To find a doctor, call 800-667-5356 or click below:

Find a Doctor

Request an Appointment

Home
About
BIDMC
Centers and
Departments
Patient and Visitor
Information
Quality and
Safety
iHealth
Medical
Education
Research
Give to
BIDMC
left banner
right banner
Smaller Larger
Living With Breast Cancer

  • Caffeine Intake and Coffee and Breast Cancer Risk

    Posted 5/19/2013 by hhill

      I debated whether or not to write about this, but decided that it is too good an example of the deluge of confusing and conflicting news to ignore. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will remember that not long ago, I wrote about a study that suggested that moderate coffee drinkers had a lower risk of breast cancer than those who drank less or no coffee.

    Read more... Comments (0)

  • Understanding Risk of DCIS

    Posted 5/1/2013 by hhill
      Whatever the specifics of a breast cancer diagnosis, women worry. Of course we may worry a little more or a litte less depending on the statistics we hear or some of the details of the pathology, but we generally understand that no one gets a guarantee and that we are each an "n" of one. It has always interested me that this is equally true for women who are diagnosed with DCIS (or LCIS) which is generally described as "Stage 0". In fact, some doctors say that DCIS is not cancer, that it is something that might become cancer in the future if not treated. And the real kicker there is that many DCISs (is that the plural?) would never become invasive, but that we don't know how to tell those sleeper ones from the potentially dangerous ones. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Side Effects and AIs

    Posted 4/29/2013 by hhill
      Rarely do I receive an email from one of my doctor colleagues with the suggestion that I share a particular study with you. This, however, is one of those rare moments. The study, from JCO, suggests that women who experience side effects (vaginal dryness, stiffness, etc) may have a lower recurrence rate than those who do not. The very big caveat is that this is a single study, and, especially if you are one of the rather rare women who does not have any side effects, do not be concerned. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Birth Control and Fertility Drugs and Breast Cancer

    Posted 4/18/2013 by hhill
      This is one of those entries that will either have a great deal of interest to you or none at all. There are lots of ongoing questions and concerns about the possible impact of birth control pills and fertility drugs/treatments on breast cancer risk. I have worked with a number of women who had IVF and then breast cancer. Was there a connection? None has been proven, but they surely have wondered and worried. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Diet and Cancer Risk

    Posted 4/9/2013 by hhill
      Once again, we have researchers telling us that we really don't know much, if anything, about the impact of diet on cancer risk. Note that this isn't about the possible associations between diet and risk of cancer recurrence--that is an even less well known and illusive topic. Once again, we do hear that a "healthy diet" is a good thing, and even that living a "heart healthy lifestyle" (healthy diet, exercise, don't smoke, weight control, etc.) is a good thing. I come back often to this topic because there is so much interest in the foods we eat and the magical wish that, by controlling our diets, we could control our risks. Read more... Comments (0)

Contact Information

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

Categories

Archive

Syndication

Tagcloud

targeted therapies recurrence survival chemotherapy complementary therapy dietary supplements herbs diets nutritional supplements depression anxiety lifestyle relationships intimacy sexuality

Recent comments

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.

Connect With Us:
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Read our BIDMC
Read our BIDMC E-LettersE-Letters

© 2013 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
617-667-7000  |  TDD: 800-439-0183  | Maps & Directions