Health Blog

A healthy body and a sound mind

Breast Cancer Breakthroughs

Despite the fact that breast cancer is one of the most fatal illnesses, there have been a lot of medical breakthroughs, which mean that having breast cancer need not be the end of the world. We have heard – and we continue to hear – about real stories wherein women have overcome the challenges of breast cancer. One of the most recent of these women is Christina Applegate. Let’s look at some of the important developments in breast cancer research.

Better screening
It used to be that the standard for screening was mammography. This method basically identified lumps and calcification in the breast tissue. Today, however, MRI is also used to detect breast cancer and it is far more effective and accurate.

Better medication
The cutting edge in breast cancer drugs today are called aromatase inhibitors (AIs). According to studies, women who have been treated with these drugs have a higher chance of cancer NOT coming back.

Better biopsy procedures
It used to be that a biopsy meant a lot of pain and other inconveniences. Today, the standard is that doctors only remove several lymph nodes from the patient. Called the sentinel lymph node biopsy, the procedure accurately detects if there are cancer cells.

Better treatment options
This includes the use of gene-focused treatments. Aside from taking a look at the patient’s genes, doctors are working on the genes of the cancer cells. This kind of procedure could mean more knowledge about the exact nature of the cancer and provide insight that could lead to more effective treatment options.

Originally posted on October 21, 2008 @ 5:02 pm

More Popular Myths About Breast Cancer

Did you learn anything new from the 3 myths about breast cancer I shared in the last post? I sure did! Here are more popular myths.

Myth #4: Women with lumpy breasts have to be extra careful as they are more likely to get breast cancer in the future.
This condition is called fibrocystic breasts. In the past, people thought that just because a woman had fibrocystic breasts, then she would more likely have breast cancer. Medical advances have proven that this is not true. Still, these lumps may need to be removed, hence the importance of breast self-examination.

Myth #5: Physical injury or force on the breast can cause breast cancer.
I totally believed this one, to be honest. However, it is completely unfounded. Sometimes, breast cancer is detected in women who have recently experienced trauma in their breast area. The trauma is not the cause of the breast cancer, though. There is no link between trauma and breast cancer.

Myth #6: Breast self-examination is best done in the shower.
There are really no hard and fast rules as to where you conduct your breast self-examination. However, it would be better to do it when your skin is dry. Wet soapy hands are slippery and it may be harder to detect any existing lumps.

Myth #7: Women with small breasts are not likely to get breast cancer.
Breast size has nothing to do with breast cancer. Just because you have small breasts should not be an excuse to be complacent about the possibility of breast cancer.

Originally posted on October 27, 2008 @ 12:42 pm

Lifestyle Examination Urged

As the month of October draws to an end, let us wrap up this series of articles on breast cancer. I was wondering what to write about when I came across an article which urged people to re-examine their lifestyle as a means to prevent breast cancer. The fact of the matter is that many experts say that there really is no clear cut way to prevent breast cancer. However, a recent study seems to have found some details that may shed a new light on the matter.

According to breast surgeon Trevor Smith, a change in lifestyle may actually help prevent breast cancer. He urges everyone to pay more attention to the link between breast cancer and lifestyle. Stuff, a New Zealand web site, ran this story today:

Hundreds of published studies identified risk factors which people can easily control and the challenge is to motivate people to want to change, Dr Smith says.

Healthy nutrition should be more plant-based and less processed and energy dense. A binge drinking culture contributes to the risk and alcohol should be limited to one drink a day.

He says he is not trying to promote elimination but moderation. Limiting alcohol is not a popular message, but drinking alcohol daily increases the risk by 10 percent.

“Every bit you do is an investment in your health.”

From the age of 30 women should get an annual breast check and by the age of 40 be having mammograms.

The book, called Breast Care, was launched two months ago, providing a new approach presented in a positive way, he says.

Though his ideas have not gained much ground as of yet, I am inclined to take up for his advice. Again, it wouldn’t hurt to examine one’s lifestyle, would it?

Originally posted on October 30, 2008 @ 12:06 am

Popular Myths About Breast Cancer

Myths surround most everything on this earth and breast cancer is not exempt from that. We all know and hear about breast cancer but it does not mean that the information that we have is always accurate. That is why there are some things which are considered myths! Why don’t you check your knowledge against these myths? You (or others around you) will be better off with the right information.

Myth #1: I (or someone you know) am too young to have breast cancer.
The truth is that women of all ages can be affected with breast cancer. The reason behind this myth is that most women who get breast cancer are older but that does not exclude the possibility of younger women getting it also. This is one good reason women should have check ups or at least perform breast self-examination.

Myth #2: There is no history of breast cancer in my family, ergo, I have nothing to worry about.
Not that I am being an alarmist here but just because no one in your family has ever been diagnosed with breast cancer does not mean that you have absolutely no chance of getting it. The truth of the matter is that a good number of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of it. So do not be complacent because of this.

Myth #3: I have no risk factor for breast cancer so I am perfectly safe.
Again, not to be an alarmist, but there are many women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer even if they didn’t have a single risk factor. The only “risk factor” they had was being a woman.

I hope that I am not being perceived as negative here but my point is that you have to take certain steps in order to be vigilant against breast cancer.

Originally posted on October 26, 2008 @ 12:59 am