Angelina Jolie recently underwent preventive mastectomy, she revealed today in a New York Times op-ed piece. The actor/director underwent the procedure because the combination of a “faulty” BRCA1 gene and a family history of cancer put her at high risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Preventive mastectomy (also called prophylactic or risk-reducing mastectomy)… Read more »
What’s the future of breast cancer research? Let’s consider some news-making studies: 1. Breast Cancer Prevention The American Cancer Society is searching for the causes of breast cancer with large, long-term study. 2. Decision Making There are medications available to women who are at high risk for breast cancer. A national study is evaluating what… Read more »
Discomfort from breast compression causes some women to delay their mammography appointment. While it’s hard to love getting a mammogram, there are five good reasons for them: 1. Mammography has helped reduce US breast cancer mortality by nearly a third since 1990. 2. Of all the years of life saved by mammography, 40 percent are… Read more »
If you think you can’t get breast cancer because it doesn’t run in your family, think again. Most women with breast cancer have no family history of it and are not considered high risk. But there are ways to protect yourself: 1. Stop smoking. People who smoke for 10 years or more are at least… Read more »
This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s look beyond the pink ribbons to learn about risk factors, protection, research – and saving lives. Here are the basics on breast cancer: 1. Gender is the biggest risk factor for developing breast cancer. There will be about 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in American women… Read more »
