Cancer Prevention

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

Genetic testing kits, like 23andMe and AncestryDNA give users background data of their ancestors. Kits are also available to help test food intolerances, all from the convenience of your home. 23andMe has the option to opt into the BRCA gene mutation test. People with this gene mutation have a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The New York Times interviewed a woman who opted into this specific test and came back negative. Years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. A

The FDA proposed a new rule on March 27, 2019 that will require mammogram centers to tell women more about how dense breast tissue can affect their health and increase their cancer risk. Under this new federal rule, it will require that women receive information about breast density to better inform them of healthcare decisions. The language will tell women if they should consider more image tests or talk to their doctors about their mammogram results. This rule is currently open for public comment

In the past, scientists have studied the potential benefits of green tea for breast cancer. They have found that certain compounds in green tea have anti-cancer effects. A new study recently looked at other types of tea, specifically oolong, green, black and dark tea extracts. The extracts for green and oolong tea stopped the growth of all types of breast cancer cells; whereas the black and dark tea extracts had no effect on the cells. Scientists also noted that people who consume large amounts of