Angels do exist. I encounter their presence often. Angels are with me in the Operating Theater, looking over my shoulder, guiding my hand, relaxing my patient as we remove the tumor. Angels are with me in the office, focusing my thoughts and comforting you as we sketch out a plan to save you from cancer. Angels are with me when I study and read my journals, opening my mind to safer and more effective ways to get rid of breast cancer.
Read more on Touched by an Angel…
Read More Cancer, Surgery
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.
Read more on Life-Saving Advances in the Treatment of Breast Cancer, Part II…
Read More 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
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.
Read more on Life-Saving Advances in the Treatment of Breast Cancer, Part I…
Read More Awareness, Breast, Breast cancer, Cancer, Radiation therapy, Sentinel lymph node, Silver Bullet, Surgery
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.
Read more on Vaginal Dryness After Breast Cancer Can Be Treated…
Read More Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Conditions and Diseases, Knoxville Tennessee, Mammography, Treatment, Tumor
A targeted therapy is a therapy targeted to a specific biomarker to kill breast cancer. A targeted therapy can be a monoclonal antibody, or what we used to call a magic or silver bullet, directed against a specific target on a breast cancer cell. Targeted therapies are akin to a sniper with a high-powered rifle, whereas chemotherapy is akin to a hunter with a shotgun. Both can be very effective, but the sniper has a much greater chance of hitting its target and making a kill.
Read more on Targeted Therapies and Biomarkers…
Read More Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer, Cell (biology)
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.
Read more on I’ve Beaten Breast Cancer. Now What?…
Read More American Cancer Society, Breast cancer, Cancer, cancer recurrence, Chemotherapy, emotional recovery, Mammography
Why is chemotherapy given to cancer patients? Because chemotherapy kills cancer.
Chemotherapy is a combination of medicines that kill cancer cells by stopping their cellular division (mitosis) and “birthing” of new cancer cells. If cancer cells cannot give birth to new cancer cells, then the cancer itself will die. Chemotherapy is not very specific to cancer cells only, as chemotherapy also kills rapidly dividing healthy cells, which leads to many of the side effects of chemotherapy.
Read more on Do I Need Chemotherapy?…
Read More Awareness, Breast cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer, Chemotherapy
It was a beautiful summer day, but Laurie could feel the tension in the air as she anticipated her opponent’s next move. Whack! She sprinted towards the net, stretched out her racquet, and smashed the ball, sending it past her sister for the final winning point. She smiled, red-faced and out of breath. I’m only 34, she thought as she chugged her bottled water. I shouldn’t be this exhausted from a pick-up tennis match! Her older sister, Patricia, gave a knowing smile and shook her head as she dried the sweat beads from her neck with a towel. “We are so out of shape!,” she called from across the court.
Read more on #1 Summer To Do: Exercise to Prevent Breast Cancer…
Read More American Heart Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Body mass index, Breast cancer, Cancer, Feinberg School of Medicine, International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, Physical exercise, Stanford University
After soothing his sore throat with the warm soup his mother brought him, Sam asked his mother, “Why didn’t grandma get a vaccine before she got her breast cancer?” A great question.
Read more on Understanding Vaccines, Part Two…
Read More Cancer, Cell (biology), Immune system, Immunotherapy
Sam woke up with a runny nose and a cough. He had the flu and couldn’t go to school. Sam’s mom, Rebecca, had to reorganize her day. The health of her child came first and after asking the window guy to come back another day, she brought a bowl of warm soup to Sam, hoping to ease his sore throat.
Read more on Understanding Vaccines, Part One…
Read More Cancer, Cancer immunology, Cancer vaccine, Immune system, Vaccine