Some Senior Breast Cancer Patients Don't Get Full Treatment

Women over age 66 with metastatic breast cancer don't always get the full range of post-mastectomy treatments. A study done at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston showed that almost half of all senior women with advanced breast disease do not get radiation therapy after their surgery.
The researchers sifted through data from 38,000 women older than 66 who had a mastectomy between 1999 and 2005. In the group that was studied, 8,000 patients had metastatic breast cancer, but fewer than 4,000 had radiation in addition to surgery. Guidelines recommending that radiation be offered to women with advanced disease after a mastectomy were published during the six years that this study covered. So experts recognized the benefits of radiation for breast cancer, even after a breast is removed - remember that the chest wall and lymph nodes may be affected - but many women didn't get the additional treatment. Dr. Benjamin Smith, a co-author on this study, considered the possible reasons behind these results.
Many patients may have been offered radiation, but decided not to take it. Before the guidelines were published, most oncologists considered radiation to be ineffective after a mastectomy. So a historical prejudice against post-mastectomy radiation may have stood in the way of additional treatment for some women.  In other cases, women who were over 80 years old seemed to be least likely to take radiation after breast surgery. These patients may considered the tradeoffs between quality of life and longevity, and decided that life during six or more weeks of radiation - plus recovery time - did not seem like their best choice.  The women may not have lived within close distance to a radiation clinic, so driving or staying in a hotel during treatment may have not been an option. Cost of treatments and access to health insurance could also be a factor.
If you were age 66 or older at diagnosis, would you want the full range of treatments for advanced breast cancer?  Or would you prefer to stick with the basic surgery and chemotherapy that many patients opt for?  What would influence your decision?

Farewell, Betty Ford - Born to be Outspoken

Former First Lady Betty Ford has died of natural causes at age 93. Mrs. Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer during President Ford's tenure in the White House, and she made that news public. Betty Ford broke the silence barrier that had cloaked breast cancer, and opened the door to public discussion of the disease and it's prevention and treatment. "I think I was born to be outspoken," she said. "Hopefully, it's been to the benefit of others."
Betty Ford's candor has certainly benefited many of us, and will continue to do so for many years to come.  She was open about her mastectomy for breast cancer, and about a year and a half out of the White House, she started treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.  No dark secrets for the former Betty Anne Bloomer - who once worked as a dance teacher and fashion model.  She married former lawyer Gerald Ford after a brief first marriage, and was swiftly introduced into the world of national politics.  The Fords had four children and Betty shouldered much of the traditional roles around their home, while keeping up with politics and society.
Ford served in Congress for 13 terms and eventually won the position of House Minority Leader.  In late 1973, Ford became Nixon's second-term Vice President.  As the Watergate Scandal broke and public outcry and distrust of the Nixon leadership mounted, President Nixon took the unprecedented step of resigning from office.  Gerald Ford then became the 38th President of the United States.  Just a few weeks after Ford took office, Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine checkup, and the role of First Lady would never be the same!
Betty Ford used her gift of outspokenness to lobby for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), abortion, and equality in divorce.  She took the once hush-hush topic of breast cancer out of the closet and into the public spotlight.  Her candor about her mastectomy and diagnosis inspired many other women to start doing routine breast self-exams and mammograms.  After leaving the White House, Betty Ford was forced to face her addiction to pain medications and alcohol.  Again she was open about this previously taboo topic.  Her recovery paved the way for the establishment of the Betty Ford Center for rehabilitation and recovery.  She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush in 1991, and eight years later a Congressional Gold Medal as well as the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service.
Mrs. Ford had a difficult task as First Lady, helping the nation to regain trust in the government after a historic national scandal.  She could have kept her diagnosis private - she would have had every resource available to help her cope, but she chose otherwise.  Betty Ford said, "We were in a position where my husband had been sworn into office during a very, very difficult time. There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford Administration. So rather than continue this traditional silence about breast cancer, we felt we had to be public."  I'm so glad she made that outspoken choice!

Vitamin D Reduces Bone Loss For Breast Cancer Patients

If you're taking aromatase inhibitors after having treatment for estrogen-sensitive breast cancer, you may want to add some Vitamin D to your pill stash.  Many aromatase inhibitors contribute to the progress of osteoporosis - bone loss - as well as preventing a recurrence of breast cancer.  A small study done with 156 postmenopausal women found that patients who took Vitamin D or D3 as well as calcium while taking Aromasin, Arimidex, or Femara had less bone density loss than patients who did not use Vitamin D or bisphosphonate drugs (Fosamax, Evista).
"The bone loss was less, the higher your vitamin D level was maintained," said researcher Dr. Thomas J. Smith of Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. "This is one of the first intervention studies," Smith said. "And the results are pretty striking." Dr. Smith worked with Dr. Sonia Servitja of Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain to monitor Vitamin D concentrations and bone loss.  The women in the study were evaluated at the beginning of their aromatase inhibitor therapy, and again at three months and at the one-year mark.
Breast cancer patients who took Vitamin D in doses larger than 400 to 800 IU/day had less bone loss than the average patient on aromatase inhibitors.  Higher doses of Vitamin D, taken with calcium (1 g) resulted in better bone health.  Drs. Smith and Servitja presented the results of their study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.