You may have recently seen your favorite football team adorned with pink cleats, gazed as a co-worker passed by ornamented with a pink ribbon, or donated money to a friend for a charity walk. That’s because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! Group Health Cooperative (GHC) is excited to take part in celebrating women at Women Rock Women's Retreat which is back in Eau Claire for its 9th year. Women Rock will be held on Saturday, October 22nd at the Ramada Convention Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. All money raised will benefit the American Cancer Society for use in Eau Claire County!
Has raised awareness and contributions for the pink program helped? The answer is yes, and the following is a list of how the billions of dollars raised over the past twenty years has made progress in the fight against breast cancer!
Nipple Fluid Test: Although it is not readily available to the mass public, soon a quick and easy test can be done using breast fluids (including milk) to reveal your chances of developing breast cancer. It will help women to see if they need to go to the doctor earlier for mammograms, therefore catching the disease sooner. Nipple fluid is useful because it originates from the mammary glands which are where about 95% of breast cancer originates. An at home risk kit is even in the works which will capture the fluid on a band-aid-like strip!
Radiation Free Screening: A new diagnostic test termed nanotechnology uses zero radiation and could be a screening tool that will spot cancer earlier than ever before. The nanoparticles in the test bind to known cancer cells so unlike current procedures used; there is no chance of a false positive result. It works much like an MRI by creating an accurate picture of where the cancer is located. Research is currently ongoing at many major universities and the test is estimated to be available to the public within the next 3-5 years.
Reduction of Risk Drug: Women at a high risk of developing breast cancer have had a drug called Tamoxifen available to them for the past 10 years. In a recent study a new drug labeled Exemestane, which works by decreasing the amount of estrogen produced in the body, dramatically decreased the incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women by 65%! It also is more beneficial to women by not having the negative side effects that Tamoxifen has of an increased risk of blood clots and uterine cancer.
Customized Treatments: Over the past 10 years doctors have been developing treatments to fit the unique needs of each patient. Scientists are starting to look beyond the cancer itself and into a woman’s environment, which some studies are showing could be a factor. Breast cancer has many different facets, so it is important to treat the tumor type that the individual person has.
Less Radiation for Radiation Therapy: Two recent experiments have found that half of the number of radiation treatments administered can be just as effective and can decrease horrible side effects such as extreme nausea and hair loss. Usually radiation therapy lasts from 5-7 weeks, but a new therapy termed intra-operative radiation therapy delivers ONE blast to the tumor, therefore cutting out weeks of grueling treatments and sparing the other organs from radiation. Because follow up treatments are not required it is a major leap towards enhancing the quality of a woman’s life.
Stop down and visit us at the GHC booth on Saturday, October 22nd for Women Rock at the Ramada Convention Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. There are many more things that you can do to aide in the fight against breast cancer. Visit these sites and find out how!
http://ww5.komen.org/
https://www.breastcancertrials.org/bct_nation/home.seam
http://www.armyofwomen.org/
http://komentissuebank.iu.edu/
Source:
MSN Health
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