12 January 2021 12 January 2021 The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently announced that they will start tracking breast cancer recurrence. Currently, initial cases of breast cancer are reported, but local / regional (in the breast or underarm lymph nodes) or metastatic (elsewhere in the body, most commonly lungs, liver bones and brain) breast cancer […]

4 January 2021 Earlier this year, I posted preliminary findings from our survey of the online “Going Flat” community – patients who underwent mastectomy without breast mound reconstruction. I am happy to announce that our peer-reviewed manuscript* and accompanying editorial* have just been published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. I was inspired to research […]

29 December 2020 Anxiety related to the possibility of cancer recurrence is common among those who have been treated for cancer. However, less common is the awareness that an entirely different cancer may develop, known as a second primary cancer (SPC). Reasons for second primary cancer include general risk factors such as aging (a risk […]

28 December 2020 There are unique challenges faced by young women with breast cancer. One is that they may not have had the opportunity to have children at the time of their diagnosis. Unfortunately, while there have been studies supporting the safety of fertility workup and egg / embryo harvesting prior to breast cancer treatment […]

2 November 2020 Endocrine therapy is a key component of breast cancer treatment for those with both early stage and metastatic hormone receptor-positive disease. However, side effects can be significant, and many patients do not complete recommended therapy. Our recent study* showed that over 90% of women and men prescribed endocrine therapy experience treatment-related side effects, and […]

23 October 2020 A History of #BCSM and Insights for Patient-Centered Online Interaction has just been published! The Twitter hashtag #BCSM (breast cancer social media) was first used in July 2011, by patient advocates Alicia Staley and Jody Schoger, when they started a weekly breast cancer-focused chat. The hashtag is currently used not only for […]

10 October 2020 Breast implants that are used for reconstruction or cosmetic augmentation can have either a smooth or textured surface, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons may prefer one or the other type of implant for various reasons. Last year, the US FDA recalled several types of textured implants manufactured by Allergan due to their […]