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Breast cancer is cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare. When breast cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, they are called metastases. There are different kinds of breast cancer. The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer. Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast, like the ducts or the lobes.
College females exceed national drinking guidelines for drinking more frequently than males

College females exceed national drinking guidelines for drinking more frequently than males

In order to avoid harms associated with alcohol consumption, in 2009 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism issued guidelines that define low-risk drinking. These guidelines differ for men and women: no more than four drinks per day, and 14 drinks per week for men, and no more than three drinks per day, and seven drinks per week for women. [More]
Viewpoints: Health law's effect on patient safety; Angelina Jolie's surgery is the ultimate 'choice'

Viewpoints: Health law's effect on patient safety; Angelina Jolie's surgery is the ultimate 'choice'

Much of the discussion over the Affordable Care Act has focused on whether it will bring down health care costs. Less attention has been paid to another goal of the act: improving patient safety. Each year tens of thousands of people die, and hundreds of thousands more are injured, as a result of medical error (Joanna C. Schwartz, 5/16). [More]
Boehringer Ingelheim updates HCPs, patients on COMBIVENT RESPIMAT Inhalation Spray

Boehringer Ingelheim updates HCPs, patients on COMBIVENT RESPIMAT Inhalation Spray

As part of the company's commitment to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in respiratory health, is updating healthcare professionals and patients that the transition to COMBIVENT RESPIMAT (ipratropium bromide and albuterol) Inhalation Spray for the maintenance treatment of COPD is nearly complete. [More]

Women with family history of cancer need to have proper counseling, testing

In the wake of actress Angelina Jolie's public announcement that she recently underwent a preventive double mastectomy, Loma Linda University Medical Center urges women with a family history of cancer to have proper counseling and testing, if indicated, to see if they are at similar risk. [More]
Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be "paternal" in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions. [More]

Viewpoints: Controversy taints IRS efforts on health law; Another chance to 'gut' the overhaul in the courts; Salt wrongly accused

Even as the politicized tax enforcement scandal expands, the Internal Revenue Service continues to expand its political powers thanks to the Affordable Care Act. A larger government always creates more openings for abuse, as Americans will learn when the IRS starts auditing their health care in addition to their 1040 next year (5/14). [More]

Study underscores new paradigm in cancer therapy

In the largest clinical trial to date to examine the efficacy of PARP inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. [More]
Women in 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite new recommendations

Women in 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite new recommendations

Women in their 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite national guidelines recommending otherwise, according to new Johns Hopkins research. [More]
Angelina Jolie's choice underscores screening and treatment costs

Angelina Jolie's choice underscores screening and treatment costs

News outlets report on the cost of and questions surrounding Angelina Jolie's decision to have genetic testing and then to undergo a double mastectomy as preventive surgery. [More]
Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy show improved executive function after cognitive training

Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy show improved executive function after cognitive training

Women whose breast cancer had been treated with chemotherapy demonstrated improved executive function, such as cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency and processing speed after using exercises developed by Lumosity, the leading online cognitive training program. [More]

First Edition: May 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the latest Congressional Budget Office projections could further stall efforts to reach a grand bargain that includes changes to Medicare and other entitlement programs. [More]

Search, Share, Spare campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer surgery options

Studies have shown nearly 70 percent of patients with breast cancer do not discuss all surgical options with their surgeon before their initial surgery and that such a discussion significantly affects a woman's treatment decision. [More]

UAB genetics and breast cancer experts respond to Angelina Jolie's preventive mastectomy

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who has one of the genes linked to breast cancer, revealed that she underwent a double mastectomy earlier this year to prevent following in the footsteps of her mother and succumbing to breast cancer. [More]
UIC's Center for Clinical and Translational Science selects six research projects for new pilot grants

UIC's Center for Clinical and Translational Science selects six research projects for new pilot grants

The University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Clinical and Translational Science has selected six research projects to receive pilot grants in 2013. [More]
Viewpoints: Angelina Jolie on her decision to have a double mastectomy; Justice Ginsburg's 'blind spot' on abortion

Viewpoints: Angelina Jolie on her decision to have a double mastectomy; Justice Ginsburg's 'blind spot' on abortion

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman. Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex (Angelina Jolie, 5/14). [More]
ASPS strongly supports Breast Cancer Patient Education Act

ASPS strongly supports Breast Cancer Patient Education Act

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons today announced its strong support of the "Breast Cancer Patient Education Act" (S. 931). This bipartisan legislation is being introduced today, coinciding with National Women's Health Week, in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Donna Christensen, M.D. (D-VI) and in the United States Senate by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R-LA). [More]
AbilTo completes Series A financing to expand proprietary programs and technology platform

AbilTo completes Series A financing to expand proprietary programs and technology platform

AbilTo, Inc., a company that delivers proven behavioral health programs to help adults overcome mild and moderate depression associated with major medical events, announced today the completion of a $3 million round of Series A financing to fund the expansion of the Company's proprietary programs and technology platform. [More]

Digital DR more effective than CR at detecting breast cancer

Digital direct radiography is significantly more effective than computed radiography at detecting breast cancer, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. [More]

More studies needed to determine how decision aids help guide choices for cancer screening

When it comes to a cancer diagnosis, timing can be everything - the sooner it's found, the more treatable it is. But when and how often should someone get screened? [More]
Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Since many of the people who will gain insurance under the federal health law will likely get such individual plans through the state-based online marketplaces, or exchanges, researchers sought to identify the effects on vulnerable populations, some of whom with incomes above 400 percent of the poverty level and thus will not qualify for Medicaid or receive subsidies. [More]