FRIDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) — Almost 25 percent of black women with advanced breast cancer refuse the chemotherapy and radiation treatments that could save their lives, a new study finds.
Black women have almost twice the rate of advanced breast cancer as white women do, largely because the disease is often diagnosed after it has already progressed. In addition, some black women have misconceptions about cancer and are reluctant to seek medical help, the researchers said. Read More
MONDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) — In another sign of the challenges facing the health-care industry as it tries to serve the poor, researchers from North Carolina are reporting that nearly four in 10 poor women recovering from breast cancer do not take the drugs recommended to keep their cancer from returning.
Those who do not follow instructions to take these drugs, medications that block hormones, face a higher risk of dying, said study author Dr. Gretchen Kimmick. Read More
FRIDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) — Parents with family secrets may struggle to decide what to share with their children. But when it comes to cancer running in the family, a new study shows that those who choose to reveal the results of genetic tests are glad they did.
Scientists know that two genes are to blame for the majority of inherited breast and ovarian cancer cases, and tests can show if a woman has those genes. Read More
THURSDAY, May 14, 2009 (Health.com) — Cancer patients may be able to fight chemotherapy-induced nausea using a common pantry spice—ginger.
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers found that a smidgen of purified ginger given in supplement form—equivalent to one-quarter teaspoon to one-half teaspoon of the spice each day—could reduce chemotherapy-related nausea by 40% on the first day of treatment when used in combination with traditional anti-nausea medications.
The findings were released Thursday and will be presented later this month at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Read More
WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2009 (Health.com) — Women with breast cancer in the United States have an average age of 63, and the disease is more common in older women than younger. However, researchers have long left older women out of clinical trials due largely to concerns that they can’t tolerate toxic therapies; in practice, these older patients may not even be offered potentially lifesaving chemotherapy.
Now a new study in women 65 and older published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that women with early-stage breast cancer who are treated with chemotherapy along with surgery will likely live longer than those who aren’t. Read More
MONDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) — The more cancer screening tests you undergo, the higher your risk of having at least one false-positive result, researchers say.
While that conclusion may seem like common sense, it’s not something that patients or doctors often consider, suggest the authors of a study in the May/June issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
False-positive results from routine cancer screening can cause undue worry and in some cases lead to unnecessary biopsies or treatments, experts note. Read More
WEDNESDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) — Three genes linked to the spread of breast cancer to the brain have been identified by U.S. researchers, who say the finding could help lead to new treatments.
The spread, or metastasis, of breast cancer to the brain typically occurs years after a breast tumor has been removed. Experts say this suggests that the cancer cells initially lack the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which prevents the entry of circulating cells and regulates the transport of molecules into the brain tissue. Read More
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) — Two new studies provide more evidence that drugs such as Procrit and Aranesp, often used by cancer patients to fight anemia-linked fatigue, may boost the risk of death and serious adverse events such as blood clots.
These drugs, called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), have also been associated in prior studies with increased risk of heart attack, stroke and tumor growth. The primary argument for the continued use of these drugs is that they help reduce the number of blood transfusions some cancer patients need, while improving quality of life. Read More
THURSDAY, April 30, 2009 (Health.com) — Young women with dense breasts—as measured by the percentage of water in their breast tissue—may be at greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life than women with less-dense breasts.
According to a report in Lancet Oncology, breast cancer screening, which women typically start in their 40s and 50s, may be useful when started earlier in life. “The findings may lead us toward characterizing risk earlier then we do now and intervening to prevent breast cancer earlier than we do now,” says lead researcher Norman Boyd, MD, a scientist at the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Read More
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) — Women were 10 times more likely to do breast self-examinations if they took part in an brief intervention program that included one counseling session and two follow-up phone calls, a U.S. study has found.
The research involved more than 600 women, ages 40 to 70, who’d had a negative mammogram screening in the previous two months. They were given either dietary counseling with no mention of breast self-exams or a 30- to 45-minute counseling session about breast self-exam that included an educational video, practicing self-exam on a silicone model and a discussion of possible barriers to doing self-exams. This group also received follow-up phone calls one and two months later. Read More
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