A major study found that a gene test determines whether or not women with breast cancer can safely skip chemotherapy, reports Marilynn Marchione of Hawaii News Now. Associated Press states the study was done in Durham, North Carolina and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.
Marchione explains, “The test accurately identified a group of women whose cancers are so likely to respond to hormone-blocking drugs that adding chemo would do little if any good while exposing them to side effects and other health risks.”
The article goes on to say, “Women who skipped chemo based on the test had less than a one percent chance of cancer recurring far away, such as the liver or lungs, within the next five years.”
The key is that while skipping chemotherapy has no significant advantages, at least the test is able to determine those women for whom it isn’t necessary.
Evan Joyce, freshman psychology major from Canada, has always recognized October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Said Joyce, “Breast cancer has really affected people I know in the past. I know how uncomfortable chemotherapy is supposed to be. It’s good that some patients can skip that discomfort if they get the gene test.”
Joyce is right about the discomfort of chemotherapy, as the article quotes breast cancer survivor and advocate Mary Lou Smith said, “Patients love the idea of a test. I’ve had chemotherapy. It’s not pretty.”
Joyce also pointed out he thinks breast cancer awareness is always going up, and regrets he “doesn’t have that many pink things” in his wardrobe to represent the cause.
Of the 10,253 women included in the study, 16 percent were classified as low risk for cancer down the road and were released. The researchers concluded chemotherapy would do little to no good with this group as opposed to those who were classified as intermediate or high risk.
Cancer.org estimates there are 1,140 new cases for breast cancer in Hawaii in 2015; 1,140 reasons to continue raising breast cancer awareness this month. The radio station khon2 reported that 2,190 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the United States.
Jaimy Kahele, senior English major from New Zealand, said she knows a breast cancer survivor personally and gained a new perspective on the disease. She also said, “Boys too! Men can definitely get breast cancer. It doesn’t happen as much as for women, but I think men should be recognized and supported just as strongly.”
Sophomore Tanner Cruz, an English major from Texas, said he noticed it was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month solely because of pink athletic equipment and accessories worn by various NFL teams this football season. “I was wondering why the players had pink shoes and towels,” he said, “until I realized there was only one reason a professional football team would have pink shoes and towels.”
The online site for the Susan G. Komen Hawaii Foundation (an Aloha United Way Charity) gives information on the 21st Annual Susan G. Komen Hawaii Race for the Cure, which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Kapiolani Park. The event raises money for cure research.