In partnership with the several big-name cancer centers, one company has commenced clinical trials. Find out how this cancer vaccine would work.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Tag Archives: Breast
Be Breast Aware
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is drawing to a close, but this doesn’t mean we should stop talking about it. Breast Cancer can strike at any time and in most cases, early detection is key!
Early Detection
Women of all ages should aim to check their breasts once a month, and you’ll be glad to hear that doing it couldn’t be easier once you know how, so there’s no excuse! Getting to know your breasts is right up there with healthy eating and exercise in its importance for your health.
Breast cancer is often mistaken as something that only affects older women but it really doesn’t discriminate. Many women of various ages in the public eye have spoken candidly about their experiences with breast cancer and have become advocates for self-checking and spotting the signs early.
Celebrity Experiences
Cynthia Nixon (Miranda in Sex and the City) was diagnosed at the age of 40, when a lump in her right breast was discovered during a routine mammogram.
Popular country singer Sheryl Crow was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 44 following the discovery of suspicious areas in both of her breasts during a routine mammogram. She said after her recovery that she is “a walking advertisement for early detection”.
Pop star Kylie Minogue discovered she had breast cancer at the age of 36 and her treatment included a partial mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy. Following her recovery, Minogue encouraged other women to trust their gut and visit the doctor as soon as possible if they have any concerns about the health of their breasts.
TV host Tricia Goddard discovered that she had breast cancer after an overdue mammogram was advised by a radiographer when she was being x-rayed for a sports injury. This was prompted when she could not remember the last time she was checked. The cancer was fortunately detected at a very early stage, just as it had begun to spread, and Trisha recalls it was only ‘one microcell!’
While Trisha believes in regular self-breast checks, she says routine trips to the doctor are also imperative to spot things that you may have missed: ‘Like many, many women I have very dense breast tissue which makes lumps harder to detect and for this reason, I have annual mammograms’.
Make It a Habit
Hopefully, you now understand the importance of regularly checking your breasts, but how do you make it a habit?
There are several times where you can make a routine of checking, such as when having a shower or applying moisturiser. If you are particularly forgetful you can set a reminder on your phone, in fact, let’s do that now, pull out your phone and open your diary – Don’t worry, we’ll wait… All done? Great, let’s continue!
Remember, we are all unique, and your breasts might naturally feel lumpy, be different sizes or shapes, or change throughout your monthly cycle, try to check them at similar times during the month. If you feel something that you haven’t felt before try to not panic, instead, speak to your doctor if you are at all worried.
When checking your breasts, it is important to remember to check the whole chest area, reaching up to your armpits and along your collarbone. And don’t forget underneath your breasts, where the breast meets the rib cage – it’s all important!
For those of you still not sure how to perform a self-breast check, here’s a quick guide:
1) In the Shower
Using the pads of your fingers, move around your whole breast in a circular pattern moving from the outside to the nipple, checking the entire breast and armpit area. Check both breasts each month feeling for any lump, thickening, or hardened knot. Look for any asymmetry of the breast, any changes in your skin or discharge from your nipple.
2) In Front of a Mirror
Look at your breasts with your arms at your sides. Next, raise your arms high overhead.
Look for any changes in the contour, any swelling or dimpling of the skin, or changes in the nipples. Next, rest your palms on your hips and press firmly to flex your chest muscles. The left and right breast may not match exactly (few women’s breasts do), but look out for any dimpling, puckering, or changes, particularly on one side. Make a note if you see a change that wasn’t there before and speak to your doctor.
3) Lying Down
When lying down, the breast tissue spreads out evenly along the chest wall. It might feel easier to feel abnormalities in this position. Place a pillow under your right shoulder and your right arm behind your head. Using your left hand, move the pads of your fingers around your right breast gently in small circular motions covering the entire breast area and armpit.
Use light, medium, and firm pressure. Squeeze the nipple; check for discharge and lumps. Repeat these steps for your left breast.
Even if you have the slightest concern the best course of action is a trip to the GP – breast changes can happen for a multitude of reasons, and most of them aren’t serious. In saying that, if you find a change, it’s important to rule out breast cancer, a trip to your doctor could at the very least put your mind at rest, but also has the potential to save your life!
Dr Seth Rankin is founder of London Doctors Clinic
Breast rashes: Which symptoms suggest cancer?
Breast rashes or changes do not usually indicate breast cancer, but can be symptoms of two rare but aggressive types. When should you see a doctor?
Eczema / Psoriasis News From Medical News Today
Number of women with metastatic breast cancer rising, as is survival rate
Study highlights the need for services and research for this understudied population.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Racial disparity in breast cancer mortality linked to genes
: Understanding genetic variations and tumor differences in black women with breast cancer could lead to personalized diagnosis and treatment.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Racial genes disparity in breast cancer mortality linked to genes
: Understanding genetic variations and tumor differences in black women with breast cancer could lead to personalized diagnosis and treatment.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Breast rashes: Which symptoms suggest cancer?
Breast rashes or changes do not usually indicate breast cancer, but can be symptoms of two rare but aggressive types. When should you see a doctor?
Eczema / Psoriasis News From Medical News Today
Surprising link found in black women breast cancer risk
Alcohol consumption is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer based on studies predominantly done in white women. Now, a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center study has found the same risk exists for black women.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
High Levels Of Hormones During Pregnancy Associated With Higher Risk For HR-Negative Breast Cancer
AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;??Eczema / Psoriasis
Article Date: 20 Oct 2012 – 0:00 PST
Current ratings for:
High Levels Of Hormones During Pregnancy Associated With Higher Risk For HR-Negative Breast Cancer 
Increased concentrations of the pregnancy hormones estradiol and progesterone were associated with an increased risk for hormone receptor-negative breast cancer diagnosed before age 50, according to the results of a nested case-control study presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
Annekatrin Lukanova, M.D., Ph.D., http://www.eczemablog.net/associate professor at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues examined the effects of hormonal exposure during early pregnancy and its possible association with risk for maternal breast cancer.
“Pregnancy influences maternal risk for breast cancer, but the association is complex and the biological mechanisms underlying the associations are unknown,” Lukanova said. “Understanding the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of childbearing on cancer risk can form the basis for primary prevention of breast cancer.”
Lukanova and colleagues used the Northern Sweden Maternity cohort to conduct a nested case-control study of 417 controls and 223 women who had donated blood samples during their first trimester of pregnancy and were later diagnosed with breast cancer. About three quarters of the breast cancer cases were hormone receptor (HR)-positive.
The researchers examined two groups of hormones: The first group included estradiol, estrone and progesterone, the concentrations of which increase substantially with pregnancy progression. The second group included testosterone and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1). During early pregnancy, concentrations of testosterone and IGF-1 are largely similar to prepregnancy concentrations.
“We found that circulating concentrations of IGF-1 and testosterone are directly associated with risk for HR-positive breast cancer, in line with studies in nonpregnant women,” Lukanova said.
Results indicated a heightened risk for HR-negative breast cancer diagnosed before 50 years of age with increased levels of estradiol and progesterone.
Lukanova noted that this study was small, that the hormones were measured during the first trimester of pregnancy only, and that further and larger studies will be necessary to characterize the association of pregnancy hormones with risk for hormone-defined maternal breast cancer.
Abstract:
B75 Pregnancy hormones and maternal risk of hormone receptor-defined breast cancer. Annekatrin Lukanova1, Egle Tolockiene2, Helena Schock1, Kjell Grankvist2, Hans Ake Lakso2, Helja Marja Surcel3, Goran Wadell2, Anne Zelenuich-Jacquotte4, Paolo Toniolo4, Eva Lundin2. 1German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, 2University of Umea, Umea, Sweden, 3National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland, 4New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Introduction: Hormonal exposure during pregnancy is believed to be associated with subsequent maternal risk of breast cancer, but so far limited epidemiological data are available.
Study design: A case-control study (223 cases and 417 controls) was nested within the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort to explore the associations between pregnancy concentrations of sex steroid hormones and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) with maternal risk of breast cancer by hormone receptor (HR) expression of the tumors. The study included women who had donated a blood sample during the first trimester of their first full-term pregnancy. Most cases had HR-positive disease: 171 (77%) estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), 157 (70%) progesterone receptor-positive (PR+) and 152 (68%) ER+/PR+ tumors. Estradiol, estrone, progesterone and testosterone were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) were measured by immunoassays. For each hormone, the difference (residual) between the actual assay value for each subject and the estimated mean determined for the day of gestation when the sample was drawn was computed by local linear regression. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: For HR-positive tumors, a significant direct association was observed with circulating concentrations of testosterone (e.g. OR for ER+ in the top versus bottom tertile of 1.8 (1.1-3.0), p<0.02) and IGF-I (e.g. OR for ER+ in the top versus bottom tertile of 2.0 (1.2-3.3), p<0.01). For HR-negative disease, risk estimates for a doubling of estrogens, progesterone and SHBG concentrations were above unity, but did not reach statistical significance with the exception of progesterone for PR-negative tumors (OR 2.0 (1.0-3.9), p<0.04). In analyses limited to ER-negative tumors diagnosed up to age 50 (n=38), these associations were stronger, but only of borderline significance. For PR-negative tumors diagnosed up to age 50 (n=49), the associations were significant for estradiol (OR 1.8 (1.0-3.1), p<0.04), progesterone (OR 2.6 (1.1-6.1), p<0.03) and SHBG (OR 1.8 (1.0-3.0), p<0.04). Adjustments for maternal height, weight, smoking, hypertension during pregnancy, child's sex, weight and length had negligible effect on risk estimates. Associations were similar by combined ER/PR tumor status or when limited to cases diagnosed ?10 years after blood donation.
Conclusions: In this nested case-control study hormone concentrations during early pregnancy were associated with risk of maternal breast cancer but the associations differed by hormone receptor expression of the tumors. For hormones with placental contribution to circulating concentrations (estrogens and progesterone), there were indications for positive associations with risk of maternal HR-negative breast cancer. For hormones, with similar concentrations during early pregnancy and in the non-pregnant state (testosterone and IGF-I), direct associations with HR-positive breast cancer were observed, in line with most available epidemiological data in non-pregnant women. Larger studies are necessary to characterize the association of pregnancy hormones with risk of hormone-defined maternal breast cancer.
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click ‘references’ tab above for source.Visit our breast cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
7 Apr. 2013.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
‘High Levels Of Hormones During Pregnancy Associated With Higher Risk For HR-Negative Breast Cancer‘
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
View the original article here
Eczema Blog
Got Eczema Milk?: A connection between breast milk and baby eczema
By Dr. Amy Duong (see bio below) In the past couple months, I’ve had many breastfeeding moms reach out to me for guidance when it comes to breast milk and baby eczema. Some moms have eczema themselves and others have babies that have eczema. Every case is different since the paths and factors that lead […]
It’s an Itchy Little World