Life after Chemo
The day a person comes home from receiving their last treatment of chemotherapy, everything has changed forever even though they may not want to think it. It is very difficult to sometimes manage because we don’t know how to move forward and that is what support groups are for. Family and friends are wonderful to have as support but sometimes it does help to have professionals to speak with as they do understand. After all, it is their job to understand and in many cases support groups are also places where patients will experience others who have been through the same thing. Due to this type of treatment, it makes life very difficult for some but even worse for others as they are very sensitive because of how delicate their systems are.
This section is just something to help those who have experienced or are experiencing chemo. Family and friends are your support system so remember they are there during your recovery. There also are support groups available with people to speak to who do understand exactly what you’re going through. The best way to find them is to ask your medical professional and he or she will lead you in the right direction.
Your doctor will do whatever it takes to ensure your healthy because your health is important and you are #1 , remember that!
-SOH
Government-Run Screening Programs Might Lead To Overtreatment Of Breast Cancer, Danish Study Says
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157374.php
One in three breast cancer patients identified in certain nations’ public screening programs might have undergone unnecessary treatment, according to a study published Friday in BMJ, the AP/Google.com reports. For the study, Karsten Jorgensen and Peter Gotzsche of Copenhagen’s Nordic Cochrane Centre examined breast cancer trends at least seven years before and after the launch of government-run screening programs in parts of Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden. The programs usually test women ages 50 to 69.
According to the AP/Google.com, effective screening programs should detect more cases and result in a decline in advanced cancer cases detected in older women, whose cancers would have been caught in earlier screenings. However, the study found that the national screening systems simply detected thousands more cases than previously identified.
Experts say that overtreatment of cancer occurs wherever there are widespread screening programs, including in the U.S. Some cancers develop too slowly to ever cause symptoms or death, the AP/Google.com reports. However, it is impossible to determine which cancers will be deadly, so all detected cases are treated. Jorgensen said that there is “significant harm in making women cancer patients without good reason” and that the “information needs to get to women so they can make an informed choice.”
Gilbert Welch of the VA Outcomes Group and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Research wrote in an accompanying editorial that although mammography “undoubtedly helps some women,” it “hurts others.” Welch wrote that it is “one of medicine’s ‘close calls,’ … where different people in the same situation might reasonably make different choices.”
Britain’s National Health Service recently stopped distributing breast cancer screening pamphlets in response to criticism that they included too little information on cancer overtreatment. Laura Bell of Cancer Research UK said that although the organization still urges women to be screened, it is important that they be made aware of potential benefits and harms (Cheng, AP/Google.com, 7/9).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
Women’s Way Expands Mammography Services To Eligible Women In Their 40s, North Dakota, USA
Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157323.php
Women’s Way, North Dakota’s breast and cervical cancer early detection program, is expanding its services to include screening mammograms for eligible women ages 40 through 49, according to Mary Ann Foss, Women’s Way program director for the North Dakota Department of Health.
Previously, women ages 50 through 64 enrolled in Women’s Way were eligible to receive mammograms. As part of the Department of Health’s 2009-2011 budget, the 2009 Legislative Assembly included additional funding for Women’s Way, which allowed expansion of mammography services to women in their 40s.
“We know that mammograms are a terrific screening tool for detecting abnormalities in the breast,” Foss said. “Expanding our services to include mammograms for eligible women in their 40s will help us detect more cancers in their early stages when they can be treated more successfully. We are so pleased to be able to offer mammograms to more of our clients.”
“When it comes to breast cancer, studies show that effective screening can truly save lives,” said First Lady Mikey Hoeven. “Expanding the program will mean earlier detection and, most importantly, earlier treatment for more women who need it.”
Women’s Way helps women who have limited incomes and do not have insurance that covers breast and cervical exams. Women who enroll in Women’s Way usually receive the screening services from the doctor or clinic they select. To find out if they are eligible, women can call 1- 800-44 WOMEN. The toll-free call will ring to the local public health office in their area.
Source
North Dakota Department of Health
Developing New Treatments For Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Dr. Rowan
Brian Rowan, Ph.D., professor of Cancer Research for the Tulane Cancer Center, is studying treatment options for an aggressive type of breast cancer that is prevalent in New Orleans among African-American women triple-negative breast cancer. The term triple-negative refers to the fact that these tumors do not have estrogen, progesterone or HER2 receptors, effectively eliminating hormonal and targeted herceptin therapy from the list of possible treatment options. This limits therapeutic choices for these patients to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Rowan is studying a therapy that targets a protein called Src kinase, which is required for tumor growth in triple negative breast cancer. Rowan and his team are working with Kinex Pharmaceuticals in Buffalo, N.Y. to test a new Src inhibitor called KX-01. Phase I trials for this new drug are complete and preliminary results indicate that KX-01 kills triple-negative breast cancer cells in both Petri dishes and in animal tumor models. “KX-01 in combination with chemotherapy kills even more cancer cells,” said Rowan.
He hopes to begin Phase II trials for KX-01 alone or in combination with chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer patients here in New Orleans by 2010.
Rowan is available to talk about the prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer and the future of drug treatments to stop its progression. He is also an expert in understanding the roles of nuclear receptors estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 in breast cancer treatment, and understanding the role of mesenchymal stem cells in breast cancer metastasis to the bone.
Tulane University
215 Gibson Hall
New Orleans
LA 70118-5698
United States
http://www.tulane.edu
ABRAXANE Approved For Advanced Breast Cancer Patient Treatment In Quebec
Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), an integrated biotechnology company, announced the listing of ABRAXANE® for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) 100 mg in Quebec for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer with a recommendation from the Quebec Conseil du Médicament and approval from the Quebec Ministry of Health. ABRAXANE® is approved and commercially available in Canada for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, including first-line disease. The listing of ABRAXANE® in Quebec offers an important new treatment option to Quebec women with advanced breast cancer.
“Based on clinical study results to date and my first-hand experience, I believe that ABRAXANE® represents a very important and needed new treatment option for breast cancer,” said Dr. André Robidoux, Director of the Breast Cancer Research Group of the CHUM Research Center. “ABRAXANE is the only taxane that is solvent free and is approved to treat metastatic breast cancer.”
The Conseil’s approval was based upon comparative clinical trials demonstrating the tumor response rate of ABRAXANE® was nearly double for patients who received ABRAXANE® compared to those who received solvent-based paclitaxel. Patients treated with ABRAXANE® experienced a significant improvement in progression-free survival and prolonged time to tumor progression compared to patients treated with solvent-based paclitaxel. i. Additionally, a recently published Phase II study demonstrated that ABRAXANE® (administered weekly at 150 mg/m2) nearly doubled progression-free survival over docetaxel injection (14.6 months versus 7.8 months respectively p=0.012). ii. ABRAXANE® is indicated in Canada at a dose of 260 mg/m2 every three weeks for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
ABRAXANE® uses the natural properties of a human protein, albumin, to deliver the drug more effectively to tumors. By wrapping the albumin around the active drug, ABRAXANE® can be administered to patients at higher doses without the use of toxic solvents – often the cause of significant treatment-related side effects with other taxane chemotherapies. Unlike most taxane chemotherapies, ABRAXANE® eliminates the patient’s need for premedication during treatment to avoid allergic reactions caused by solvents . Additionally, patients can receive treatment in as little at 30 minutes compared to more than three hours needed for solvent-based paclitaxel.
“With this approval, Quebec doctors and patients now have another effective treatment option to help women in their fight against advanced breast cancer,” said Lyndal Walker, Vice President and Managing Director, Abraxis BioScience Canada.
According to Canadian Cancer Society statistics, an estimated 5,900 Quebec women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. iii. With an average of 437 women diagnosed with breast cancer every week, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among Canadian women .iv
ABRAXANE® has now been approved in 36 countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Abraxis is continuing to expand its clinical experience with ABRAXANE® and its potential in treating a variety of tumor types at multiple stages of disease as a single agent and in combination.
About ABRAXANE®
ABRAXANE is a solvent-free chemotherapy treatment option for metastatic breast cancer which was developed using Abraxis BioScience’s proprietary nab® technology platform. This protein-bound chemotherapy agent combines paclitaxel with albumin, a naturally-occurring human protein. By wrapping the albumin around the active drug, ABRAXANE can be administered to patients at higher doses, delivering higher concentrations of paclitaxel to the tumor site than solvent-based paclitaxel. ABRAXANE is currently in various stages of investigation for the treatment of the following cancers: expanded applications for metastatic breast, non-small cell lung, malignant melanoma, pancreatic, gastric and head and neck.
In June 2006 ABRAXANE was approved by Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada under a Notice of Compliance for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in Canada. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ABRAXANE for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in January 2005 for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within six months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated.
References
i. Gradishar WJ, Tjulandin S, Davidson N, et al. Phase III trial of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel compared with polyethylated castor oil-based paclitaxel in women with breast cancer. J. Clin Oncol. 2005;23(31):7794-803.
ii. Gradishar et al. Significantly Longer Progression-Free Survival With nab-Paclitaxel Compared With Docetaxel As First-Line Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009; 0: JCO.2008.18.5397v1.
iii. Canadian Cancer Society. Breast cancer: the facts. October 2008. Available here.
iv. Canadian Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Stats. 16 April 2009. Available here.
Source
Abraxis BioScience, Inc.
Breast Cancer Website has been refreshed – UPDATED
The breast cancer web site is being refreshed which means the listings of all clinic and support group sites that cover the United States will still be the same however they may be inaccessible for a brief period of time. This is due to a few necessary changes that were made that should speed up the usage of the site itself.
The site will go back to normal as quickly as possible for access as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience with this brief lapse of downtime.
Breast Cancer Blog is being reconstructed
Please be patient as the breast cancer blog is being reconstructed along with the web site. I appreciate your patience. This is a long list of duties however I feel it is well worth the time and energy put into it.