| November 2003 Newsletter p.3 |
| �While letrozole may represent an extension of the time to disease recurrence, additional study is needed to determine the long-term side effects such as osteoporosis that are a result of estrogen depletion caused by the drug,� Dr. Perkins said. �In addition, more follow-up time is needed to determine whether there may be increased risk of cardiovascular events. Other important questions, such as the benefit to women who have been without tamoxifen treatment for more than three months, remain unanswered.�
Dr. Perkins continued: �There is no one right decision for all women. The Komen Foundation is committed to acting responsibly and providing women with important information to make decisions that are right for them and their families. Many factors should be evaluated with a physician when making treatment decisions, and patients who opt not to take letrozole should feel just as empowered as those who do. It�s about helping women make the choice that�s right for them based on knowledge and understanding of the latest information available.� This information was gathered at http://www.komen.org/news/article.asp?ArticleID=358 Every 3 minutes a woman somewhere in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer. Every 11 minutes a woman dies of this disease. If every woman examined her breasts monthly and got mammograms at the recommended time intervals, 15,000 women's lives would be saved in the U.S. each year. Yet breast cancer is still the most common cancer in women. In 1997, some 180,200 new cases were diagnosed in American women -- about 110 cases per 100,000 women. About 1,400 cases were also detected in men. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 40 and 55, and is second only to lung cancer among women in all ages. In 1997, 43,900 women and 290 men died from the disease. Statistics show that an American woman has a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer sometime in her life. But this statistical risk is based on all women across their entire life-span. If women over age 85 are excluded, the risk drops to 1 in 9. A woman's current odds of developing breast cancer depends on her age, as well as other specific risk factors, such as ethnicity and genetics. Risk is not evenly spread over a women's lifetime. For example, a 25-year old woman has a lifetime risk of 1 in 8, but her current risk is only 1 in 19,608. By age 40 that risk has increased to 1 in 217. By age 65 it is 1 in 17. The overwhelming majority of women who develop breast cancer have no family history of the disease and no other special risks. Women with a family history of breast cancer are at higher risk, but often the danger isn't as great as many imagine. For example, a woman whose mother had breast cancer before age 60 would have twice the normal risk. Since the statistics say that at age 50, one woman in every 41 will develop breast cancer, having twice the normal risk means that your chances are two in 41. Women whose mothers had breast cancer after the age of 60 have a 40 percent increased risk, meaning that at age 50 they would have 1.4 chances out of 41 of developing breast cancer. Researchers have found that these genetic mutations occur in 2 percent of Ashkenazic Jewish women -- those whose ancestors came from Eastern or Central Europe. Results of a 1997 National Cancer Institute study of 5,318 Jewish men and women suggest that when one of the genetic mutations is present, the women face a 56 percent risk of breast cancer and a 16 percent risk of ovarian cancer by the age of 70, regardless of family history. The more alcohol a woman drinks, the higher her risk. Those who have three or more drinks per day have twice the usual risk of developing breast cancer. Those who choose to smoke also have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Today, most breast cancer is found at a relatively early stage -- when tumors are small and the disease is confined to the breast. Under these circumstances, nearly 97 percent of all affected women survive for at least five years. There are so many types of breast cancer around, but the two main ones are: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, which develops in the milk ducts, accounts for about 70 percent of cases. It can break through the duct wall and invade the breast's fatty tissue, and then metastasize to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma accounts for about 10 percent of all cases and originates in the breast's milk-producing lobes. It also can spread to the breast's fatty tissue and elsewhere in the body. In the U.S., about 1,382,400 people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. One in two men will develop cancer; the risk for women is one in three. The good news is that more than half of all people diagnosed with cancer will survive the disease. About two million breast cancer survivors are alive in the US. This information gathered at http://www.bbyo.org/bbg/breastcancer/awareness.html |