MYTH: Breast Cancer ALWAYS Appears as a Lump

Many women’s breasts feel lumpy. Breast tissue naturally has a bumpy texture that varies from one woman to another. For some women, the lumpiness is more pronounced than for others. In most cases, this lumpiness is no cause to worry. If the lumpiness can be felt throughout the breast and feels like your other breast, it is likely just normal breast tissue.

If you feel a lump in your breast, do not panic. Most lumps are not breast cancer, but something less serious. Some lumps will go away on their own. In younger women, lumps are often related to menstrual periods and will go away by the end of the cycle. Lumps that feel harder or different from the rest of the breast tissue (or the tissue of the other breast) or that feel like a change are a concern. This type of lump is more likely to be breast cancer, though some benign breast conditions can cause similar changes. See your health care provider if you:

• Find a new lump or change that feels different from the rest of your breast
• Find a new lump or change that feels different from your other breast
• Feel something that is different from what you felt before

If you are unsure whether you should have a lump checked, it is best to see your provider. Although a lump may be nothing to worry about, you will have the peace of mind it has been checked. 

You may see or feel other changes in your breasts. See your health care provider if you notice any of these warning signs of breast cancer:

• Lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area
• Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast
• Change in the size or shape of the breast
• Dimpling or puckering of the skin
• Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
• Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
• Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
• New pain in one spot that doesn't go away

Pain in your breasts may be related to your menstrual period. However, if the pain does not go away, don't ignore it. Although pain is rarely a sign of breast cancer, it is best to see your provider. 

When You Discover a Lump

Fighting for Medical Research Funding

Guest post by Meredith K. Parks, JD, Komen Advocate in Science, and Molly Johnson, Public Policy Coordinator

Susan G. Komen® is committed to ending breast cancer forever by empowering people and energizing science to find cures, and has been dedicated to funding breast cancer research – investing more than $800 million – since our inception in 1982. However, Komen cannot fund the fight alone. This is why on September 18 we joined over 170 supporting organizations, represented by nearly 300 participants, in Washington DC to attend the Rally for Medical Research Hill Day. “More Progress, More Hope, More Lives” was our battle cry – a booming and passionate echo from the Rally for Medical Research held five months earlier. Again, we urged Congress to invest in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to make medical research a national priority. On that day, armed with hearty statistics and compelling survivor stories, we met with Congressional staff members, to plead our case.

First, the bad news: breast cancer continues to kill 40,000 mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives each year, and approximately 465 men. It kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer. This year an estimated 227,000 new breast cancer cases will be diagnosed. Despite those staggering statistics, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at NIH has been forced to REDUCE funding for breast cancer research by nearly $30 million over the past three years alone. To further complicate this problem, breast cancer care isn’t cheap. It is critical that we protect and prioritize investments in the NIH to see outcomes of the promising work emerging from current funding. Breast cancer research has already delivered a number of important clinical advances including new therapeutics, improved screening and patient quality of life. But there is much more to be done, now is not the time to cut back.

Here is the good news: many Congressional offices AGREED with our plea and echoed our concern. This was shown again during recent budget debates, when members of both parties expressed their commitment to NIH. Francis Collins, physician-geneticist noted for his discoveries of disease genes and current NIH director, has often said “Medical research has, throughout many changes of parties, remained as one of the shining lights of bipartisan agreement, that people are concerned about health for themselves, for their families, for their constituents.”

So where do we go from here? Susan G. Komen is committed. Members of Congress are committed. Unfortunately, as we learned in the recent government shut down, a common goal does not necessarily guarantee an uncomplicated or productive means to that end. We need to send a message that government spending on breast cancer research is crucial and necessary so we don’t lose any more women or men to this disease. NIH funding has been unable to fully meet scientific need or keep up with inflation for years. After last year’s first automatic sequestration cut the NIH budget dropped to below $29 billion for the first time since 2008, the budget has been cut by 23 percent over the last decade when accounting for inflation. Unless Congress is able to come to an agreement, the second round of sequestration cuts are scheduled to begin January 15 and will be even more devastating for cancer patients, researchers, and your local economy. NIH funding supports 325,000 researchers at more than 3000 universities, medical schools and research institutions in every state and around the world. In 2010 alone, the federal investment in NIH research had a 150 percent multiplier effect on the economy – leading to the creation of 484,939 jobs and generating $69 billion in new economic activity across the U.S.

We are all stakeholders in this cause and must continue to contact our legislators and request that they make cancer research and biomedical science funding a national priority. Your elected officials are in D.C. to represent your concerns, so join the chorus, and make sure your voice is heard! More Progress. More Hope. More Lives!

Caring for Survivors: Following the Funds in Kansas

You have finished the last chemo or radiation treatment.  During treatment you looked forward to this day with thoughts of cake and a party.  But survivors share that they still have concerns after their treatment has been completed – about the potential short- and long-term side effects and the living with their “new normal”. 
 

The KU Center for Breast Cancer Survivorship provides support and resources people need to live with the lifelong reality of a cancer diagnosis. Guided by focus groups of breast cancer survivors from across Kansas, the Wichita center focuses on the core values:

• Enhancing clinical assessment and support
• Empowering survivors through an individualized care plan
• Providing access to community connections

Survivors (anyone diagnosed with breast cancer) can choose between the full core program or specifically, the dietary or exercise components.  The dietary and exercise components are funded in part by a grant from Susan G. Komen.

In the full core program, the survivor receives an assessment with the internist, who then consults with the program hematology and oncology specialist, endocrinologist, and patient navigator.  The patient navigator will later meet again with the survivor to explain their recommendations.  A written report is provided to the survivor and her/his health care providers.

Depending on the needs of the survivor, the Center has a broad base of support services to provide assistance. The grant from Komen is providing funding for dietary consultations to assess nutritional status/provide nutritional therapy.  The Center also works with several therapists, including neuropsychologists and a marriage and a family therapist, to help with coping/psycho-social issues associated with cancer; sexual issues, intimacy and body image; and “Chemo brain” assessment and cognitive rehabilitation therapy.  There is also physical therapy to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction following breast surgery, treatment, and radiation and Lymphedema therapy.  The Center partners with LIVESTRONG at the Y, a 12-week supervised program for cancer survivors designed to build muscle mass and strength and increase flexibility and endurance. 

For more information about the KU Medcenter Wichita Center for Breast Cancer Survivorship

The Center for Breast Cancer Survivorship is continuing to look at the needs of breast cancer survivors through research.  The Center is conducting a study to learn more about the symptoms of breast cancer and side effects of chemotherapy. If you have been diagnosed and are waiting in your treatment plan, plan to receive chemotherapy, are currently receiving chemotherapy, or have finished chemotherapy, you may be eligible to participate.

For more information about this research study