On September 27th the Office of Research on Womens Health is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Working with the National Institutes of Health, the ORWH ensures that health research pertaining to women is part of the scientific agenda at NIH, as well as throughout the scientific community.
Isnt it nice when someone has your back?
In honor of this tremendous achievement, lets talk about everyones (least) favorite disease: Breast cancer. Heres a brief overview of the good, the bad and the ugly from the past year.
Our Hands
Vitamins A and D
You know the standards: Exercise, limit alcohol consumption, maintain a calm, positive outlook. These things (among others dont even think about putting that plastic container in the microwave!) have been proven as effective ways of decreasing your odds of getting breast cancer. Researchers are now discovering the importance of women getting Vitamins A and D in their daily diets.
Despite the unfortunate reality that there isnt an anti-cancer diet, studies show that there are benefits to compounds found in certain everyday foods. Vitamin A, or retinoids, (carrots, spinach cantaloupe) may actually slow the growth of cancer cells
Additionally, research has found that women with breast cancer who were deficient in bone-strengthening Vitamin D had twice the risk of having their cancer recur or progress compared to women with sufficient levels. Current guidelines recommend 200 IU of Vitamin D each day for women up to age 50, and progressively more for older women. Sun exposure without sunscreen is the preferred method.
Refined Sugar
Step away from the candy bar. The gooey goodness of your favorite treat may give you a burst of energy, but thats because the cells in your pancreas are responding with a surge of insulin. In simple terms: thats not good.
Recently, researchers have found that women with early stage breast cancer who had the highest insulin levels were twice as likely to have their tumor metastasize, and three times as likely to die of breast cancer compared to women with low insulin levels. Dr.
Keith I. Block, oncology expert, strongly recommends cutting down on sugar.
I believe any patient combating breast cancer or trying to avoid a recurrence would be wise to have their doctor routinely monitor their insulin and blood sugar levels, as well as their insulin growth factor.
Consuming whole foods can reduce the harmful effect that elevated sugar and insulin levels can have on both the risk of recurrence and risk of death.
Their Hands
Tsk, Tsk, Task Force
The most controversial breast cancer news of last year was undoubtedly the Task Forces declaration that women should start getting mammograms later in lifeat around 50. Since early detection is still the best chance of survival, this was unsettling to say the least.
Many called this called this a step backward in the fight against breast cancer, including Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
He states: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 40 to 49, with more than 4,000 deaths expected in this age group [in 2009]. The task force says routine mammography would reduce deaths by about 15 percent. With its new recommendations, the task force is essentially telling women that mammography at ages 40 to 49 saves livesjust not enough of them to recommend that all women get screened.
The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual mammographies and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40.
Whats Next?
Vaccine
Could the moment weve all been waiting for soon be a reality? A Cleveland Clinic study reports that a vaccine for breast cancer is in the works, and appears to be protective in mice. Dr. Vincent Tuohy, who led the research, said it showed "overwhelmingly favorable results.
Tuohy and his team injected the test vaccine into 6 mice that were bred to be breast cancer-prone. None developed any signs of tumors. An additional 6 mice bred in the same manner were injected with a placebo and all developed tumors.
The vaccine makes the immune system attack a protein found in most breast cancer cells and in the mammary tissues of breastfeeding women.
If clinical tests of the drug on humans are successful, women over 40 could be vaccinated against the disease. Breast cancer risk begins to increase at that age and women are less likely to be breastfeeding.
Elastography
Jae Son, inventor of tactile sensor medical devices, became passionate about breast cancer after his mother was diagnosed 10 years ago. After looking into mammography and other choices, he felt he could apply his background to discover a better alternative for detecting breast cancer.
He believes that an Enhanced Clinical Breast Exam using sensory technology (elastography) can provide a pain-free, non-toxic method that has an efficient clinical performance. Over 40 journal publications agree.
Son says, I am excited to say that researchers are very positive about the field of elastography where tissue hardness or elasticity is determined using stress and strain measurement techniques. It has demonstrated 90% accuracy in a dozen independent studies.
1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. This is a discouraging statistic to say the least. However, with the advances being made every day and a proactive stance toward life, we can keep hope that the disease will become less pervasive, and more breast cancer patients will become breast cancer survivors.
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