Clinical Trials, Research, News, and Study Results | Forum profile

( bump , )

( There is another thread in this forum about this same topic. I've bumped it so it's near the top of the page \(for awhile, anyway -- this is an active forum!\). I've been told by my BS and med onco \(as well as having read\) that the phrase "dense breasts" refers to what they look like on a mammogram -- i.e., their mammographic density. It doesn't refer to how they feel.  Maybe there is a...

( http://www.dancewithshadows.com/pillscribe/vaccine-to-fight-breast-and-lung-cancer-stimuvax-from-merck-kgaa-is-coming/ , )

( Thanks, Virginia. I especially appreciated the link within the article pointing to the Breast Cancer Fund, an organization that is trying to get this toxic chemical  banned from plastic \(an in baby bottles\) here in the US where its use is widesread. Here's the link:   Breast Cancer Fund I shall be writing to my legislators to get this stuff banned!  , )

Does anyone know how these newer drugs which target the Notch pathway or Hedgehog are doing?  Somebody must have joined these trials, so if anyone can report in, it would be helpful.  Maryiz

( How do you know your breast density? I know mine are less dense than they used to be - but I have no way of knowing how I compare to other women...  Is it correct this is the info that comes from mammo, or can your doctor tell you just by doing an exam?  , )

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-149872.html   http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/cancer/2008/10/23/breaking-cancers-gene-code.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP

( How do you know if you have dense breasts or not?  I should probably know by now, and maybe have even been told but forgot in the whirl of diagnosis, but is this something that's noted on a typical path report, or a mammography report?  Is there some sort of density scale?  I don't see anything about overall density on my reports; they focus on the tumor, etc. , )

( Thanks Otter. I also found a thread here in the Stage IV forum posted in August where a link was posted that evidently showed five US sites however all I am finding now is just the No Carolina site. Does anyone know if there are other sites in the US in these clinical trials? I read that the company is going for FDA approval in 2012 for treatment in non small cell lung cancer. Maybe I am not searching correctly or maybe the other trial sites...

( Yes, breast density can be determined by mammograms - and I would assume, also ultrasound and MRI. I would guess that any doctor experienced at examining breasts could make a rough estimate as to the degree of density because non-dense breast tissue is going to feel very different from that which is highly dense. However to get a more accurate reading on density, you'd need that evaluation done by radiologic screening. The...