’t make you sick.

Each of us handles stress differently. For one a stressful situation might be the loss of a job, while for another it might take a divorce to feel stressed. That means it’s important for you to know what stresses you and to learn how to relax. Learn not to sweat the small stuff. Live by it! It could be the difference between breast cancer and no breast cancer!

According to chon.com  women who find themselves carriers of the mutated breast cancer gene find themselves facing a tough decision. Should one opt for a double mastectomy to eliminate the risk of breast cancer or should one simply use the information as a tool?

What if you were told if you didn’t have a mastectomy that your risk of getting breast cancer was 87% and your risk of getting ovarian cancer was 44%. That’s what happened to an Edmonton women, who quickly opted for the double mastectomy and the removal of both her ovaries that took her risk factor below the national average.

Other women opt not for the surgery but instead choose to participate in more aggressive testing such as mammograms every 6 months, and still others choose to use medications such as Tamoxifen or Raloxifene to reduce their risks of developing breast cancer.

What would you do? This is certainly a difficult question that most of us would prefer not to have to answer. Now that said, the fact that there is a genetic test that can let high risk women know whether they are carrying the gene or not, is truly remarkable and a testament to where we have gone in a diagnosing of breast cancer.

If there is breast cancer that runs in your family this test could truly save your life. The bottom line is that no matter which option you choose if you do in fact carry the gene, you will have a warning that you wouldn’t otherwise have and that in itself will result in more diligence and you are much more likely to have a positive outcome.

According to Reuters there’s a little excitement in the air, since researchers who have been doing experiments on a breast cancer vaccine are seeing some very promising results. In fact, recent fine tuning to the vaccine has resulted and even higher hopes for its success.

How does this vaccine work? It provides a cancer fighting gene right into the sell, which then create what are called immune system proteins, and also tumor destroying cells.

,” Wei-Zen Wei of Wayne State University in Detroit, who led the study, said in an interview. “It is made right in your body.”

So far the results have been only in mice but what they have seen is that HER2 positive breast cancer which is responsible for 20% to 30$ of breast cancers, saw the tumors eliminated once the vaccine was given. Now that’s the type of results you like to see from a study.

Even the HER2 tumors that have become resistant to drugs used for treatment are being eliminated with the vaccine.

That’s because the vaccine is designed to work at the cellular level. The HER2/neu protein is overactive in breast cancer and also in other cancers such as ovarian and colorectal cancer.

There is an antibody based drug called herceptin or trastuzumab that aggressively attacks these tumors, but the problem is that patients usually acquire immunity to these drugs and after that there’s little left in the form of aggressive treatments that might work.

How soon we’ll see clinical studies for the breast cancer vaccine is yet to be determined but have several decades of looking for a cure, it’s hopeful that we just might be a lot closer to a cure with just a simple vaccination. At least with HER2 breast cancer.

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:#383838;} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:161744166; mso-list-template-ids:2110551856;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:?; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} @list l1 {mso-list-id:1099759977; mso-list-template-ids:-2084805510;} @list l1:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:?; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} @list l2 {mso-list-id:1789157155; mso-list-template-ids:-18294774;} @list l2:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:?; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} –>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
One statistic that is often quoted is that women have a 1 in 9, chance of developing breast cancer. A more practical way to assess your risk for developing breast cancer is to know your risk over the next year, or the next 5 years.

The chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. .

Average woman’s risk of developing breast cancer

Other risk factors, besides age, that add to the risk of developing breast cancer include the following:

Strong risk

• advancing age
• previous cancer in one breast
• family history of breast cancer
• past breast biopsy showing severely abnormal cells

Moderate risk

• over 30 years old at birth of first child
• past breast biopsy: any sign of hyperplasia
• post-menopausal obesity

Weak risk

• first menses before the age of 12 years
• menopause after the age of 54 years
• family history of breast cancer
• more than 15 years of hormone use
• moderate to heavy alcohol consumption

Risk factors that increase your chances of developing breast cancer:

Family history

A single case of breast cancer among close relatives only increases your personal risk a small amount, especially if the cancer was diagnosed when your relative was over 50 years old.

Your menstrual and reproductive history

Previous breast biopsies

Most benign or fibrocystic changes seen in a breast biopsy are not indicators of future cancer. However, if the cells in the normal milk ducts are beginning to look abnormal the risk of developing breast cancer later is increases slightly.

Lifestyle

The North American lifestyle results in higher rates of breast cancer than the lifestyles in Africa or Asia.

Diet

Regularly drinking more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day and obesity after menopause have been linked to higher rates of breast cancer.

Radiation treatment has proven to reduce the risk of breast cancer returning. Radiation treatments deliver a very precise amount of radiation to the cancer cells, stopping the cancer cells from reproducing. It can be used after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. It is also used in conjunction with chemo, and if cancer has spread into the bones.

Radiation doesn’t hurt, although there can be some side effects. Redness and dryness of the skin in the area treated, fatigue which usually starts about three weeks into the treatment, and reduce blood counts are fairly common side effects. Some women experience sore throat, sore mouth, or dry mouth.

According to Market Watch a recent study by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, found that African American women with breast cancer who had a lumpectomy found that these women were less likely to receive radiation treatment compared to white women yet it’s a well known fact that radiation therapy can reduce the chance of the breast cancer reoccurring and it also improves survival rates.

This study doesn’t address why African American women aren’t receiving the same treatments as white women. I suppose that’s a whole other story. But from our perspective these are frightening statistics, especially since the American Cancer Society says there will be almost 20,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed this year in African American women. More than 5,650 African American women will die from breast cancer this year alone.

What’s the message here? The message is that all women need to receive aggressive treatments to eradicate breast cancer or at least give the women a fighting chance. It should not matter whether you are Caucasian, African American, Chinese, Indonesian, or any other race. All women in America should have access to the same treatments. Ask your doctor about radiation.

According to Canada.com, mammograms are the first line of defense, but if there have been any lumps large enough to fell, then the mammogram can be followed up with an ultrasound. The ultrasound is able to distinguish between a lump which is solid or a cyst. In fact, an ultrasound can diagnose a cyst with 100% accuracy meaning you can relax a lot sooner.

Ultrasound isn’t usually used for screening, however it is used to confirm a lump is cancerous. It cannot however, detect microcalcifications which are very earliest stage of breast cancer.

Ultrasounds are also used to help the radiologist guide the needle into a lump in the breast so that a needle biopsy can be done. These cells are then analyzed under a microscope.

How does an ultrasound work? This is a very comfortable test to have done. You’ll lie flat on a stretcher bed, turned just slightly onto your side. The tech will apply a water based gel on your skin. It will feel cool on your skin. The gel helps the probe move smoothly over the skin. The tech will apply a slight pressure on the probe. You’ll feel it but it does not hurt.

The ultrasound can quickly recognize lumpy tissue that is normal and it can also recognize abnormal lumps that are cancerous or pre-cancerous. That said, it is important to realize that not all lumps are visible with an ultrasound. That means even if the results are negative you should be closely monitored until your situations can be confirmed one way or another.

When there is an abnormality the ultrasound is an important secondary tool to be used in the line of defense in diagnosing breast cancer.

While you are fighting breast cancer you need to make sure you provide the nutrition your body needs. There may be times you won’t feel like eating, treatments might leave you with nausea, and so having some easy to fix recipes that are nutritious is important. According to oncologist Gerald Miletello MD there are also foods that can help ease symptoms from your cancer treatment. And then let’s not forget about the foods that you should choose after breast cancer to stay healthy.

So what should you eat? There are many good breast cancer diets on the market. Diana Grant Dyer has been breast cancer free for 5 years now with tons of energy. She was a dietitian and she put herself to the biggest test – seeing if her diet worked, and it has been. One thing Diana recommends is that you should start slow, by changing just one component of your diet at a time; focus first on what seems easiest to you.

There’s also an excellent book on the market called Eating Well Through Cancer: Easy Recipes & Recommendations During & After Treatment  written by Holly Clegg and oncologist Gerald Miletello. This book focuses on foods that are easily tolerated and easy to prepare. It is filled with great recipes, color photos, and a whole lot of other information. There are more than 250 recipes. There are recipes to treat diarrhea, nausea, recipes for those chemo days,

Dr. Miletello says, “This is a good, healthy cookbook that can be used by anyone to prepare everyday meals.”

There are many different breast cancer diets around. Spend a little time searching online and find something that feels right to you. Remember good nutrition is important during your treatments and after.

There are many different events to promote awareness and fundraise for breast cancer. But one of the most well known is the CIBC Run For The Cure. CIBC has made the Run for the Cure their most supported cause.

Why not join in this year and join the run for the cure in your area on Sunday October 5th 2008. You can run or walk 1 km or 5 km. This is the largest one ay fundraising even for breast cancer research.

Each year thousands walk for the cure. Why not make yourself one of those? Enjoy the ride and know that you’re doing just a little for breast cancer too.

There are walks being held all over Canada, and you can find those locations at CIBC Run For The Cure and see where your walk starts. If you don’t want to walk then consider being a volunteer – there’s plenty of help needed. Or you can sponsor someone that is walking and do your part by making a donation. There’s something for everyone.

Don’t run? Don’t worry! You can walk. Not sure if you can go the distance. Not a problem. Walk as far or as little as you can. What’s important is that you re participating.

Still not sure? What if I told you there were more than 20,000 reasons to get involved? Each year there are more than 20,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed. That’s a lot of people that you can help.

Each one of us knows someone that has been touched by breast cancer. And what better way to show your support than by participating in a run for the cure. To find out more about how you can participate click here

There’s been a lot of buzz lately on new diagnostic tools for breast cancer but there’s also some exciting news coming out of the Sarah Cannon research Institute relating to the treatment of breast cancer.

According to their chief medical officer Clinical Trials have reached phase ii for a drug called Trastuzumab-DM1, which is build from the Herceptin antibody which is so widely used.

In about 20% of all breast cancer cases the patient has too much HER2 protein. This allows the cancer to divide, grow, and spread much quicker.

Dr. Burris and his team were actually the first group of oncologists to use this treatment back in 2006 and one of the first things they noticed was that the toxicity was minimal to nearby cells that were not cancerous.

It’s been nicknamed the smart bomb because of its ability to zone in and target cancerous cells much more efficiently. And of course that’s great news!

There are actually a few different studies currently ongoing and all in Stage II of the trials. So far there has been a whole lot of positive reporting and very little negative effect to date.

Should we be getting excited? Hopeful would be a better option. This is looking like a promising treatment but until trials are actually finished we won’t know for sure.

What really needs to be recognized here is that there are many new treatments on the horizon as well as a few new diagnostic tools that we might see soon. Research for breast cancer treatments and diagnostic is an ongoing and one day we’ll have the cure!