Breast Cancer
Show 1400: Exposing Blind Spots: Unmasking the M…
This week, our guest calls attention to beliefs and practices in medicine that are based on dogma rather than data. Why don’t doctors or researchers question these blind spots? You’ll hear about s…
Will Eating Junk Food Put You at Risk for Cancer…
A lot of people are anxious about developing cancer. A poll in the UK found that 2/3 of those queried are very worried that they will get a cancer diagnosis. Many were concerned that they would not be…
The Resurrection of Aspirin as an Anticancer and…
Aspirin has been getting mixed reviews lately. There’s good news and bad news. Once upon a time doctors recommended low-dose aspirin for middle-aged and older patients to prevent heart attacks and s…
Is Hormone Therapy Safe for Menopausal Women?
For the last 30 years, experts have warned women that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) posed a risk for both breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. That's because investigators published the first…
How Do You Weigh the Benefits and Risks of Aspir…
Aspirin has been around for over 100 years. Moreover, it is one of the most versatile drugs in the pharmacy. This tablet relieves pain, lowers fever and reduces inflammation. In addition, it has anti-…
Show 1341: Lessons Learned from Long Illness
You may not have thought much about long illness, but chances are you know someone who is suffering with one. The CDC estimates that some chronic condition afflicts as many as one in six American adul…
New Guidelines Recommend Women Start Screening M…
The United States Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, has just proposed new guidelines for mammograms. In 2009, the USPSTF recommended that women at average risk for breast cancer start getting…
Will Statin Drugs Help Fight Cancer?
Many people take statin drugs to control their cholesterol. A few years ago researchers at Johns Hopkins found evidence that statin drugs may also help kill cancer cells (PNAS, Feb. 25, 2020). Now, sc…
Do People Who Skip Meat Have a Lower Chance of C…
Colorectal cancer is common and deadly. It is the third most common malignancy and the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the world. A new study published in BMC Medicine reports that diet ca…
Does Regular Vigorous Exercise Cut the Chance of…
Can you run away from cancer? It sounds like a silly question, but new research suggests that regular, vigorous exercise helps protect people from cancer. In addition, metastatic spread is far less co…
Do Doctors Tell the Truth About Medical Mistakes…
There is a very clear code of ethics for the medical profession. Physicians and hospitals are supposed to fully disclose errors and adverse events. That is the policy of the Joint Commission which acc…
Do Hair Care Products for Black Women Raise Risk…
In the United States, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause. In addition, they are more likely to die of this disease at any age. Now scientists suggest that …
COVID-19 Vaccine May Give False Positive Mammogr…
An unexpected consequence of COVID vaccination may be false positive mammograms. Radiologists are reporting swollen lymph nodes in the armpit that are triggering concern during routine mammography (Jo…
Hair Dyes and Cancer? Is the Risk Real?
For many decades, scientists have been struggling with the question of whether hair dyes increase the risk of cancer. In 1980 we wrote this in our book, The People’s Pharmacy-2 (Avon Books): “Some…
Do Onions and Garlic Cut the Risk of Breast Canc…
Scientists suggest that the Puerto Rican culinary tradition of incorporating sofrito into many dishes might help explain a lower rate of breast cancer on the island (Nutrition and Cancer, Aug. 12, 201…
Should You Take a Drug to Prevent Breast Cancer?
Should doctors be prescribing a drug to prevent breast cancer? The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) suggests that women at high risk of the disease would probably benefit from anti-estrogen …
Will Oolong Tea Prevent Breast Cancer?
A collaboration between American and Chinese scientists has found evidence that oolong tea may help prevent breast cancer. Not just any tea will do, however. About two percent of the tea consumed in t…
Do NOT Trust People Smiling During Drug Commerci…
Have you ever smiled at a stranger and received a smile in return? It inevitably makes you feel good. Everyone loves a smile. It disarms us and makes us feel warm and fuzzy about the person smiling. B…
Are Organic Food Enthusiasts Protected from Canc…
French scientists have added a new entry to the long-running debate over organic food. Some previous research has focused primarily on whether organic food is more nutritious than conventionally-grown…
Is Melatonin Safe for Night Shift Nurse?
People who do shift work put their bodies through a lot of stress. Most of us adapt to getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. If we are reasonably regular about the times, our body clock…
Will Extra Vegetables Protect You Against Breast…
Your mother was right when she urged you to eat your vegetables. And if she took her own advice and consumed extra vegetables, she was lowering her own risk of breast cancer. What Is the Value of Extr…
Can Acupuncture Help Your Joint Pain?
Can acupuncture help your joint pain? The answer might be yes, if you are a woman being treated for breast cancer. Many postmenopausal women with breast cancer may receive aromatase inhibitors such as…
Can Women Lower Breast Cancer Risk with Vitamin …
Vitamin D levels may be important as a way for women to lower breast cancer risk. That is the conclusion from an epidemiological study (PLOS One, June 15, 2018). Which Women Had a Lower Breast Cancer …
Can You Skip Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer?
Some women with the most common type of breast cancer might safely skip chemotherapy. That’s the finding from a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and published in …
Super Immune Therapy Gave One Woman Her Life Bac…
An experimental immune therapy conducted on a single breast cancer patient has captured a great deal of attention this week. The 49-year-old woman, Judy Perkins, had metastatic breast cancer that had …
Could Foods Block the Benefit of Breast Cancer T…
Women being treated for a certain type of breast cancer may want to control their diets to maximize the effectiveness of their breast cancer treatment. Some estrogenic compounds in foods apparently in…
Do Oral Contraceptives Cause Breast Cancer? The …
The New England Journal of Medicine (Dec. 7, 2017) has answered a long-simmering controversy about hormonally-based contraception. In a nutshell, birth control pills do raise the risk of breast cance…
How Good Is Aspirin Against Cancer in New Study?
In 1993 we published a book with Tom Ferguson, MD, called The Aspirin Handbook (Bantam Books). In it we pointed out that there was an impressive amount of research supporting the beneficial effects of…
How Helpful is Lymph Node Removal During Breast …
The history of breast cancer surgery is a tale of woe and intrigue. It is a story of strong personalities and procedures that were based more on beliefs than on science. Old ideas die hard. It took ye…
How Many Breast Cancer Survivors Suffer Nerve Pa…
Chemotherapy saves lives, but it can also result in long-lasting side effects. Until recently, oncologists did not know how often breast cancer survivors had to live with pain as a result of their tre…
Can Curcumin in Turmeric Fight Pancreatic Cancer…
Pancreatic cancer is a challenging disease. The American Cancer Society puts one-year survival rates around 20%. Five-year survival is roughly 8%. That compares to five-year survival for prostate, thy…
Hair Dye & Breast Cancer?
A new study published in the journal Carcinogenesis suggests that dark-colored hair dyes may be linked to breast cancer. That means that millions of baby boomers are caught on the horns of a dilemma. …
What Is the Link Between Drinking and Breast Can…
Women who want to avoid breast cancer should go easy on the alcohol, according to a new report. What's the connection between drinking and breast cancer? A Collaborative Review of Drinking and Breast …
How Does Bisphenol A Affect Breast Cancer?
Bisphenol A, BPA, is a compound that keeps hard plastics hard. We also find it in certain cash register receipts and the linings of most food cans. As a result, most of us are exposed to BPA every d…
Is Bisphenol S Just as Risky as Bisphenol A?
Bisphenol A (BPA) has acquired a nasty reputation as an endocrine disruptor. Manufacturers have been scrambling to find alternatives to this compound. But are the replacements, such as bisphenol S, re…
Do Mammograms Lead to Overdiagnosis of Breast Ca…
Mammograms to screen for breast cancer have long been controversial. When should women start having mammograms and how often should they get one for optimal detection of breast cancer? Will routine ma…
How to Make Sense of New Prostate Cancer Researc…
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is creating confusion for physicians and patients. The ProtecT (Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment) trial was designed to answer the que…
Staying Active Can Help Prevent Chronic Health P…
Exercise remains one of the most powerful interventions for promoting health and preventing disease. An article in the BMJ reviewed 174 studies published over 25 years. The scientists evaluated the am…
How to Fight Breast Cancer with Hops
Hops are the seed cones of the plant Humulus lupulus. They give beer its distinctive flavor, but they may have benefits beyond beer. An extract of hops might someday play a role in breast cancer prev…
How to Overcome Fatigue with Acupressure
Cancer treatment can result in fatigue that may last many months after the treatment is finished. Michigan scientists may have found a technique that can help overcome fatigue, however. How Can Brea…