Cancer Prevention

A Florida woman is the first patient to kill off breast cancer with the help of a promising new vaccine. Lee Mercker, from the Jacksonville area, was diagnosed with a very early-stage form of breast cancer in March. She went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to start treatment, but her doctor asked if she’d like to try something else first: An experimental vaccine that aims to fight off early-stage breast cancer and prevent future occurrence.  Knutson said Mercker’s results were,

For the first time, a study has shown that exercise has a direct biological effect on breast tumor gene expression, providing potential insight into previously reported links between exercise and lower mortality risk in breast cancer survivors who exercise compared to those who do not. Previous to this research, they did not have direct evidence that exercise had an effect on mortality risk. This is the first study that shows that exercise can cause changes in a tumor in people.  The study

Regular mammograms are the best way to detect breast cancer early. But if your mammogram report says that you have dense breast tissue, you may be wondering what that means.  Women who have dense breast tissue seem to have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer compared to women with less dense breast tissue. It’s unclear at this time why dense breast tissue is linked to breast cancer risk. We do know that dense breast tissue makes it harder for radiologists to see cancer. On mammograms,

A new study suggests that red meat consumption may increase the risk of breast cancer, whereas poultry consumption may protect against breast cancer risk.  Researchers followed the meat and cooking practices of over 42,000 women for an average of 7.6 years. During follow-up, approximately 1,500 breast cancers were diagnosed. Women with the highest amount of red meat consumption had a 23% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who consumed the lowest amount of red meat. Women who

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL and Rep. Susan Brooks, R-IN have teamed up to propose the reauthorization of the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young (EARLY) Act, which was first passed in 2010. The EARLY Act focuses on education and outreach run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focusing on the risks young women and women of certain ethnic or racial backgrounds face from breast cancer.  “Reauthorizing the EARLY Act means that we will

Interview with Lori Conard-Miller Breast Cancer Awareness month is only a few short months away, which means for most post-mastectomy boutiques, it’s time to prepare for the busy season! Many of our members host, sponsor or attend breast cancer awareness fundraisers, walks or runs. Essentially Women member, Lori Conard-Miller from Studio I in Saint Joseph, MI and Mishawaka, IN and Naturally Yours in Willowbrook, IL recently discussed with EW what Breast Cancer Awareness season looks like

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) is now the predominant mode of breast cancer screening in 41.8% of hospital referral regions. DBT is an advanced form of mammography that uses low-dose x-rays to detect cancer early. This technology seems to have lower recall rates and higher cancer-detection rates than a standard two-dimensional mammography. However, some of these machines have higher radiation doses.  Not all hospital regions have this technology available. The technology is

Treatment advances for breast cancer survival rates among women in the United States have improved over the years, but the disparity between white and black women has grown. Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The biggest disparity can be found in the South, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.  Black women are more

MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has created a new deep-learning model that can predict from a mammogram if a patient is likely to develop breast cancer as much as five years in the future. The model has learned from known outcomes of over 60,000 patients to notice the patterns in breast tissue that are precursors to malignant tumors. Using this type of technology could enable doctors to customize screening and prevention programs at the individual level and hopefully end late diagnosing

When it's time for a mammogram, should you ask for 3D? When Mary Hu, an administrator in communications with Yale School of Medicine, went to get a mammogram two years ago, she didn't even know she was getting 3D mammography, also called digital breast tomosynthesis. Her radiologist, Dr. Liane Philpotts, with Yale Cancer Center, says Hus experience is a great example of the accuracy of 3D imaging. Hu has dense breasts, which can make it challenging for radiologists to read mammograms since