It’s important to find a trusted confidant with whom you can discuss your most intense fears and concerns as well as your hopes. You may find that your spouse, life partner, or other relative or friend can play this role. If they cannot, consider going outside your usual circle of family and friends to find someone you can talk to. This person might be:

• a member of the clergy
• social worker
• psychologist or other mental health professional
• doctor or nurse
• another person with breast cancer or a survivor

It does not matter who this support person is; what is important is that you have someone who allows you to speak openly. Some hospitals and cancer centers offer mentoring programs that match people who are newly diagnosed with others who have already been through treatment. Another option is a breast cancer support group, where you can meet many other people who know exactly what you are going through. Visit the Breastcancer.org, Discussion Boards to talk to others going through breast cancer.

In recent years, there’s been an explosion of life-saving treatment advances against breast cancer, bringing new hope and excitement. Instead of only one or two options, today there’s an overwhelming menu of treatment choices that fight the complex mix of cells in each individual cancer. The decisions — surgery, then perhaps radiation, hormonal (anti-estrogen) therapy, and/or chemotherapy — can feel overwhelming.

Breastcancer.org can help you understand your cancer stage and appropriate options, so you and your doctors can arrive at the best treatment plan for YOU.

In the following pages of the Treatment and Side Effects section, you can learn about:

Planning Your Treatment 

What types of treatment are available, the most likely sequence of treatments, treatment options by cancer stage, and fitting treatment into your schedule.

Getting a Second Opinion

Reasons for getting a second opinion about your treatment plan, how to go about getting one, and what to do once you’ve got it.

Surgery

Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), mastectomy, and lymph node dissection, and what to expect from each. Also included: Prophylactic surgery and breast reconstruction.

Chemotherapy

How chemotherapy works, who should get it, different types and combinations, and side effects and how to manage them.

Radiation Therapy

How radiation therapy works, who it’s for, advantages, side effects, and what to expect when you get it.

Hormonal Therapy

The link between hormones and breast cancer and how different groups of drugs — including ERDs, SERMs, and aromatase inhibitors — can affect that link. Also covered: Side effects of hormonal therapies.

Targeted Therapies

How they work, who should get them, how they’re given, side effects, and major studies.

Complementary & Holistic Medicine

How complementary medicine techniques such as acupuncture, meditation, and yoga could be a helpful addition to your regular medical treatment. Includes research on complementary techniques and ways to find qualified practitioners.

Drugs for Treatment and Risk Reduction

A reference list of drugs used to treat and reduce the risk of breast cancer, including how they work, to whom they are typically given, and side effects.

Treatments for Pain

Ways to treat cancer- and treatment-related pain, including types of medications and tips on talking to your doctors about pain.

Treatment Side Effects

A reference list of side effects and ways to manage them.

Lymphedema

All about lymphedema, including who is at risk, what to watch out for, how to reduce risk of lymphedema flare-ups, and how to find a lymphedema therapist

Thanks to St. Vincent Mobile Mammography for partnering with Butler University and coming to campus again!  This makes the 3rd visit to campus in 2015.  We greatly appreciate the convenient service to our employees, spouses, and partners that help us in our screening efforts.

The American Cancer Society has now released its newly updated Breast Cancer Screening guideline in the Journal of the American Medical Association

This guideline—which was last updated in 2003—reflects the American Cancer Society’s best thinking on breast cancer screening for women at average risk of breast cancer. They are not intended for women at high risk, such as those with genetic abnormalities (BRCA as an example), a personal history of breast cancer or a history of radiation therapy prior to age 30.  That guideline is available on our website at www.cancer.org.

So let’s get right to the heart of the matter: what are the new recommendations?

1. Women with an average risk of breast cancer should undergo regular screening mammography starting at age 45 (Strong recommendation*)

          1a) Women aged 45 to 54 years should be screened annually (Qualified       recommendation*)

          1b) Women 55 years and older should transition to biennial screening or have the opportunity to continue screening annually. (*Qualified recommendation)

          1c) Women should have the opportunity to begin annual screening between the ages of 40 and 44 years (Qualified recommendation*)

2) Women should continue screening mammography as long as their overall health is good and they have a life expectancy of 10 years or longer (Qualified recommendation*)

3) The American Cancer Society does not recommend clinical breast examination for breast cancer screening among average-risk women at any age (Qualified recommendation*)

*A strong recommendation conveys the consensus that the benefits of adherence to that intervention outweigh the undesirable effects that may result from screening. Qualified recommendations indicated there is clear evidence of benefit of screening but less certainty about the balance of benefits and harms, or about patients’ values and preferences, which could lead to different decisions about screening.

From the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There are different kinds of breast cancer. The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer. Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast, like the ducts or the lobes.

Common Kinds of Breast Cancer

Common kinds of breast cancer are—

• Ductal carcinoma. The most common kind of breast cancer. It begins in the cells that line the milk ducts in the breast, also called the lining of the breast ducts.
  • Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The abnormal cancer cells are only in the lining of the milk ducts, and have not spread to other tissues in the breast.
  • Invasive ductal carcinoma. The abnormal cancer cells break through the ducts and spread into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.
• Lobular carcinoma. In this kind of breast cancer, the cancer cells begin in the lobes, or lobules, of the breast. Lobules are the glands that make milk.
  • Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). The cancer cells are found only in the breast lobules. Lobular carcinoma in situ, or LCIS, does not spread to other tissues.
  • Invasive lobular carcinoma. Cancer cells spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. These invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

Uncommon Kinds of Breast Cancer

There are several other less common kinds of breast cancer, such as Paget’s disease and inflammatory breast cancer.

Please join Healthy Horizons in welcoming Jacob Fiene, Mission Director, Susan G. Komen Central Indiana, tomorrow in AU326. Breast Cancer – more thank pink, a ribbon or a race.  Breast cancer is a disease that affects too many lives.  Join us to learn about breast cancer facts, risk factors, detection, and the impact of Susan G. Komen Central Indiana.

RSVP to healthyhorizons@butler.edu

Listen to Linda Ellerbee give a little advice to patients diagnosed with Breast Cancer:
http://www.breastcancer.org/Images/ellerbee_01min_tcm8-320577.aiff

Ellerbee is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington, D.C. correspondent, and also as host of the Nickelodeon network’s Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.

From the American Cancer Society –

From the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Different people have different warning signs for breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all. A person may find out they have breast cancer after a routine mammogram.

Some warning signs of breast cancer are—

• New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
• Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.
• Pain in any area of the breast.

Keep in mind that some of these warning signs can happen with other conditions that are not cancer.

If you have any signs that worry you, be sure to see your doctor right away.