Hot Topic: Chilling the Hot Flashes

I hear the term “excessive heat warning” from our local weathercasters and think they are talking about me. My hot flashes are so intense I can raise the temperature in a room a few degrees simply by standing in it. If you have never experienced a hot flash, think of feeling — without warning — of suddenly standing outside on a blistering summer day dressed …

How Breast Cancer Drugs Are Developed: Bazedoxifene

Many of you may have read a news story about bazedoxifene (BZA), a SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator) approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis that has been shown to stop the growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer cells, even in cancers that had become resistant to tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors.

Women in this situation are wondering if they can try BZA – either prescribed by …

Embracing the Transformation: Living with Cancer at 36

My name is Rabia Gibbs. A few weeks before my 36^th birthday I was diagnosed with stage IIb/IIIa, triple-negative breast cancer. In order, my treatment plan entails neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and then reconstructive surgery. I recently finished chemo (4 sessions of Adriamycin/Cytoxan and 4 sessions of Taxol). In less than a week, I will be undergoing surgery: a modified radical mastectomy on the …