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Posts Tagged ‘medical’

Breast Cancer Risk May Be Reduced with Bisphosphonates

Posted By on December 16th, 2011 at 9:00 am | 0 comments.

Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs now used to prevent the loss of bone mass in women with osteoporosis. Previous studies have shown that this class of drugs also appears to prevent cancer metastasis to the bones when a woman has breast cancer. A very recent study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, indicates that these drugs may also lower the risk for developing primary breast cancer.

In the IJC study, the records of almost 42,000 women in the United Kingdom were examined and when those who had been taking oral bisphosphonates to those who had not, researchers found a reduction in the former group in both breast and colorectal cancers. An abstract for the article can be found here.

Breast Cancer Survivors: Be Aware of Bone Health

Posted By on November 17th, 2011 at 9:00 am | 0 comments.

by Barbara Good, Ph.D.

When a woman is being treated for breast cancer, her major concern, as well as that of her care givers, must be survival. However, after treatment is completed and she is on the road to recovery, there are other health issues that should move to the top of her list. One of these is bone health. Many women, particularly those of northern European descent, are at risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures in their later lives.

The therapies that accompany breast cancer treatment put a woman at an even greater risk of developing this potentially debilitating problem, which can result in serious fracture and death. Those who have undergone certain chemotherapeutic regimens and treatment with aromatase inhibitors may be at particular risk. All women, but especially women who have been treated for breast cancer, should talk to their physicians about undergoing bone mineral density studies to measure and monitor the density of their bone structure as they get older. Medical care for osteoporosis includes treatment with bisphosphonates, calcium, Vitamin D, and other agents.

For an excellent review on bone health after cancer, visit the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapies.

Fox Chase Hosts 67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania

Posted By on November 17th, 2011 at 8:59 am | 0 comments.

The PBCC was pleased to bring our traveling photo exhibit, 67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania to Fox Chase Cancer Center last month. Fox Chase Cancer Center President & CEO Michael Seidel, M.D., Ph.D. welcomed all to Fox Chase for the opening reception. Joanne Grossi, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Lori Goldstein, M.D., Associate Professor & Director of the Naomi and Phil Lippincott Breast Evaluation Center spoke at the reception.

Breast cancer survivor and Philadelphia County exhibit participant Judi Blue shared her story with the audience. PBCC President & Founder Pat Halpin-Murphy invited all survivors to join her and Judi to celebrate the courage, hope and dignity with which they have faced breast cancer in a powerful ceremony at the podium.

The 67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania traveling photo exhibit is funded by the PA Department of Health.

Cancer Clinical Trials Cooperative Groups Undergo Restructuring

Posted By on September 19th, 2011 at 2:02 pm | 0 comments.

By: Barbara C. Good, Ph.D.    It is not only private citizens who are undergoing belt tightening in these difficult economic times.  The National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has for years funded clinical trials carried out by the 10 adult cancer cooperative trials groups, recently determined that there be only four such groups from this point forward into the foreseeable future.  At this time, the previous groups are coming to agreements among themselves about which groups will merge together to meet this mandate.

Government-funded clinical trials will continue, but the manner in which they are carried out, how exactly the different groups’ methods of operation will be melded, and issues such as the particulars of data analysis and sample storage are as of now under consideration by the group chairs.

Under the new system, it is critical that NCI-sponsored trials continue to attract patient participants.  The federal government, unlike private industry, can for the most part conduct these studies without the burden, real or perceived, of financial interest being a driving factor.  Government-sponsored clinical trials have led to many of the advances in cancer treatment made over the past 40 years, including, in breast cancer trials, the option of lumpectomy and radiation instead of mastectomy, the common use of chemotherapy for treatment, and the use of tamoxifen as a preventive agent for women at high risk. Click here for more information about the current state of the clinical trials cooperative groups. Or, for more information on clinical trials in general, click here.

Retrospective Study Results Reinforce Tamoxifen’s Reputation

Posted By on August 15th, 2011 at 8:54 am | 0 comments.

In a study that looks back at 20 randomized, controlled trials of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, researchers in the Breast Cancer Trialists Collaborative Group report that 15 years after a diagnosis of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and 10 years after stopping the drug, women who took tamoxifen had a 1/3 lower risk of dying than those who did not take it. A lead investigator in the study stated that tamoxifen “has probably saved more lives than any other oncological drug ever.”

In addition, as has been noted in earlier studies, women who took the drug were about 40% less likely to have recurrent breast cancer. This study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal The Lancet. More information will also be available in the Fall 2011 issue of the PBCC’s quarterly newsletter, FrontLine.

Reconstructive Surgery Update: Silicone Breast Implants Not ‘Lifetime Devices’

Posted By on July 15th, 2011 at 8:54 am | 0 comments.

According to a recent FDA report, silicone breast implants are not made to last a lifetime.  Potentially half of all women who receive them for reconstruction – and 20% of women who receive the implants for augmentation — will need the implants removed within 10 years.

The conclusion was reached after the FDA examined data from post-approval studies and from its own adverse event reporting system, in conjunction with completing a literature review. Capsular contracture, reoperation, and implant removal were found to be the most frequent adverse outcomes with silicone implants. Other common adverse events of which women should be aware include implant rupture, wrinkling, asymmetry, scarring, pain, and infection. The longer the women had implants, the more likely they were to have complications.

While it is important to note that the data is preliminary, the implants did not appear to cause breast cancer, reproductive problems, or connective tissue disease.  If you experience any of these difficulties or complications, talk with your doctor about your options.

On the FrontLine: Summer 2011

Posted By on June 20th, 2011 at 1:46 pm | 0 comments.

Check out the Summer 2011 edition of our print newsletter, FrontLine!

Chemo Brain is Real

Posted By on June 15th, 2011 at 9:00 am | 0 comments.

Written by Barbara Good, Ph.D.

For years, women in cancer support groups and those discussing their treatment with sympathetic friends or relatives have referred to a syndrome they call “chemo brain,” the somewhat amusing-sounding but all too real experience of many who undergo chemotherapy in the course of cancer treatment. At times complaints from cancer patients about forgetfulness, lack of coordination, or the inability to find certain words during speech have been looked at by some in the medical profession as a result of the stress of cancer treatment, or fatigue, or both.

A recent study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle now lends credence to the idea that the symptoms cancer patients describe appear, in fact, to come at least in part from cancer treatment and that they may last for periods up to five years or more. The patients examined had undergone chemotherapy as part of bone marrow or stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers, but the researchers believe their findings to be applicable to breast cancer patients and to those who have undergone chemotherapy for other types of cancer. Verbal memory and motor problems lasted longer than five years in some of the patients examined, but information processing, multitasking, and executive function tasks seemed to be regained within five years.