Testing It Up

A small town in Pennsylvania has recently been given a medical equipment upgrade.

In their press release, Easton Hospital Health and Wellness Center reported that it is now home to the latest technology in breast cancer detection: 3D mammography. This breakthrough technology allows for a three-dimensional examination of the breast tissue for a closer scrutiny. The procedure improves the assessment of the breast structure by distinct separation of overlapping tissues.

Also called breast tomosynthesis, this novel technique reduces the physical pain during scanning. Unlike conventional mammography wherein the breast tissue is subjected to pressure, this technique uses no pressure. This development alone has sparked interest in women who are hesitant to undergo mammography because of the pain. The 3D mammography system used in Easton is called Selenia Dimensions breast tomosynthesis, which is ergonomically designed for better patient comfort.

But more than the benefits of a pain-free procedure, the greatest advantage of 3D imaging is the clarity of the images. Easton’s 3D Mammography system generates crisp imaging details, thereby giving radiologists a higher confidence level in diagnosis. Results from a 3D mammography system are expected to be far better than the conventional method.

The procedure involves scanning the breast in several angles. The machine then takes 1-mm scans of the tissue, and then reconstructs the images to form a three-dimensional image of the breast. From the digital image, radiologists can then examine the breast for abnormalities or signs of breast cancer.

Easton Hospital Health and Wellness Center is located in Forks Township, Northampton County, PA.

Cancer of any form can be developed by anyone, but when a celebrity develops the disease, it is easier to draw attention – and, consequently, awareness – about it.

E! News host and reality TV star Giuliana Rancic recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and along with her revelation, she urged women to undergo breast cancer screening. Here are more celebrity cancer survivors, and what they have been able to contribute towards raising awareness for breast cancer.

Betsey Johnson. The fashion designer beat cancer eleven years ago, and she has since been a staunch advocate for breast cancer awareness and research. She helps raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, as well as the Weill Cornell Breast Center of the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she received treatment. Johnson accomplishes this by launching a new product with the breast cancer awareness insignia every year.

Sheryl Crow. The singer-songwriter is living testament to surviving breast cancer through early detection, and she has since been an advocate of undergoing annual mammograms.

Melissa Etheridge. The rocker was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, and she has become an advocate for breast cancer research.

Kylie Minogue. The sexy Australian singer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and her efforts towards raising awareness of breast cancer earned Ms. Minogue an honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, southern England.

Cynthia Nixon. After winning her battle against breast cancer in 2008, Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon became an advocate for breast cancer concerns.

October is breast cancer awareness month, and there are a lot of things that we can do to support breast cancer research, and spread awareness about the disease.

One of the things that we can do is to “buy pink” anytime this month, as manufacturers and businesses also give their support for breast cancer research by donating a portion of the proceeds of selected pink products.

Here are some of these products, while at the same time giving a reminder to know exactly how much of your purchase is going where, instead of simply snatching up anything pink that you can see.

Aveda Hand Relief intensive hand cream ($22). Aveda will donate $4 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for each purchase of this product. Aveda’s goal is to raise $270,000 for breast cancer research.

Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection lip gloss and lip color set ($44). The Breast Cancer Foundation will receive $10 for every purchase of the set.

Wacoal Awareness bra or limited-edition Embrace the Lace bra ($45 – $65). Until October 16, every purchase of any of the two Wacoal bras indicated will mean $2 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Make sure that whatever it is that you buy is something that you actually need and use. If it will just become clutter around your house, then you may want to consider simply donating money directly to an organization involved in breast cancer awareness and research.

It looks like exercise does more than just get rid of that extra weight. According to the Senior Vice President for Cancer Control for New York and New Jersey of the American Cancer Society, Dr. Alvaro Carrascal, “the relationship between physical activity and breast cancer has been studied widely, and several studies have shown that active women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer than sedentary women.”

The American Cancer Society shared that in 2011, 288,000 women in America will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This takes away the lives of 39, 520 American women, and according to Carrascal, the number of deaths could decrease significantly if women were more engaged in physical activity.

Carrascal says that when women start exercising while they are still young, there are associated benefits; vigorous to moderate exercise is shown to lower breast cancer risk in later years. Women should engage in both moderate and vigorous exercise; moderate exercise include gardening, walking, housework and biking, while vigorous exercise are activities that get the heart pumping and increase sweat and breathing weight.

The National Cancer Institute has provided funding for studies that explored the role of physical activity and cancer risk. Across 50 studies, they found that the risk was 20% lower in active women than in least active women. These studies also found that exercise lowered breast cancer risk in both pre- and post- menopausal women.

There hasn’t been a conclusion on why physical activity lowers breast cancer risk, but Carrascal thinks it’s because exercise prevents tumor development. Exercise also helps reduce weight gain and obesity which can increase risk in most types of cancers.

It’s a twin thing, a connection that one who is not a twin can never fully comprehend. Whatever affects one affects the other, whether directly or indirectly, and while twins may lead entirely separate lives and live in different parts of the country (or the world), they usually find themselves still sharing the same experiences, or being very intuitive about what the other is feeling or experiencing at certain points in time.

For Sonya Gabriele and Tanya Nelson, that connection is not lost, even if they did not get to experience the same health crisis: breast cancer. More than two years ago, Tanya was diagnosed with breast cancer, and has since undergone a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation, and until now, continues to take tamoxifen.

“I never said, ‘Why me?’ I said, ‘Thank God for me because I wouldn’t want her to go through it,” Nelson said. “Her” is Sonya, her twin sister, who does not have the disease. She, however, lived through breast cancer with Tanya, as a caregiver and fundraiser.

The sisters appeared in a local ad campaign for a fund raising event – a 3.2-mile walk at several locations in the bay area – for the benefit of the American Cancer Society, and are both active in Florida’s “Put on Your Pink Bra” campaign.

Tanya shared: “This year, the Florida campaign is ‘Put on Your Pink Bra.’ The pink bra is a symbol of the personal fight against breast cancer. We encourage all women to come out this year on October 22nd locally and throughout the Tampa Bay area, and to not just wear a pink bra, but to decorate it based on your personal journey as a survivor or a supporter.”

Florida Health Screening

A study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention associated pregnancy and breastfeeding to the level of risk for a certain type of breast cancer.

The researchers found that African American women who had given birth to more children were more likely to develop estrogen or progesterone-negative cancer, when compared against women who did not give birth, or who only gave birth to one child. Despite this fact, however, they also found that if a woman who has given birth two or more times breastfeeds her children, then the risk level for that type of cancer declines.

Breastfeeding, however, is not as common among African American women.

The study, which was conducted by epidemiologists from Boston University, Georgetown University, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Rochester, New York, involved analyzing data from a group of 47,000 African American women, collected from 1996 to 2009.

Every two years, the study participants were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire, where they were asked to provide information regarding various factors that affect breast cancer risk: weight, the age when they started to menstruate, pregnancies, age of first childbirth, birth control or hormone-related use, physical activity, and alcohol consumption.

Estrogen or progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer is just one of four types of breast cancer, but is not as common as breast cancers that are dependent on estrogen or progesterone for growth. They are, however, usually more aggressive and more difficult to treat.

New York Health Screening

A recent report from the American Cancer Society revealed a bit of good news: cancer death rates are on a decline, falling at a rate of 1.9 percent per year from 2001 to 2007 in men, and by 1.5 percent from 2002 to 2007 in women.

According to a feature on Reuters, the American Cancer Society predicts that 1,596,670 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year, while there may be 571,950 deaths. The decline in cancer death rates, the group said further, means that an estimated 898,000 patients suffering from cancer, who would have died prematurely over the past 17 years, did not succumb to the disease.

The annual cancer report, however, also showed that Americans who had the least education are more than twice as likely to die from cancer, when compared against those who had the most education.

The groups that had the largest annual decline in cancer death rates are black and Hispanic men, whose rates fell by 2.6 percent among blacks, and 2.5 percent among Hispanics.

Lung cancer was identified as the number 1 cause of cancer death in both American men and women; it is expected to account for 26 percent of cancer deaths among American women this year. Breast cancer was identified as the second most common cause of cancer death in American women; for men, it is prostate cancer which holds the same rank. Meanwhile, colon cancer was ranked as the third leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women.

Breast cancer is a disease that has afflicted thousands of women, a significant number of whom are mothers. It is therefore fitting that an activity designed to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for breast cancer research be conducted in conjunction with Mother’s Day.

This is exactly what the Greater Evansville Alliance of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is doing, as it celebrates Pink Sunday on May 8, 2011, Mother’s Day. Pink Sunday in Evansville is a collaborative effort between the Alliance, local religious organizations, and community groups, according to a report on the Daily Republican Register. It aims to raise breast cancer awareness through education on breast health and breast cancer.

A free greeting card, which contains the four breast self-awareness steps, will be provided by the Affiliate. There will also be a magnet that contains the Affiliate’s contact information so that participants will have someone to turn to should they need assistance.

The New York Daily News shares an outpouring of support for a couple who were diagnosed with advanced cancer within a week of each other.

Nathan and Elisa Bond live in Brooklyn, with their 18-month-old daughter, Sadie. Nathan, 38, is an artist teaching at Parsons, while his wife Elisa, 36, is a real-estate agent. Nathan was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer on Valentine’s Day, and was given a 60% chance of surviving for five years or more.

Nine days after Nathan received his diagnosis, the results of a test done on a lump in Elisa’s breast came in. It was determined that cancer has spread throughout her body; she was told by doctors that she had a 16% chance of surviving five years; because the cancer is so advanced, it has been deemed incurable.

The Daily News first shared the Bonds’ story on Friday, where Elisa was quoted as saying: “I wanted to grow old with my husband and care for our daughter… now I’m just hoping for a miracle.”

Since Friday, well-wishers have already sent more than $29,000 – as well as hundreds of encouraging e-mails. Nathan wrote the following on a Facebook page: “We are deeply moved and humbled by this amazing outpouring of love and support… THANK YOU!”

Friends and family are supporting the couple, helping them take care of Sadie and bringing them to their doctors’ appointments.

A website has been set up to raise funds to cover the cost of their treatments; so far, the effort has raised almost $60,000.

New York Health Screening

Breast lumps are among the more common signs associated with breast cancer, and 40 percent of women are likely to discover a lump in their breasts at some point in their lives. That being said, however, finding a breast lump does not necessarily mean that one found breast cancer as well; a feature on WebMD shared a few myths regarding breast lumps.

Breast lumps = breast cancer. We start off with the most common myth about breast lumps: that it almost always means breast cancer. This is not so, so there is no need to panic immediately if one feels a lump in one or both breasts. But one should also not brush it off altogether; experts who shared with WebMD advice that it is important for lumps to get evaluated, no matter what the cause may be. There may be several, other than cancer: a cyst; an abnormal, non-cancerous growth such as a fibroadenoma; a blood clot; or a “pseudo-lump” brought about by hormonal changes.

Dr. Stephen Sener, past president of the American Cancer Society and professor of surgery at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, suggests getting a physical examination, a mammogram, or an ultrasound; other women may have to get a biopsy.

A lump in women with a history of cysts cannot be cancer. Women who have had cysts multiple times sometimes become complacent and assume that a new lump is just another cyst, and therefore nothing to worry about. Dr. Laura Kruper, a breast cancer surgeon at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, said that doctors need to know about anything new that appears.