Cultural Cancer Care

Hispanic daughter and mother carry pumpkins in a pumpkin patch

Northwestern Medicine’s new breast cancer clinic focuses on Hispanic women Erika Aleman, of Berwyn, was diagnosed in 2022 with triple negative breast cancer — a particularly aggressive form of the disease. She received care at the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern Medicine, where Spanish-speaking nurses and doctors helped her better understand the treatment process. Aleman […]

Who, When, Why: Navigating Complex Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

Breast Cancer Screenings

If you are confused about breast cancer screening guidelines — how often to get mammograms and when to start — your instinct might be to head to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for some clarification. But you may not get the answers you seek because there you will see a matrix with […]

Breast Cancer Breakthroughs

Mastectomy. Drawing attributed to a Dutch artist, 17th century

Better surgeries, less radiation, and new drugs are changing treatments and offering hope In 1811, Nabby Adams, daughter of President John Adams and Abigail Adams, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Brave Nabby submitted to a mastectomy without anesthesia in her parents’ home. The doctor successfully removed her tumor, but the cancer reappeared, and she died two […]

Molecular Breast Imaging for Dense Breasts

Molecular Breast Imaging for Dense Breasts

Dense breast tissue can mask cancers on standard screening mammograms. “As many as 25% of cancers can be missed,” says Barry Rosen, MD, a breast cancer surgeon at Advocate Good Shepherd Breast Care Center in Barrington. “Every woman with dense breasts should have additional screening beyond mammography.” A newer technique, molecular breast imaging (MBI) can help distinguish […]

Using Artificial Intelligence to Assess Breast Cancer

Maryellen Giger, PhD, is a pioneer in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). Photo courtesy of UChicago Medicine

Software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) may help improve breast cancer diagnosis. QuantX, developed in Chicago, uses AI to analyze breast MRIs. Radiologists can use the technology to help assess if breast lesions are cancerous. Research shows the technology led to a 39% reduction in missed cancers, according to a clinical trial. Maryellen Giger, PhD, […]

Breast Cancer in Men

Although rare, males are at risk, too Frank LaFasto remembers clearly the night in late June 1995 when he settled down with his wife to watch the news. She rested her head on his shoulder, placed her hand over his heart and said, “What’s this bump?” She had found a small lump on the nipple […]

Know Your Breast Cancer Risk and Take Steps to Reduce It

Know Your Breast Cancer Risk and Take Steps to Reduce It

From a young age, women spend a lot of time thinking about their breasts. Among these thoughts come many worries. And though all women have breasts, their thoughts and worries are not the same. Except for one. About 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer […]

Gaining Strength

boxing gloves

Post-op exercises help breast cancer survivors win control When a woman is first diagnosed with breast cancer, it can feel like her body is under assault with endless procedures: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and reconstruction. Fortunately, many local medical centers have programs that emphasize regaining movement and strength after breast cancer surgery. Postoperative programs for women […]

Deciding when to get that first mammogram

Breast Examination

whatdoctorsknow.com The American Cancer Society’s breast cancer screening guidelines could cause many women to wonder when they should have their first mammogram. The society recommends that all women begin having yearly mammograms at age 45, and switch to having mammograms every other year starting at age 55. The guidelines were published last October in the […]

Breast cancer drug found to reduce seizures

Bottle of prescription drugs with pills spilling out

Source: Northwestern University A class of drug that inhibits estrogen production and is used to treat breast cancer has been found to quickly and effectively suppress dangerous brain seizures, according to a new Northwestern University study. “The effect was profound and very clear,” said Catherine S. Woolley, Ph.D., senior author of the study, which was […]

Breast reconstruction may still be an option years after mastectomy

Woman covering breasts

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Six years ago, at age 37, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a lumpectomy. I remained cancer-free until nine months ago, when the cancer returned. This time, I opted for a double mastectomy without reconstruction. If I decide to have breast reconstruction down the road, are my options limited since […]

Getting smart about dense breast tissue

Breast Density image

Above image: four level breast density scale By Laura Drucker Chiqeeta Jameson woke up with a start one morning in 1998. “I have breast cancer,” the 41-year-old announced to her sleeping fiancé. “Are you talking about that lump on your right breast?” he asked, without opening his eyes. Jameson’s declaration “was just some instinctual thing,” […]

Battling breast cancer: UVA pioneers image-guided, high-dose approach

Breast cancer hope

Source: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — An experimental approach to treating breast cancer being tested at the University of Virginia Health System allows doctors to administer significantly higher doses of cancer-killing radiation where it’s needed at the same time as tumor removal, while sparing healthy tissue, an initial research study suggests. The […]