The Women's Health Resource. On the web since 1997.

Imaginis.com Breast Health Newsletter


IMAGINIS.COM BREAST HEALTH NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 32
DECEMBER 28, 2000

Thousands of breast cancer patients, survivors and healthcare professionals receive the Imaginis.com Breast Health Newsletter, which is published by email every week. If you would like to add the email addresses of your friends and family to the newsletter mailing list, please visit http://www.imaginis.com/newsletter/

If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding this newsletter or about your subscription status, please email us at mailto:[email protected]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SIEMENS PROUDLY SPONSORS IMAGINIS.COM

Through its proud sponsorship of Imaginis.com, Siemens is dedicated to providing comprehensive information and service to improve and advance women's health. To learn more about Siemens involvement in women's health, please visit http://www.imaginis.com/siemens/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BREAST HEALTH NEWS

1. NEW DRUG, FASLODEX, SHOWS PROMISE FOR TREATING ADVANCED BREAST CANCER
Two recent studies presented at the 23rd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium found that an experimental drug called Faslodex (generic name, fulvestrant) may help treat women with advanced breast cancer who have become resistant to the drug, tamoxifen (brand name, Nolvadex). According to the researchers, Faslodex appears to slow the progression of cancer and shrink the size of tumors in some women. Herman Kattlove, MD, a medical oncologist with the American Cancer Society, calls the study results promising and says that Faslodex has the potential to become a valuable addition in the management of advanced breast cancer.
Click here to read more:
http://www.imaginis.net/breasthealth/news/news12.25.00.asp

2. RESEARCHERS CONTINUE TO EXPLORE POSSIBLE BENEFIT OF SOY IN HELPING TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER
While research on soy and breast cancer risk is relatively new, a small study presented at the meeting in Hawaii of the International Chemical Congress of the Pacific Basin Societies offers some promise that maintaining a diet rich in soy may help reduce the risk of breast cancer. The study involved 120 Asian women and found that the women who consumed the largest amounts of soy were the least likely to develop breast cancer. However, the researchers maintain that the relationship between soy and breast cancer risk is largely unknown and warrants further study. In fact, some physicians believe certain ingredients in soy (phytoestrogens) may stimulate cell growth and suggest that women with a family or personal history of breast cancer limit their intake of soy products until researchers are able to better understand the effects of soy on breast tumors.
Click here to read more:
http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/soy.asp

3. TOXICITY PANEL RECOMMENDS ADDING ESTROGEN TO CARCINOGEN LIST: CAUTIONS WOMEN NOT TO WORRY, BUT STAY INFORMED
An advisory panel to the U.S. National Toxicity Program has recommended that the female hormone estrogen be added to the federal list of cancer-causing agents. The panel's recommendation comes after careful study of estrogen's role in increasing the risk of endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) and to a lesser extent, the risk of breast cancer. However, the physicians who advised the panel members say that women should not be frightened by the panel's recommendation, but instead, this should encourage women and their physicians to discuss the benefits and risks of taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), based on their individual medical situation.
Click here to read more:
http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/news/news12.27.00.asp

4. STUDY REVEALS POSSIBLE REASONS WHY AFRICAN-AMERICANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH AGGRESSIVE BREAST CANCER TUMORS THAN CAUCASIANS
Statistics show that African-American women diagnosed with breast cancer are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than white women. Some researchers have suggested that this may be due to poor access to mammography and less frequent breast cancer screenings among many African-American women. However, a recent study conducted by William M. Butler, MD of the South Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Center and his colleagues shows that the characteristics of breast cancer tumors may differ among African-Americans and Caucasians, which could help explain the lower breast cancer survival rates among African-American women.
Click here to read more:
http://www.imaginis.net/breasthealth/news/news12.21.00.asp

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

IMAGINIS PATIENT AND PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSIONS

"My sister has been diagnosed...with breast cancer and she went to see the surgeon today. He explained to her about the surgery and the treatment she would probably have to do afterwards. She is not sure she wants to do the chemotherapy because she does not like the idea of foreign things in her body. How necessary is the chemotherapy? Is there someone I can ask about this?"

-recent post from patient breast health discussion,
http://www.imaginis.com/discussions/

The Imaginis Discussions have been designed to help promote the discussion of a variety of women's health topics, including breast cancer, medical imaging and related health topics. The Patient Discussions are designed to bring women together who have shared similar experiences. Breast cancer patients, survivors, and all women interested in breast health issues are encouraged to participate in the Patient Discussions. In addition, Imaginis has recently added a Professional Discussion section to bring physicians and other healthcare providers together to discuss the latest women's health issues.
Click here to visit the Imaginis Discussions:
http://www.imaginis.com/discussions/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

VISIT THE NEW IMAGINIS BOOKSTORE FOR PATIENTS AND PROFESSIONALS

The newly redesigned Imaginis Bookstore contains over 130 titles on breast health, breast cancer, medical imaging, and other women's health topics. The bookstore is divided into two sections, one for patients and the other for healthcare professionals. The books in the patient bookstore have been written for the general public and cover all aspects of breast cancer and related health topics. The healthcare professionals section contains books written specifically for physicians, nurses, medical imaging technologists, and other healthcare professionals.
Click here to visit the bookstore:
http://www.imaginis.com/bookstore/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HAVING TROUBLE ACCESSING THE LINKS IN THIS NEWSLETTER?

To view the full articles, click on the hyper-links following each summary. AOL (America Online) users may need to copy and paste the hyper-links in this newsletter into the web browser to view them. In some cases, the hyper-links following the summaries may not successfully retrieve the webpages if the address extends to more than one line. If this occurs, please copy the full text of the address and paste it into the address box in a web browser. Please note, Imaginis does not send "spam" email and will unsubscribe anyone upon request (see link below).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: INFORMATION IN THIS NEWSLETTER, WITHIN THE IMAGINIS.COM WEBSITE OR IN OTHER SITES LINKED TO FROM THE IMAGINIS.COM WEBSITE SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR SELF-TREATMENT. THE INFORMATION FOUND IN THIS NEWSLETTER, IN THE IMAGINIS.COM WEBSITE AND IN WEBSITES LINKED TO FROM THE IMAGINIS.COM WEBSITE SHOULD BE USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT BY A MEDICAL DOCTOR. USE OF THIS NEWSLETTER IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE FOUND ON IMAGINIS.COM AT http://www.imaginis.com/guestbook/agreement.asp . IMAGINIS.COM DOES NOT ENDORSE AND HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT OF ANY OTHER SITES LISTED ON IMAGINIS.COM, AND PROVIDES LINKS AND REFERENCES MERELY AS A CONVENIENCE TO ITS USERS. SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION IF YOUR CONDITION IS URGENT.