Study Reveals Breast Cancer Patients Don’t Understand the Details of the Disease

A new study published in the journal Cancer reveals that many women with breast cancer don’t understand their disease — with only 20 to 58 percent of women identifying characteristics correctly.

Lead researchers examined breast cancer patient’s answers to specific questions about the grade, stage and subtype of their tumor. The findings have resulted in a concerning gap in patient education.


Read More... Study Reveals Breast Cancer Patients Don’t Understand the Details of the Disease

Breast Cancer Death Rate Lowered by Reducing Dietary Fat

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the breast. The damaged cells can invade surrounding tissue — with research, early detection and treatment, many individuals continue a normal life.

Findings from a 2014 Women's Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS) study on breast cancer were presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium conference. Results included data that had previously been used to test whether dietary intervention can improve the clinical outcome of women with breast cancer, and death rates after 15 years of follow-up.

Read More...  Breast Cancer Death Rate Lowered by Reducing Dietary Fat

Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Each year in the United States, more than 200,000 women battle the disease of breast cancer and more than 40,000 women die from the disease.

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and an annual approach by many organizations to increase awareness of the disease.

Learn More...  Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Are Women with Breast Cancer Getting Enough Exercise?

Breast cancer patients who do not get adequate amounts of exercise may compromise quality of life and ultimately — their survival.

According to the newest study from researchers at the Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, physical activity leads to lengthier survival and better quality of life.

Read the Results Here — Are Women with Breast Cancer Getting Enough Exercise?

Blood Test Could Detect Cancer in Its Early Stages

A group of Stanford scientists have reached new heights with the development in which a blood test can possibly detect and track cancer.

The Stanford School of Medicine discovered that by scanning patients’ blood for tumor DNA, they were able to define whether a patient had cancerous cells in their bodies.

Dr. Maximillian Diehn, co-senior author of the study — published in Nature Medicine — has devoted his studies to detecting DNA that originates from cancer tumors and eventually intervenes into the bloodstream.

Read More —  Blood Test Could Detect Cancer in Its Early Stages

Can Breast Cancer Treatments Cause Infertility?

Embattled breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy and chemotherapy are more likely to develop female infertility problems, a study by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine finds.

The study discovered that less than 50% of physicians referred their patients to reproductive medicine specialists to learn and understand the options of fertility preservation prior to cancer treatment.
Most cancer treatment plans, in addition to surgery and radiation, include chemotherapy or prolonged hormonal therapy; both of which strikingly reduce the chance of conception with the intended mother’s eggs. This leaves breast cancer patients with a few fertility treatment options like surrogacy.


Read the full article here: Is Breast Cancer Dashing Fertility Hopes?

Battling the Big 'C' is Just the Beginning

Young patients who battle breast cancer often find the struggle doesn't end with remission.

Often patients have to over come related issues of depression, anxiety and possibly female infertility.

Read about this 34 year old young woman who beat the big 'C' and the unexpected life changes that she had to endure.



Read the full story here: The Struggle of Breast Cancer’s Youngest Survivors

Giuliana Rancic Has Breast Cancer

Yesterday, Giuliana Rancic, of E! News and Fashion Police fame, revealed some sad news.

She told Ann Curry on the Today Show, “Through my attempt to get pregnant through IVF, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer. It’s been a shock.”

Rancic has always been open about her personal life. She and her husband have put their infertility struggles front and center on their reality show, Giuliana and Bill.

While attempting to undergo a third round of IVF, her infertility specialist insisted that she get a mammogram; little did she know it would save her life.

Despite facing surgery and radiation therapy, Rancic wants to use her situation to raise awareness for all women to perform screenings, on themselves, and through mammography.

She said, “I have so many young female viewers who watch me and I want to help them. I have an amazing platform to really help people so that’s why it was really important for me to share this story."

To learn more, read the full article: Giuliana Rancic Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Saving Motherhood for Another Day: It's Possible with Egg Freezing

Egg freezing, an infertility treatment used for breast cancer patients, is now the go-to choice for women looking to "preserve" their fertility.

As a woman ages, her eggs slowly disappear. Along with low numbers, the quality of the eggs drops significantly after age 35, a time today, where many women are just beginning to think about being a mom.

To prevent future infertility issues, women have the option to take motherhood into their own hands with egg freezing.

Although it's quite an expensive investment, many experts and patients agree, that for women over the age of 30, egg freezing is like an insurance policy, increasing the chances for pregnancy later on in life.

To learn more, read the full article: Egg Freezing - Taking Control of the Biological Clock

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in the world, with 1.5 million new cases reported in 2010 alone.

Experts agree that in the last two decades, breast cancer detection and treatment has come a very long way.

Survival rates are higher than ever (as are new cases, unfortunately), but treatment is cutting-edge, and has truly improved the quality of patient's lives.

Dr. Freya Scnabel, director of breast surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center said, “The progress we’ve made over the last 20 years has changed the face of the disease…we can find it earlier, treat it more effectively, reduce recurrence and enhance survival.”

Up-and-coming breast cancer treatments have proven that scientists really are one step closer to finding a cure for this disease that affects so many women (along with a handful of men).

At-home DIY screening tests, nanotechnology, medicines, less radiation and customized treatment has improved outcomes, and they will get even better with time.

This month, support breast cancer awareness, because chances are, you've probably been touched by this common disease.

To learn more, read the full article: Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Learn Your Options

Cancer Care Costs Rise, Experts Predict Financial Crisis

With the rapidly increasing number of cancer cases worldwide combined with the steep costs of cancer care treatments, an international group of oncology experts thinks the cancer community needs to rethink cancer treatment, before it's too late.

According to their research, by the year 2030, there will be about 27 million new cancer cases each year.

Today, about $286 billion is spent on cancer care each year, and the cost of high-tech treatments and drugs aren't getting any cheaper.

The report stated: "The cancer community needs to take responsibility and not accept a sub-standard evidence base and an ethos of very small benefit at whatever cost. There should be fair prices and real value from new technologies.”

This includes performing expensive end-stage cancer treatments on patients who, in the end, receive no benefits (including a longer life span) at all.

While this might sound awful, the researchers made an interesting point, saying that most end-stage cancer patients would rather spend their last days in the comfort of their own home, rather than undergoing expensive chemotherapy and drug treatments, especially when their cancer has passed the point of no return.

Some of these drugs cost up to $100,000 a year (which is more than most Americans' salaries), and clinical trials show serious side effects and life extension of only a few months.

Although these warnings are quite controversial, hopefully this will spark some change within the cancer community. The experts who wrote the study encourage patients, doctors, surgeons, lawmakers, and drug manufacturers to work together as a team with one goal in mind: more affordable and effective cancer care.

To learn more, read the full article here: The High Cost of Cancer - An Impending Crisis?

Young Breast Cancer Patients Do Anything to Preserve Fertility

Carly Byrd, 29, froze her eggs before starting chemotherapy

Carly Byrd was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25, and four years later she's still fighting for her life.

Byrd is one of 11,000 young women (under 40) who get breast cancer in the United States every year. Instead of worrying about dying of cancer, many women are more scared of something else: infertility.

Naturally, Carly had to do something, and fast. Her oncologist recommended chemotherapy (which is what causes early menopause, and therefore, infertility in young patients), and so she took the matter into her own hands.

Carly and her mother traveled to Dallas, Texas, where she freezed a number of her eggs in the weeks leading up to her chemo. While she's still battling cancer today, Carly is still optimistic about her future, especially because she now has a real shot at becoming a mom.

To learn more, read the full article here: Breast Cancer and Infertility - Young Patients Fight to Become Mothers