Tag: Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Patients with Depression, Anxiety, More Likely to Use Opioids

Elderly women with breast cancer who are also battling anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions are more likely to use opioids and die, according to a new study. 

In a press release from the University of Virginia, the researchers said their findings point to a need for better mental health care for patients with breast cancer. And that physicians should consider alternative pain management techniques such as physical therapy, massage and acupuncture. 

A 2018 study found that about 40 percent of patients with breast cancer also have some type of mental health diagnosis — often anxiety and depression. And about 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. Almost 42,000 women are expected to die from breast cancer in 2019. 

The research was published in the Journal of Oncology Practice. It was led by the University of Virginia School of Medicine and included a team member from West Virginia University. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

Imagining a Future Where Cancer Treatment Doesn't Involve Chemicals

West Virginia University researchers are partnering to investigate whether “bioelectric signaling” can be used to treat breast cancer. 

Most cancer research focuses on the chemical workings of the body. But how cells communicate electrically may impact cancer too.

Basically, cancer cells are a part of the body, but are mutated, causing tumors. Generally, the body has mechanisms to deal with the mutations, but sometimes the mechanisms fail due to overwork or age or exposure to toxins among other things.

Traditional cancer treatment not only kills the bad cells, but also good cells.

The new research is investigating whether changing a cell’s electrical frequency can cause the body’s natural defense mechanisms to “reset” and prevent cancer.

Researchers say they are still in the early stages of discovery, but if successful, the treatment could provide an alternative that doesn’t involve chemicals for multiple cancer types.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Mammography Bus Making Stops in Berkeley, Morgan Counties

West Virginia University says a mobile mammography center will visit Berkeley and Morgan counties this month.

The vehicle, known as Bonnie’s Bus, offers digital mammograms and breast care education for women. It’s provided by WVU Medicine and the WVU Cancer Institute.

The bus will be at Berkeley Senior Services in Martinsburg from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 12. Call (304) 263-8873 for an appointment.

The bus will be at CNB Bank in Berkeley Springs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 13. Call (304) 596-5114 for an appointment.

A physician’s order is needed for a mammogram.

No woman over 40 will be turned away because of lack of funding. Women without insurance are covered by the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program or the West Virginia affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

A Conversation About Cancer Rates in Appalachia

Rural Appalachia has some of the highest cancer mortality rates in the country — up to 36 percent higher than what is seen elsewhere. The culprit? That’s a multi-fold answer. Kara Lofton talked about cancer rates in Appalachia with freelance reporter Lyndsey Gilpin, who wrote a story addressing the discrepancy. Data journalism website FiveThirtyEight published the story earlier this month.

In one of the opening paragraphs of the article you write: “In rural Appalachian Kentucky, the cancer mortality rate is 36 percent higher than it is for urban, non-Appalachian people in the rest of the country; in rural Appalachian Virginia it is 15 percent higher; in those areas of West Virginia, 19 percent. Those are pretty stunning statistics. What is going on in rural Appalachia to make cancer rates so much higher here?

 

It’s really because of this perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances. You have a rural population with very high obesity rates, high rates of smoking, really high poverty rate, a  high unemployment rate and then you have a lack of education. And then on top of that you have the health care side of things with lack of access to preventive care and lack of access to really good treatment. 

You also write that “[p]eople in much of rural Appalachia are more likely to die within three to five years of their diagnoses than those in both urban Appalachian areas and urban areas across the U.S. Why is that?

 

That’s primarily because of this lack of access we’re talking about. And even when people can get care they have to drive farther and wait longer and perhaps not have access to advanced clinical trials or really great health care systems hospitals – things like that – that can provide them with the best kind of available resources for the best outcomes and survival rates. 

 

Preventive screenings are one of the best tools we have to catch cancer early. What role does access to preventive services – or access to care at all – have on cancer rates in Appalachia?

Preventive care is perhaps the biggest piece of this puzzle. From everyone I talked to it seemed like that was the part they are trying to fix and it could be the most immediate fix. And so a lot of the cancers they focused on were preventable cancers. So breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer. There are a lot of barriers to get to the point when they can access something as easy as a screening.

You mention in the article that economic, social and environmental factors also play a role in cancer incidence. What is going on in rural Appalachia that is different from the rest of the country?

 

Lifestyle is a big part of it, but lifestyle factors have a lot to do with the economics and the social and environmental factors. So obviously this isn’t new to anyone I talked to in Appalachia. Poverty and the decline of the coal mining industry have a very real effect on specific health care outcomes.

 

Appalachia is well known as a hub for commercial coal production. Is coal mining causing higher cancer rates?

It’s not as clear as that. We can’t draw the direct connection between coal pollution in cancer. Almost everyone I spoke to that was living in eastern Kentucky talked about the fact that they were leery about water contamination  and its relationship with cancer or other chronic illnesses, but if you look at the research there’s not enough to prove that link. There is research that shows mortality and chronic illnesses are higher in coal producing counties. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Strategic Plan Released for Reducing West Virginia Cancer Rates

The West Virginia cancer coalition Mountains of Hope released a five-year strategic plan for reducing the impact of cancer the state. Its goal is to create a centralized framework that collaborating health care practitioners, policymakers and advocates can follow to reduce cancer rates in the state.

More than 11,000 West Virginians are diagnosed with cancer each year, and almost 5,000 die from cancer-related diseases, according to the WV Cancer Registry. Behind heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the state. Lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer account for more than half of all cases.

The new plan includes five overarching goals of prevention — early detection, treatment, improving the quality of life of patients and achieving health equity. Specifically, the plan calls for increasing screening rates, improving access to healthy foods, increasing physical activity and reducing smoking rates in West Virginia.

Mountains of Hope Cancer Coalition includes more than 200 organizations ranging cancer societies to universities to state agencies. They hope to achieve all goals outlined in the plan by the year 2020. What will it cost and what is the funding mechanism?

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

New Breast Cancer Treatment Available at WVU

West Virginia University Cancer Institute has become the first hospital in the state to offer a specialized breast cancer treatment that can shave weeks off treatment time for some patients.

The treatment is called Intraoperative Radiation Therapy. This is how it works: Directly after surgery to remove the cancerous lump, a radiation applicator is inserted directly into the cavity previously occupied by the tumor. Specialists then apply concentrated radiation to the area. Surgery and radiation are completed in one visit.

In contrast, in traditional breast cancer treatment, patients must receive radiation daily for three-six weeks to the entire breast and surrounding tissues. The heart and lungs often receive at least some radiation in the process.

The new therapy is not yet available to all women. Candidates must be over 50, and their cancer must meet a specific criteria. So far 13 women have received the therapy at WVU.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

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