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Finding Answers To Breast Cancer

Breat CancerSisters share all kinds of things: clothes, makeup, family recipes. Unfortunately, sometimes they also share a disease. According to the American Cancer Society, sisters of breast cancer patients are twice as likely to develop it as well. Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences are trying to find out why, and they need the help of Latinas.

Women whose sister have breast cancer are being asked to join the Sister Study, a national study focusing on identifying factors that influence the development of this type of cancer.
By studying sisters, who share the same genes and often similar experiences and environments, researchers are hoping to have a better chances of learning what cause the disease. Read more!

Breast Cancer Racial And Ethnic Disparities

An African American woman is less likely to get breast cancer than a white woman, but more likely to die from it. For her, breast cancer often comes at a younger age and in more dangerous forms than for other U.S. women.

Dr. Beth A. Jones of Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Conn., found that a breast tumor characteristic called “p53″ (gene mutation that belongs to the tumor itself, not part of the woman’s genetic inheritance) is four times more common in African American than white women and P53 tumors are harder to treat.

“Women with p53 alterations don’t have the same response to standard chemotherapy treatment,” explained Jones. “One study suggested using higher-dose chemotherapy.” Read more!

Some Basic Facts Of Cancer

One research showed that approximately 520,000 Americans die of cancer each year and it’s been cost roughly $104 billion to United States, including medical expenses and loss of work productively. Stats reported that in the 1980s more than 4.5 million Americans died from cancer and mostly appears in people middle-aged and older and can occur at any age.

Actually cancer is not one disease, but rather many related diseases. Cancer is typed according to the part of the body where it is located and the kind of cells that comprise it. Here are some common types of cancer cells and their locations :

Sarcomas, it grow in bones and connective tissues between organs and skin, but sometimes spread into the lymphatic system or blood. Read more!

Breast Cancer Treatment Coping With A Mastectomy

As women, especially American women, much of our femininity is centered on our breasts. No matter where you look, there are pictures, billboards, commercials, television shows, and movies with women with these beautiful breasts and ample cleavage. The thought of losing one or both breasts, to breast cancer, can be devastating for many of us. Sure, there’s reconstruction, but will it ever really look the same again? Even if you have reconstruction, you’ll never have sensation there again and, for many of us, that definitely affects our sexuality.

I went through two separate mastectomies, for my breast cancer, despite the fact that I wanted them both done at the same time. Two different surgeons told me that wasn’t necessary. They found out, later, that it was, as I had the same breast cancer in both breasts. Through these surgeries, I learned a few things about what to expect, and how to get up and running again, after a mastectomy for breast cancer. Read more!

Breast Cancer Treatment

Many different ways for breast cancer treatment as usually doctors will use two or more types of breast cancer treatment together. Here is some major options for breast cancer :

Chemotherapy
It’s often called “chemo,” by using drugs, this therapy will kill new tumor cells or shrink lymph nodes that contain cancer cells. You may have surgery to remove the rest of the cancer once the tumor is smaller. Some forms of cancer can be completely cured with drugs alone.
Many different chemotherapy medicines are available like pill as a shot, or in an IV. Some frequent blood tests might be needed to determine how the body is doing and how much hemotherapy needed. The drugs can produce many side effects, and may leave you susceptible to infection for a while. Read more!

The Latest Advances in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Cancer is treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these methods. Diagnoses and treatment have become increasingly individualized in recent years. Early detection and the precise staging of therapies have contributed to higher success rates in the battle against cancer.

Many cancers that only recently had poor prognoses are now considered curable. Potentially curable cancers now include acute lymphocytic leukemia in children, Burkitt’s lymphoma, Ewing’s sarcoma (a form of bone cancer), Wilm’s tumor (a kidney cancer in children), Hodgkin’s disease, rhabdomyosarcoma (a cancer of certain muscle tissues), testicular cancer, choriocarcinoma (placental cancer), osteogenic sarcoma, and breast cancer. Read more!