Life Doesn't End With Cancer

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

(William Shakespeare)

When the doctor confirmed that the symptoms are of cancer, my world fell apart; for minutes, I couldn't think anything; it was like somebody suddenly took the life out of my body. It took me days before I could come to terms with what life had thrown at me. I met the doctor for discussing the possible ways out. He suggested chemotherapy and radiation to kill the cancerous cells in my body, which were growing like anything. I had no option but to believe and do what my doctor told me.

The treatment went well, but I was advised for a bone marrow transplant. I hadn't heard about it before, but my doctor explained me everything. Bone Marrow is that spongy area in some specific bones in our body, where stem cells grow; these stem cells then transform in three types of blood cells, which are white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The cancer treatment may result in lesser blood cells in the body, and thus, doctors may suggest a bone marrow transplant so as to repair body's ability to generate cells. My doctor told me all about stem cell transplant in such a manner that I instantly got it all.

Today, it's been over 6 months since I underwent the treatment; I'm fit and happy. Early detection of cancer enhanced my success changes. The doctors were great, and so were the support staff. One more thing: I won't ever be able to forget the support that I got from my family and friends. Without these great folks, I wouldn't be able to get back, and start my life afresh. There is one more thing that I want to share with you, and that is: cancer forced me to reschedule my priorities in life, and made me understand the real value of life and family. The support group that I'd joined was immensely helpful during my rehabilitation period. In fact, I also started a blog on cancer in my bid to help those suffering from this disease.

Treatments like Bone Marrow Transplant are life-saving procedures for patients with blood-related diseases and conditions, as well as those who've developed cancer. It's very important that you look for the best hospital in the city, and talk about the treatment options so you choose the best way out. Now that everything is available online, you can find a lot of related information about cancer hospitals in your city, and country. Cost of the treatment is something that you should have a plan for, so nothing emerges as a surprise.

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Diagnosis of Early Breast Cancer Doesn’t Shorten Life Expectancy of Older Women

Among women age 67 or older, a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or Stage I breast cancer doesn’t appear to worsen survival; survival is similar to that of older women without breast cancer. Diagnosis of more advanced breast cancer, however, is linked with worse survival. These results were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Older women are a rapidly expanding segment of the U.S. population. The incidence of breast cancer increases with age, but it’s been uncertain how a diagnosis of breast cancer (particularly early-stage breast cancer) affects life expectancy among older women.

To explore the impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on the survival of older women, researchers conducted a study among more than 64,000 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 67 or older. Survival in these women was compared with survival in a group of similarly aged women without breast cancer. In the analysis, the researchers accounted for the other health problems, prior mammography use, and sociodemographic variables.??

Women who were diagnosed with DCIS or Stage I breast cancer and received standard treatment had similar survival to women without breast cancer. The most common cause of death among women with DCIS or Stage I breast cancer was cardiovascular disease. Women with Stage II or higher breast cancer had shorter survival than women without breast cancer. Risk of death was 50% higher among women with Stage II breast cancer, three-times higher among women with Stage III breast cancer, and close to 10-times higher among women with Stage IV breast cancer. The survival differences between women with advanced breast cancer and women without breast cancer decreased with age.

These results suggest that among older women, a diagnosis of DCIS or Stage I breast cancer does not shorten life expectancy.

Reference: Shonberg MA, Marcantonio ER, Ngo L, Li D, Silliman RA, McCarthy EP. Causes of death and relative survival of older women after a breast cancer diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Early online publication March 14, 2011.

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Pregnancy Doesn’t Appear to Worsen Breast Cancer Outcomes

According to the results of a study conducted at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with chemotherapy while pregnant have a better disease-free survival (survival without a cancer recurrence or a new cancer) than women who are not pregnant at the time of diagnosis. Overall survival was similar in the two groups of patients. These results were presented at the 2010 Breast Cancer Symposium.

Previous reports have suggested that being pregnant at the time of diagnosis worsens breast cancer outcomes. This may have been due to older approaches to cancer treatment, in which pregnant women received less effective cancer treatment than non-pregnant women or delayed cancer treatment until after the birth of the baby.

A recent study compared breast cancer outcomes between pregnant and non-pregnant women who were treated with 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC).[1] In pregnant women, treatment with FAC was administered after the first trimester of pregnancy. When additional therapies—such as hormonal therapy—were warranted, these were started after the woman gave birth. Each of the 54 pregnant breast cancer patients treated was matched with two non-pregnant patients based on age and stage of cancer.

Overall survival between pregnant and non-pregnant women was similar. In fact, pregnant women appeared to have a slightly better overall five-year survival (77%) than their non-pregnant counterparts (72%). ??????????? This difference, however, was not statistically significant and may be the result of chance alone.

For five-year disease-free survival, results were significantly better for pregnant women: 74% versus 56% for non-pregnant women.

These results suggest that with current approaches to treatment, pregnancy does not worsen breast cancer outcomes. In a prepared statement, one of the authors of the study stated “Now, when we are counseling breast cancer patients who are pregnant, we can say that they should have every expectation that they will do as well as our non-pregnant patients, and that they should start their treatment in the second or third trimester without delay.”[2]

References:

[1] Litton JK, Warneke CL, Hahn K, et al. Case-control analysis of patients (pts) treated with chemotherapy during pregnancy for breast cancer (BC). Presented at the Breast Cancer Symposium, Washington, DC, October 1-3, 2010. Abstract 105.

[2] MD Anderson News Release. UT MD Anderson Study Finds Women Treated for Breast Cancer While Pregnant Have Improved Survival. 09/29/10.

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