Happiness Tip #31: Make Small Changes in Your Day-to-Day Life

The Breast Health and Happiness Project presents ....

Happiness Tip #31: Make Small Changes in Your Day-to-Day Life
By Vera Viner

Breast cancer survivors may have trouble moving past the terror and anxiety they felt throughout their illness even though they are now able to live their life without being stuck in the hospital. The problem many encounter is the potential for breast cancer recurrence. However, it may be wise to remember that all people are at risk of death at any point in their lives – whether they are middle-aged adults, the elderly, or even babies, toddlers,  or school children.

When it comes to dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment, it is important to stay positive and focus on the good things – specifically the fact that you’ve been given a chance to live out your life until old age!

If you are suffering from depression after being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, the biggest tip for becoming happier is to make small changes every day aimed toward a more balanced mental state. These daily changes may be to just get yourself out of bed in the morning, showered, and dressed for the day ahead.

It is a good idea to set a schedule for yourself and add basic activities like cleaning the house, going grocery shopping, and cooking a meal. After some time, you may want to begin to go for walks or go to the gym in order to get some exercise. Additionally, you may want to begin going out with friends once you feel more stable. Why not go to the movies or out to a new restaurant? Before you know it, you’ll gain much more happiness and be able to move on with your life.

Today’s happiness tip revolves around making small changes every day in order to gain more happiness in the long run. Keeping yourself busy will keep your mind off of the pain you may be experiencing. Make sure to keep making those small changes!

How to Catch Cancer Early

By Vera Viner

Women who have reached 40 years of age are encouraged to receive annual mammograms in order to diagnose a cancer early, if it does occur. Mammography is one of the few ways to catch a cancer early and older women should partake in this annually to reduce their risk of death from cancer.

Essentially, a mammogram is an X-ray of a woman’s breasts that is able to pick up any abnormalities in the breast, such as lumps or dark tissues. Mammograms are conducted by placing the breasts between two plates and compressing the tissues until an X-ray image is taken.

While older women should partake in both annual mammography and monthly breast self-exams, younger women will find it sufficient to solely partake in regular breast self-examinations.

If you are more than 40 years old, talk to your doctor about scheduling a yearly mammogram screening. Catching cancerous clusters early in the breast is one of the few ways to ensure that your doctor can save your life. Finding a tumor early through mammography could mean that your cancer will not spread to other parts of your body with the right treatment.

Mammograms and biopsies are also useful in determining whether a lump in the breast is cancerous, according to the National Cancer Institute. If you felt a lump or experienced breast pain, nipple discharge, or changes in the shape of your breast, schedule an appointment with your doctor right away. Your physician may schedule a mammogram and possibly a biopsy based on your symptoms.

While there are clearly benefits to mammography, some negatives include the possibility of false-positive results and small doses of radiation exposure. The National Cancer Institute recommends all women over the age of 40 to partake in mammography every one to two years.

Breast cancer does not discriminate. To ensure you are cancer-free or to catch your cancer early, make sure to partake in annual mammograms and monthly breast self-exams. Additionally, a plant-based diet, regular exercise, and abstaining from smoking cigarettes and drinking excessively will go a long way to preventing breast cancer.

Younger Women Also At Risk of Breast Cancer

By Vera Viner

While we are used to middle-aged women and elderly women being diagnosed with breast cancer, this disease doesn’t ONLY target people in this age group. There are much younger women and girls who have had to battle this disease and come out on the other side. Fox News reported that 14-year-old Ashley is a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed just before Christmas in 2012.

While playing basketball, she was hit in the chest and a significant pain led her to a clinic where it was discovered that she had a tumor in her right breast. Three months ago, Ashley had a mastectomy to the right side of her chest.

Ashley’s mother also underwent treatment for breast cancer when she was 34 years of age. The genetic link between mother and daughter shows that this disease strongly impacts their family history.

“It was horrifying, knowing that I have given it to my daughter. She’s going to have to go through everything too,” the mother told the news source.  ”Most children, I don’t believe, would have come through it strong as she has. She has influenced a lot of people more than she could know.”

In February 2013, The New York Times reported that advanced breast cancer diagnosis has slightly increased among women between age 25 to 39. The researchers of this study focused on analysing the available statistics between 1976 to 2009. The reason this finding is significant is because the breast cancer diagnosed among these women had already metastasized to the liver, lungs, or nearby organs. This greatly decreases the victims’ chance of survival.

“Breast cancer can and does occur in younger women,” Dr. Rebecca Johnson, the author of the study and medical director of the adolescent and young adult oncology program at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told the news source. “[However,] We’re certainly not advocating that young women get mammography at an earlier age than is generally specified.”

Instead, doctors urge young women to see their doctors if they notice a lump, pain or other changes in the breast. Even if you do not have any family history, breast cancer can and does affect young women as well as old. While breast cancer does not affect nearly as many younger women, it tends to be more aggressive in the younger generations. If you are a younger woman, make sure to participate in monthly self-exams and get yearly breast exams provided by your primary care doctor.

Happiness Tip #30: Be Content with What You Have

The Breast Health and Happiness Project presents ....

Happiness Tip #30: Be Content with What You Have
By Vera Viner

Often we believe that we will be happy once we get that promotion, that new job, that good-looking boyfriend or girlfriend. Sometimes we think that buying a new car or making a down payment on a large, rich-looking house will bring us more satisfaction in our lives. However, after the thrill or joy of our new purchase or life event wears off, we often go back to our usual state, whether it is contentment, unhappiness, or even depression.

Nonetheless, it is important to realize that commercialized products or shallow achievements will bring little real happiness. These type of joyous moments will often pass and not bring lasting happiness. A big flat screen TV will not bring you real joy. Spending time speaking and playing with your children, for instance, is likely to bring true contentment. Family and friends are likely to bring you more joy than a mere new car.

It is important to try to avoid desire and be content with what we have in our lives. Instead of hoping for more and making goals to achieve more money, power, or possessions, take a look at the wonderful things that are already in your life. Most of us have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and loved ones to share our joys and sorrows with. For me, this is enough. Be content with what you have … such as the amusing video below!

The Difference Between a Surgical and a Needle Biopsy

By Vera Viner

Imagine you find yourself at your primary care doctor’s office for an annual check-up and your physician finds a lump in your breast during an exam. You may immediately think “CANCER!” However, this is not always the case. It is possible that an infection or some other mishap occurred to cause this lump. Regardless, the only way to determine whether you may have cancer or an infection is to perform a biopsy.

There are two different types of biopsies to choose from – a surgical and a needle biopsy. You may ask, ‘Which one is a better choice for me?’ Your doctor will help determine the answer to this question. The New York Times reported on a new study that urges women to undergo needle biopsies when a breast lump is found or your mammogram looks abnormal.

The Times stated that needle biopsies are “safer, less invasive, and cheaper.” Researchers in Florida found that as much as 30 percent of women with abnormalities in their breast undergo surgical biopsies when the recommended amount is 10 percent or less. This is a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Additionally, approximately 80 percent of these biopsies are found to be cancer-free. However, the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer will have to undergo two surgical procedures instead of one.

Some major differences between needle and surgical biopsies is that surgical ones require an inch-long incision, stitches, and general anesthesia. It leaves a scar while needle biopsies requires a local anesthetic, no stitches, and lends itself to less risk of infection and scarring. The costs of a needle biopsy range from $5,000 to $6,000 while an open biopsy will cost between $10,000 to $12,000.

“I see it all the time,” Dr. Elisa R. Port, the chief of breast surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, explained to the source that surgeons are regularly performing open biopsies. “People are causing harm and should be held accountable.”

A surgical biopsy involves cutting into the breast to remove tissue that looks abnormal. A needle biopsy, on the other hand, is performed by inserting a needle into the abnormal part of the breast and removing a small part of the surrounding tissue. The sample can then be examined under the microscope to determine whether the patient has cancer. Both needle and surgical biopsies are equally accurate. There may be certain times an open biopsy is more beneficial, but most of the time, a needle biopsy can determine the results accurately.

Essentially, needle biopsies are safer to perform, have less risk of infection or bleeding, and are less invasive than surgical options. Next time you find a surgeon telling you that you need to undergo a surgical biopsy to determine whether you have breast cancer, ask them why a needle biopsy wouldn’t work. If you are unsure whether a surgical biopsy is necessary when you’ve been given this as your only option, you may want to get a second opinion.

Elementary School Children Devoted to Raising Money for the Cleveland Clinic’s Breast Cancer Vaccine

By Vera Viner

Three years ago, Dr. Vincent Tuohy and his team from the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute developed a preventive breast cancer vaccine. The vaccine was found to be 100 percent effective in preventing breast cancer in mice that were prone to develop the disease. Tuohy’s research was published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine in June 2010.

The team used the antigen alpha-lactalbumin as the vaccine and found that it not only prevented breast cancer development but also stopped the growth of already existing tumors found in mice. Alpha-lactalbumin is a protein found in the majority of women with breast cancer but not found in healthy women except for those who are nursing children. This means that the vaccine could be used on women who are past the age of forty, the time period when breast cancer risk increases and pregnancy is much less likely.

“We believe that this vaccine will someday be used to prevent breast cancer in adult women in the same way that vaccines prevent polio and measles in children,” Dr. Vincent Tuohy, who is also an immunologist in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, said in a press release. “If it works in humans the way it works in mice, this will be monumental. We could eliminate breast cancer.”

The only problem that has been standing in the way of Dr. Tuohy’s research and his plan to move forward with several clinical trials on women is the lack of funding. Major breast cancer organizations have turned him down for further funding. The Susan G. Komen Foundation turned down his request on threeseparate occasions.

“We have no vaccination program for adults and I find this an enormous deficiency in our healthcare. We have no immune protection from disease that we confront with age, like breast cancer,” Dr. Tuohy said in an interview with WNDU.

In addition to Komen, Avon refused to give Tuohy’s team any funding and the Department of Defense declined their proposal. However, despite these setbacks, there has been a strong and growing grassroots effort by women around the world to fund the preventive breast cancer vaccine.

In fact, children who want to grow up in a world without breast cancer have devoted their time and energy to raising funding for the Cleveland Clinic’s vaccine.

A group of elementary school children in Ohio have raised $450 for Dr. Tuohy’s research by collecting coins and spare change from the people around their neighborhood. Dr. Vincent Tuohy is planning on meeting this group of elementary school students to thank them for their efforts.

“This community support is so much more gratifying to me than anything Komen, Avon, or NCI could have done,” Dr. Tuohy said in an email to the Sisters4Prevention organization. “Look at the pride and joy on the faces of these children. We will get this vaccine tested.”

This wonderful grassroots fundraising will make an impact on funding clinical trials of the vaccine. If the biggest breast cancer charities want nothing to do with preventing breast cancer and saving lives, it is up to the rest of us to make an impact and get this vaccine funded. It is time to learn whether the first preventive breast cancer vaccine is as safe and effective in women as it is in animal models.

Study: Blood Pressure Drug May Be Linked to a Rise in Breast Cancer Risk

By Vera Viner

The pharmaceutical industry may have another problem on their hands, as particular blood pressure medications have found to have a serious medical risk.Bloomberg reported that women who took calcium-channel blockers for more than 10 years had a significant rise in their breast cancer risk when compared to women who never took the drugs. In fact, the rise was 2.5 times the standard risk for breast cancer development.

Instead of calcium-channel blockers, women with heart problems may need to take different medications. The research regarding this was published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Nearly 3,000 women were followed to determine the breast cancer risk associated with blood pressure medication. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists who undertook the study explain that more research is needed to determine exactly why this subclass of drugs causes a rise in breast cancer risk.

“These findings raise a hypothesis,” Patricia Coogan, a research professor of epidemiology at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, wrote in an editorial. “It does not prove that using calcium-channel blockers for 10 or more years will raise your risk of breast cancer. More observational studies need to look in more populations. If this finding is replicated, then there needs to be a serious discussion about long-term use of calcium-channel blockers.”

Blood pressure drugs are commonly assigned throughout the United States, with more than 678 million blood pressure prescriptions filled in 2010. Out of all these medications, 98 million prescriptions were for calcium-channel blockers. The way these particular medications work is by relaxing blood vessels and keeping calcium from coming into the cells and tissues.

Another interesting fact about the findings is that mostly older women who take the drugs are likely to develop breast cancer. When treating problems associated with blood pressure, there are other pharmaceutical options. Other medications include beta blockers, diuretics, and ACE inhibitors. Long-term use of these other drugs were not linked to a rise in cancer risk.

It is hypothesized that calcium-channel blockers may be associated with greater cancer risk because they suppress cell death, which is a typical part of the cell cycle, according to Medical News Today.

“Because hypertension is a chronic condition, most people with high blood pressure use antihypertensive drugs chronically and will often stay on the same regimen for long periods of time,” Dr. Christopher Lee, who led the study, told the news source. “Characterizing their potential associations with the most common cancer in women is an important clinical and public health issue, particularly with the increasing availability of alternative options to manage hypertension.”

This research could make a big impact on women’s health. Those who are taking calcium-channel blockers on a long-term basis to treat their blood pressure problems should consider speaking with their primary care doctor or cardiologist on these findings.

To Counter Misdiagnosis, Experts Recommend Renaming Early-Stage Cancers

By Vera Viner

While contracting cancer can be a terrifying disease to combat in one’s lifetime, today’s healthcare industry has become much better at identifying problems in the human body before it has become life-threatening or spread to other organs. With early diagnosis and treatment at higher levels, it may become necessary for medical experts to consider re-naming small abnormalities and avoid phrases like “early-stage cancer” if a small tumor has little chance of developing into a serious cancer.

FierceHealthcare reported on a study group that suggested changing the terms early-stage cancers to merely lesions that have a “reasonable likelihood of lethal progression if left untreated.” Additionally, it is advised for the medical industry to build registries for lesions that have little potential for becoming malignant tumors.

Because of the problems associated with over-diagnosis and misdiagnosis, the researchers suggested to increase the threshold that requires biopsies, reduce the frequency of certain screenings, and focus screening more on high-risk populations. These suggestions may counter the problems associated with false-positives from mammography and other breast cancer screenings.

The researchers published their findings via The Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors of the study explain that, while cancer awareness campaigns and screenings have brought a significant rise in early-stage disease, a decline in late-stage disease has not been met.

While cancer may lead to metastasis and death, there are some forms that remain harmless throughout a person’s lifetime. The researchers urge the medical community to aim toward treating cancers that are life-threatening and determine the differences between those that are metastatic and more likely to remain benign.

“Screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer appears to detect more cancers that are potentially clinically insignificant,” the authors wrote in their report. “Lung cancer may follow this pattern if high-risk screening is adopted. Barrett esophagus and ductal carcinoma of the breast are examples for which the detection and removal of lesions considered precancerous have not led to lower incidence of invasive cancer. In contrast, colon and cervical cancer are examples of effective screening programs in which early detection and removal of precancerous lesions have reduced incidence as well as late-stage disease. Thyroid cancers and melanoma are examples for which screening has expanded and, along with it, the detection of indolent disease.”

Another important healthcare model that the cancer community can rejoice in is the development of pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Anotherpost from FierceHealthcare explains the benefits that ACOs have provided in the last year:

1) Pioneer ACOs have succeeded in enhancing cancer screenings as well as blood pressure and cholesterol control for diabetes patients

2) The majority of the first ACOs have been able to lower patient readmission rates

3) One-third of the ACOs were able to reduce healthcare costs, which saved Medicare $33 million including a cumulative savings of $87 million

Today, it is a time to look on the bright side of many issues related to our medical system. With accountable care organizations and the movement toward improved cancer screening methods as well as immune-based treatments, cancer patients are in a much better position than they were even a decade ago.

The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors

By Dr. Kathleen T. Ruddy

Helayne Waldman and Edward Bauman have written an excellent nutritional guide for women who are interested in modifying their diets to reduce their risk for breast cancer.  The authors, experts in their fields, discuss a wide range of known and emerging risk factors for breast cancer and then outline ways women can use food to lower their risk for this disease.

The book is readable, concise, and contains very helpful information about how diet influences breast cancer risk and recurrence.  Breast cancer patients and women who just want to know more about how diet influences breast cancer risk will benefit from the clear advice these authors provide.

“The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors” provides and excellent service for breast cancer patients, for it picks up where traditional medicine leaves off.  After the surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, reconstructive surgery, and targeted therapy are all prescribed and completed, it’s good to know that there’s more help at hand.  Here’s a book worthy reading, a program worth adopting.

Thank you, Helayne and Edward, for this important contribution to breast health and healing.

NOTE:  The book is published by New Harbinger Publications in Oakland, California, www.newharbinger.com

New Year’s Message: Art Trumps Science

Note: Originally written on January 1, 2013

By Dr. Kathleen T. Ruddy

Science is like a building under construction whose height is unknown.  We discover fire and we invent the wheel, but that is only the beginning.  At first it looks like the stars and planets revolve around the earth.  And then we discover that they don’t.  For centuries Newton reads like a genius, and he was; but then Einstein comes along and changes much of that.  And Schrodenger changes it once again.  Now we have the Higgs, but it is still not the end of the book on physics.

In medicine it is much the same as with the rest of science:  we learn only to relearn.  We discover only to rediscover.  Breast cancer is no exception.  We think the cause of breast cancer is in the genes, and certainly at some level it is.  But it may be the genes of a virus interacting with the genes we inherit from both our parents that lie at the root of this pandemic.  And genes are not the entire problem solved, for all manner of things in the environment – even in our heads – can alter how all these genes are expressed, and in what order, and to what end.

We know that there are risk factors for the development of breast cancer.  We know there are many things that can be done to reduce these risks.  Our treatments have improved, as you well know.  No longer must we remove the breast, its skin, every lymph node in sight and part of the neck to cure it.  Now it seems as if at least a third of it does not require any treatment whatsoever.  Unfortunately, we still cannot distinguish the life-threatening breast cancer from that which can be left alone, so we must treat them all the same, in much the same way every single one of us must take off our shoes as we go through airport security.

And now it seems that someday soon we shall have a vaccine to prevent breast cancer entirely!  And then the great pink building that has been under construction lo these many years will be demolished and built again in the name of another disease, another scourge of mankind.  I look forward to the day when that wrecking ball takes down the building and spares the women who’ve been smashed by this disease.

But to my point, whereas science builds upon itself and is constantly under renovation, art stands alone.  It is always and forever  unmarred by time or something new.  Da Vinci’s “The Annunciation” is as astonishing today as ever.  The sublime beauty of Michaelangelo’s “The Pieta” is not in the least altered by another thing.  Alexander McQueen’s red satin coat – do you know the one?  It stands forever apart from the wedding dress made by the House of Dior for Carrie Bradshaw in the movie, “Sex and the City”.  Shalimar is unphased by Chanel No. 5.  Art stands alone:  immutable, impenetrable and undisturbed.

The art of relationship stands alone, as does the art of leadership.  The real leader is not in search of followers, per se.  A leader worth her salt is not the one with the most followers on Twitter, the most friends of Facebook, the most hits on a Google search.  A real leader is one who works for truth and beauty, knowing that truth evolves but art is always firmly fixed – just the way Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” , Melville’s “Moby Dick” and every piece of music, especially those of Beethoven, Jackson Browne, and John Lennon, are more solid than the rocks upon which we spin and hurl through space.

My New Year’s wish is this:  that the art of leadership, defined as the honest pursuit of truth and beauty, be ever evident this year as we work together to answer the questions, does a virus cause breast cancer in women, and is there a preventive breast cancer vaccine, such as the one developed at the Cleveland Clinic in 2010, that is safe and effective for use in women?

How to Stick to New Year’s Resolutions

Note: Originally Written on January 6, 2013

By Vera Viner

Now that the New Year has approached, it is time to stick to the resolutions that many people around the country make around this time of year. Often, this may involve an attempt at a healthier lifestyle.

Whether one aims to join a gym, have a healthier diet, lose weight or stop smoking, it is important to stick to one’s resolutions throughout the year and for many decades to come. Remaining healthy cannot be a one-time thing – being active and following a beneficial diet is necessary throughout life, regardless of whether it is winter, summer or a busy week at work.

Some advice for remaining healthy includes checking the labels on food products, particularly the nutrition information. Foods low in sodium and carbohydrates are advised while fruits and vegetables should be consumed for their vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients.

Cancer prevention goes beyond avoiding sugars and foods high in fat. When attempting to add healthy foods to your diet, it is a good idea to have a grapefruit or banana for breakfast along with hard-boiled eggs, yogurt or granola cereal.

As for lunch, make sure to add vegetables to your diet, such as some kale to go along with a turkey sandwich or some tomatoes and cut-up cucumbers with a bowl of brown rice. As for dinner time, it is a good idea to choose organic and natural meats and avoid an excess of red meat. A piece of salmon with broccoli and Brussels sprouts would add variety to a meal.

And it is also important to stick to resolutions aimed at increasing physical activity, as this is a proven method of preventing some types of cancer. Following these tips can help anyone remain true to their goals in 2013.

One Man’s Nobel Prize for his Work on Cancer Vaccines

By Vera Viner

Before Ralph Steinman, a doctor and scientist from New York-based Rockefeller University, died of pancreatic cancer, he had no idea that his life’s work and achievements were worthy of a Nobel Prize. However, the Nobel Foundation, unaware of his recent death, decided to honor him with the Nobel Prize on October 3, 2011, according to the New York Times.

Steinman was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and, as many know, this particular disease has very little positive news to offer when it comes to long-term survival rates. The majority of patients – 80 percent – die within the first year, while 90 percent of the survivors die the following year.

Knowing that treatment for pancreatic cancer offered little hope, Steinman decided to perform one last experiment – on himself! His approach centered on immunotherapy and using his own body to defeat the disease. Steinman was looking to create vaccines made from his own plasma that would be able to only treat his particular type of cancer.

“Once he got diagnosed with cancer, he really started talking about changing the paradigm of cancer treatment,” Steinman’s daughter Alexis told The Times. “That’s all he knew how to do. He knew how to be a scientist.”

Steinman went on to have part of his tumor removed at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. What happened next is truly miraculous. Colleagues of this scientist – located around the globe – each received a small specimen of the tumor to analyze and determine which drugs would be most beneficial to treat his pancreatic cancer. The tumor samples were sent as far Germany, Dallas, Texas and Toronto.

Steinman knew that every tumor that originated from the same site could still act very different, with some growing, others shrinking, some metastasizing and others staying near the same organ. Today, many researchers around the globe have focused on the genetics behind cancers to determine which treatments are best for particular patients.

Instead of using treatments meant for all patients within a particular category, physicians are now becoming more aware of individualized immunotherapy techniques that focus on each patient’s body and tumor. Some researchers have even focused on determining the genotype and biochemical pathways of tumor samples that have spread to different parts of the body, instead of the main site.

Steinman went on to sign up his tumor to be manufactured into three existing vaccines and then used each vaccine on his own body, spurring the immune system to respond and learn which cells are dangerous to his system. His T-cells began showing improvement, but a chemotherapy drug called emcitabine also treated his tumor effectively.

Steinman was able to live for years after many patients with pancreatic cancer died within months. It is possible the immunotherapies lingered on in his system and kept the tumor in check even after it grew further, thereby shrinking it after some time goes by.

“I mean, look at his course,” Daniel Coit, Steinman’s physician, told the news source. “The average survival even after a complete resection is measured in months, maybe a year and a half, and yet he kept going and going and going. You can’t help wondering if some of it had to do with this very innovative, novel approach.”

He did manage to live much longer than most with pancreatic cancer, but this aggressive disease eventually won. When the Nobel Prize committee found out that Steinman had passed away three days earlier, they considered all of their options.

Usually, if a person has been awarded the honor but dies before receiving it, the prize may still be awarded, according to UK-based publication The Telegraph. Steinman’s family received a portion of the money that was to be given to their patriarch and two other scientists.

The story of this noble man truly shows the significance of immunotherapies and vaccines in the fight against cancer.

 References

New York Times article

The Telegraph

3-D mammography increased breast cancer detection rates by 27 percent

By Vera Viner

While many today are trying to prevent breast cancer from occurring, the rate of diagnosis is still at a steady rate of one in eight women and doesn’t seem to be falling anytime soon. New research, however, has found ways that breast cancer can be detected at a 27 percent higher rate, according to Medpage Today.

The new process includes using 3-D mammography with standard breast imaging procedures and the researchers found that detection increased from about 6 per 1,000 patients undergoing the imaging test to 8 per 1,000 exams. Three-dimensional imaging also decreased false positives by 15 percent. The results were published in the latest edition of Radiology, an online magazine.

The study was geared at analyzing cancer detection rates with tomosynthesis – a high-resolution, limited angle imaging test – as well as figuring out the false positive rate and the types of cancers that can be found through this imaging method.

“The overall actual number of women recalled as a result of arbitration was larger for those initially assigned a positive score at mammography plus tomosynthesis,” researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway wrote in their report. “However, the concordant increase in the detection of 24 additional cancers resulted in a similar positive predictive value for the cases ultimately recalled for arbitration.”

More than 12,000 women were followed in this study to determine the differences between 2D mammography and tomosynthesis. Now that more novel studies have been performed and new devices incorporated into the healthcare sphere, there is more potential for tomosynthesis, according to Medical News Today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the clinical use of tomosynthesis.

However, the news source outlined one particular challenge with different imaging techniques, which is the fact that it is performed as a separate procedure and requires additional technical and specialty resources.

Instead of spending time and resources on detecting this disease at higher rates, it may be more beneficial for all in the healthcare sphere – providers, health insurance companies, employers and patients – to prevent the disease from harming the lives of women around the world. With the breast cancer vaccine, it is possible that this condition may no longer play such a pivotal role in affecting one half of the population.

Study: High spending for breast cancer screening not correlated with better health outcomes

By Vera Viner

The healthcare industry has been devoted in recent years to controlling rising medical costs, which is why the federal government has passed new legislation meant to make care services more affordable and cost-effective for consumers, insurers, employers and providers.

For example, the HITECH Act brought forth meaningful use provisions aimed at increasing the use of health IT systems – like electronic health records and e-prescribing software – which are expected to decrease medical errors, reduce hospitalizations and other costly procedures.

Many within the oncology sector have also been devoted to preventing disease instead of spending countless funds on treating every step of cancer, including radiology, chemotherapy, surgery and physical therapy procedures.

Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine found that, despite high costs spent annually on breast cancer screenings, there is little evidence of it benefiting older women. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spends more than $1 billion per year on mammography and other cancer screening processes.

The research was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine and indicates that there is no link between increased spending on breast cancer screenings and the detection of advanced stages of cancer. Nearly 140,000 women were followed in this study, including a follow-up regarding diagnosis and costs.

“There was no evidence that higher expenditures were benefiting women living in the high-cost regions,” lead study author Cary Gross, director of the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale, said in a press release. “Specifically, there was no relation between screening expenditures and the detection of advanced cancers.”

Various reports have also found that while screening may benefit some, there is a potential for “over diagnosis,” according to FierceHealthcare.

Also, other wasteful spending when it comes to treating breast cancer was observed when Medicare contractors overpaid providers that assigned the drug Herceptin.

“No woman wants to undergo testing if it is likely to cause more harm than good, and no health system – particularly ours – can afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on screening programs without evidence to support them,” Gross said in a statement.

Any oncologists that wish to become more cost-effective should support the work taking place at Dr. Vincent Tuohy’s lab at the Cleveland Clinic as well as the work on the human mammary tumor virus conducted by Dr. Beatriz Pogo. With the potential for a vaccine aimed at preventing breast cancer, women’s lives will be spared the unnecessary treatments while hospitals and insurers will become more financially stable.

Epiphany for Breast Cancer, 2013

Note: Initially written on January 24, 2013

By Dr. Kathleen T. Ruddy

Every January millions of people around the world celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, the story of the successful culmination of three kings’ journey to find their savior.  These three ‘wise men’ decided to follow the course of a new star they had spotted in the night sky.  Where was it going, and what did it mean?  Thinking this might be a momentous event, they saddled up to follow it with gifts in hand in case they found the savior promised to them in scripture.  The three kings stopped at Herod’s palace to ask him if he knew anything about the star or its meaning.  He didn’t know a thing but to be worried that yet another usurper might be somewhere in the weeds.  The Magi, being wise men, sensed Herod’s treachery and left his kingdom by stealth.  They continued their journey, and when the star settled in its course across the heavens at a point over the humble birthplace of a newly born infant boy, the kings had their ‘epiphany’ – instantly they knew they had found God incarnate.

Epiphany is a word that comes from the Greek, and therefore was in use well before the wise men set out to find their salvation.  Speaking of salvation, let’s think about the origin and meaning of the word epiphany in the context of breast cancer.

Epiphany means “appearance or manifestation”, a “sudden, intuitive perception or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something.” If we look more closely at the root of the word epiphany, we get a more refined appreciation of its meaning.  “Epi” means “upon”, and “phany” essentially means appearance.  The word epiphany suggests that at the moment of seeing something relatively simple and un-dramatic, say, an infant in a manager, an entirely new universe of understanding is suddenly seen to be resting upon it.  In the case of the three wise men, they came upon an infant in a manger but instantly recognized their salvation in God made man.  That this savior was first revealed to gentiles (non-Jews) and not Jews was also quite important to the larger story, for the revelation was given to those outside mainstream religion before it was revealed to the orthodoxy – an interesting, if historically typical, twist.  Isn’t it often the case that the most important discoveries occur outside the inner circle of conventional wisdom, and then take time, and often revolution, to permeate the center?

I apologize for starting out a breast cancer blog with such a strong reference to a Christian feast, but it serves my purpose well, for I have had two epiphanies with regard to my professional mission to find the causes of breast cancer and to do everything I can to prevent the disease.  Which is to say, I have set my eyes upon two things that, at first, seemed rather simple and un-dramatic but that instantly opened new universes of understanding for me, and I hope someday, for the rest of the world.

My first epiphany occurred when I set eyes on the two slides presented by Dr. James Holland of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine at the 2007 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.  Holland’s slides contained data concerning his work with the human mammary tumor virus, a virus also found in mice that appears to be involved in 40-75% of human breast cancer.

My second epiphany occurred when I set eyes on a paper published in the May 2010 issue of Nature Medicine about the development of the world’s first preventive breast cancer vaccine.  It was created at the Cleveland Clinic and was found to be 100% effective in preventing breast cancer in three different animals models.  This is a vaccine that, with sufficient funding (and permission from the FDA), will be ready for testing to see if it is safe for use in women.  If it’s safe, it can then be tested to see if it’s effective.  If it is as safe and effective in women as it is in mice, it will prevent breast cancer in the majority of cases.

Every time I discuss the virus or the vaccine with women who have never heard of either, I witness the same epiphany as happened to me.  Everyone “gets it”.  I suppose you can call it a kind of conversion experience; and it has a profound impact on how one views the problem of breast cancer that confronts us today.

Like the Magi, I will not be deterred on my quest.  I intend to follow these two stars, the virus and the vaccine, to see if salvation is to be found for the breast cancer scourge tormenting the world.  I will not stop until I have found an answer to the question, Does a virus cause breast cancer in women?  Nor will I be thwarted in my goal to obtain funding for the world’s first preventive breast cancer vaccine developed by Professor Vincent Tuohy at the Cleveland Clinic.

As Abraham Lincoln stated in the Proclamation Emancipation of 1863, “I invoke the considerate judgement of mankind, and the gracious favor of ALMIGHTY GOD.”

Happy New Year to all.