What is lymphedema? Lymph is a clear fluid that contains white blood cells (these cells help fight infections). Lymph vessels, like blood vessels, run all through the body carrying lymph, cells and other material. Lymph from tissues and organs drains into the lymph vessels and is carried to the lymph nodes where it is filtered. While lymph […]

With continuing advances in treatment, an increasing number of people diagnosed with breast cancer will live for many years. Today, there are more than 2.9 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.1 As survivors live longer, we are learning more about the late effects of breast cancer treatment. Treatment saves lives, but some treatments may […]

Most of us have heard the term “clinical trials”, but haven’t given it much thought.  Like a lot of important things that fly under the radar, clinical trials have had a huge impact on society. At their most basic, clinical trials are a type of research study that tests the safety and effectiveness of ways to […]

Menopause begins most often in the late forties or early fifties. Medically, a woman is considered in menopause 12 months after her menstrual periods have stopped. However, hot flashes and other symptoms may occur a few years before menopause begins and may continue for five or more years.1 The severity and duration of symptoms vary from […]

It’s one of the mysteries of breast cancer: the fact that a large percentage of women at high risk of breast cancer choose not to take medications that could help prevent the disease. By some estimates, less than five percent of women eligible for such medications actually take them.1-2 For a disease many women say is […]

Sometimes, certain neighborhoods or towns appear to have more breast cancer than others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a cancer cluster as a greater than expected number of cancer cases occurring within a group of people in a geographic area over a period of time.1 When an excess number of cancers occurs, […]

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do for your health. However, the percentage of Americans who are overweight or obese is higher than ever.  Currently, about 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women in the U.S. are overweight or obese (defined as a body mass index (BMI) of […]

It’s not hard to find media stories promoting the cancer-fighting benefits of one food or another. What can be hard is knowing whether today’s headlines are fact, fiction or something in between. The three tips below may help you make better sense of the headlines.  1.  Studies done in the laboratory don’t always translate to people […]

It is clear that heavy drinking is harmful to health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excessive alcohol use causes about 79,000 deaths every year in the United States.1 Excessive alcohol use is defined as more than one drink per day (on average) for women and more than two drinks per day […]

There has been much scientific interest in whether vitamin D impacts cancer risk. In November 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report—Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D—updating its dietary recommendations for vitamin D.  The IOM reviewed the scientific evidence and found while vitamin D was important to bone health, it remains unclear whether […]

Every day, many things in our environment can affect our health. When the health impact is immediate, the effects can be easy to see. For example, we all know that pollen can trigger allergies. Because breast cancer develops over a period of time, these relationships are not always obvious. This can cause us to wonder […]

Summer is the perfect time for a cookout. However, recent reports of concerns over potential health risks linked to eating meat or other high-fat foods may have you thinking twice about what to serve at your next get-together. We know our diet affects our health in many ways, but how do meat and fat affect […]