Monday, February 28, 2011

How long can a person live with Stage 4 cancer, from breast cancer that metastasized to the bone

How long can a person live with Stage 4 cancer, from breast cancer that metastasized to the bone?
My mom has a stage 4 cancer. She found out she has breast cancer stage 1, 8 years ago. Around year 2000. Then this year her breast cancer has metastasized to the bone on her chest. And is now stage 4. Does anyone now if my mom can still live a long life? I'm really saddened by this but i'm making the most of every day i spend with her. She's 43 years old
Cancer - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I'm sorry to hear that, I don't know the answer to your question but I hope for the best. God bless you both.
2 :
There is no good answer. Everyone is different.
3 :
Everyone is different. Love and enjoy each other for whatever time you share.
4 :
There are no guarantees, but breast cancer that has metastasised to the bones can often be managed, sometimes for years. I know someone for whom it has been eight years so far.
5 :
The breast cancer survival rate for Stage 4 breast cancer is much lower than for breast cancer detected at earlier stages. Stage 4 breast cancer, or advanced breast cancer, has metastasized to other tissue including bone tissue, lung tissue, or the liver. When breast cancer has overwhelmed the bodyâ€™s natural defenses and spread this far by the time the cancer is first diagnosed, the 5-year survival rate drops to 16%-20% in the United States (American Cancer Society). Up to 5% of white women in the U.S., and up to 9% of black women have advanced breast cancer spread to distant tissue at the time of first diagnosis. This difference is usually attributed to poverty and lack of health insurance. In general, women who have advanced breast cancer at the time of diagnosis live approximately 18 months after diagnosis (median survival rate). Those who are still alive five years after their diagnosis of advanced breast cancer can live an additional 3.5 years (median survival rate) according to the American Cancer Society. Since this is the most deadly category of breast cancer, it is important to work closely with all the health care providers. New treatments are being developed all the time, and second, or even third opinions may give the patient more information about newly discovered successful solutions. Early detection is clearly the most important factor in breast cancer survival rates. Breast cancer detected at Stage 1 while it is still localized to the breast has a survival rate of 98%-100%, while metastasized breast cancer first detected at Stage 4 drops down to 16%-20%. Early detection procedures must include monthly self-examinations done at the same time each month. From age 20-40, healthy women should have clinical breast exams performed by their health care providers every three years. After age 40, the breast exams should be annually and should include a mammogram or similar procedure. North American white women have the highest rates of breast cancer in the world, but the 5-year survival rate for all stages (Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4) combined is 88% for the U.S. A recent study found European countries have lower 5-year breast cancer survival rates, with England at 77.8% and Ireland at 76.2% (Lancet Oncology). The difference in these survival rates is usually attributed to life-saving early detection.
6 :
A patient who has been diagnosed for the stage IV breast cancer can have life in term of few years, but it depends more on the number of metastasis, the histology and grade, effect of previous therapies, hormonal receptor status, HER2 status and co-morbid conditions. Therefore, assessing all these aspects can be best done by the treating oncologist and will be able to give you an appropriate answer. It seems your mother had been diagnosed cancer at an early age of 35, therefore, it is imperative that you start yourself a regular check up by a doctor for breast cancer latest by age of 30. Cannot help much but take care and all the best.
7 :
sweet Julia, It really depends on how your mom's body responds to the treatment. Unfortunatley, there is no for sure answer. The hardest part is waiting. I know........
8 :
*hugs* I am not sure about how to answer this one but I just wanted to give you a hug I lost my mom 5 years ago to pancreatic cancer, its been difficult.. just cherish every single moment you have with your mother! No matter what happeneds those memories will last a life time and no one can take that from you! God Bless you, your family and your mother! Your in my thoughts!
9 :
Hi there, I know exactly how you are feeling. My mother was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, that also spread to two different spots in her bones. She first went for radiation for her bones (5 treatments)...Once she completed that - she went for 6 chemo treatments. Her first treatment was the worst - but they adjusted her meds and each treatment after that was ok. She also tested positive for the HER2 gene, so she goes for the Herceptin treatment every 3 weeks, as well she gets a bone strengthener the same day through IV. I know that it sounds like a lot - but she was diagnosed in July of 2008, and we have just found out that she is CANCER FREE... Miracles happen - Just be there to support your mom... email me anytime you need to talk!! I'm here for you!

Read more discussions :

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Does anyone know if there is a connection between women who have late pregnancies and breast cancer

Does anyone know if there is a connection between women who have late pregnancies and breast cancer?
I ask this because, as some of you know, with every issue of Glamour/Cosmopolitan and other popular magazines, there is always a "catch story" for the month that always focus on cancer of some sort (which freaks me out). And I find that it usually is the recently pregnant woman who discovered a lump in the breast and boom...the "c" word unfoils. My question is does anyone know for sure if pregnancy is related to breast cancer in some way? Especially the later you wait? What are some of your opinions?
Women's Health - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I say no connection.
2 :
I read that there is a connection... not sure why. I just know that if a woman does not have a child before the age of 30, it increases her risk for breast cancer. Do you know how if you leave a car sitting without starting it up all winter long things just go wrong... my guess is that is probably how the human body is also. We were made to procreate.

Read more discussions :

Sunday, February 20, 2011

How do you get breast cancer

How do you get breast cancer?
I know people who died from breast cancer and i dont want to be like them. If you know the answer please tell me!
Tattoos - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Uh, wrong category. You get that kind of cancer when you smoke, stand next to a microwave, unhealthy or it's in your genes.
2 :
a lot of it is genetics. If any women in your family had it, watch out.
3 :
any cancer is terrible......it has nothing to do with Tattoos though http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer there's no flat out way to get it but genetics seems to play a huge part
4 :
u get it by sleeping with a bra every night & every day

Read more discussions :

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

What's a good title for my research paper about breast cancer

What's a good title for my research paper about breast cancer?
I wrote a research paper on breast cancer for english and I can't come up with a good title for it :( Any suggestions? Thanks!
Polls & Surveys - 10 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Boobs of doom
2 :
save the tatas
3 :
The Tit Lump Epidemic
4 :
breast cancer
5 :
Breast Cancer.
6 :
Tit cancer
7 :
save the tittys titty cancer
8 :
Deadly Epidemic or Deadly Pandemic
9 :
I would have to totally agree with Sean. You could if you like reverse his title too but it's good as is.
10 :
Breast Cancer: the Destruction Close to your Heart... Give me more information on what exactly you wrote about, and I could probably come up with a better title.

Read more discussions :

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Does breast cancer patients need to complete 6 chemo theraphy sessions

Does breast cancer patients need to complete 6 chemo theraphy sessions?
I am a breast cancer patient and had undergone 3 chemo theraphy. I wanted to stop is that possible?
Cancer - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Chemotherapy is only effective in 1.4% of ALL women that get it for a 5 year survival rate. It is abusive and very ineffective. I would look for the source of the infection that caused the cancer and I would also look at your diet in regard to fatty acids and the type of oils you eat. The breast meridian goes through the teeth and is one of the most common causes of breast cancer. ANY root canals, extractions, or amalgam fillings, and crowns done by typical dentists can cause raging infections to exist. Dr. Thomas Rau, who runs the Paracelsus Clinic (cancer clinic since 1958) in Switzerland recently checked the records of the last 150 breast cancer patients treated in his clinic. He found that 147 of them (98%) had one or more root canal teeth on the same meridian as the original breast cancer tumor. His clinic has a biological dentist section where all cancer patients, on reporting in, have their mouth cleaned up first -- especially all root canal teeth removed. There are about 24 million root canals done in the U.S. alone every year. They were proven deadly disease agents in 1925 in a study by Dr. Weston Price and 60 prominent researchers. That study has been suppressed ever since by the ADA and the American Association of Endodontists (AAE). Read the book "Root Canal Cover-Up" by George Meinig, DDS, FACD for the full story. Dr. Meinig was an endodontist for 50 years. He helped found the AAE in 1943. His book is a mea culpa (apology) to the thousands of patients whose health he ruined doing root canal fillings. He discovered the Weston Price research only after he retired in 1993. His book was published first in 1994 and he has lectured widely since then trying to alert people to this danger to their health. The Weston Price conclusions (i. e. that there is no safe way to do a root canal filling) track with my experience with counseling cancer patients for the last 8 years. In 1946, the FDA and 2 drug companies got a congressional hearing on how to deal with cancer. It was decided by Congress to only accept Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Surgery as the proper way to treat cancer. This eliminated all other forms of cancer treatments, no matter how good they were. Cancer now competes with heart disease for the number one killer in America. Does that sound like what the medical people are doing is working? All the money and research has been put in the wrong places and the statistics is showing how ineffective it is. To treat the disease and not get to the root cause, infection, is ludicrous, wasteful, and just shameful. good luck to you
2 :
Discuss it with your oncologist. I was scheduled to have 6 sessions of FEC. I desperately wanted to stop after 3 sessions, as I was suffering badly from depression. My oncologist said that many cancer specialists believe that 4 sessions are sufficient and that the last two are insurance, to make extra sure. He also agreed that my depression might do me more harm than the further chemotherapy would benefit me. So we agreed that I would have my fourth session, and then no more. I expected to regret my decision, and feel fearful, but I didn't. I had stage 3 grade 3 breast cancer, and almost 5 years after diagnosis I am fit and well with no evidence of breast cancer at my last routine check-up. I'm not sure that in the same circumstances I would make the same decision again... I know more about chemotherapy now and have more confidence in it. But I also have confidence in what my oncologist told me, and he was happy that my cancer had been treated with four doses of intensive chemotherapy. It's your decision; talk it over with your oncologist. If you want to email me, please do. Good luck.
3 :
The completion of chemotherapy has been shown to be advantageous. The chemotherapy depends on many factors including stage of cancer, age and histology grade and the estrogen receptor status in the patient. In addition, one of the important factor in deciding length of chemotherapy is response to the chemotherapy and the side effects observed. Therefore, how long you need to continue and should continue can be best judged by the treating oncologist.
4 :
Hello, I would really discuss this with your oncologist first. Stopping short of the treatment recommended can affect its ability to keep your cancer in check or cure you. Every patient is proscribed therapy based upon the type of cancer that woman has. Each patient is different. Take Care, John Di Saia MD

Read more discussions :

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

How to start off an essay about breast cancer

How to start off an essay about breast cancer?
im doing an essay about this woman who has breast cancer and is courageous in the book. how can i start off my essay ?
Cancer - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Is the topic of the essay breast cancer, or the life of this particular woman? I would begin with how the woman's life was going before the cancer's diagnosis (married, kids, pets, house, work...that stuff) then get into what brought her to the doctor and so on. This way you can build on the character. Remember, the story is about the woman and the cancer really is (in real life, in the greater scale) a very small part of what makes her who she is/was.

Read more discussions :

Friday, February 4, 2011

Why are women prone to Breast Cancer? Has this always been the case or is this a result of this day and age

Why are women prone to Breast Cancer? Has this always been the case or is this a result of this day and age?
Certainly not to belittle the disease, but I don't know the catalyst to breast cancer. I know why cancer is a big issue relative to smoking cigarettes. Is this a genetic issue is something in the water, so to speak? A very close friend of mine suffered this, but it is not the easiest set of questions to raise. Please inform.
Cancer - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
It is more the female hormones, and the amount of tissue in the breast, compared to juniors, or men. It would also be a malfunction of the endocrine system, and it is hereditarily predisposed.
2 :
There are a lot of factors. Women in the past didn't wear bras. Women in the past didn't wear deodorant. Women in the past had no choice but to breastfeed their children. Health issues definetely weren't so well documented in the past so we can't really tell what was going on a few centuries ago. Of course if someone in your immediate family was diagnosed with breast cancer then you are at higher risk. We do, however, have a chance if we are to get diagnosed with breast cancer at least we can fight the good fight where women before us, weren't given any hope at all.
3 :
Most products today contain harmful chemicals which do have the potential to cause cancer. Plastics, canned foods and pesticides that are used on crops are some common examples of such things.
4 :
Good Question. As far as I was concerned this "Thing" was growing and I didn't feel it. No Lump, No Pain, No Nothing. If it weren't for my annual Mammogram I would have no clue that it was even living in my body. How did it get there? It wasn't genetic...I thought I got it from my Father, and His mother, and Her mother, but it turns out I got it all on my own. Lucky Me. Something in the water? I only drink bottled water...could be anything. I DO know that my Calcium levels are too low...maybe that has something to do with it.
5 :
No one knows what causes cancer â€“ any cancer. Breast cancer was first document in 300 B. C. We do know it is hormone related and it has always been more common in women.
6 :
Nobody knows what causes breast cancer - though there isn't a scrap of evidence to link it to diet, deodorant, bras or water. And smoking isn't a risk factor for breast cancer. The first documented case of cancer was of breast cancer, from ancient Egypt in 1500 BC. The details were recorded on a papyrus, documenting 8 cases of tumours occurring on the breast. What risk factor for breast cancer are women exposed to that they used not to be exposed to in centuries past? Easy peasy - age. Like most cancers, breast cancer is a disease of ageing. The average age at diagnosis is a little over 60, and 80% of those diagnosed are over 50, with only 5% being under 40 and fewer than 0.1% under 30. Until recently most people simply didn't live long enough to develop cancer, including breast cancer Only 5 - 10% of all breast cancer cases are hereditary, and they are due to a rare inherited faulty gene; breast cancer dignosed after the age of 50 is even less likely to be hereditary. One in eight women will develop breast cancer over a lifetime of around 80 years. For most people, having one, two or even more relatives who've had breast cancer does not increase the risk of breast cancer

Read more discussions :

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

What are my mom odds of beating breast cancer

What are my mom odds of beating breast cancer?
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer on wed. What are her odds? she sees the surgeon tom and im really nervous. I know its going to be along road but i would like to know what a journey is going to be like to prepare myself and family.
Women's Health - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Hiya hun, Noone on Yahoo Answers or ANYWHERE on the internet will be able to give you an honest or correct answer... Because it's impossible for us to know either. Cancer, and any serious illnesses for that matter, are very subjective. They affect individuals in different ways, plus the cancer itself - noone has control over what it may or may not do. How you feel will be specific to your situation. How she feels and how confident / defeatist she is in her own attitude will probably swing like a pendulum from one day to the next. It's a very frustrating, scary, and tiring time (both mentally and physically exhausting). This probably isn't the answer you're looking for, however the best thing you can do is just be really understanding and supportive for your mother. Lots of people are going to tell you to be strong - but you know what - you don't HAVE to be strong. It's normal to feel the complete OPPOSITE of strong in situations like this. Just be as supportive and helpful for your mother as you can. I do wish you all the best, and sorry I can't give you a "magic number" or percentage or "odds", I would if I could...
2 :
i think the 1st answer is very good & there isn't a great deal to add....except that breast cancer is one that great acheivements have been made over the last years & many women survive it...so don't give up hope. http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Hormonaltherapies/Individualhormonaltherapies/Tamoxifen.aspx - you might find some useful answers on this MacMillan website. good luck & best wishes to your mum...and to you!!
3 :
You have to be very positive (from now on). Your optimism will raise her spirit up (she need this more than ever now). There's still HOPE that your mom can survive cancer. Please take care of what she EAT since it will impact a lot in her possibility to win over cancer. Start eating healthy food (greens, grains and fruits). Avoid red meat & processed/salted food, caffeine & alcoholic drinks. Drink plenty of water and fresh organic juice. Make sure she takes herbs/multivitamins to boost her immune system. Good luck.
4 :
Four of my female friends developed breast cancer at different ages and in different places. Their emotions ran the gamit, from total withdrawal to all out total anger toward men (she felt much money was spent on prostrate cancer and not enough on breast cancer). Everyone is different. There are resourses for information on: prevention (diet, exercises), curing, stages, symptoms, ages, treatments. God your mother and You and yours. By the way. All four of my friends are survivors, some for over thirty years.
5 :
Honestly, its hard to tell. My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer a year and a half ago, when I was sixteen. Luckily with my mum they caught it early and it hadn't spread too far. She was put into surgery a week later and had the tumor removed. This was a slightly stressful time for our family as no one likes to see a family member in hospital, but she was only kept in two nights and then came home. It was decided that she didn't need chemotherapy as it was removed early enough. From there her oncologist referred her onto another hospital for radiation treatment where she underwent therapy for about 30 minutes a day, every day for 6 weeks. This was perhaps the most distressing part for our family as our hospital did not have the facilities for radiation therapy, and so she had to travel 5 hours a week to another city. Now, for my mum, the prognosis is good. The doctors have cleared her for the time being, and she just has to go back for regular mamograms. Since she has been diagnosed, it means that I am at greater risk, and so will have to have regular check ups as well in the future. Since my mum's diagnosis, I have also had an aunt and a family friend diagnosed with later stage breast cancer. My aunt was diagnosed a year ago and had to have one breast removed. She has also had chemo and radiation therapy, but for now, the prognosis is good. My family friend neglected getting regular check ups and so they caught it quite late. Since here diagnosis 6 months ago she has had both breasts removed, although the oncologist fears it has spread further, and is still undergoing chemo. Its hard to tell what her prognosis is going to be like but we all have our fingers crossed. In terms of your mum, it really depends on how late it was diagnosed and how far its spread, but with modern treatments making a huge difference, as long as the cancer hasn't spread too far, the prognosis should be good. Cancer is a scary process for all involved. No two patients are the same, so it is a big leap into the unknown. I found it rather distressing. I was attending school at the time and preparing for my Year 12 exams. My study slipped as I was constantly worried what was going on, but you have to keep positive. Support your mum, and let her know that you will be with her through the whole journey. I'm not one who likes to go into something blindly. So after hearing about her diagnosis I did a lot of research online to find out more details. I looked into the risks of the treatment and what actually caused the cancer. If you want to know more about what is happening to your mum, you could ask her if you could go with her next time she sees the oncologist. This will give you an opportunity to listen first hand, about what is going on, and if it is appropriate, you could ask any questions that worry you. This will give you a chance to show your mum that you really care about what is happening and want to be there for her. Good luck with your journey, and please if you have any other questions or just want to share your story with some one, don't hesitate to email me. This website here was great when I wanted to find out information, so check it out http://www.breastcancer.org/

Read more discussions :