Triple Negative Breast Cancer

July 17, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is the next frontier in the march towards finding a cure for breast cancer. Most breast cancers we can treat, because most breast cancers have a target we can exploit: the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor or the Her2 receptor. In these breast cancers, we can shut down the receptors with targeted therapies, such as tamoxifen or Herceptin (trastuzumab), stop growth and kill the cancer. Triple Negative Breast Cancers do not express these receptors and therefore, early detection and surgery become the mainstays of therapy for Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Chemotheraphy

Chemotherapy Before Surgery? But I Want My Cancer Gone! Part II

May 5, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Research

Chemotherapy prior to surgery can tell us whether your tumor responded to chemotherapy. If your tumor is gone after chemotherapy, then we can feel good that any tumor cells hiding elsewhere in your body were killed.

Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Chemotheraphy

Chemotherapy Before Surgery? But I Want My Cancer Gone! Part I

April 17, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survival

Breast cancer belongs in the garbage can. Period.
Breast cancer needs to be cut out and thrown away. Done. The end.

If only it were that simple. Many surgeons will tell you that it is that simple. Just cut out the tumor and be done with it. But breast cancer is a very complex disease that requires a mosaic of treatments from a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the destruction of breast cancer.

Awareness, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy, mets, Surgery

Breast Cancer Survivors and Pregnancy: Be POSITIVE!

March 10, 2017 / bakerlabs / Cancer Survival, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Treatment

You survived breast cancer and now you want to get pregnant. Is it safe? Will the cancer come back? Will my baby be healthy?

First, let’s review what you went through to survive breast cancer. You had a mammogram, which radiates your breasts. You had surgery and a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy, which puts radiation into your breast and lymph nodes. You may have had Whole Breast Radiation Therapy, which put lots of radiation into your breast. You probably had chemotherapy. And you are currently taking tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen pill.

Breast cancer, cancer survival, Pregnancy, pregnancy after cancer, Tamoxifen

My Breasts are Dense. Now What?

February 10, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Treatment

Dense breasts make the detection of small breast cancers on mammography a challenge. Breast tissue is white on a mammogram and fatty tissue is black on a mammogram. The density of a mammogram is based on the amount of black vs. white tissue and is described as fatty replaced, having scattered fibroglandular densities, heterogeneously dense, or extremely dense.

3D mammogram, Breast cancer, breast density, breast tomography, dense breasts, digital breast tomosynthesis, Mammogram

Life-Saving Advances in the Treatment of Breast Cancer, Part II

January 20, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Cancer Survival, Genetic testing

We continue to explore some of the best advances in the treatment of breast cancer; advances that help women not only kill cancer but to also live normal, healthy lives after treatment.

Aromatase Inhibitors, Awareness, Axillary Radiation for Cancer in the Lymph Nodes, Breast, Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer, Surgery, TCH and TC, The Nipple Sparing Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction

Life-Saving Advances in the Treatment of Breast Cancer, Part I

January 9, 2017 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment, Genetic testing

The community of scientists and physicians has made great strides against breast cancer over the past ten years. It has always been my commitment to ensure that every woman with breast cancer benefits from these advances in the fight against breast cancer. Here are four of the eight most recent advances that have had some of the biggest impacts in the fight against breast cancer. We will be discussing the remaining 4 in two weeks.

Awareness, Breast, Breast cancer, Cancer, Radiation therapy, Sentinel lymph node, Silver Bullet, Surgery

Vaginal Dryness After Breast Cancer Can Be Treated

December 20, 2016 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Knoxville Community, Patient Stories

Fighting breast cancer was hard. It was also unfair. Linda was only 53, she ran marathons, ate lean meats, enjoyed her vegetables and took a walk every night with her husband. So it was profoundly unfair when a spot was found on her annual screening mammogram. She had a core needle biopsy, which demonstrated a breast cancer. Although the tumor was small, it was high grade. Linda chose to remove her breast and have a mastectomy. And then she took chemotherapy.

Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Conditions and Diseases, Knoxville Tennessee, Mammography, Treatment, Tumor

DCIS: Is it Cancer?

November 16, 2016 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Knoxville Community, Patient Stories

Nicole and her girlfriends went for their annual mammogram. It was always more fun to do it in a group. Although they were all in their young 40s and the government is trying to tell them not to have a mammogram till they turn 50, they listened to the advice of their physicians and have been getting screening mammograms since they turned 40. Nicole’s mammogram had some microcalcifications, small pieces of calcium that are deposited from breast tissue. Most often, fibrocystic breast changes can cause calcium deposits, but on occasion, the calcium can be deposited by cancer. Nicole had a core needle biopsy and was told she had Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Nicole had breast cancer, or so she thought. Her friend Amber, who knows everything, said that Nicole did not have cancer, that DCIS is a benign growth. Well, does Nicole have cancer? Is DCIS cancer?

Yes. DCIS is cancer. DCIS can recur after excision. DCIS can transform into a malignant tumor. Cure rates are as high as 98%, but 2% still succumb to the disease. Thus, DCIS is cancer, but benign cancer, as opposed to malignant cancer, which can spread throughout the body.

I’ve Beaten Breast Cancer. Now What?

October 24, 2016 / Dr. Aaron G. Margulies / Patient Stories, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survival

Josephine took her last dose of radiation therapy, got dressed, and walked down the hallway. The staff and other cancer survivors were waiting for her. She strode towards them, feeling like a Cheshire Cat with a smile a mile wide. She enjoyed every step. She enjoyed every congratulation. She enjoyed every good cheer. She grabbed the hammer and rung the bell. She was done. Her journey to beat breast cancer was complete.

Fighting breast cancer takes a lot of energy and determination. Many days just wipe you out and some days you just cry. At the end of the journey, the air is fresh, the sky is blue and the sun is brighter than it ever was.

American Cancer Society, Breast cancer, Cancer, cancer recurrence, Chemotherapy, emotional recovery, Mammography

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During my cancer journey you and Lisa traveled it with me. Words cannot express my appreciation for all that both of you have done. You both have always encouraged, loved and shown compassion with understanding for me.

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Rebecca

“Thank you for your excellent care.”

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Samuel

You are a very wonderful doctor, very kind and sweet. I want to thank you for praying for me before I had my surgery. You don’t find many doctors like you that believe in prayer, I believe in prayer. May God bless you.

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Heather

“I knew from the moment I walked into your office that you, dear man were a blessing. But your kind heart keeps giving and I thank God that our pathways have crossed.”

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Elaine

Thanks so much for your help with my cancer, thank God I am well. You are a special person and may God bless you and your staff.

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Mary