Help for Neuropathy

  If you don't know what "neuropathy" is, consider yourself lucky. It is nerve pain/numbness, usually in the hands and feet, that can be caused by a number of chemotherapy drugs. For women with breast cancer, the usual culprits are the taxanes: Taxol and Taxotere. Certainly, not every woman develops this side effect, but it can be very distressing and even disabling for those who do. Read more... Comments (0)

Staging Locally Advanced Cancers

  I recognize that this is a rather arcane topic that is either of great interest or no interest at all. For women who present with locally advanced breast cancer (meaning a large tumor), this is very important information. Whatever the details of one's circumstances, it is vital to have all the correct information in order to best make the right treatment decisions. Until this study, there has been some uncertainty re how how to collect information for these women. The point of contention is how large is the tumor as that directs whether a mastectomy will be necessary or whether a lumpectomy/radiation will suffice. Read more... Comments (0)

Easy Chemo

  Very honestly, I walk a fine line here. I suspect that most readers (and I hope there are some! Did you see my plea yesterday to please write a comment?) are women who have early breast cancer, but I know that some have advanced/metastatic disease. I am very aware that women with advanced disease too often feel that the breast cancer community ignores them. Once you have moved into that world, it can seem that you are everyone's worst fear, and it is easier to pretend it can't happen.

  This is, therefore, a warning. Today's posting is an excerpt and then a link to the wonderful blog, But, Doctor, I hate pink, written by a woman who has Stage IV breast cancer. This is about so-called "easy" chemo which does seem to be an oxymoron. However, if you have the misfortune to become a chemo expert, to have the varied experiences that might entitle you to write the equivalent of a Zagat guide to breast cancer chemotherapies, you would know that some are much more difficult than others.

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Herceptin May Help Others

  This is  tantalizing news. A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that herceptin may also be beneficial to some women with her2 negative breast cancers. I expect it is safe to say that we all are grateful and delighted for any treatment that helps any of us, but it may also be safe to say that those of us with her2 negative cancers wish that more things were coming along that might help us, too. Read more... Comments (0)

Kadcyla Approval

  This is big news. It is especially important news for women who have her2positive breast cancer. Feeling somewhat like a broken record, let me repeat the reality that much/most research is directed at finding targeted treatments that are effective for specific kinds of cancer cells. The discovery of herceptin changed the whole world of treatment for women with her2 positive breast cancers. What had been a particularly lethal form of the disease became one that was at least as treatable as any other. Many, many women have benefitted from herceptin and have been treated, gone on to stay strong and healthy without a breast cancer recurrence. The FDA announced this week that another drug to treat her2 positive disease, Kadcyla, has been approved. Read more... Comments (0)