Breast Cancer Expert PJ Hamel shares Breast Cancer management news and commentary at MyBreastCancerNetwork.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/103123/herceptin Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:18:13 -0500 PJ Hamel For certain women with metastatic HER2+ breast cancer, life just got a little bit brighter – literally. On January 29, the FDA granted approval to a new combination drug therapy – Tykerb (lapatinib), and Femara (letrozole) – for post-menopausal women with estrogen-receptive, HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer. Studies released at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium last December show that the... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/103123/herceptin http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/102635/evidence-based Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:08:30 -0500 PJ Hamel As you’re probably well aware, the U.S. Preventive Task Force released new breast cancer screening guidelines last November. And the ensuing furor highlighted a huge issue, one that will only become more and more prominent as America’s health-care delivery system makes its way down the rocky path to reality.Evidence-based medicine. Remember those words, because you’re going to be hearing them over and over again in the coming... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/102635/evidence-based http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/101568/news-sabcs Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:25:42 -0500 PJ Hamel The annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held last month, is the premier scientific symposium in the world for breast oncologists, breast cancer researchers, and associated healthcare professionals. Last year’s session included the presentation of over 1,000 scientific papers related to breast cancer; this year’s agenda was similar.The majority of these papers detail the results of ongoing breast-cancer research ... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/101568/news-sabcs http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/100691/care Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:37:11 -0500 PJ Hamel You find a lump in your breast. You report it to your doctor, and a mammogram becomes an MRI, then a biopsy, then a diagnosis: breast cancer.What’s your next move?You do what your doctor tells you. You set up appointments at your local hospital with a surgeon to remove the tumor, and an oncologist to direct your treatment. You plunge in: surgery, chemo, radiation, drugs. Treatment finished, you live happily ever after. Right?Maybe. But... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/100691/care http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/99775/case-vibrating Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:13:00 -0500 PJ Hamel With thousands of posts on this site stretching back nearly 5 years, you’d assume the most engaging topic would be something like this: “I have a lump in my breast, what could it be?” Or, “What’s chemo like?” Or conversation around a tough decision, like “Should I have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy?” While these topics would be expected to generate reader interest and response, none comes close... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/99775/case-vibrating http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/98820/resolutions-ii Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:20:53 -0500 PJ Hamel Are you a breast cancer survivor?If so, please read our post on minimizing your recurrence risk.But if you’re a healthy woman trying to ensure you’ll never have to deal with breast cancer, read on.First of all, please understand that researchers don’t understand what causes breast cancer, and so can’t tell us how to prevent it. It’s still a random disease; up to 85% of women who get breast cancer have no known risk... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/98820/resolutions-ii http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/98181/resolutions-10 Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:00:25 -0500 PJ Hamel “I always make New Year’s resolutions, and I never keep them. Why bother?”I’ll tell you why: because the following resolutions are on a different plane from your usual vows to call your mother at least once a week, or lose 10 pounds. This year, you’re resolving to do everything you can to help prevent a breast cancer recurrence. You went through the long, tough treatment – slash, poison, burn –... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/98181/resolutions-10 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/97342/degrees-loss Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:24:52 -0500 PJ Hamel When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, what’s the first thing you think?I know what you feel, for sure: shock. “Cancer? Me?? But… why?”For most of us, the words “cancer” and “death” are inextricably entwined. Tremendous strides in research and preventive screening have made certain types of cancer much less deadly than they used to be, particularly colon and breast cancer. But still,... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/97342/degrees-loss http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/95865/sleep-ve-place Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:48:00 -0500 PJ Hamel You glance at the clock: 2:18 a.m. You turned in after the 11 p.m. news, but you’re still awake. You vowed to simply relax – close your eyes – let your worries go – fall asleep.Didn’t work, did it?We’ve all had nights like this. Cancer is the original Big Gorilla in the Corner. Awfully hard to ignore, even in the light of day. But at night? Every awful fear you have bubbles to the top of your brain, a cauldron... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/95865/sleep-ve-place http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/95864/reconstruction Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:43:28 -0500 PJ Hamel Q. I’m having a mastectomy, and after hearing about the various choices I have for reconstruction, I’ve decided to have an implant. Now I have to make the decision whether to have the implant done right away, or wait till later. Help, I’m stuck!A. One-stage (immediate) reconstruction with an implant is done at the same time you have your mastectomy; two-stage (delayed) is done at some point in the future, after the mastectomy... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/95864/reconstruction