"Do you have a close relative who has died from, or is experiencing, aggressive breast, ovarian or prostate cancer? Have they been tested for the BRCA gene mutation? Have you? At the age of 35 and following the death of her mother from ovarian cancer, Clarissa Foster was found to carry a harmful mutation in the BRCA2 gene which drastically increased her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She searched for a book that would help her to understand the full extent of what it meant to carry a harmful mutation, the options available to her to lower her risk and, most importantly, how it would feel to undergo risk-reducing surgery. Finding nothing that answered her needs, she set about reading all the available medical literature and liaising with relevant medical professionals to answer her questions. This book is the result of that research and of the decision she took based on it – to have a bilateral mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy. Within the context of her own painful experience of family cancer and of elective surgery, Clarissa explains what the BRCA mutation is, what it signifies, what the individual’s choices are and what the fall out can be in terms of a woman’s body image, identity and sexual functioning."--Publisher's description.

The outlook for women with breast cancer has improved in recent years. Due to the combination of improved treatments and the benefits of mammography screening, breast cancer mortality has decreased steadily since 1989. Yet breast cancer remains a major problem, second only to lung cancer as a leading cause of death from cancer for women. To date, no means to prevent breast cancer has been discovered and experience has shown that treatments are most effective when a cancer is detected early, before it has spread to other tissues. These two facts suggest that the most effective way to continue reducing the death toll from breast cancer is improved early detection and diagnosis. Building on the 2001 report Mammography and Beyond, this new book not only examines ways to improve implementation and use of new and current breast cancer detection technologies but also evaluates the need to develop tools that identify women who would benefit most from early detection screening. Saving Women's Lives: Strategies for Improving Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis encourages more research that integrates the development, validation, and analysis of the types of technologies in clinical practice that promote improved risk identification techniques. In this way, methods and technologies that improve detection and diagnosis can be more effectively developed and implemented.

Health & Sickness -- Consumer Health This book by a scientist whose background is in cellular and molecular biology examines the fearsome disease that strikes one in eight women in the United States. Although women are more likely to die of heart disease or of lung cancer, a diagnosis of breast cancer is the medical pronouncement that a woman is most likely to fear. It kills more than 40,000 Americans annually. Why are some women more vulnerable than others? The interplay between genetics and environment is suspected. Thus this book for general readers will help them understand the genetic bases of both sporadic and inherited breast cancers. Although only five to ten percent of breast cancer patients have inherited mutations in these genes, all women need to understand the genetic implications of the disease. In clear, concise language Barbara T. Zimmerman guides the reader through the complexities, discussing in detail the genes that are known to increase susceptibility and the ways they are passed on. Examining the general biology of breast cancer, Zimmerman describes how sporadic and inherited forms of the disease arise and how the location of the tumors can affect the body. She discusses genetic mutations and their roles in the development of tumors and tells how these potentially cancer-inducing genes were discovered. Covered too are the issues of risk, prevention, screening, diagnosis, therapy, and genetic testing and counseling. Zimmerman concludes with a comprehensive analysis of current research and with an emphasis on how a woman's understanding of inherited breast cancer can help doctors seeking to design better methods for prevention and therapy. A useful list of resources for further information about the genetic causes of breast cancer is included. Barbara T. Zimmerman did her graduate work in experimental pathology and her post-doctoral research in the cellular and molecular processes of disease. Widely published, she is the manager of the Denver-based firm Biomedical Communication and Consulting.

It has been recognized for almost 200 years that certain families seem to inherit cancer. It is only in the past decade, however, that molecular genetics and epidemiology have combined to define the role of inheritance in cancer more clearly, and to identify some of the genes involved. The causative genes can be tracked through cancer-prone families via genetic linkage and positional cloning. Several of the genes discovered have subsequently been proved to play critical roles in normal growth and development. There are also implications for the families themselves in terms of genetic testing with its attendant dilemmas, if it is not clear that useful action will result. The chapters in The Genetics of Cancer illustrate what has already been achieved and take a critical look at the future directions of this research and its potential clinical applications.

Each year more than 180,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women in the U.S. If cancer is detected when small and local, treatment options are less dangerous, intrusive, and costly-and more likely to lead to a cure. Yet those simple facts belie the complexity of developing and disseminating acceptable techniques for breast cancer diagnosis. Even the most exciting new technologies remain clouded with uncertainty. Mammography and Beyond provides a comprehensive and up-to-date perspective on the state of breast cancer screening and diagnosis and recommends steps for developing the most reliable breast cancer detection methods possible. This book reviews the dramatic expansion of breast cancer awareness and screening, examining the capabilities and limitations of current and emerging technologies for breast cancer detection and their effectiveness at actually reducing deaths. The committee discusses issues including national policy toward breast cancer detection, roles of public and private agencies, problems in determining the success of a technique, availability of detection methods to specific populations of women, women's experience during the detection process, cost-benefit analyses, and more. Examining current practices and specifying research and other needs, Mammography and Beyond will be an indispensable resource to policy makers, public health officials, medical practitioners, researchers, women's health advocates, and concerned women and their families.

"Be informed. Be empowered. Be well." If you are concerned that the cancer in your family is hereditary, you face difficult choices. Should you have a blood test that may reveal whether you have a high likelihood of disease? Do you preemptively treat a disease that may never develop? How do you make decisions now that will affect the rest of your life? This helpful, informative guide answers your questions as you confront hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Developed by Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the nation’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, this book stands alone among breast and ovarian cancer resources. Equal parts health guide and memoir, it defines complex issues facing previvors and survivors and provides solutions with a fresh, authoritative voice. Written by three passionate advocates for the hereditary cancer community who are themselves breast cancer survivors, Confronting Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer dispels myths and misinformation and presents practical risk-reducing alternatives and decision-making tools. Including information about genetic counseling and testing, preventive surgery, and fertility and family planning, as well as explanations of health insurance coverage and laws protecting genetic privacy, this resource tackles head-on the challenges of living in a high-risk body. Confronting hereditary cancer is a complex, confusing, and highly individual journey. With its unique combination of the latest research, expert advice, and compelling personal stories, this book gives previvors, survivors, and their family members the guidance they need to face the unique challenges of hereditary cancer.

The Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine wanted to address the link between environmental factors and the development of cancer in light of recent advances in genomics. They asked what research tools are needed, how new scientific information can be applied in a timely manner to reduce the burden of cancer, and how this can be flexible enough to treat the individual.