The demand for genetic services has never been greater. Vast advances in genetic technology, Angelina Jolie's disclosure that she is a BRCA mutation carrier, and the Supreme Court ruling on gene patents have hurled genetic services into the mainstream. Since the Supreme Court ruling last year, the cost of germline (hereditary) genetic testing has plummeted and now includes panels of genes.
A randomized multi-center trial examining the efficacy of adding the prohormone dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA) to a vaginal bioadhesive moisturizer in postmenopausal survivors of breast or gynecologic cancer has found that daily rather than as-needed use of such a moisturizer significantly relieves symptoms of vaginal atrophy in these women, and that when DHEA is added, survivors report significant improvements in sexual desire, arousal, pain, and overall sexual function.
Archana Ajmera, RN, MSN, WHNP-BC, ANP-BC, nurse practitioner, University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the challenges of managing stomatitis.
New research has found that high risk and minority women receive better cancer care if they are paired with a patient navigator.
Although white women have a higher incidence of breast cancer than African American women (123.2/100,000 versus 118/100,000), African American women have a 40% higher mortality rate.
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, associate professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan Health System, discusses the benefits of hypofractionated radiotherapy for patients with breast cancer.
Even though universal coverage for postmastectomy breast reconstruction is mandated, a new study has found that the majority of women are deciding not to undergo breast reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that postmenopausal overweight or obese breast cancer patients receiving hormone therapy as part of their treatment who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have significantly lower breast cancer recurrence rates and a sizable delay in time to cancer recurrence.
Deirdre Kiely, MS, MPA, RN, ANP, nurse practitioner, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses some of the challenges of getting breast cancer patients to exercise routinely.
Conversations happen across clinical settings every day. In conjunction with her family, a mother makes decisions about radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical treatments for breast cancer.
According to researchers at the University of Washington, the benefits of mammography extend to women older than 75 years, and the findings have the potential to change public health recommendations for breast cancer screening.
Arin Ahlum Hanson, MPH, CHES, manager, Young Women's Initiative, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, discusses the results of a national needs assessment of young women with breast cancer that was conducted by the Young Women's Initiative.
A new study has found that postmenopausal women who undertook regular physical activity equivalent to at least 4 hours of walking per week in the last 4 years had a lower risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who exercised less during those 4 years.
Women harboring a loss-of-function mutation in the PALB2 gene demonstrated an increased risk of developing breast cancer that was similar to the predisposition seen with mutations in the infamous BRCA gene, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
According to a new study, most women aged 65 and older with non-metastatic breast cancer adhered to their hormone therapy.
A new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has shown that electroacupuncture produces significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety, and depression in as little as 8 weeks for early-stage breast cancer patients experiencing joint pain related to the use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs).
Taking the breast cancer journey with someone who's been "in your shoes"
Deirdre Kiely, MS, MPA, RN, ANP, nurse practitioner, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the results of a breast cancer lifestyle intervention study.
Cardiac events associated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) are mostly reversible and outweighed by significant extensions in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer
This college admissions essay, penned by 17-year-old Samantha Stephens, offers a powerful and poignant reminder of the impact a cancer diagnosis can have on a patient's family and caregivers.
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, associate professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan Health System, discusses an analysis of the adoption of hypofractionated radiotherapy for early-stage invasive breast cancer.
The majority of women with breast cancer who undergo the recommended genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations and test positive prior to undergoing surgery will change their surgical plan to include a more extensive procedure, a new study reports.
A pilot study of an educational and behavioral program conducted by researchers at the New York University College of Nursing has successfully reduced the risk of lymphedema in breast cancer patients who have undergone axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel lymph node biopsy.
A new study published today online in CANCER shows that the majority of breast cancer patients did not meet national physical activity guidelines after they were diagnosed
A recent survey conducted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) showed a significant increase in patient calls and requests for testing and referrals from healthcare providers in the year following actress Angelina Jolie's announcement of her BRCA mutation status and subsequent double mastectomy.
