Doctors want to find spreading cancer
More patients are surviving initial tumors long enough for their brains to be at risk, as treatments get better at battling cancer below the neck yet fail to protect the brain.
Now, breast specialists in particular are reporting an increasing number of women who beat back cancer elsewhere in the body, only to have it flare in the brain. It seems to be a special concern among users of Herceptin, a powerful drug that targets an aggressive type of breast cancer - everywhere except in the brain, because it's too large a molecule to penetrate the blood-brain barrier ...
It's scary because Herceptin is the drug I'm on through the end of the year. Fortunately, I see my oncologist tomorrow, so this will be something to ask about.
I had an MRI soon after I was diagnosed, and at that time it was clean. But I think at least one followup ought to be in the plan for the year. I've seen on a couple bulletin boards where women with bc had it spread to their brains, and it didn't sound good -- headaches, vision problems, vomiting, surgeries, rehab. Since I'm in the car about 30-40 minutes a day (that doesn't include if I have to go get lunch), I really don't want to risk something happening while I'm behind the wheel.
Anyway, it's the start of week three of radiation. So far so good. The breast is a bit tender and itchy at times, but no burning or anything yet.
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Breast Cancer death
Common Breast Cancer Myths
The first myth pertaining to this disease is that it only affects women.
Second myth that is associated with this disease is that if one has found a lump during an examination, it is cancer.
Third is that it is solely hereditary
The next myth associated with breast cancer is downright ridiculous. Would you believe, that in this day and age, some individuals still think that breast cancer is contagious?
Conversely, some individuals foolishly believe that breast size determines whether or not one gets cancer.
Finally, another myth that is associated with this disease is that it only affects older people. This is not so. Although the chance of getting breast cancer increases with age, women as young as 18 have been diagnosed with the disease.
You can find a number of helpful informative articles on Breast Cancer death at breast-cancer1.com
Breast Cancer death
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