28 November 2016 Cancer treatment takes a physical and mental toll. As patients progress from active treatment into the survivorship phase, many become frustrated that they cannot “bounce back” as quickly as they would like. Getting back to “normal” may not be realistic – many of us are doing way too much even on a […]
13 October 2016 The 13th of October is designated for metastatic breast cancer awareness. Metastatic, or Stage IV breast cancer, is when the cancer has spread outside of the breast or underarm lymph nodes. The most common sites of spread are the bones, liver, lung and brain. Later stage of disease at the time of diagnosis […]
2 October 2016 October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), which means pink is everywhere. Stores start setting out pink merchandise towards the end of September, and the displays often rival Christmas merchandising. How did this happen? The original pink ribbon was actually peach. A woman by the name of Charlotte Haley made them in her home, and […]
25 August 2016 Patients with metastatic (Stage IV) breast cancer often undergo frequent blood tests and scans to monitor for disease progression. But is there such a thing as too much testing? A study recently published in the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology evaluated the use of blood tests (tumor markers) and body […]
25 August 2016 A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reports on the 5 year results of the MINDACT (Microarray In Node-negative and 1 to 3 positive lymph node Disease may Avoid ChemoTherapy) trial. This study was designed to evaluate the use of a tumor gene signature test (MammaPrint) compared with […]
23 August 2016 A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine evaluated screening mammography taking into account breast density and breast cancer risk. For women age 50-74, the conclusion of the authors was that for women of average risk with low breast density (fatty or scattered fibroglandular), triennial (every 3 year) mammography screening averted the […]
15 August 2016 A consensus statement was released today by the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. It addresses the issue of surgical margins for patients undergoing breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) for ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS). The summary notes “Use of a 2-mm margin as […]