“The purpose of a [clinician] or any human in general should not be to simply delay the death of a patient, but to increase the person’s quality of life.” – Patch Adams, MD If you distilled the sweetest goodness of medicine, you’d get the Bay Area Cancer Connections. Twenty-five years ago, a patient and a
The standard of care after lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer typically includes whole breast radiation (WBI) to reduce the risk of local recurrence. WBI is usually delivered daily for 3–6 weeks. Several recent studies have investigated the effectiveness of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), which restricts the radiation to the area of the original tumor.
Triple-negative breast cancer is characterized by the lack of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 receptor. Chemotherapy is the mainstay of systemic treatment for this type of cancer. A study led by researchers in Peru found that the time to initiation of chemotherapy is important for women diagnosed with stage II-III triple-negative breast cancer.
A 2017 Gallup poll indicated that 64% of Americans now support cannabis legalization, as many are turning to cannabis to safely and effectively treat symptoms related to neurological disorders, cancer, psychological disorders, gastrointestinal disease, infectious disease, and inflammatory disease. How can one plant help with so many conditions and have so few side effects? To
Bay Area Cancer Connections (BACC), the largest nonprofit educator and free support network serving anyone affected by breast and ovarian cancer in the Bay Area, has appointed three new members to its board with extensive experience in finance, health care and medical marketing. Press Release
HER2-positive early breast cancer patients who have cancer remaining in their breast or lymph nodes after neoadjuvant (before surgery) chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted therapy have a high risk of recurrence and death. KATHERINE is a phase III clinical trial that randomized node-positive patients of all stages who did not fully respond to chemotherapy before surgery to
Five years of endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) is highly effective in reducing the risk of recurrence of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer; however, the risk continues beyond the five years of treatment. Researchers analyzed the combined results of 12 clinical trials involving 24,912 postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor-positive disease to determine if there is a
Many people are unaware of how difficult it is to answer social greetings when one is in crisis. They ask “how are you” mechanically, without thinking. I’ve done that in the past. Before my experience of cancer painfully opened my eyes to the stress of social greetings. I suddenly became one of many struggling everyday
Tamoxifen is often used to prevent recurrence of hormonally driven breast cancer after surgery; however, it can cause significant side effects that adversely affect the quality of life of patients. It has previously been thought that a lower dose of tamoxifen (5 mg) might be as effective as the standard dose (20 mg), but with
Approximately 10% of breast cancers are due to an inherited genetic mutation. Not all women are referred for genetic testing following a breast cancer diagnosis. This is because many doctors follow the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, which recommend testing only those individuals who meet specific high-risk criteria. However, a new study suggests that current
