According to the results of an international study, postmenopausal women who have taken tamoxifen for early stage estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer for two to three years might increase their chances of survival by switching to newer breast cancer drugs called aromatase inhibitors.

Study researchers found this drug switch-up reduced the number of events linked to poor survival by 32 percent -- although no difference has been found in overall survival at this early point in the trial.

"These findings provide some limited evidence to advise all women being administered tamoxifen to switch, even though this approach is not devoid of potentially serious side effects," say experts at the National Cancer Institute.

Side effects appear to be minimal, however, and the up side of treatment with aromatase inhibitors is the fact that they don't seem to carry the risk of death from other causes like with tamoxifen, which can cause stroke or endometrial cancer.

This study is expected to be published in the March 15 issue of the journal Cancer.

The state of New Jersey outpaces the nation in survival of ovarian cancer -- but it lags behind when it comes to surviving endometrial, cervical, skin, mouth, and brain cancers.

New Jerseyans are still surviving cancer. But a report issued Tuesday reveals the state survival rate -- for some reason -- trails the national rate.

The difference between the state and national rates is not large -- about three percentage points separate the two -- but the racial disparity appears more significant. Survival rates for white men and women are about 10 percentage points higher than those for black men and women. This is similar to the national racial gap.

It's likely racial differences are due to later detection, later diagnosis, and less access to treatment and support services.

New Jersey survival rates also vary greatly by type of cancer, sex, and age.

Most of us are aware that October is breast cancer awareness month.

September is also an important awareness month for a few different types of cancer.

• Prostate Awareness: The National Prostate Coalition seeks to increase awareness of prostate cancer by educating the public about the disease, outreach to at-risk communities, and creating an advocacy network during September and throughout the year.
• Childhood Cancer Awareness: The purpose of Childhood Cancer Awareness month is to bring attention to childhood cancer and survivorship issues across the continent.
• Thyroid Awareness: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc encourages people to as for a neck check the next time they visit their doctor.
• Gynecological Awareness: This includes cervical cancer, endometrial, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers.

So, whether you wear a light blue ribbon for prostate cancer awareness, gold for childhood cancer, purple for thyroid cancer or teal for gynecological awareness we want this month of September to bring awareness to them all!

Let me know if I missed any!

A study led by scientists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center found that women who developed endometrial, or uterine, cancer had a one in fifty chance of having an inherited mutation that could lead to high risk of other cancers.

Those that have the inherited mutation called Lynch syndrome have a higher risk of developing colon, endometrial, ovarian and gastric cancer. The most common cancer for this condition is endometrial cancer.

It is important for women diagnosed with endometrial cancer to be tested for the Lynch syndrome mutation. These women can benefit from knowing that they are at high risk for other cancers by being proactive and making sure they get the correct screening tests on an annual basis.