iGoPink: The Breast Cancer Charities of America

When you think of breast cancer, automatically images of women (some you may know personally) enter your mind. However, this disease does not discriminate amongst race or even sex. Although women have a 1 to8 chance of getting breast cancer at some time in their life, men are less likely to seek treatment and therefore, it can be fatal.  Often times men are embarrassed to be screened for breast cancer. Also, in men there is less breast tissue and it is more likely to spread. For this reason, it is important for men to report any lump that they discover.

Dr. Vaughan practices with SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group. “People are sometimes surprised to learn that men have breast tissue,” Dr. Vaughan continues. “Women develop more breast tissue and milk ducts during puberty, however men also have breast ducts, and ductal carcinoma – malignancy of the ducts – is the most common form of male breast cancer.”

The BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene mutation is thought to be responsible for breast cancer in men, as well as, women & prostate cancer in men. Other risk factors include age, heavy alcohol consumption, estrogen exposure, family history, liver disease, radiation treatments to the chest and obesity.

Men who are diagnosed will usually undergo a Masectomy to remove the cancerous tissue. Surgery, chemotherapy or hormone therapy may follow.

    Elizabeth Edwards died at her home on Tuesday, December 7, after a long battle with Breast Cancer.  Doctors stopped all treatment for Edwards because the cancer had spread to her liver and bones. Instead of remaining at the hospital, she decided to go home to spend her last days with her family. When faced with the inevitable decision to be strong in her last days, Edwards decided to embrace death because it is a natural part of life. In her Monday Facebook statement, she said, “The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered.”

   Making a patient with cancer that has spread all over comfortable is really difficult. When breast cancer spreads in the body, bone is the most common place it goes. It’s hard to think of bone as living tissue, but breaking an arm or a leg hurts because our bones are very much alive. Uncontrollable, malignant growth in bone can be excruciatingly painful, especially if the cancerous growths impinge on nerves.

    While most dying patients are confined to a hospital in ICU with IV tubes hooked up to them, Edwards made the choice to spend her final days with the people she cared for the most. And in this case, it was the right choice.

I was browsing through the October issue of Better Homes and Garden when I came across this article about Breast Cancer. The article starts off with a story about a woman named Kathy Smith who’s best friend Valerie age 44, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.  Immediately Kathy tried to schedule a mammogram for herself. Luckily she did because it revealed a cluster of suspicious cells that could be classified as stage IIB. When Kathy was finally in remission, she saw a news report that shocked her.  According to studies, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force suggests that most women in their 40s should not bother getting routine mammograms because screenings do more harm than good. And that women over 50 could skip their mammogram every other year. Kathy wondered why they would make these conclusions considering that her and Valerie would not be alive if they did not go for their routine checkups. The trouble with this way of thinking is that no one can know if they fall into that category of women who will be afflicted with breast cancer before age 50. Since breast cancer can strike anyone at any age, it is better to be safe. How can you be sure if you are in the minority that has breast cancer. Not testing for it is just irresponsible. Celebrities such as Sheryl Crow & Olivia Newton John who were diagnosed in their 40s both defended the decision to have routine mammograms. With rumors that health insurance companies might stop coverage over routine mammograms, congress passed a Health Care Reform Bill to mandate the task force’s guidelines be ignored.

The task force says that the guidelines were not meant to discourage women from getting mammograms, just to raise awareness of the drawbacks of mammograms (such as a false positive).  The important thing is for women to have open communication with their gynecologist. Sometimes a mammogram will find something that isn’t cancer or is non aggressive cancer. The risk is that if you don’t have an annual mammogram you could potentially miss a fast acting cancer that can potentially kill you. Some patients will simply forgo treatments if their gyno doesn’t recommend them.

According to a recent study 67% of doctors will stop offering routine mammograms to women in their 40s. While only 29% of patients said they would stop the frequency of  screenings.  You have to wonder why someone else has a say in an issue concerning your health.  The most concerning factor is that some women are forgoing screenings because these guidelines from the task force went public. Mammography is best among the best diagnostic tools for breast cancer  but it is far from perfect. Out of 2,000 women who get tested, half will get a false positive. This will lead to follow-up tests such as biopsies. For every 1,904 women who get tested, one woman’s life will be saved. By age 50, one woman out of 1,339 women will be saved. The task force looked at these numbers and figured that it was not necessary that every woman be tested. The problem is that if this scares women away from routine mammograms, the minority that could be diagnosed, will not seek testing.  Health experts suggest talking to your doctor before making any rash decisions about mammograms. They will ask you about your lifestyle, family history, and possibilities of false positives. The decision to get a mammogram should be an individual one and not decided by a task force. Kathy Smith is grateful that she got screened in her 40s and so are countless other women.

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

Consumers who want to support breast cancer research through shopping can choose from pink T-shirts, lip gloss and, increasingly, booze.Mike’s Hard Lemonade now comes in a pink variety. Pink wines sport pink ribbons. And Chambord, which markets pink vodka and liqueurs, urges people to “pink their drink,” saying that “by adding a splash of Chambord to any cocktail, you’re supporting breast cancer awareness year-round.”

FACEBOOK CHAT: Dr. Susan Love answers your breast cancer questionsALCOHOL: Women weigh heart benefits vs. breast cancer risk

All of them have given money to breast cancer causes — and highlight the donations in their ads.

That has led to criticism by some breast cancer survivors, who say it’s hypocritical to raise money for research while selling a product that contributes to the disease.

Both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute say even moderate drinking increases breast cancer risk.

“Anybody trying to sell alcohol to promote breast cancer awareness should be ashamed of themselves,” says Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group.

Chambord’s website notes that its Pink Your Drink campaign has raised more than $50,000 in donations for the Breast Cancer Network of Strength and other patient groups.

Mike’s Hard Lemonade has given $500,000 over the past two years to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, company President Phil O’Neil says. The company was inspired by the loss of an employee named Jacqueline who died after a long battle with breast cancer.

“The donations we make to breast cancer research are not tied to sales; they are our way of honoring Jacqueline,” O’Neil said in a statement.

In many cases, cause-related marketing is not about charity, says Dwight Burlingame, associate executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University: “These businesses are promoting their product.”

At least one breast cancer charity is walking away from alcohol-related gifts. “We have a partnership with alcohol, and I don’t understand it, either,” says Cindy Geoghegan, the new interim CEO at Breast Cancer Network for Strength. “Those kinds of relationships will not continue.”

And though the Breast Cancer Research Foundation appreciates donations from Mike’s Hard Lemonade, spokeswoman Anna DeLuca says, the group “in no way, shape or form endorses the consumption of alcohol.”

“This donation does not constitute a partnership,” DeLuca says.

 Courtesy of www.usatoday.com