BreastCancerNowWhat.ca Current Research

Evaluation of the Fertility and Cancer Project (FCP) among young breast cancer survivors.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:51

OBJECTIVE: Fertility and childbearing issues are the major quality of life concerns among young breast cancer survivors. Practical approaches are needed to convey reproductive health information. The Fertility and Cancer Project (FCP) is a dedicated research project that provides online reproductive health and fertility education. We report FCP participants' (a) changes in mood and functioning and (b) changes in knowledge of fertility and cancer from baseline to 6-month follow-up.

METHODS: Participants completed five self-report baseline measures, accessed FCP content and participated in online discussions. At 6 months post FCP study entry, participants were asked to complete follow-up self-reports.

Using traditional acupuncture for breast cancer-related hot flashes and night sweats.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:45

OBJECTIVES: Women taking tamoxifen experience hot flashes and night sweats (HF&NS); acupuncture may offer a nonpharmaceutical method of management. This study explored whether traditional acupuncture (TA) could reduce HF&NS frequency, improve physical and emotional well-being, and improve perceptions of HF&NS.

DESIGN/SETTINGS/LOCATION: This was a single-arm observational study using before and after measurements, located in a National Health Service cancer treatment center in southern England. SUBJECTS: Fifty (50) participants with early breast cancer completed eight TA treatments. Eligible women were >= 35 years old, >= 6 months post active cancer treatment, taking tamoxifen >= 6 months, and self-reporting >= 4 HF&NS incidents/24 hours for >= 3 months.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants received weekly individualized TA treatment using a core standardized protocol for treating HF&NS in natural menopause.

Menopausal symptoms and fertility concerns in premenopausal breast cancer survivors: a comparison to age- and gravidity-matched controls.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:41

OBJECTIVE: Many young breast cancer survivors experience menopausal symptoms and feel concerned about infertility due to oncologic treatment. However, there has been little research to date comparing young survivors' concerns and symptoms with those of young women of the same age and gravidity in the general population.

METHODS: We surveyed breast cancer survivors with regular menses after adjuvant chemotherapy and compared them with age-matched, gravidity-matched controls as part of a study to evaluate the effects of chemotherapy on ovarian reserve. All survivors were 1 year or more from diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer, without evidence of recurrence. The survey assessed menopausal symptoms and infertility concerns.

Clarifying the expectations of patients undergoing implant breast reconstruction: a qualitative study

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Wed, 02/09/2011 - 20:34

BACKGROUND: Unfulfilled expectations can lead to patient dissatisfaction with surgical outcomes. Understanding expectations allows surgeons to identify those patients who hold inaccurate expectations preoperatively, and to reset those expectations through focused preoperative education. The purpose of this study was to investigate preoperative expectations of women undergoing implant breast reconstruction. Identifying inaccurate or unfulfilled expectations is a critical step toward the advancement of preoperative education and subsequently improving patient satisfaction with surgical outcomes.

Reconstructive surgery in young women with breast cancer.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Wed, 01/26/2011 - 22:00

Recovery of body image after mastectomy is essential for physical and mental quality of life. Partial or total mastectomy deformities can be reversed by reconstructive surgical procedures. Young women with breast cancer have specific characteristics related to the age of onset of the disease, prognosis and reconstructive expectations. Patient individualization is the key to a successful breast reconstruction. Autologous and prosthetic reconstruction are the two main techniques used for breast reconstruction. Each reconstructive technique has its own indications, advantages and limitations. Timing of the surgery is primarily determined by the requirement for adjuvant radiotherapy, so an immediate or a delayed approach can be recommended. In patients in whom the need for adjuvant radiotherapy is in doubt, a delayed-immediate approach is the best to optimize aesthetic and oncologic outcomes. Prophylactic mastectomy is also being indicated in a growing number of patients.

Factors influencing return to work: a narrative study of women treated for breast cancer.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Sat, 01/08/2011 - 18:46

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify factors contributing

to a successful return to the labour market after treatment for breast

cancer from the women's own perspective. The study is based on 16

narratives - open-ended, in-depth interviews - about women's experiences

and thoughts from the period after breast cancer surgery when they focused

on their return to work. The women were recruited from participants of a

multicentre trial, which allowed comparisons across a range of adjuvant

therapies. The narratives of women who worked full time at a cut-off point

of 1 year after surgery are analysed separately from the narratives of

women still sick-listed at that point of time. The findings show that

while all the women strove to belong to the labour market, the study also

reveals changes in women's perceptions of the value of employment. The

A randomised, controlled trial of the psychological effects of reflexology in early breast cancer.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Sat, 10/09/2010 - 19:50

PURPOSE: To conduct a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects of reflexology on quality of life (QofL) in women with early breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and eighty-three women were randomised 6 weeks post-breast surgery to self-initiated support (SIS) (comparator intervention), SIS plus reflexology, or SIS plus scalp massage (control for physical and social contact). Reflexology and massage comprised eight sessions at weekly intervals. The primary end-point was 18 weeks post surgery; the primary outcome measure was the Trial Outcome Index (TOI) of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-B) - breast cancer version. The secondary end-point was 24 weeks post surgery. Secondary outcome measures were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Mood Rating Scale (MRS).

Breast reconstruction after mastectomy

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Sat, 10/09/2010 - 19:47

Results of our analysis show as that breast reconstruction become a standard part of the care of female patients with breast cancer We will analyse the factors that are important for the primary or secondary breast reconstruction after mastectomy, and also take a closer look on the most recent scientific advances on breast reconstruction and on the protocols regarding them. The breast is the most common site of cancer in Croatia women. Breast cancer is the first leading cause of cancer death among women today. The incidence of female breast cancer in Croatia estimates that approximately 2.200 news cases of female breast will be diagnosed every year. We retrospectively analysed data of 101 female patients undergoing reconstructive surgery for breast reconstruction after mastectomy at Division of Plastic Surgery and Burns, University Hospital Center Split and University Clinic of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Innsbruck, Austria, between 1998 and 2008.

Frozen hope: fertility preservation for women with cancer.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Sat, 10/09/2010 - 19:45

Young women diagnosed with cancer have the option of preserving their fertility by using assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques prior to undergoing cancer treatment. This article presents a composite case of a young woman with cancer who had many unanswered emotional and ethical questions about her future as a parent. Fertility preservation techniques, including preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and related patient education are described. Current literature regarding reproductive counseling for cancer survivors is reviewed. Resources for providing psychosocial support for decisions about fertility preservation are lagging behind the rapid pace of scientific advancements in cancer treatment and ART. As more young women are surviving cancer and taking steps to preserve fertility, there is great need for the provision of psychologic support services and the establishment of ethical guidelines to aid them on this path.

Factors contributing to improved local control after mastectomy in patients with breast cancer aged 40 years or younger.

Admin @ Breast Cancer Now What? — Sat, 10/09/2010 - 19:42

Long-term local control rates were studied in a series of 659 patients with invasive breast cancer aged 40 years or younger, who underwent mastectomy in general hospitals in the southern part of the Netherlands between 1988 and 2005. During a median follow-up time of 6.0 years, 34 patients developed a local recurrence in the chest wall without previous or simultaneous evidence of distant disease. The 5- and 10-year actuarial local recurrence rates for the total group were 5.6% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 3.5-7.7%) and 7.3% (95% CI, 4.7-9.9%), respectively. A multivariate analysis showed that patients receiving radiotherapy (hazards ratio [HR], 0.29; 95% CI, 0.10-0.96) or adjuvant systemic treatment (HR 0.23; 95% CI, 0.08-0.65) had a significantly lower risk of local recurrence. It is concluded that excellent local control rates can be obtained with mastectomy in young women with breast cancer, especially in those who receive adjuvant systemic treatment and/or radiotherapy.