THE BASICS:
OVERVIEW
TYPES/CAUSES
SYMPTOMS
Doctors Dispute "new" Mammogram Guidelines, see article here
Breast Cancer Study Offers New Hope, see article here
The following websites are excellent sources of information:
* Breast Cancer Information
Treatment information and prevention
* National Breast Cancer Foundation
Brast Cancer information, facts, statistics, symptoms and treatments
* American Cancer Society
Dedicated to elminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer
* National Cancer Institute
Information about treatment, prevention, genetics, causes, screening, clinical trials, research and statistics
* BreastLink
Optimal breast cancer care
* Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Prevention and cures for breast cancer
What can you do to help reduce your breast cancer risk?
Courtesy of Dr. Susan Love
- Eat a healty diet that is low in animal fat and high in whole grains and fruits and vegetables
- Lose weight (if you are overweight)
- Get regular exercise
- Schedule regular mammograms
- Breast feed your children
- Evaluate any breast symptons or changes that develop
Mammograms validated as Key in Cancer Fight.
| Addressing a major unknown in the longstanding debate over mammograms, a new study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute found that the screening test contributed to a pronounced drop in the death rate from breast cancer. The study, being published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that 28 to 65 percent of the sharp decrease in breast cancer deaths from 1990 to 2000 was due to mammograms. The rest was attributed to powerful new drugs to treat breast cancer. You may view the complete article from the NY TIMES here |
Early Detection Increases Survival
- Annual screening mammography for women starting at age 40 (Women under 40 with either a family history of breast cancer or other concerns about personal risk should consult with a trained medical professional)
- Clinical breast examination by a trained medical professional at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and annually after 40
- Monthly breast self-examination starting by age 20. Become familiar with the normal appearance and feel of your breasts
- Approximately 80% of women with breast cancer are over age 50. Early detection is critical to survival. If every woman over the age of 50 received an annual mammogram, the number of breast cancer related deaths could be reduced by 30%
- There is no known cure for advanced breast cancer. Detection of breast cancer at an early stage provides a great chance of cure and more treatment options.
Study links drop in U.S. breast cancer rates with decreaed hormone use
After a steady increase over the preceeding 20 years, breast cancer rates in the United States dropped 7.2 percent in 2003 with the sharpest rate decline - 12 percent - seen in women 50 - 69 years old. Experts believe the decline may be attributable to fewer women taking hormone pills to treat menopause symptoms. Researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas analyzed federal breast cancer statistics and linked the decreased breast cancer rate to a 2002 federal study suggesting that harmone thearpy increases the risk of breast cancer, which prompted millions of women to stop taking estrogen and progestin pills. According to researchers, a possible explanation for the link is that the hormones can make tumors stop growing or shrink, thereby becoming undetectible on a mammogram. (Courtesy of Family Safety & Health magazine)
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