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Posts with tag archives
Posted Aug 8th 2007 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Research
Here's an opportunity for you to share your personal breast cancer experiences, and help further research too.
Molly, a college student at BYU, has launched a national research project aimed at examining the relationship between couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction of couples in which one spouse has breast cancer. Molly and her study partner Dr. Ramon Zabriskie hope to identify new avenues for cost effective intervention targeted at improving the quality of life for adult cancer patients and their spouses.
Both the cancer patient and spouse/partner will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. No identifying information is required, and all responses will be kept confidential.
Continue reading College student surveys breast cancer couples
Posted May 23rd 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Prevention, Research, Daily news
As
Skin Cancer Awareness Month winds down, I find myself hoping you have learned a thing or two about a disease that is far more common than we tend to believe, a diseases that in some cases is downright deadly.
The month of May will soon drift away. Skin cancer will not -- unless of course we make huge, swift strides in prevention. Until this happens, though, the best we can do is be vigilant about early detection. I have an idea. Well, an idea I'm borrowing from
The Archives of Dermatology.The idea: photography. Studies show patients who use photographs of their own skin for reference are better able to detect skin changes while conducting self-examinations.
Continue reading Photography aids in early skin cancer detection
Posted Mar 1st 2007 11:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prevention, Research, Exercise, Daily news
Regular.
Strenuous.
Exercise. Memorize these three words. Live these three words. And abandon all thoughts of a fitness routine that is easy, moderate, or periodic.
Brisk walking, golf, and volleyball are considered moderate forms of exercise. Swimming laps, aerobics, and running are considered strenuous. And these are the activities we should be taking part in -- for the rest of our lives -- if we really truly wish to prevent breast cancer.
A new study, published in the February 26 issue of the
Archives of Internal Medicine, shows women with a long-term history of engaging in strenuous exercise for more than five hours per week were 20 percent less likely to develop invasive breast cancer and 31 percent less likely to develop in situ breast cancer than those logging less than 30 minutes of strenuous exercise per week.
It seems strenuous exercise most affects estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer. But clearly, everyone can benefit from vigorous fitness training -- the American Cancer Society recommends moderate to strenuous exercise five days per week for at least 30 minutes each day -- and this is exactly why I am headed out for a run. Today!
Posted Dec 30th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Research, Daily news
Women with ovulation disorders -- and related infertility problems -- have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, according to a study of more than 116,000 women.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston studied data from the Nurses' Health Study II and evaluated female nurses aged 25 to 42, tracking them every two years beginning in 1989 and ending in 2001.
Results of the study, reported in the
Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed 1,357 diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer. Overall, women with ovulation disorders had a 25 percent less chance of developing this disease than those without the disorder.
Also detected was an even lower risk of breast cancer for women who experienced induced ovulation for treatment of infertility. This is potentially great news -- pending more research, of course -- for women worried about breast cancer implications of infertility treatment.
Posted Nov 17th 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Books, Cancer Survivors
Just when cancer seems to squash all that is good in the world with its darkness and death, little rays of sunshine and little slices of hope somehow break through the devastation, leaving the world a little bit brighter.
Archive of a Breast Cancer Survivor -- a newly released book by breast cancer survivor
Adriene Hughes -- is an account of one woman's triumph over a disease that changed her world. It is full of sunshine and hope, despite its emphasis on a disease that every year stops 200,000 women in their tracks, spiraling them in directions so foreign they are downright frightening.
Hughes uses journaling and photography to tell her story of diagnosis, surgery, reconstruction, chemotherapy, and survival. And while those affected by breast cancer will find this book truly empowering, anyone affected by any cancer will gain a healthy dose of inspiration from this poetic compilation of thoughts and images.
Hughes does not seek fame and fortune by publishing her work. All proceeds from the sale of her book will go to the
American Cancer Society. She will receive no financial reward from her endeavor. What she will receive is the personal satisfaction that flows from helping others. For Hughes, this is all that really matters.
Posted Oct 29th 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Magazines, Survivor Spotlight
TIME magazine has faithfully followed the issues defining cancer. The topic has made the covers of many issues, and it receives plentiful press on the pages in between. Stories spotlight an array of different cancers, address research and new developments, and offer personal glimpses into the lives of both everyday survivors and those with celebrity status. A look into the
archives of TIME magazine -- seven specific issues -- illustrates a proven commitment to the cancer cause. And it proves the mystery of cancer is much the same today as it was many years ago.
Continue reading Sunday Seven: Salute to seven TIME magazine issues
Posted Jul 26th 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Drug, Products, Daily news
Double the hormone, double the risk. Or so says
one study of older women who take hormone pills. When estrogen and testosterone are combined, women face twice the chance of getting breast cancer, according to a study of more than 70,000 nurses. This type of combination therapy may help with mood, libido, and bone density -- but the possible risk of breast cancer may just outweigh these benefits. These findings, published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, add to the evidence that certain types of hormone supplements -- like estrogen-progestin pills -- increase risk of breast cancer, strokes, and
heart attacks in women. Other research points to a link between breast cancer and high natural levels of testosterone.
Women's natural levels of estrogen and testosterone decrease with menopause. Use of supplements has climbed over the past 24 years, perhaps putting more women at more risk. Estrogen-testosterone pills are sold under the brand names Estratest and Estratest H.S. and appear on a Washington-based advocacy group's "Worst Pills" list because of breast cancer risk.
