January 23, 2012, 4:09 pm
Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised and these women suffer from severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that the mental issues faced by younger breast cancer survivors were more serious than the physical impacts compared to a general age-matched population of women who didn’t have cancer and those more than 50 years old who did.
The study points to the need for oncologists to let these younger patients know from the beginning of their therapy what may happen to them after it’s finished, said study lead author Dr.
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April 27, 2011, 10:51 pm
FRIDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) — Patients with early stage breast cancers are commonly treated with surgery or surgery plus radiation, and radiation is widely believed to cut local recurrence rates by about half.
Now, researchers report that they have found that surgery plus radiation does cut local recurrences, but appears to increase the risk of invasive breast cancers later.
“I don’t want people to think radiation is bad,” said study author Dr. Janie Weng Grumley, a fellow in breast oncology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
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December 9, 2010, 12:30 am
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) — Contrary to conventional wisdom, lifting weights doesn’t cause breast cancer survivors to develop the painful, arm-swelling condition known as lymphedema, new research suggests.
There’s a hint that weight-lifting might even help prevent lymphedema, but more research is needed to say that for sure, the researchers said.
Breast cancer-related lymphedema is caused by an accumulation of lymph fluid after surgical removal of the lymph nodes and/or radiation.
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