What if one million women of every age, ethnicity and level of breast cancer risk partnered with researchers focused on figuring out how to better prevent, treat, and one day eradicate a disease that strikes one in eight women over a lifetime?  That’s the ambitious goal of Dr. Susan Love’s Army of Women initiative, one of the innovative ideas presented at the GE and Working Mother’s healthymagination event, “All Faces of Breast Cancer…Wins & Challenges,” on October 18.

Held inside a special New York City exhibit created by GE Healthcare and healthymagination to mark National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the event brought together world-class medical experts, thought leaders, advocacy groups, breast cancer survivors and internationally recognized female designers to explore new and inventive approaches to mammography, breast imaging, cancer treatment and advancing women’s health, in two interactive sessions.

Dara Richardson-Heron, MD, CEO of the Greater New York Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, shared her perspective as a doctor and a patient. In 1997, at age 34, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, just one month after getting married. “Suddenly the friendly, happy life I had was taken away. The day I was diagnosed, I was a hot mess—and came up with a crazy scheme that I wasn’t going to tell anyone, even my husband. But I told him that night,” says Dr. Richardson-Heron, adding that his support helped her cope with a terrifying ordeal. “I started googling “African-American woman” and ‘34” and ‘breast cancer,’ and everything said I’d be dead in five years.”

While Dr. Richardson-Heron was alerted to her disease by a lump, Shondia McFadden-Sabari—mom of Chase, 9, and Trinity, 8—didn’t have any symptoms. Last year, an intuition she can’t explain prompted her to ask her ob/gyn to do a mammogram, even though she was only 36. Two days before Christmas, after a mammogram, follow-up tests and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with two different types of cancer in one breast and two cancers of different stages in the other, she told the scores of women at the event.

With her husband, an Army officer who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq, and her two kids—dressed in military camouflage with pink breast cancer ribbons colored into their hair—in the audience, McFadden-Sabari shared her story, including her decision to forego reconstruction after undergoing a double mastectomy. “Cancer took my breasts, but it didn’t take my sexy, my self-esteem and it didn’t kill me—it made me stronger.”

While Dr. Richardson-Heron was alerted to her disease by a lump, Shondia McFadden-Sabari—mom of Chase, 9, and Trinity, 8—didn’t have any symptoms. Last year, an intuition she can’t explain prompted her to ask her ob/gyn to do a mammogram, even though she was only 36. Two days before Christmas, after a mammogram, follow-up tests and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with two different types of cancer in one breast and two cancers of different stages in the other, she told the scores of women at the event.

With her husband, an Army officer who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq, and her two kids—dressed in military camouflage with pink breast cancer ribbons colored into their hair—in the audience, McFadden-Sabari shared her story, including her decision to forego reconstruction after undergoing a double mastectomy. “Cancer took my breasts, but it didn’t take my sexy, my self-esteem and it didn’t kill me—it made me stronger.”

*  It’s a myth that breast cancer mainly strikes women with a family history of the disease. In reality, the two main risk factors are being a woman and getting older. Only about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary.

*  A lump isn’t the only symptom women should watch for. Breast cancer can also cause a rash, inflammation, swelling, and skin changes. Women should be aware of how their breasts normally look and feel and promptly report any changes to their doctor.

*  A healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, and limiting alcohol consumption to no more than one drink per day can help reduce risk, as does breastfeeding.

*  The earlier breast cancer is detected and treated, the better the prognosis is likely to be. Dr. Love advises women at average risk for breast cancer to have annual mammograms, starting at age 40, as recommended by both the American Cancer Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

*  Women at higher risk should discuss the best screening schedule with their doctor, says Dr. Richardson-Heron. “What’s appropriate is personalized medicine that looks at the woman’s risk factors.”

*  Treatment should also be tailored to the individual patient, adds Dr. Love. “We can now look at the molecular biology of the tumor. Tests can look at molecular markers, predict how the tumor will behave, and can tell which are more likely to respond to chemotherapy. Any woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer should ask her doctor, ‘What other tests can be done?’ Some women don’t need chemo and it wouldn’t do them any good.”

This article was written by: By Lisa Collier Cool | Posted November 2 2011 for  Healthy Imaginations Healthy Outlook Blog.

You can view the whole article here http://www.healthymagination.com/blog/breast-cancer-wins-challenges/