Fw: Chemo Not Necessary For All Breast Cancers

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----- Original Message ----- From: Kathi

Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2002 8:45 AM

Subject: Chemo Not Necessary For All Breast Cancers

Chemo Not Necessary For All Breast Cancers Some women with breast cancer may not need to undergo chemotherapy after they have cancer removal surgery. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that postmenopausal women whose breast cancer is sensitive to estrogen may not benefit from chemotherapy if they are with the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen. The study, based on research from nine countries, looked at 1,669 women whose breast cancer had not spread to their lymph nodes. The women were grouped according to whether or not their cancer was affected by estrogen -- whether it was estrogen receptor-positive or -negative. About half the women in each group were given chemo followed by five years of tamoxifen treatment, while the other half were given only tamoxifen. In six years of follow up, researchers found that chemotherapy offered no additional benefit for women with ER-positive tumors. However, for women whose tumors were ER- negative, chemo followed by tamoxifen provided a much better five-year survival rate than tamoxifen alone. The researchers say their findings may help doctors tailor breast cancer treatments to individual patients, based on the estrogen sensitivity of their cancers, among other factors, The Associated Press reports. For more on breast cancer, go to: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8293/8293.html My mother is post 9 years mastectomy. She chose to have her breast totally removed and refused both radiation and chemo. With guidelines from The Cancer Centers of America, is still cancer free. Kathi