Most women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer today can expect to become long term cancer survivors, according to a study published in June in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). finds a study The findings, by a group of British and Canadian researchers, show that the average risk of dying from breast cancer in the… Continue reading A New Hope for Breast Cancer Survivors
Category: Breast Cancer
Depression And Breast-Cancer Survival
In a recent study, having depression before or after a breast cancer diagnosis was associated with a lower likelihood of survival. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. For the study, Bin Huang, DrPH, of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, and his colleagues… Continue reading Depression And Breast-Cancer Survival
Mistaken Beliefs about Breast Cancer Restruction
Post mastectomy breast reconstruction is one of the most important factors for breast cancer patients’ overall well-being and long-term health. Yet while rates of breast reconstruction in the U.S. have increased over time, they still remain relatively low. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, less than 20% of women who require mastectomy elect… Continue reading Mistaken Beliefs about Breast Cancer Restruction
Nipple-Sparing Surgery is Safe for Women with Gene Mutations
For women with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, it is shocking to learn that you carry a gene mutation that dramatically increases the chance you will develop breast cancer at some point in your life. Perhaps just as shocking is learning that your best way to prevent breast cancer is to undergo a double… Continue reading Nipple-Sparing Surgery is Safe for Women with Gene Mutations
Using Fat Grafting for Breast Reconstruction
Fat grafting is an innovative form of breast reconstruction that avoids both the artificiality of breast implants and the scarring and complexities of flap surgery. A form of natural tissue breast reconstruction, fat grafting is an option for women with the time and patience to accept its limitations. The most common type of breast reconstruction… Continue reading Using Fat Grafting for Breast Reconstruction
5 Things to Expect After a Mastectomy
There is no way around it: Mastectomy surgery—the surgical removal of one or both breasts—is a big deal. This major procedure is performed on more than 100,000 women in the United States each year. Despite its prevalence, however, many women do not know what to expect in the days and weeks afterward. Whether performed by… Continue reading 5 Things to Expect After a Mastectomy
Considerations for Having a Preventive Mastectomy
While all women are at risk for breast cancer, particularly those over 50 years old, there are particular factors that considerably raise the risk for women at any age. Understanding and becoming aware of these factors allows those at high risk to explore their options for reducing their risk. The most common risk factor is… Continue reading Considerations for Having a Preventive Mastectomy
Restoring Breast Sensation After Mastectomy
Each year in the United States, more than 100,000 women have mastectomies. Advances in surgical techniques today offer women the hope of a soft, warm breast that may look similar and feel much like her original breast, especially if she undergoes natural tissue breast reconstruction. As a result, more and more women now choose breast… Continue reading Restoring Breast Sensation After Mastectomy
Advances in Breast Cancer Research
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women. Breast cancer death rates have been falling over the past 30 years. But nearly 13% of women are still diagnosed in their lifetime. Men can get breast cancer too, although it’s rare. Researchers are studying the risk factors for different types of breast cancer.… Continue reading Advances in Breast Cancer Research
Think Twice Before Your Tummy Tuck: The Abdomen is the Best Donor Site for Natural Tissue Breast Reconstruction
Every year, hundreds of thousands of women undergo surgical procedures to reshape their abdomens. For many, diet and exercise cannot correct the loose skin, stretch marks, and loss of elasticity that result from pregnancy, weight loss, or the aging process. Some women also suffer a weakening of abdominal muscles that causes a bulge that is… Continue reading Think Twice Before Your Tummy Tuck: The Abdomen is the Best Donor Site for Natural Tissue Breast Reconstruction
Post Mastectomy Breast Reconstruction Basics: Understanding Your Options
Breast reconstruction has come a long way. Although breast cancer was known to the ancient Egyptians as far back as 1600 B.C., it was not until the 18th century that it was understood to be a localized disease whose spread could be contained by isolating and removing the affected cells, and it was not until… Continue reading Post Mastectomy Breast Reconstruction Basics: Understanding Your Options
Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy: How to Decide
While coping with the emotional turmoil that follows a breast cancer diagnosis, a woman must absorb a seemingly vast amount of information that will help her make important decisions about the treatment options available to her. Many women with early-stage cancer learn that while surgery will be needed, the decision of whether to attempt to… Continue reading Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy: How to Decide
Is Prophylactic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Advised for Women with BRCA Mutations?
Approximately 12% of women, or one in eight, will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, the risk is substantially higher for women who inherit a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene that prevents the gene from producing proteins that help suppress tumors. The lifetime… Continue reading Is Prophylactic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Advised for Women with BRCA Mutations?
What to Expect When Recovering from Breast Surgery
Hundreds of thousands of women undergo breast surgery every year. Whether these procedures are reconstructive, cosmetic, or therapeutic, surgery itself is traumatic to the body. The body’s reaction to surgery depends on many factors. Most important are the patient’s overall health, type and location of the surgery, and the aftereffects of anesthesia. Before surgery, each woman… Continue reading What to Expect When Recovering from Breast Surgery
Prophylactic Mastectomy: Reducing the Risk of Breast Cancer
Every woman is at risk for breast cancer just by being female and growing older. Many women are diligently attentive to the lifestyle factors that can reduce their risk: They don’t smoke, eat a plant-based diet, control their weight, exercise regularly, avoid hormone therapy, and limit exposure to radiation and environmental pollution. For some high-risk… Continue reading Prophylactic Mastectomy: Reducing the Risk of Breast Cancer
Statins May Help Protect Breast-Cancer Patients from Chemotherapy-Related Heart Damage
Statins, common cholesterol-lowering medications, may protect women’s hearts from damage caused during chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, according to new research published in January 2021 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association (AHA). “Two types of cancer medications, anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for… Continue reading Statins May Help Protect Breast-Cancer Patients from Chemotherapy-Related Heart Damage
Some Breast Cancer Patients May Not Benefit from Chemotherapy
Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer that has spread to a limited number of lymph nodes, and whose recurrence risk is relatively low, do not benefit from chemotherapy when it is added to hormone therapy, according to initial results from a clinical trial presented at the… Continue reading Some Breast Cancer Patients May Not Benefit from Chemotherapy
Putting a New Nipple on a Reconstructed Breast
More and more women who have lost a breast to mastectomy now choose breast reconstruction. Reconstruction can be performed either at the time of the mastectomy, called “immediate reconstruction,” or later, called “delayed reconstruction.” Breast reconstruction can also be performed either via breast implants or with a woman’s own natural tissue. Using her own tissue… Continue reading Putting a New Nipple on a Reconstructed Breast