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My โSmallโ Cancer Turned Out to Be Stage 4 Breast Cancer
Read More: My โSmallโ Cancer Turned Out to Be Stage 4 Breast CancerAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. December is my birthday month. It was also the month I scheduled all my yearly health exams, including my mammogram. But December 2014 was busy, I guess. (I burned all my journals from that time โ but thatโs another story.) I donโt remember why…
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My Cancer Was Missed Because of Dense Breast Tissue
Read More: My Cancer Was Missed Because of Dense Breast TissueAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber September 25, 2024, is World Dense Breast Day. After the mammogram, I sat in the waiting room wearing that god-awful paper gown. The lump surprised me. It was big enough for me to feel during a self-exam, about the width of a fingertip. But I wasnโt too worried โ Iโd…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast health, Medical tests, Prevention, Preventive health, Science
โBRCA โTesting 101
Read More: โBRCA โTesting 101If you’ve heard people talking about “breast cancer genes,” they probably were referring to BRCA โ but they were only partly right. Everyone has BRCA (BReast CAncer) genes. And they protect you when they work correctly. “We all have two copies of the BRCA1 and 2 genes, and we want them to be functioning properly,”…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast health, Clinical trials, Espanol, Medical research and clinical trials
Por quรฉ necesitamos mรกs mujeres de raza negra e hispรกnica en ensayos clรญnicos de cรกncer de mama
Read More: Por quรฉ necesitamos mรกs mujeres de raza negra e hispรกnica en ensayos clรญnicos de cรกncer de mamaEn julio de 2021, Latoya Bolds-Johnson, una asistente mรฉdica del รกrea de Washington, D.C. recibiรณ un diagnรณstico de cรกncer de mama triplemente negativo (CMNT) de etapa 3. Debido a sus antecedentes mรฉdicos, Latoya supo en las primeras etapas de su tratamiento que deseaba participar en un ensayo clรญnico. Pero su oncรณlogo nunca mencionรณ un ensayo…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast health, Clinical trials, Medical research and clinical trials
Why We Need More Black and Hispanic Women in Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
Read More: Why We Need More Black and Hispanic Women in Breast Cancer Clinical TrialsIn July 2021, Latoya Bolds-Johnson, a physician assistant from the Washington, D.C., area, was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Because of her medical background, Bolds-Johnson knew early into her treatment that she wanted to participate in a clinical trial. But her oncologist never brought up a clinical trial and shut down the…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast health, Medical tests, Preventive care, Racial disparities, Racism
Biopsies Confirm a Breast Cancer Diagnosis After an Abnormal Mammogram โ but Structural Racism May Lead to Lengthy Delays
Read More: Biopsies Confirm a Breast Cancer Diagnosis After an Abnormal Mammogram โ but Structural Racism May Lead to Lengthy DelaysBy Marissa Lawson, University of Washington and Christoph Lee, University of Washington While mammograms are often the first step to detecting breast cancer, patients need additional tests after an abnormal screening result. Further imaging can determine if a finding is truly suspicious for cancer, and sometimes a biopsy is required to confirm a diagnosis. But…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast cancer survivor, Breast health, Prevention, Preventive health
Do You Have Dense Breasts?
Read More: Do You Have Dense Breasts?What kind of breasts do you have? We’re not talking size, but density. Nearly half of all women over age 40 who get mammograms are found to have dense breasts, which means there is a lot of fibrous or glandular tissue and not much fat in the breasts. Glandular tissue produces breast milk, while fibrous…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast cancer survivor, Breast health, healthy aging, Menopause, Perimenopause
What You Need to Know About Menopause and Breast Cancer
Read More: What You Need to Know About Menopause and Breast CancerFive years ago, I felt a lump in my right breast and was later diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. The cancer was hormone positive, so along with chemotherapy, radiation and double mastectomy, I took drugs to block the production of estrogen in my body — and went into early menopause at the age of…
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New Hope for Incurable Breast Cancers
Read More: New Hope for Incurable Breast CancersWhen I was a girl in the 1970s, my best friend’s mom, Ginger* was diagnosed with breast cancer. Back then, treatment was typically a radical mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. My friend’s mother lived through the treatment, but the cancer returned and metastasized (spread) to her lungs. In the ’80s and ’90s research continued…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast cancer survivor, Breast health, Health disparities, Prevention, Preventive health
The Breast Cancer Burden for Black Women
Read More: The Breast Cancer Burden for Black WomenTwelve years ago, Maiya Hayes discovered a suspicious mass in her breast during a self-exam. She quickly made an appointment with her gynecologist, who helped schedule the tests that revealed she had stage 3 breast cancer. Her oncologist told her that the aggressive nature of her breast cancer, which had spread to the lymph nodes…
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Breast cancer, Breast cancer policy, Breast cancer survivor, Breast health, Prevention, Preventive health
Do You Have Dense Breasts? Knowing Your Status Could Make a Difference in Your Breast Cancer Screening
Read More: Do You Have Dense Breasts? Knowing Your Status Could Make a Difference in Your Breast Cancer ScreeningAn annual mammogram is an important tool for early detection of breast cancer. When you receive your mammogram results, you might also get a report informing you that you have dense breast tissue. It’s important to pay attention to that status, as women with dense breast tissue are more likely to be diagnosed with breast…
