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Living With Breast Cancer

  • Staging Locally Advanced Cancers

    Posted 3/4/2013 by hhill
      I recognize that this is a rather arcane topic that is either of great interest or no interest at all. For women who present with locally advanced breast cancer (meaning a large tumor), this is very important information. Whatever the details of one's circumstances, it is vital to have all the correct information in order to best make the right treatment decisions. Until this study, there has been some uncertainty re how how to collect information for these women. The point of contention is how large is the tumor as that directs whether a mastectomy will be necessary or whether a lumpectomy/radiation will suffice. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Herceptin May Help Others

    Posted 3/1/2013 by hhill
      This is  tantalizing news. A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that herceptin may also be beneficial to some women with her2 negative breast cancers. I expect it is safe to say that we all are grateful and delighted for any treatment that helps any of us, but it may also be safe to say that those of us with her2 negative cancers wish that more things were coming along that might help us, too. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Kadcyla Approval

    Posted 2/28/2013 by hhill
      This is big news. It is especially important news for women who have her2positive breast cancer. Feeling somewhat like a broken record, let me repeat the reality that much/most research is directed at finding targeted treatments that are effective for specific kinds of cancer cells. The discovery of herceptin changed the whole world of treatment for women with her2 positive breast cancers. What had been a particularly lethal form of the disease became one that was at least as treatable as any other. Many, many women have benefitted from herceptin and have been treated, gone on to stay strong and healthy without a breast cancer recurrence. The FDA announced this week that another drug to treat her2 positive disease, Kadcyla, has been approved. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Oncotype DX and node positive breast cancer

    Posted 2/27/2013 by hhill
      Many of you are familiar with the Oncotype DX test, a genomic test that looks at groups of genes in breast cancer cells and predicts the odds of a recurrence. This test has been around since about 2005 and has been used for women who have a node negative, ER positive breast cancer and are trying to make a decision about chemotherapy. It has been very helpful in adding an important piece of information to this so difficult choice. Read more... Comments (0)

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
330 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617-667-1900

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About the Blogger

Hester Hill Schnipper, LICSW, OSW-C is the Manager of Oncology Social Work at BIDMC. For more than thirty years, her daily work at BIDMC has been primarily focused on supporting women with breast cancer. A nationally known writer and speaker, she was the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's first Hatcher Survivorship Professor. In 1993, and again in 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. These experiences have given her great credibility with her patients and transformed her life's work to her life. Ms. Schnipper lives gratefully with her husband in an ancient farmhouse outside of Boston and spends as much time as possible in a water front cottage on Mt Desert Island. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren; she claims biological responsibility for two and three of them.

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