There are three classes of chemotherapy drugs used to treat breast cancer: Anthracyclines, Taxanes, and Alkylating agents.
Anthracyclines deform the DNA structure of cancer cells and terminate its biological function. It is effective in breast cancer treatment, however, patients may develop severe heart problems. Patients should be monitored for probable side effects. This drug is used along with other chemotherapy drugs to minimize the risk of side effects.
Taxanes prevent the cancer cells from further dividing.
Alkylating agents target the cancer cells’ DNA to prevent the cells from growing and reproducing. It targets cells in all phases, and is also used along with other chemotherapy drugs.
(source)
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Aug 10, 2010 in Detection and Diagnosis
Breast cancer is one of the dreaded diseases, but with the recent developments especially in the area of discovering and developing more effective and efficient life-saving treatments, patients see new hope and excitement.
However, women should know about some of the herbs that are found to have estrogen-like actions, especially those with history of this disease or at high risk. Some of these herbs are black cohosh, blue cohosh, chasteberry, dang gui, dong quai, ginseng, hops, licorice, motherwort leaf, saw palmetto, rhodiola rosea, red clover, soy, vitex berry, and wild yam.
Although evidences cannot be established that the use of herbs could either increase or decrease the risk of breast cancer, it is still best not to gamble with chance on their use.
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Jul 10, 2010 in Drugs / Treatment
The major classes of breast cancer drugs are: Selective Estrogen-Receptor Modulators or SERMs, Aromatose Inhibitors, Biologic Response Modifiers, and other hormonal therapies.
SERMs work by “starving” cancer cells by preventing estrogen from reaching and feeding the cancer cells, since breast cancer cells are dependent on estrogen to reproduce. The most prescribed SERM is Tamoxifen.
Aromatose inhibitors work by preventing the production of estrogen, also starving the cancer cells. This is useful when patients become resistant to a SERM.
Biologic response modifiers prevent the growth of breast cancer cells.
Other hormonal therapies include those that destroy estrogen receptors in cancer cells, and those that blocks the release of hormone in the body.
(source)
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Jun 10, 2010 in Tips and Guidelines
Doctors suggest that every woman should undergo this process whether you’re ill or not. So how is this screening process done?
Screening for breast cancer before there are symptoms can be important. Screening can help doctors find and treat cancer early. Treatment is more likely to work well when cancer is found early.
Your doctor may suggest the following screening tests for breast cancer:
You should ask your doctor about when to start and how often to check for breast cancer.
Topic source here.
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May 10, 2010 in Detection and Diagnosis, News and Updates, Technology
Stereoscopic digital mammography, a new diagnostic technique capable of producing three-dimensional, in-depth views of breast tissue, could significantly reduce the number of women who are recalled for additional tests following routine screening mammography. Results of a clinical trial being conducted at Emory University Breast Clinic in Atlanta were presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Stereoscopic digital mammography consists of two digital x-ray images of the breast acquired from two different points of view separated by about eight degrees. When the images are viewed on a stereo display workstation, the radiologist is able to see the internal structure of the breast in three dimensions. In the ongoing clinical trial, researchers use a full-field digital mammography unit modified to take stereo pairs of images. The workstation enables the mammographer to fuse the stereo image pair and to view the breast in depth.
In the study, stereo mammography reduced false positives by 49%. This huge drop in percentage has strong implications with regard to needless cost in time and money.
(Source)
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Apr 10, 2010 in Detection and Diagnosis
Women who suffer from breast cancer sometimes ask how did it happen to me? Here’s the explanation shared by Medicine Net:
Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor. When breast cancer cells spread, the cancer cells are often found in lymph nodes near the breast. Also, breast cancer can spread to almost any other part of the body. The most common are the bones, liver, lungs, and brain. The new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer. For that reason, it is treated as breast cancer, not bone cancer. Doctors call the new tumor “distant” or metastatic disease.
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Mar 10, 2010 in Information
Breast cancer remains to be the leading culprit among women. Second only to Lung cancer, Breast cancer is the next most notorious serial killer in the world. Ironically, breast cancer is more inclined to affect women who are part of the western world than anyone else in less developed nations. This is probably because of the “instant” life style Westerners have gotten used to. Men are not exempted from the claws of breast cancer. This is because they have breasts too. They are however, 90% less likely to catch the disease but when they do, their chances at survival are no less precarious than that of the women. The idea behind breast cancer is to have it detected early so that it can be cured just as early.
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