Breast Calcifications: What You Need to Know

Receiving the news that something abnormal has turned up on a routine mammogram can be frightening, but breast calcifications are usually harmless. In rare instances, they can be an early sign of breast cancer, though calcifications themselves do not develop into cancer. What are breast calcifications? All cells in the body have a life span; … Read more

Patrice Kelly’s Journey from Jimmy Fund Clinic Mom to Breast Cancer Patient

Charlotte Kelly hated having her chemotherapy port accessed, but her mother, Patrice, found a way to calm the toddler. Each time tears came, Patrice would rub her nose against Charlotte’s – and the pair would get past their fears together. Today the ritual continues, even though Charlotte’s last neuroblastoma checkup at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and … Read more

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #3: Then and Now with Male Breast Cancer Survivor Mike Johnston

When Mike Johnston felt a lump in his chest in 2009, he assumed it was a side effect of a high blood pressure medication. But after a routine doctor’s visit, followed by a mammogram and ultrasound, Johnston’s diagnosis was confirmed: He had male breast cancer. Only 2,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast … Read more

Breast Cancer Treatment: What’s the Latest?

Not only are more effective drugs for breast cancer coming to the clinic, but oncologists are making important progress in matching breast cancer treatment to specific patients and the molecular characteristics of their tumors. It’s also becoming more feasible to rachet the intensity of treatment up or down depending on the patient’s risk status, and … Read more

Voices Podcast – Season 2 Episode #1: Then and Now with Lymphoma and Breast Cancer Survivor Catherine Goff

When Catherine Goff was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma while attending college in the 1970s, it was the shock of a lifetime. Less surprising – but still life-changing – was her later diagnosis with breast cancer, a common secondary cancer for patients like Goff who received high doses of radiation therapy to the chest. Between these … Read more

Your Style After Breast Surgery: Ten Tips When Considering Breast Prostheses

Just as there are many types of breast-conserving surgery or reconstruction available to cancer patients after mastectomies or lumpectomies, there are a variety of considerations for those who – after consultation with their oncologist – decide to forego more surgery and wear breast prostheses (or breast forms and partial shapers). Diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer … Read more

Who Needs Chemotherapy after Treatment for Early Breast Cancer?

Following surgery and/or radiation for early stage breast cancer, chemotherapy is sometimes given to eliminate remaining cancer cells that could cause trouble later. Traditionally, women have been more likely to undergo follow-up chemotherapy if clinical and pathological factors suggested a significant risk of recurrence, such as a larger tumor, higher stage and pathological grade of … Read more