Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Oakland and Berkeley, CA Breast Cancer Treatment Options: Determining the Stage of Your Disease Video for Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer Description of breast cancer staging which includes the size of the tumor, the number of cancer nodes involved, whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body, the rate of growth, or proliferation rate, and the hormone receptor and Her2Neu status. Also discussed are the technologies used to determine staging from pathology to PET scans and Bone scans. The purpose of this video is to guide you through the stages of evaluation of this disease, describe factors that affect prognosis, and discuss various treatments which may be appropriate for you. We don’t endorse or recommend one course of treatment over another, but rather provide this information to help you understand your options before you consult with your doctors about your treatment plan. Please note:

There’s already a lot of stress involved with a mammogram, then the call or letter saying a follow up is required brings even more stress.

The reality show star told the Today show the shocking news that she has an early stage breast cancer. WHEN GIULIANA RANCIC HIT THE TODAY SHOW MONDAY MORNING, WE THOUGHT SHE WAS ABOUT TO BREAK SOME BIG BABY NEWS… BUT INSTEAD SHE REVEALED SOMETHING MUCH MORE SERIOUS… Through my attempt to get pregnant for the third time with IVF, we sadly found out that I have I found out that I have early stages of breast cancer and it’s been a shock…a lot of people have been asking…are you pregnant, but sadly we’ve had to put this off…How you found out… explains doctor you need a mammogram…I will not get you pregnant…if you have cancer…all the hormones will accelerate the cancer… ANN SAYS, how are you doing, G says…I’m ok, that was definitely the hardest day, when they came in to tell me, I just remember, it’s what you expect but so much more, incredible instant sobbing…the world just crashed down around me…I just couldn’t believe it. 36 years old, no family history… GUILIANA ALSO REVEALED SHE’LL UNDERGO SURGERY THIS WEEK, FOLLOWED BY RADIATION TREATMENT FOR 6 WEEKS…BUT ONCE SHE GETS THE ALL CLEAR, SHE SAYS, SHE’S STILL GOING TO GET PREGNANT… “I’m not going to give up…I want that baby…And this baby will have saved my life…because I’ve always said there was a master plan, why I never got pregnant…God was looking out for me….because had I gotten pregnant a few years down the line, I would have been a lot sicker, so this baby will have saved my life …

Thousands could benefit from treatment

Another look at inflammatory breast cancer. Usually a fatal breast cancer disease that has less than 25-50% of survivors not succumbing to death within 5 years. Even with aggressive treatment and monitoring, figures are not improving.

Fortunately, IBC ( inflammatory breast cancers ) it only represents 1% of all breast cancers detected.

The first signs of IBC can includes

• sudden abnormal lump
• redness and soreness
• swelling breast
• hardness or pain in breasts
• skin discoluraton and dimple effect

Here’s  Kelley Tuthill  from NewsCenter 5′s report on on the deadly IBC

Another feature about the fatal inflammatory breast cancer. It is my hope that by posting it here, more women will be aware of it and share this with their women friends.

Often misdiagnose as an ordinary breast infection or inflammation, the deadly IBC could take your life and devastate that of all your love ones. And it often progress so rapidly that before you know it, it may be too late. Will only 6% of all breast cancers identified as inflammatory breast cancer, it is no wonder that no many women have heard of it.

Most often than not, the very first signs of inflammatory breast cancer starts with a red swollen breast, the skin around the breast can be dimple and rough like an orange peel and nipples may be retracted or flatten.

Here’s another post about inflammatory breast cancer you may like to look at

Silent breast cancer

Dr Judy Destouet, the chief of breast mammography for Advance radiology, discuss the pros and cons of using MRI to detect breast cancer with the news team from OncologyPodcasting.com.

The American Cancer Society recently release recommendations for the use of MRI for women at high risk to breast cancer. Patients who have the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene carriers are at high risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer. These women have a 25% lifetime risk of contracting breast cancer and is recommended to go for an annual MRI scan.

However, according to Dr Destouet, MRI is a sensitive but not necessarily accurate diagnosis of breast cancer. She advise that for the general detection of breast cancer, women should go thru the process of doing a mammogram first, after which if need be, an ultra sound and as a last resort the MRI.

And their radiologist should look at all these data and discuss the best option to proceed after all the test have been done.

Have you heard of the silent breast cancer. Silent because even the mammogram cannot detect and where no lumps can be felt on your breast. How then, will you know you have it?

Watch this news story from KOMO in Seattle to understand what I’m talking about

Can you imagine? 3 out of 4 cancer help centers personnel do not know what IBC stands for or what Inflammatory Breast Cancer means. How then will the common woman on the streets know what it is.

Well, I’m glad I shared this and hope all my readers will be informed and spread the word around to all your friends.

Just to recap, some of the symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer are

* Rapid increase in breast size
* Redness
* Skin hot to the touch
* Persistent itching
* Thickening of the breast tissue

And the IBC hotline to call when in doubt is

Local 206-404-3500

Toll free 1-866-447-3467

Jade