London Telegraph: Of the 46,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, up to 9,000 will have “triple negative” breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form. Some of those women are in their 30s. Survival rates are poor with higher mortality rates than average for other forms of breast cancer. But now experts have made an important step in fighting this type of cancer, that could lead to drugs which halt the growth of tumors or even stop them developing in the first place. Triple negative breast cancer is named after the fact that resultant tumors are not driven by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, or the HER2 protein, as most are. As such, the tumors do not respond to other targeted drugs like Tamoxifen or Herceptin. Scientists have found that these cancers start in a class of breast cell called intermediaries or progenitors, as opposed to stem cells as commonly thought.
Tag Archive for 'breast cancer'
The new procedure called Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy, or eBx for short, combined surgery and a dose of radiation given in the operating room. Many are excited about it because, if clinical trials prove successful, it might eliminate months of chemo treatment post-op for breast cancer. It may be cutting-edge in that it eliminates hospital time and may improve overall vitality, but let’s not forget prevention. Drugs and surgery involve risk. According to LA Times, “Two drugs taken by women at high risk for breast cancer — tamoxifen and raloxifene — both reduce the risk of the disease by about 50% in high-risk post-menopausal women while they are taking the medications, researchers said Monday. The benefits of raloxifene fall off more quickly once women stop taking them, however, and the increased benefits of tamoxifen come at a price: a higher risk of uterine cancer, blood clots and cataracts — although the absolute risks of all three remain low.” For my money, I take periodic cancer-prevention herbs. For example, the Chinese cancer treatment herbal pill: Anticancerlin. It shrinks tumors, reduces ascites (abdominal bloating) and is strongly detoxifying.
US News: Breast density contributes to breast cancer “New research has found that women taking hormone replacement therapy are more likely to experience an increase in breast density, a finding consistent with previous research that found women taking the hormones had a 24 percent increased risk for breast cancer. Both findings were to be presented Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Over 50 studies have shown that breast density is a strong risk factor for breast cancer,” said Celine M. Vachon, an associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in Minnesota. “Our study is one of the first to examine changes over time,” Vachon said.
A very dense breast has less fat than glandular and connective tissue. Mammogram films of high-density breasts are more difficult to read and interpret than those of less dense breasts. Vachon and her fellow researchers followed 19,924 women older than 35 who had never had breast cancer and looked at breast density changes and cancer diagnoses over time.” My advice” Avoid hormone therapy. Massage the breasts daily with an ointment or cream made with essential oil of lavender or fennel, both useful for breast circulation.
Last weekend there was a symposium at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York exploring whether certain common chemicals are linked to breast cancer and other ailments. Dr. Philip Landrigan, the chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai, said that the risk that a 50-year-old white woman will develop breast cancer has soared to 12 percent today, from 1 percent in 1975. Younger people are developing breast cancer: This year a 10-year-old in California is fighting breast cancer. Asthma is also on the rise. According to a report in June, 2009 The Business Insider, the Bronx is the asthma capital of the country. Asthma rates have tripled over the last 25 years, Dr. Landrigan said. Childhood leukemia is increasing. Obesity has surged. One factor may be environmental and household chemicals. It is a known fact that most women living in Asia have low rates of breast cancer, but ethnic Asian women born and raised in the United States don’t enjoy that benefit. At the symposium, Dr. Alisan Goldfarb, a surgeon specializing in breast cancer, pointed to a chart showing breast cancer rates by ethnicity. “If an Asian woman moves to New York, her daughters will be in this column,” she said, pointing to “whites.” “It is something to do with the environment.” ((It may also be diet!))
The U.S. Senate will begin deliberating a health care reform bill. Join a round-table discussion in New York to discuss the impact of legislation and health care for women: December 3rd, at 6PM
Location: Main SHARE office
1501 Broadway, Suite 704A
Manhattan, NY
Continue the debate and examine the bill and its possible impact on access to care. This program is co-sponsored by SHARE and New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage (NYFAHC).
The Wall Street Journal: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced Friday revised recommendations for Pap tests, saying young women should begin getting the cervical-cancer screening test at a later age and at less frequent intervals than previously recommended. The news followed breast-cancer guidelines announced earlier this week by a federally funded task force that created an uproar by saying women could wait until they are older to begin routine mammography screenings and have them less frequently than currently recommended. This reminds me of the 1940s when, according to my old Merck Manual for doctors, high levels of estrogen were prescribed for women cancer patients. In the 1960s high levels of estrogen were used in the early birth control pills. Deaths and lawsuits helped the medical establishment to adjust their recommendations. I would rather use cancer preventative foods and herbs regularly than to relie on testing. Afterall a test is only as good as its analysis.
A team of researchers has found an association between breast cancer survival and two proteins that, when present in the blood in high levels, are indicators of inflammation. Using data from the Health, Eating, Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL) study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, the researchers found that breast cancer patients with elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) both produced by the liver as an inflammatory response were approximately two to three times more likely to die sooner or have their cancer return than those patients who had lower levels of these proteins, regardless of the patient’s age, tumor stage, race, body mass index, or history of previous cardiovascular issues. The results of this study were published online, May 26, 2009, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study goes on the report that these proteins may be significant survival markers whether or not cancer is present. This is very interesting to herbalists. Continue reading ‘Anti-inflammatory Herbs May Improve Cancer Survival’
As though you needed another good reason to avoid estrogen therapy—here it is: MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2008 (Health.com) — Not too long ago, millions of postmenopausal women were taking estrogen as part of hormone therapy to protect their hearts, prevent cancer, and keep their brains sharp. But two new studies in the journal Neurology show that not only does hormone replacement therapy increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer in women over the age of 65, but it also shrinks their brains. “This is extra-double-triple reason not to go on estrogen after 65,” says Constantine Lyketsos, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in East Baltimore, Md. Dr. Lyketsos, an expert on dementia treatment, was not involved in the research.
