Breast cancer is the abnormal growth and uncontrolled division of cells in the breast. Cancer cells invade and destroy surrounding normal tissue, and can spread throughout the body via blood or lymph fluid (clear fluid bathing body cells) to start a new cancer in another part of the body.
For some women, preventive mastectomies pay off — Study shows women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations significantly reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer with preventive surgeries – A long-term study of women with a genetic predisposition for breast or ovarian cancer showed that those who elected major preventive surgeries had a significantly reduced risk of those cancers.
Preventive cancer surgeries save women’s lives — Genetic testing is critical for women with family history of ovarian and breast cancers – A new study underscores the importance for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer to get genetic counseling and testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that make them more likely to develop lethal breast or ovarian cancer, says a Northwestern Medicine oncologist.
Cancer risk found for long-term hormone therapy — USC researchers determine continued risks of breast cancer for women who use postmenopausal hormone therapy – Using postmenopausal hormone therapy for more than 15 years increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, particularly among leaner women according to research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).
Do cleaning products cause breast cancer? – Women who report greater use of cleaning products may be at higher breast cancer risk than those who say they use them sparingly, revealed by researchers in a new study.
Fish oil may reduce risk of breast cancer – A recent report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, adds to the growing evidence that fish oil supplements may play a role in preventing chronic disease like breast cancer.
Cancer deaths continue to drop in USA – The continued drop in overall cancer mortality rates over the last 20 years has averted more than three-quarters of a million (767,000) cancer deaths according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.
Fewer than half of breast cancer patients adhere to hormonal therapy regimen, study finds – A new study of nearly 8,800 women with early-stage breast cancer found that fewer than half ? approximately 49 percent ? completed their full regimen of hormone therapy according to the prescribed schedule.
University Hospitals Case Medical Center cardiologists discover cancer risks in blood pressure meds – University Hospitals Case Medical Center cardiologists have uncovered new research showing an increased risk of cancer with a group of blood pressure medications known as angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs).
Researchers found that a single dose of radiation during surgery is just as effective as a prolonged course of radiotherapy for breast cancer. – The researchers from an international TARGIT research group found a new method of radiotherapy for breast cancer in which the treatment can be reduced to a single radiation exposure.
Detection of breast cancer in screening mammography has improved over time – Researchers analyzing 2.5 million screening mammograms performed on nearly one million women found discrimination of cancerous from non-cancerous lesions improved over a nine-year period. Results of the study are published in the online edition of the journal Radiology.
Exercise may keep cancer patients healthier during, after treatment – Breast and prostate cancer patients who regularly exercise during and after cancer treatment report having a better quality of life and being less fatigued, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Estrogen-lowering drugs minimize surgery in breast cancer patients – A US study has confirmed the benefit of giving estrogen-lowering drugs before surgery to breast cancer patients. The treatment increased the likelihood that women could undergo breast-conservation surgery, also called lumpectomy, instead of mastectomy.
