They Said It’s Breast Cancer…Now What?

Healthy-Women-Breast-CancerFrom the Spring 2011 Healthy Woman publication

Breast cancer...the words no woman wants to hear.

Yet this year, more than 250,000 Americans will hear this diagnosis. And more than 2.5 million Americans are already living with and surviving breast cancer today.

Read on to learn what this sisterhood of breast cancer patients wants you to know about today's treatment options.

How They Know For Sure: Biopsy

A biopsy is the only way to tell for sure if a breast change is benign or cancer. Depending on the size and location of the lesion, a biopsy to remove cells is performed using a needle or through surgery. A pathologist examines the tissue under a microscope and results are available within a day or two.

If It's Cancer, What's Next?

If your biopsy reveals that it's cancerous, surgery is most commonly the next step. "When I meet a patient for the first time, she's usually horribly fearful. I try to calm the waters. I can tell her she's not going to die. Yes, she's come to a fork in the road and will take a new path, but the road of life continues," said Michael Nemeth, MD, a surgeon with Associates in Surgery. "Treatment options are changing and expanding. There are reasons to be optimistic," agreed Mary Klein, MD, an oncologist with Health & Oncology Services, Inc.

Our Two Concerns

"When it's cancer, we have two elements to address: One is local control and the second is metastatic spread," he said. "We need to kill the origin and keep it from finding another place to grow," he said.


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Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-263-4600

Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy

Today, most patients have the opportunity to choose between total removal of a breast (mastectomy) and breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), which is followed by radiation. "Research shows that if we just remove the lump, there's a 45 to 50 percent chance of recurrence. If we add radiation, we reduce the chance of recurrence to three to five percent. If we do a mastectomy, the chance for recurrence remains at three to five percent," explained Nemeth.

Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection

One positive change in treatment is the new thinking regarding lymph nodes. "Today we can spare a lot of women the risk of arm swelling and lymphedema by preserving their lymph nodes," said Nemeth. "Surgeons have learned that one node- the first one in the chain, or the "sentinel" node- is a good indicator of whether the lymph nodes are involved," he said. Today surgeons remove the sentinel node, test it on the spot, and spare the remaining nodes if the sentinel node proves to be negative. As Nemeth explained, "We can be confident that if the sentinel node is negative, the remaining nodes are negative 98 percent of the time, sparing women added surgery and complications."

Other Targeted Therapies

Another advance in cancer treatment is the development of monoclonal antibodies- drugs that can act as a sort of "magic bullet" to selectively target a resistance-causing gene, according to Klein. "We continue to learn more about how these cells function and how we can disable them," she said.

Reduce Your Risk

Certainly report any changes in your breasts to your doctor. To reduce your risk for deadly breast cancer, Klein recommends avoiding a sedentary lifestyle, preventing obesity (particularly after menopause) and limiting alcohol consumption. "These are small considerations, but when you put them all together, they count," she said.

Revealing: The Numbers Behind the Disease

  • 1 in 8: the chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman's life
  • 207,090: number of new cases of invasive breast cancer expected to be diagnosed in 2010
  • 54,010: number of new cases of non-invasive breast cancer expected to be diagnosed in 2010
  • 2nd: breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer
  • 1 in 35: the chance that breast cancer will be a woman's cause of death
  • 2.5 million: the number of breast cancer survivors in the United States (those who have completed or are undergoing treatment)

Healthy-Woman-Cheryl-WallaceIntroducing...Cheryl Wallace

Cheryl Wallace is Porter's new Breast Care Coordinator, a new position created especially for patients who have a suspicious mammogram or a breast cancer diagnosis. The Breast Care Coordinator serves as an advocate, educator, facilitator and partner in the patient's breast care plan. "My role is to be a liaison for patients to help them gain valuable information about treatment and to access resources that can help them through the challenges they're facing," said Wallace. "Along with Porter, I'm committed to making a difference for patients," she said.

Wallace earned her nursing degree from Valparaiso University and has worked in medical/surgical community health, and most recently, at Porter's Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. She can be reached at Porter's Women's Center at 219.263.PINK(7465) or at cheryl.wallace@porterhealth.com