Just recently, European researchers announced that MRI scans offer a new way to detect breast cancer in its earliest form. They can even prevent cancer among high-risk women.

Better than standard mammograms, MRI can detect a nonmalignant tumor called ductal carcinoma in-situ, or DCIS. Once found, the lesion can be surgically removed before it becomes cancerous.

Think about this: It is believed that almost all breast cancer starts out as DCIS. And this: if MRI were the gold standard breast cancer screening tool, we might be able to prevent a lot more breast cancer cases than we do now. It seems researchers agree.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed in a study presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology to be better at detecting ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) than mammograms. MRI's were also shown to be very good at detecting high grade DCIS.

Women are recommended by the American Cancer Society to get an annual mammogram after the age of 40, do clinical breast exams starting in your 20's and if you are in a high risk group to receive annual screening with a breast MRI.

In a study among almost 6,000 women who were screened with both MRI and mammography, MRI detected 92 percent of DCIS cases where mammography only detected 56 percent of cases diagnosed.

UK researchers have developed a 3D laboratory model of human breast cancer, specifically ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The model, complete with normal cells and tumor cells, should help experts understand how the disease develops in its early stages, and it could replace the need for experiments in animals.

About one in five breast cancers in the UK start out as DCIS. Researchers wanted to learn more about how the early cancerous changes in cells develop into larger tumors, and they chose to fashion a 3D test tube model because it is more complex than a layer of cells in a Petri dish.

Once this experiment is proved successful, it could reduce and perhaps replace animal studies.

"With breast cancer, there is an urgent need to move away from animal research models because their similarity to human cancer can be so poor," says one expert who explains this model could help revolutionize breast cancer research -- because unreliable research costs time, money, and lives, both animal and human lives.

Wouldn't it be great if we could find breast cancer long before something appears on a mammogram?

An FDA approved test called the Halo Breast Pap Test System might be able to do just that by collecting Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF). The test is designed to detect abnormal cells in the breast. The Halo system can identify benign disease as well as abnormal ductal cells that can be precursors to cancer.

Some research has suggested that ductal fluid excreted from the nipple can be used to identify a women's specific risk of breast cancer. A women with abnormal cells in the fluid has a four to five times greater risk of developing breast cancer.

Think about this:

The introduction of the HALO Breast Pap Test has been compared to the introduction of the Cervical Pap Test in the 1950s, which is widely credited with reducing cervical cancer death rates by more than 70 percent through the identification of abnormal cells in the cervix. Whether the same can be said for the breast pap test remains to be seen, but it is likely that the screen will be adopted by more OB-GYNs as oncologists push for ever earlier identification of cancer.

She doesn't have breast cancer. But she did have both breasts removed and reconstructed in January to ensure as much as she can that she will never develop the disease that has struck both her mother and father.

It's the dad connection that puts René Syler, former anchorwoman for The Early Show, at such risk for breast cancer. That and the dozens of microcalcifications -- these can indicate cancer -- that repeatedly revealed themselves on mammograms and the diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia that increases the risk of cancer. And while cancer was never diagnosed for this woman who was sure the disease would one day catch up with her, Syler is no stranger to the world of biopsies. And her breasts -- misshapen, shriveled, collapsed, and scarred from so many surgical procedures -- were proof of her frequent rides on the breast cancer merry-go-round.

Now Syler's breasts are gone. And she is breathing a great big sigh of relief. She calls her new "girls" incredible. And she calls her new mood "good."

"I see now that the specter of breast cancer has been permeating my life," says Syler whose story appears in the April 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine and whose book Good-Enough Mother will be published in April.

"I couldn't really live because I was always playing defense -- watching and waiting, wondering if this would be the year I'd be diagnosed."

DCIS stands for ductal carcinoma in situ. The cells lining the milk ducts are cancerous, but stay contained within the ducts without growing through into the surrounding breast tissue. DCIS may affect just one area of the breast, but can be more widespread and affect different areas at the same time.

There are three grades of DCIS: low, intermediate, and high. A study was conducted that concluded that high-grade DCIS carries a significant risk of local recurrence if the patient receives surgery as the only treatment. Low or intermediate grade may be safely treated with surgery alone depending upon the individual risks and benefits of radiation and/or hormonal therapy.

The study evaluated 711 women that only received surgery for treatment of DCIS. In the year 2000 Tamoxifen was allowed. The conclusions are as follows:

• The five year risk of local recurrence for low or intermediate DCIS in the treated breast was 6.1 percent.
• The five year risk of local recurrence for high grade DCIS was 14.8 percent.
• Half of all recurrence that happened were found to be invasive cancer.

The results can help physicians understand the risks and benefits of treatment with surgery alone in patients diagnosed with DCIS.

If you receive a diagnoses of DCIS make sure you understand what is on your pathology report and what grade your DCIS is so that you can talk to your doctor about the different treatment options.

Beverly called Dr. Jeremy Geffen in a state of panic. She had just been diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes, just had her breasts removed, and was terrified of her recent diagnosis -- high grade infiltrating ductal carcinoma.

Beverly, age 44, was told by her doctor that she would need chemotherapy and radiation. She had heard horrible stories about chemotherapy. And having never been sick a day in her life, she was scared. So when a friend told her about a caring doctor she heard speak at a conference, Beverly knew she had to locate him. She tracked down his phone number, picked up the phone, dialed, got Dr. Geffen on the phone, and asked him to help. He did.

Beverly was a complete stranger to Dr. Geffen, author of The Journey Through Cancer: Healing and Transforming the Whole Person. Yet she was like so many people he knew -- people with cancer, confronted with the greatest challenges of their lives, seeking more than just physical remedies, grasping for someone who really cares.

Dr. Geffen received calls like Beverly's every day. And the number of calls seemed to increase with time. It's no wonder really. Cancer is a growing presence -- and more and more people like Beverly are confronting the disease. More and more people like Beverly are seeking more than just science to cure their ailments. And in an effort to harness a little compassion in their lives, patients are reaching for alternative methods of healing -- for their minds and hearts and spirits. Yet few disclose to their doctors their secret missions for fear they will be dismissed.

Beverly knew of Dr. Geffen's belief in holistic healing, his desire to treat the whole person and not just the organs and tissues and cells. So when she asked for his guidance on what treatment protocol to follow -- conventional, alternative, or complementary -- she was a bit surprised at his response.

Dr. Geffen told Beverly that conventional medicine was her best line of defense. Science tells us these methods work -- and abandoning them could be tragic. Dr. Geffen told Beverly that chemotherapy and radiation, when used skillfully and sensibly, can be truly beneficial. But he also suggested she pursue complementary therapies related to diet, nutrition, exercise, and stress relief.

Dr. Geffen believes in balance. And he teaches through his Seven Levels of Healing how we all can achieve balance when considering how to scientifically and emotionally heal our bodies.

Dr. Geffen will detail throughout the chapters of his book how Beverly represents all the strengths and vulnerabilities of the contemporary cancer patient, how Beverly is every one of us.

To read previous posts on the same topic, visit:
The Journey Through Cancer: What Is The Purpose Of Medicine
The Journey Through Cancer: Introduction
Sunday Seven: Seven Levels of Healing on Cancer Journey

Stay tuned for:
The Journey Through Cancer: State-Of-The-Art Medical Care

When I first looked at my pathology report more than 18 months ago, it made little sense. Terms like Bloom Richardson Score and margins and Her2Neu were as foreign to me as the breast cancer that somehow invaded my body. So I read it over and over again and was eventually able to identify the basic meaning hidden within the four pages that detailed my disease. As it turned out, this report was my map. It led me in various directions for various treatments. It contained some roadblocks. It was sometimes confusing. And sometimes I got lost. There were some good and not-so-good stops along the way. And in the end, I reached my final destination -- in the land survival. And this is where I hope to stay. For a long time.

My map is not necessary anymore -- although I still look back at it. I've found that it makes more sense now that time has passed. I can interpret it more objectively, with more perspective and less emotion and fear. I am still learning about the disease that was removed from my breast. And I am realizing there was a lot I never really knew -- like these seven subjects -- when breast cancer was new and fresh and debilitating.