Welcome to our monthly resource roundup! Each month, we curate study opportunities, new clinical trials, research results, news articles, personal perspectives, and upcoming events of interest to women and families affected by breast, ovarian, or metastatic breast cancer. Below are some links you might find useful.
Header image from Heal in Heels®
Breast, Ovarian, and Metastatic Breast Cancer:
BFOR Study for Men and Women of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish Descent
The BFOR Study is providing genetic mutation tests for men and women age 25 or older with at least one grandparent of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Registration for this study ends December 31, 2019, so if you are interested click the link here to sign up.
Cancer Fears: How Are You Going To Get Through This?
Barbara Tako is a breast cancer and melanoma survivor, and is a cancer coping advocate, writer, and publisher based in Minnesota. For her article with CURE magazine, she details her tips on conquering the fear of cancer, and what she learned from her first diagnosis nine years ago. Click here to read her full article online.
Ovarian Cancer
Adjusting to Life During Treatment of Ovarian Cancer
Shubham Pant, M.D., Jeremy Hirst, M.D., Ramez N. Eskander, M.D., and patient Doña Harman discuss adjusting to everyday life during ovarian cancer treatment. Doña Harman talks about her ovarian cancer treatment while the doctors discuss the importance of controlling the side effects of chemotherapy, incorporating a healthy diet, and being honest with your care team. Watch the full video, with a detailed transcript, with the link here.
Breast Cancer
The Relaxip: A Garment for Women After a Mastectomy
SHARE participant Yoko is a fashion economics professor at FIT. She was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and joined SHARE's Japanese-language support group. She struggled with her post-mastectomy body—particularly with the limited fashion choices available to support her post-surgery needs. After a mastectomy, women can’t lift their arms over their head—it can rip the incision—and have to wear a drainage device. After Yoko shared this experience with her students in a talk about how fashion can better serve women facing cancer, one of her students was inspired to create a garment that would work with a woman's post-surgery needs. Her project, the Relaxip, is now available on Yoko's blog "Heal in Heels," which chronicles her experience with breast cancer as well as fashion inspiration. Read more about the garment here.
Writer and poet Felicia Mitchell reflects on a raw and emotional piece she had written on the anxieties of the waiting to get your mammogram before she knew it would lead to the diagnosis of Stage 2b HER2-positive breast cancer. Click here to read her full article in CURE magazine.
Study Finds Sexual Health Issues Are a Concern Among Majority of Women With Breast Cancer
Jeanne Carter, PhD studied women's response to endocrine therapy and found that endocrine exposure and menopause can impact vaginal tissue quality, and has been linked to side effects such as vulvovaginal dryness, dyspareunia, and sexual dysfunction when treating women with breast cancer. To read the full article by Chase Doyle and its findings, click here.
For tips on improving sexual intimacy after a cancer diagnosis, check our quick tips infographic here.
Clinical Trial: Pembrolizumab in Treating Patients With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian are conducting an immunotherapy clinical trial to compare the results of adding immunotherapy drug MK-3475 (pembrolizumab) after surgery to see if this treatment is better, the same, or worse than the usual approach alone. This study is open to women who are 18 and over with triple-negative breast cancer who still have cancer after chemotherapy followed by surgery. For more information and to see if you apply, click here.
Metastatic Breast Cancer
Metastatic Trial Talk's November 2019 Issue
Metastatic Trial Talk has released their new November 2019 issue, which details the newest clinical trials for metastatic breast cancer, information on criteria and eligibility for clinical trials, and so much more. See the newest trials available for triple-negative, HER2 positive, HR positive, and all MBC subtypes by clicking here.
Have a resource you’d like to share in the next month’s roundup? Email info@sharecancersupport.org
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