Breast cancer awareness

Archive for November, 2009

An international task force of cancer specialists and charities is meeting this week to develop strategies for curbing rising breast cancer rates in developing countries, the AP/Washington Post reports. The task force is led by Felicia Knaul — a public health specialist and director of Harvard University’s Global Equity Initiative — and Lawrence Shulman of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Almost two-thirds of women in developing countries are not diagnosed with the disease until it has spread, the AP/Post reports. Compounding the problem are new data from Harvard that show women in developing countries appear to develop breast cancer, on average, about 10 years earlier than women in the U.S.

The team plans to launch cancer care programs in parts of Africa. In a two-part approach, the task force aims to first educate midwives and other rural health care providers on how to conduct routine manual breast exams, particularly where mammography machines are unattainable. The specialists acknowledged that the method might not detect the smallest tumors, but it could significantly improve diagnosis in some areas. For the second part of the plan, the task force will attempt to reach agreements with drugmakers to provide lower-cost generic chemotherapy in developing countries — the same model used to advance HIV/AIDS care in parts of Africa.

The true number of breast cancer cases in developing countries is unknown because of poor diagnosis and insufficient record-keeping. However, the Harvard report estimated that 55% of the 450,000 expected breast cancer deaths worldwide this year will be in developing countries. The breast cancer rate in the poorest countries will rise by 36% by 2020, the report estimates (Neergaard, AP/Washington Post, 11/3).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

Now in its 32nd year, the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium remains the top venue for research and discovery in breast cancer. This year’s conference will bring together delegates from all over the world. Among the expected highlights:

* Five-year results of the groundbreaking Herceptin trial.

* Definitive data on the role of bisphosphonates in breast cancer prevention.

* The role hormone therapies may play in lung cancer treatment.

* New data on the role of obesity and alcohol in breast cancer risk.

* Emerging therapies that could change the treatment landscape.

The program schedule is available online at http://www.sabcs.org.

More than 2,000 abstracts will be presented for the first time at the conference, complementing an outstanding program of scientific and educational events. The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium attracts world leaders in cancer research and treatment, including clinical oncologists, industry leaders, basic scientists and translational researchers who are working to improve patient care with the ultimate goal of eradicating breast cancer.

When: Dec. 9-13, 2009

Where:
Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center
San Antonio, Texas

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: #SABCS09

Source: Emma O’Brien
American Association for Cancer Research

View drug information on Herceptin.

Five additional studies on the early detection, treatment and evaluation of breast cancer were highlighted today by the co-sponsoring organizations of the 2009 Breast Cancer Symposium. The symposium, occurring this year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is being held October 8-10, 2009, at the San Francisco Marriott.

The additional studies being highlighted feature a short summary and perspective from Lori Pierce, MD, professor of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, and chair of the symposium news planning team.

Click here to view the additional studies and the complete release.

To view the complete 2009 Breast Cancer Symposium press kit, visit http://www.asco.org/BCSpresskit09.

Source
ASCO

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee on Wednesday heard testimony on four bills related to breast cancer detection, prevention and treatment, CQ HealthBeat reports.

A bill (HR 995) sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) would require health insurance plans to cover annual mammograms for women ages 40 and older. Plans would also have to cover annual screenings and MRIs for women at high risk of breast cancer. Nadler said that although the health reform legislation being debated in Congress aims to improve preventive care services, it could be years before the regulations take effect, and the overhaul “won’t necessarily prevent these women from falling through the cracks.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) spoke in favor of her bill (HR 1691) to prohibit group health plans from restricting medically necessary hospital stays to less than 48 hours after mastectomies or breast-conserving surgeries and to less than 24 hours for lymph node dissections. A similar measure passed the House with 421 votes last year, but the Senate did not take up the legislation. DeLauro said that women are sometimes forced to leave the hospital too soon after surgeries because insurers will not pay for longer stays.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a breast cancer survivor, said her bill (HR 1740) would direct HHS to conduct a national awareness campaign about the risk of breast cancer in young women, with a focus on risks associated with particular ethnic and cultural groups. She called claims that the bill would detract from other efforts or take money from a national detection program “wrong,” adding that she will “continue to fight for a multi-faceted approach to combating breast cancer.”

The committee also heard testimony on Rep. Kathy Castor’s (D-Fla.) bill (HR 2279) to require HHS to create a breast cancer treatment quality performance system to track and publicly disclose information on the quality of care offered by specific providers. Under the bill, providers’ Medicare payments would be linked to performance by 2012.

Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said that many of the provisions in the four bills before the subcommittee “hopefully will be addressed in the larger health care reform bill,” adding, “But I don’t mean to suggest that takes away from the need to have this hearing today or to move forward on these bills” (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 10/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.