According to a press release issued by Wiley-Blackwell,

Women undertaking a ten week program of 75 minute Restorative Yoga (RY) classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm/peaceful) compared to the control group. The study, published today in a special issue of Psycho-Oncology focusing on physical activity, shows the women had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace and meaning after the yoga sessions.

The study looked 44 women with breast cancer, 34% of whom were undergoing active treatment. Again, according to the press release, "The study found that women who started with higher negative emotions and lower emotional well-being derived greater benefit from the gentle yoga intervention compared to the control group. Women in the gentle yoga group also demonstrated a significant within-group improvement in fatigue, while no such change was noted for the control group."

This is a good finding because yoga is easy to do and it can be done alone or in a group, which is helpful as it fits your personality and need to either be alone or with others.

To read more of the study, here is the press release: Yoga provides emotional benefits to women with breast cancer.

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Tags: cancer blog, yoga, breast cancer, breast cancer and yoga

Post from: Blisstree

Breast cancer? Yoga may help you

Peggy is not only a winner in sports, she’s a winner in breast cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and is a cancer survivor. She’s written a book about her life, including her fight with breast cancer, called The Long Program: Skating Toward Life’s Victories.

What made me think of her was an article I came across in USA Today, called Peggy Fleming: Happy at 60.

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Image: Amazon.com

Tags: cancer blog, breast cancer, peggy fleming, figure skater peggy flemming, peggy fleming breast cancer, Olympic champion peggy fleming

Post from: Blisstree

Former skater and US Olympic champion, Peggy Fleming years after breast cancer

Until about 20 years ago, Hodgkin’s disease in children was treated very aggressively with high doses of radiation and little else, but the survival rate has increased significantly. Over the past two decades, with improvements in technology and increase in knowledge, the amount of radiation needed and used has almost halved if not replaced completely by chemotherapy in some children.

As well, the total body surface that was exposed to radiation – what used to be the pretty well the entire upper torso – has been made a lot smaller. Hopefully, these changes will help reduce the number of women at risk for breast cancer as this generation of children reach adulthood.

You can read more about the study and its findings at the University of Florida website.

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Image: iStock.com

Tags: cancer blog, hodgins lymphoma, breast cancer, radiation for hodgkins lymphoma

Post from: Blisstree

Girls treated years ago for Hodgkin’s disease have high risk for breast cancer later on

Finding out you have cancer while you’re pregnant brings about many decisions that have to be made, any one of which may make the difference between beating the cancer or not. But, there may be some good news for women who do have to live through this. A new study, just published in the March 15 issue of the journal Cancer.

The researchers, from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, found that women who developed breast cancer either during their pregnancy or within a year after didn’t differ from other women in the same age group in terms of recurrence to the same area, cancer spreading (metastases) and overall survival.

According to a press release issued by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, treatment of pregnancy associated breast cancer (PABC) is often delayed though, not only because of the pregnancy, but because it’s diagnosed later. Pregnant women often don’t notice the changes in their breasts because they associate them with the pregnancy, not cancer. This may delay seeing a doctor and being diagnosed.

"What we did find, however, is that women with PABC presented with more advanced disease, both in the breast and lymph nodes," said Beadle. "These women seem to have a significant delay in diagnosis, and their symptoms were not identified as breast cancer for an extended period of time – putting them at a disadvantage by withholding necessary treatment."

The release goes on to say:

"Women really need to be aware of changes to their breasts that persist, even during pregnancy and to discuss these changes immediately with their doctor," said Perkins. "The study also proves that there’s a vital opportunity for physicians to focus on complete breast care during a patient’s pregnancy, and should include cancer as a possible diagnosis. Persistent complaints should be monitored aggressively, with breast exams, imaging and biopsy, all being conducted as necessary."

To read the full press release, go to Study finds pregnancy has no impact on breast cancer survival, delays treatment, diagnosis

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Image: Newscom

Tags: cancer blog, breast cancer, breast cancer during pregnancy

Post from: Blisstree

Pregnancy doesn’t affect survival from breast cancer

According to a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Cancer (March 1), postmenopausal women who take estrogen and progesterone – compared to women who don’t take the combination HRT – are an increased risk (75%) of developing invasive ductal breast cancer and more than twice the risk for lobular breast cancer. Ductal breast cancer beings in the milk ducts and lobular breast cancer begins in the milk-producing lobules. The risks did drop two years after the HRT was stopped.

For women who take estrogen-only HRT, the risk was much lower. The risk of breast cancer appeared to be higher among "lean" women, but the overall risk wasn’t raised as it was with the combined HRT. The researchers cautioned that long-term estrogen-only HRT did have a history of a 50% increase in invasive lobular cancer in women who took the HRT for 10 years or more.

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Image: iStock

Tags: cancer blog, breast cancer, hormone replacement therapy, hormone replacement therapy breast cancer, lobular breast cancer, ductal breast cancer, HRT, HRT and breast cancer estrogen and progesteron

Post from: Blisstree

Breast cancer risk higher in first 2 years of hormone therapy

Researchers in Australia reviewed studies for a total of almost 4000 women that looked at patient outcomes following traditional lumpectomy or combination lumpectomy with radiation. They found that radiation after lumpectomy decreased the risk of recurrence or invasive cancer appearing in the treated breast by 51%,

You can read more about the findings in this article, Radiation Lowers Relapse Risk In Noninvasive Breast Cancer.

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Tags: breast cancer, cancer blog, DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, radiation after lumpectomy, noninvasive breast cancer

Post from: Blisstree

Radiation plus lumpectomy in DCIS decreases risk of recurrence

Dr Minas Chrysopoulo has offered to write some information on various breast reconstruction issues. What he writes is from his point of view and knowledge. I hope that the series is of interest and help to those who live through breast cancer and helps those who love them understand the issues more clearly.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: What Every Woman Needs To Know – Part III – Perforator Flaps

By Minas Chrysopoulo, MD

The ideal breast reconstruction technique is one which allows reconstruction of a “natural," warm, soft breast with the least impact on the woman’s body. While breast reconstruction with stem cells may not be too far off, until it becomes a reality we are limited to using the woman’s own tissue to achieve these goals. As discussed in the previous posts in this breast reconstruction series, until fairly recently the only tissue reconstruction options involved sacrificing muscle. This made recovery from the surgery difficult and painful, not to mention the risk of long-term muscle function loss and weakness.

Perforator flap techniques use skin and fat from various parts of the body. All muscles are preserved. Since no muscle is sacrificed recovery is much easier and muscle strength and function are preserved long-term.

The downside to these procedures is that they are technically much more demanding than other breast reconstruction techniques and require microsurgical expertise. For this reason they are not offered by many plastic surgeons and patients must be prepared to travel when choosing these procedures. DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) Flap

The DIEP flap is the latest evolution of the TRAM flap (discussed in Part II) and represents today’s gold standard in breast reconstruction.

Images credit: Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo

The DIEP flap procedure is similar to the TRAM flap but only requires the removal of skin and fat. NO MUSCLE is sacrificed. The blood vessels required to keep the tissue alive lay just beneath the abdominal muscle. Therefore, a small incision is made in the abdominal muscle in order to dissect the vessels and microsurgery is required to reattach the blood vessels to the chest area.

Even though an incision is made in the abdominal muscle no abdominal muscle is removed or transferred to the breast in the DIEP flap procedure. As a result, women do not have to sacrifice their abdominal strength and they experience less pain and a much quicker recovery. The risk of abdominal bulging and hernia is also very small.

The DIEP flap was first described in the early 1990s but has remained much less popular than the TRAM flap among plastic surgeons, presumably because of the increased complexity and difficulty of the procedure compared to the TRAM.

So the advantages of the DIEP flap are multiple: it uses living tissue to recreate a breast that often looks and feels like a normal breast; abdominal strength is not affected; the risk of bulging or hernias is significantly reduced; and, like the TRAM flap, the patient benefits from a simultaneous “tummy-tuck.”

The DIEP flap is a very technically demanding operation but the benefits are tremendous for the patient, especially when performed at the same time as a skin-sparing mastectomy.

SIEA (Superficial Inferior Epigastric Artery) Flap: The SIEA flap procedure is very similar to the DIEP flap procedure. The main difference between the SIEA and DIEP is the artery used for blood flow supply to the reconstructed breast. The SIEA arteries are generally found in the fatty tissue just below skin. As in the DIEP the SIEA flap reconstruction does not sacrifice the abdominal muscle and only uses the woman’s skin and fat to reconstruct the breast. While the SIEA flap procedure is similar to the DIEP it is used less frequently since less than 20% of women have the anatomy required to allow this procedure.

GAP (Gluteal Artery Perforator) Flap

Women who do not have an adequate amount of abdominal tissue for reconstruction may be eligible for the GAP flap. This procedure uses excess skin and fat from the gluteal or buttock region. Fat and skin from either the upper or lower buttock region can be used and microsurgically transplanted to the chest. Once again, no muscle is sacrificed. Incisions can generally be hidden by most underwear.

Images credit: Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo

If a woman requires a bilateral reconstruction with GAP flaps most surgeons prefer to only perform one side at a time. It is important to discuss this possibility with your surgeon. Advantages of the GAP flap include: a scar that is generally hidden with underwear or swimsuits, and no loss of muscle function or strength.

Other Breast Reconstruction Options:

TUG (Transverse Upper Gracilis) Flap

 Like the GAP flap, the TUG flap is an option in cases where there is not enough lower abdominal tissue to reconstruct the breast(s). The TUG procedure uses the upper part of the inner thigh; skin, fat and a small amount of muscle are disconnected and transferred to the chest to create the new breast. The woman benefits from a simultaneous inner thigh lift. Once again, this procedure is not widely available due to its complexity and need for microsurgical expertise.

It is important to realize that whichever method of reconstruction is used, the vast majority of women will require 2 or even 3 procedures for the optimal cosmetic result. Each procedure is typically separated by several weeks. The entire reconstructive process, regardless of the method of reconstruction, can therefore take several months to complete. However, breast reconstruction does NOT typically complicate or delay cancer treatment such as chemotherapy.

With all this in mind and also remembering the superior cosmetic results associated with immediate breast reconstruction (reconstruction performed at the same time as mastectomy), it is recommended that women discuss their reconstructive options with a plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction before undergoing mastectomy whenever possible.

For more information about breast reconstruction options please visit www.prma-Enhance.com. For the latest news and developments in breast reconstruction please also visit The Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog.

Dr Chrysopoulo, board certified plastic surgeon, PRMA Plastic Surgery, San Antonio, TX. Specializing in breast reconstruction surgery after mastectomy for breast cancer. Over 350 DIEP flaps performed yearly. In-network for most US insurance plans. Toll Free (800) 692-5565. www.prma-Enhance.com. Latest breast reconstruction news available at The Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog.

Note from Marijke: I don’t have any personal experience with breast cancer and reconstruction issues. The information, particularly of the DIEP flap procedures, is provided by the doctor’s knowledge and experience.

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Tags: breast cancer, breast reconstruction, mastectomy, perforator flaps breast reconstruction, DIEP flap, deep inferior epigastric perforator flap, TRAM flap, SIEA flap, superficial inferior epigastric artery flap, GAP flap, gluteal artery perforator flap, TUG flap, transverse upper gracilis flap

Post from: Blisstree

Breast reconstruction: Perforator flaps

Dr Minas Chrysopoulo has offered to write some information on various breast reconstruction
issues. What he writes is from his point of view and knowledge. I hope that the series is of interest and help to those who live through breast cancer and helps those who love them understand the issues more clearly.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: What Every Woman Needs To Know – Part II – Muscle Flaps

By Minas Chrysopoulo, MD

Women interested in breast reconstruction after mastectomy have several reconstruction options to choose from. In Part I of this series we discussed tissue expanders, breast implants and Alloderm.

Though implant reconstruction remains the most common method of breast reconstruction in the US, many women are now steering away from this option, opting instead to use their own tissue for more “natural” results. Muscle flaps have, until fairly recently, been the only choice available for these tissue reconstructions. The most commonly offered muscle flaps are the latissimus and TRAM flap procedures.

Latissimus Dorsi Flap

The latissimus procedure uses muscle from the back of the shoulder blade which is brought around to the breast mound to help create a new breast. During the procedure a section of skin, fat and muscle is detached from the back and brought to the breast area.

Image credit: Dr. Chrysopoulo

Many women also need a tissue expander placed under the muscle flap in order to obtain a satisfactory result. The expander is replaced by a permanent implant at a second procedure down the line. Women will have a scar on their back shoulder region that can sometimes be seen through a tank top, swimsuit or sundress. The upper back can be numb or sore for a few following this procedure until the nerves grow back and the incisions are completely healed.

Women who are very active in sports should know that this procedure can reduce ability to participate in activities like golf, climbing, swimming, or tennis.

TRAM (Transverse Rectus Abdominis Myocutaneous) Flap: This was the first procedure to describe use of one of the rectus abdominis muscles (sit-up muscles) for breast reconstruction. This procedure begins with an incision from hip to hip rather like a “tummy-tuck”. A “flap” of skin, fat and one of the woman’s abdominal muscles is typically tunneled under the skin to the chest to create a new breast. This is known as a pedicled TRAM flap.

Recovery from the TRAM flap procedure can be difficult and painful and there is a risk of abdominal bulging (or pooching) and even hernia. Long-term, the woman has to adapt to the loss of some abdominal strength (up to 20%) which most active patients will notice.

In cases where both breasts are being reconstructed, both abdominal muscles are sacrificed and transferred to the chest (one for each breast). The loss of abdominal strength in these situations is far greater and very significant. Over the years and with the introduction of microsurgery, the procedure has evolved several times with each modification preserving more and more abdominal muscle. This has made postoperative recovery a little easier and has decreased the potential for abdominal complications somewhat.

The latest evolution in breast reconstruction surgery is the perforator flap. These techniques use skin and fat from various parts of the body. Since no muscle is sacrificed recovery is much easier and muscle strength and function are preserved long-term. These techniques will be discussed in Part III of this series.

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Part I: Every woman has a right to breast reconstruction

Dr Chrysopoulo is a board certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction surgery including the Alloderm one-step and DIEP flap procedures. In-network for most US insurance plans. Toll Free (800) 692-5565. Latest breast reconstruction news available at The Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog.

Note from Marijke: I don’t have any personal experience with breast cancer and reconstruction issues. The information is provided by the doctor’s knowledge and experience.

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Tags: breast reconstruction surgery, cancer blog, breast cancer. mastecomy, mastectomies, muscle flaps breast surgery, latissimus dorsi flap.  transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap

Post from: Blisstree

Muscle flaps in breast reconstruction surgery after breast cancer

This article is the first of a 3-part series on breast reconstruction surgery introducing the reconstructive options available to women facing mastectomy for breast cancer.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: What Every Woman Needs To Know – Part I

By Minas Chrysopoulo, MD

Every woman has a right to breast reconstruction. This has now actually become a federal mandate and insurance companies have to cover all types of breast reconstruction by law. Having said that, it’s also important to remember that it’s not up to the health insurance to decide which reconstruction a woman receives. That’s determined by the woman and her surgeons. Breast reconstruction is not a form of cosmetic surgery – it restores something that nature has provided but cancer has taken away.

There is also no age limit – as long as there are no medical conditions making the surgery unsafe and the breast cancer is diagnosed at an early enough stage, most women are candidates for the surgery. Breast reconstruction can be performed as an immediate or delayed procedure. As the term implies, immediate reconstruction is performed immediately after the mastectomy, while the patient is still under anesthesia. Once the general surgeon has completed the mastectomy, the plastic surgeon begins creating the new breast. Advantages of this approach include the option of preserving most of the breast skin (skin-sparing mastectomy) and a shorter scar. The woman also wakes up “complete” and avoids the experience of a flat chest. Immediate reconstruction provides the best cosmetic results.

Delayed reconstruction generally takes place several months following mastectomy. Women who need to undergo radiation after mastectomy may be advised to delay reconstruction in order to achieve the best results. This delay may last several months in order to allow the tissues to recover as much as possible from the radiotherapy. There are several reconstructive options, ranging from breast implants to autologous techniques using the woman’s own tissue to recreate a more “natural,” warm, soft breast. The nipple and areola can also be restored.

Tissue Expanders and Breast Implant Reconstruction: This is the most common method of reconstructive breast surgery currently being used in the United States. Most surgeons perform this is a 2-stage procedure. The tissue expander is essentially a temporary breast implant which can be placed either at the same time as the mastectomy or after the mastectomy has healed. The expander is used to stretch the skin envelope and recreate the size of breast the woman wants. The expander is ultimately replaced by a permanent implant (saline or silicone) in a separate procedure several months later.

Some women undergoing immediate breast reconstruction are candidates for one-step breast implant reconstruction whereby a permanent implant is inserted at the time of the mastectomy and the woman avoids going through the whole expansion process. In the one-step implant reconstruction the implant is completely covered by the pectoralis muscle and Alloderm (a cadaveric acellular dermal graft). This is specially treated skin from a cadaver that’s used to provide a sling and coverage of the lower part of the implant.

Two types of implants are available to patients: saline and silicone.

Complete implant coverage – breast implant placed under the pectoralis muscle.

Lower portion of implant covered by Alloderm sling.

Image provided by Dr. Chrysopoulo by way of Lifecell.

There are many opinions regarding both types of implants and it is advised that you speak with your surgeon as to which implant would be best for you. Women who undergo implant reconstruction should be aware that their breast implants may need to be replaced at a future date. Implant reconstruction can be the best option for some women. However, tissue expanders and implants can be fraught with complications long-term, particularly if the woman has had or is going to have radiation therapy as part of her cancer treatments. For these reasons, many surgeons and women prefer autologous reconstruction, i.e. reconstruction using the woman’s own tissue taken from another part of the body. These will be discussed in upcoming posts. Part II of the series is Muscle flaps in breast reconstruction surgery after breast cancer and part III on December 31, 2008.

Dr Chrysopoulo is a board certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction surgery including the Alloderm one-step and DIEP flap procedures. In-network for most US insurance plans. Toll Free (800) 692-5565. Latest breast reconstruction news available at The Breast Cancer Reconstruction Blog.

Note from Marijke: I don’t have any personal experience with breast cancer and reconstruction issues. The information, particularly of the Alloderm and DIEP flap procedures, is provided by the doctor’s knowledge and experience.

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Tags: cancer blog, breast cancer, breast reconstruction, saline breast implants, silicone breast implants, breast cancer reconstruction, alloderm, DIEP flap procedure, mastectomy, skin sparing mastectomy, tissue expanders in breast reconstruction

Post from: Blisstree

Every woman has a right to breast reconstruction

First of all, what is HER-2? HER-2 is a protein called human epidermal growth receptor-2. This particular protein encourages or promotes growth of cancer cells in any type of cancer. For some reason, about one third of breast cancers have much more of HER-2 than other cancers due to a gene mutation that can be found through testing.

Over time, doctors learned that women who had HER-2 positive status did much worse than those who were negative, so it became a standard for assessing the outcome for each patient. But, what researchers have learned is that, like everything, this may not be so cut and dry. Using a more precise type of testing, they’ve discovered that they can be more precise, called MammaPrint.

Rather than writing a whole new thing about it, it’s probably best if you read about it from someone who interviewed the founding researcher and wrote about it in the article New Testing Methodology For HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Reveals That Not All Patients Are At Risk for Reoccurrence.

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Tags: cancer blog, HER2 positive breast cancer

Post from: Blisstree

New testing for HER-2 positive breast cancer encouraging