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Focus on Women's Health Seminar:
Breast Cancer Care | |
Dr. Harry Bear, chief of Surgical Oncology at VCU Massey. will discuss the value of doctors utilizing a team approach from the very beginning of a patient's breast cancer diagnosis in order to provide the best individualized combination of treatments.
This educational presentation will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens on October 28, 2010. Light refreshments will be provided. The seminar is free, but registration is required. To register, please call (804) 828-0123.
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Save the date | |
October 21, 2010
Saks Key to the Cure presented by U.S. Trust
An annual evening of fashion and sophisticated fun, including tastings from the area's finest restaurants, live music, and a "White Coats for the Cure" fashion show, showcasing cancer survivors and researchers modeling lab coats creatively designed by local artists. Tickets are $100 per person and benefit VCU Massey's research on women's cancers.
Saks Fifth Avenue at Stony Point Fashion Park, 6:00 PM
More: Stephanie Jenks, 827-0642
www.massey.vcu.edu/keytothecure
October 27, 2010
Breast Cancer's a Witch
A frighteningly fun "ghoul's night out" with fantastic shopping, wine, food, and the opportunity to bid on beautiful witch hats designed and decorated by local celebrities and friends of VCU Massey. Along with 100% of the auction proceeds, The Shops at 5807 will donate a percentage of the evening's sales to Massey's breast cancer research.
Free!
The Shops at 5807, 6:00 PM
More: Stephanie Jenks, 827-0642
Pink Ribbons of Hope Events
This series of events raises money specifically for breast cancer research at VCU Massey.
More: Ashley Burton, 828-0883
www.pinkribbonsofhope.org
* October 25, 2010
Bridge & Mah Jongg at The Country Club of Virginia
* October 27, 2010
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Golf Tournament | |
Visit the Calendar
for exciting events coming soon.
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| Volume 3, Issue 7 |
October, 2010
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JOIN MASSEY IN RECOGNIZING OCTOBER AS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH |
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, find out the many ways VCU Massey Cancer Center is making strides in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, and the ways in which you can celebrate and support these advances. A National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, VCU Massey is helping to lead and shape the nation's fight against breast and other cancers. |
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Massey's latest research advances in breast cancer |
New drug combination proves effective against aggressive breast cancer cells
In pre-clinical experiments, VCU Massey researchers Paul Dent, PhD, Richard Moran, PhD, and colleagues found that even the most aggressive breast cancer cells are killed by combining the commonly-but-separately-used drugs Pemetrexed and Sorafenib. The promising, synergistic killing effect of this new drug combination may quickly translate to phase I clinical trials in breast cancer patients, including triple negative patients whose disease often does not respond to conventional chemotherapy. This is wholly a VCU discovery. Read more about how Massey is defining new treatments.
More than 20 clinical trials are testing the latest treatments for breast cancer Clinical trials help doctors tell if a new treatment works, and is safe. Thousands of cancer patients have taken part in this kind of research, and all of today's cancer drugs were tested this way. Massey is currently conducting more than 20 clinical trials on breast cancer. (To see the full listing, specify "breast" in the "disease site" field on our clinical trials search page.) Here is a sampling: - VCU Massey is conducting a phase III clinical trial that may lead to shortened breast cancer radiation therapy from five days a week for up to seven weeks to just twice a day for five to 10 days. This is a national trial, which Massey's Douglas W. Arthur, M.D., designed in collaboration with surgeons and radiation oncology investigators around the country. This is the first study that directly compares the effectiveness of whole breast irradiation to partial breast irradiation.
- Another phase III trial is studying for the first time the effectiveness of a targeted drug combination involving Trastuzumab and Lapatinib on patients with aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer. Researchers hope these tests can predict which tumors will be completely killed by the drug combinations used in this study.
Read more about these trials. |
Know your risks for breast cancer |
by Claire Anderson, VCU Genetic Counseling graduate student
A woman born today has a one-in-eight chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime. In other words, 12.5 percent of these women will face a diagnosis leading to many decisions. One decision may be whether to have both breasts removed (bilateral mastectomies) to prevent cancer in the other breast in the future. A common question is: "Should I choose surgery or close monitoring?"
One way to address such difficult questions is by knowing your risks.
Women with breast cancer at young ages have higher risks for a second breast cancer. Women with a family history of breast cancer might also have higher risks. For some women, genetic testing can help them evaluate their chances. This might include BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing.
Genetic counselors are specialists who can help interpret test results and calculate cancer risk. If you would like help in assessing your risks, make an appointment with a genetic counselor in the Familial Cancer Clinic at VCU Massey Cancer Center by calling (804) 828-5116.
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When to get a mammogram? |
VCU Massey recommends screening mammography annually for most women starting at age 40. In some women at high risk for breast cancer, the Center recommends screening to start at age 30. These guidelines are based on strong scientific evidence.
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Local women share their stories about breast cancer | |
In 2007, a group of women in Richmond engaged filmmakers to explore the stories of local breast cancer survivors. Led by members of VCU Massey's Advisory Board, the group facilitated the ability of several survivors to express themselves on video. The result is as powerful in creating awareness of breast cancer today as it was then. Read more about the making of this video.
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Key leukemia defense mechanism identified at Massey
Steven Grant, M.D., and a team of VCU Massey researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which leukemia cells trigger a protective response when exposed to a class of cancer-killing agents known as histone deacetylase inhibitors. The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could lead to more effective treatments in patients with leukemia and other cancers of the blood. Read more about these findings.
Drug combination that shrinks tumors in vivo discovered at Massey
VCU School of Medicine and Massey Cancer Center researchers have shown that the impotence drug Viagra, in combination with doxorubicin, a powerful anti-cancer drug, enhances doxorubicin's anti-tumor efficacy in prostate cancer while alleviating the damage to the heart at the same time. Read more about this discovery.
Grant to study brain cancer given to Massey researcher
VCU Massey researcher Devanand Sarkar, Ph.D., was recently awarded a five-year grant totaling $450,000 by the James S. McDonnell Foundation to analyze a gene linked to brain cancer. Sarkar will analyze the role of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) in normal brain functions and in the development and progression of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an extremely aggressive brain cancer. These studies may provide new insight on the function of AEG-1 and help guide future brain cancer research and treatments. Read more about this grant.
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Momentum is published by the VCU Massey Cancer Center.
David Raine, Jr. Communications Coordinator dlraine@vcu.edu 804-628-1829
If you have questions about cancer, cancer treatments or survivorship, e-mail AskMassey@vcu.edu.
To learn more about VCU Massey Cancer Center, please visit our Web site at www.massey.vcu.edu. |
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