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Deb Haggerty's
Positive Hope Blog |
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For women with breast cancer and their loved ones.
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Customized Care for Breast Cancer This entry was posted on 1/22/2008 2:14 PM and is filed under uncategorized. I hope you all had blessed holidays - ours was very peaceful and quiet this year - a chance for reflection and gratitude. My biggest blessing was getting "fired" by my oncologist. He told me that there was no reason for me to keep seeing him and that my "rebel nature" at dictating what I would and would not do for cancer treatment had served me well. As of this month, January, 2008, I am eight years out from my breast cancer and doing fine.
My mission is encouraging you to take control of your own health care. My oncologist verified that my doing so had benefited me. Medical professionals have heard us. Please look at the recent article published in Artemis - an award-winning e-newsletter. Seem that we've been right! Research Moving Toward Personalizing Breast Cancer Treatment http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/news/news1.04.08.asp Recent research suggests that analyzing individual characteristics of breast cancer tumors can provide a more effective treatment while avoiding unnecessary therapies with often serious side effects. For example, a study presented at a large breast cancer conference in December discussed results of a genetic test called Oncotype DX, which can help predict the likelihood of a breast cancer recurrence, and in doing so, provide information as to whether chemotherapy would be helpful in women whose breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. The test works by analyzing genes in a breast cancer tumor and rating the chances that the breast cancer will return. |