Should mammogram be delayed

Recently an influential task force in the US has proposed that the
annual mammogram for women starting at age 40 need not be carried
out contending that such tests only cause anxiety , costly follow-ups and
even disfigurement when biopsies, surgery and chemotherapy had to be performed.The panel even recommends that women over 50 to 74 should do the test every other year.
Several breast cancer experts and patient advocacy groups welcome this
advice stating that more testing and treatments may not always be beneficial and can in fact cause harm to those involved.
This recommendation is against the medical norm of annual testing and the Cancer Society completely disagree with the statement
Professor Daniel Kopans of the Harvard Medical School had strong words against the panel referring to the recommendation as unethical.
Mammography for most women is mildly uncomfortable and the sensation lasts for just a few seconds.
Medical records have proven that thousands have been saved by mammography and a general sweeping statement of this sort may not be in the interest of women throughout the world.
It is best for women to listen to the advice of medical practitioners
as prevention is better than cure.

Regrowing The Breast Tissue After Mastectomy

While several scientist are focused on finding ways to cure breast cancer,
there are those that endeavour to find ways to regrow a disfigured breast
after a mastectomy or lumpectomy. A lumpectomy is a breast conserving surgery which usually is followed by radiation therapy.
Australian scientists will be making trial runs to try and regrow the breast after a woman have had surgery on her breast. Presently,women only have the option to carry out a breast reconstruction and implants
after they have had surgery on their breast. This procedure calls for the insertion of the women’s fat tissue in a chamber ,shaped similar to the women's breast and then connecting a blood vessel to the tissue.
. The procedure follows nature’s abhorrence of void such that when the chamber is empty the breast tissues will grow in the void space..
Using a biodegradable chamber means the chamber will dissolve once
the tissue have grown.
While there is joy of such improvements in breast reconstruction, more importantly is the prevention and or cure of the disease.With the availability of this procedure presumably more women would prefer a mastectomy as against lumpectomy which would usually be followed by radiotherapy treatment.
.

Recent Discovery on Proteins in Breast Cancer

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS),which includes Professor Edison Liu and Dr. Edwin Cheung have developed a technique which would enhance the understanding how proteins regulate genes that causes breast cancer. .
A method known as ChIA-PET technology was used in the studies which made a significant finding that certain transcription factors known as oestrogen receptor controls a wide array of genes that stimulate cancer cells to grow.
Oestrogen’s main function is tissue growth and cell proliferation in specific areas in the body. It also promotes the development and maintenance of the female reproductive system.
The oestrogen receptor is important as it controls an on/off switch for genes that cause cancer cells to vigorously multiply.
The new technique enables scientists to pinpoint the set of proteins that controls the genes that stimulates cancer cells to grow and an expert in genomics, Prof Edward Rubin director of the US Department of Energy Joint Genomic Institute and a member of the scientific advisory board of GIS said the study shows on a massive genome- wide scale the interactions between specific enhancers and the genes they regulate.
The discovery provides a complete knowledge and understanding of human DNA which carries the genetic information of all living things.
In breast cancer, the female hormonal system stimulates the genes that activate cancer cells to multiply.
Treatment presently is by blocking this stimuli to activate but a complete understanding of the whole mechanism has still to be unraveled.
This discovery, however is significant as it opens a spectrum of possibilities to make this dreaded disease a thing of the past and women throughout the world may one day need never to worry about the disease and thoughts of having to disfigure a beautiful part of their body when surgery has to be performed.