BABCN Newsletter Articles
Brachytherapy and MammoSite Treatment
Brachytherapy, a form of radiation treatment, has been offered as an alternative to and in conjunction with traditional radiation treatment for some time. Used as therapy for many different types of cancer including prostate cancer, brachytherapy has generally been used in cases of breast cancer where the patient has decided to undergo a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy...(more)

Tumor Stem Cell Breakthrough 
A profound discovery has just been announced regarding breast cancer tumor cells which will impact the techniques that researchers have traditionally used to target cancer cells. A study conducted by doctors Michael F. Clarke and Max S. Wicha at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor refutes the initial notion that cancer grows exponentially as a collection of cells...(more)

Imaging Options
An important imaging option that women should consider is the ImageChecker device. Used in conjunction with a mammogram, the ImageChecker is a computer-aided tool that uses pattern recognition software to identify suspicious lesions and assist radiologists in the early detection of breast cancer. Radiologists still look at the actual mammogram x-ray on a display unit but by pressing a button, the radiologist can also look at a digital version of the image with suspicious areas highlighted by the computer...(more)

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan, PET/CT & Vitamin B-12
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan which can be used in the diagnosis of cancer, is a non-invasive nuclear medicine procedure that involves the injection of a small radiopharmaceutical (FDG), a glucose analog, into the body. The glucose within the substance is metabolized more rapidly in areas of malignant lesions thus causing an increased reuptake of the chemical. However, because the FDG cannot be metabolized and is essentially trapped within the cell, areas of malignancy appear as “hot spots” when the body is scanned by the circular array of detectors in the actual PET scanner...(more)

Trans Fats
A hidden ingredient in thousands of popular food products, trans fats are creating a stir among the health and nutrition population. Similar to saturated fat, trans fat raises the level of bad (LDL) cholesterol. However, trans fat is considered to be more harmful than saturated fat because it also decreases the level of good (HDL) cholesterol...(more)

Complimentary Medicine
Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) on PubMed is a new subset of PubMed, a free system offered by the National Laboratory of Medicine (NLM) which provides an easy way to access over 11 million citations and abstracts in the MEDLINE database and additional life science journals...(more)

Call to Action!
Each of you has tremendous power to make a difference by participating in our Call to Action program. BABCN has a productive history of public policy work that began in Washington in May of 1991, when we joined other grassroots organizations to create a national plan to end the breast cancer epidemic. Since that time, there has been a clear process for national public policy change for breast cancer under the leadership of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and through the voices of thousands of individual women...(more)

Chemotherapy – Liposome Hyperthermia
A promising new study was completed last summer regarding the effectiveness of using hyperthermia in conjunction with chemotherapy and liposomes to reduce the size of cancer tumors that would otherwise be considered inoperable. In 2002, 21 patients of Dr. Kimberly Blackwell attended the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center for the phase I trial. These women suffered from breast cancers termed “inflammatory” and “locally advanced” where 60 to 70 percent generally do not survive for longer than five years. The goal of the study was to deliver enough chemotherapy to remove the tumor, reduce the size of the tumor or halt the tumor from growing...(more)

Dose-Dense Chemotherapy
A new clinical trial demonstrating that reducing the interval between successive doses of a commonly used chemotherapy regimen improves survival in women whose breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes was presented at the 25th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December. While previous research has evaluated the use of various forms of dose-dense chemotherapy, this is the first major controlled study to show a clear survival benefit for women with node-positive breast cancer...(more)

Medicare Q&A
For many people with cancer, Medicare is a critical component of their healthcare coverage. Its laws are complex and vary from state to state, so it is important that people with cancer, their loved ones, and healthcare professionals learn as much about the program as possible. CancerCare and the staff of the Medicare Rights Center (MRC), a national, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that helps ensure that older adults and people with disabilities get good affordable health care has recently prepared an informative question and answer article...(more)

BABCN Book Group Welcomes Summer & You!
BABCN Book Group invites you to join our monthly book group that meets on the 2nd Monday of each month! Book Group is an enthusiastic and fun group of survivors who come together through books- not cancer books...(more)

The Archive
Check out past articles on News, Features, Drug Updates, Nutrition Tips, etc....(more)

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