Results of the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR)
released: Osteoporosis Drug Raloxifene Shown to be as Effective as
Tamoxifen in Preventing Invasive Breast Cancer (last updated 21 June 2006)
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Information about BrCa risk reduction #3 [links last verified 7 Jan 2008]:
Behavioral Risk Factors in Breast Cancer: Can Risk Be Modified?:
Review by Anne McTiernan in The Oncologist 2003(Aug); 8(4); 326-334.
Age, Obesity, and Breast Cancer Risk:
Louise Chang MD, WebMD, Nov. 27, 2006
Lifetime recreational exercise activity and breast cancer risk among black women and white women:
J Natl Cancer Inst 2005(Nov 16); 97(22): 1671-9.
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Information about BrCa genetics #1 [links last verified 18 Feb 2008]:
Understanding
Gene Testing: A primer about genetics
Genetics and Breast Cancer Risk:
Via breastcancer.org (last modified 21 Aug 2007)
Genetic Risk Assessment and BRCA Mutation Testing for Breast and
Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility: Recommendation Statement:
Ann Intern Med 2005 (6 Sep); 143(5): 355-61
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Information about BrCa genetics #2 [links last verified 21 Sep 2007]:
Privacy and Discrimination in Genetics:
Via the website for the National Human Genome Research Institute (USA)
Should I have genetic testing done to find out if I have the "breast cancer gene"?:
From Breast Cancer Action (BCA), a non-profit grassroots organization
in the USA
Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer: Should You Try This at Home?:
Breast Cancer Action Newsletter #86 (June 2005)
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Some links about screening, mammography #1 [links last verified 20 Apr 2008]:
About
breast disorders: From the AMA Medical Library
Model of outcomes of screening mammography: information to
support informed choices: Abstract of an article in BMJ
2005(23 Apr); 330(7497): 936. "Conclusion: Benefits and harms of
screening mammography are relatively finely balanced. Quantitative
estimates such as these can be used to support individual
informed choices about screening".
Mammography Screening Controversy:
Via the "Ourbodies Ourselves" website of the
Boston Women's Health Book Collective, Inc.
Breast Cancer Screening for Women in Their 40s: Moving from
Controversy about Data to Helping Individual Women:
Access is provided to an editorial in Ann Int Med
2007(3 Apr); 146(7): 529-31
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Some links about screening, mammography #2 [links last verified 21 Sep 2007]:
Global summit on mammographic screening:
Editorial in Annals of Oncology 2003; 14: 1159-1160.
Excerpt: "Mammographic screening is only one step in the total
management of women with breast cancer. Too often it is assumed that
breast cancer mortality rates will decrease through more mammographic
screening. This goal can only be attained through rigorous,
high-quality screening, diagnosis and treatment, whose role in
reducing mortality is crucial".
Physician predictors of mammographic accuracy:
Abstract of an article in J Natl Cancer Inst 2005(2 Mar); 97(5): 358-67
Decreasing women's anxieties after abnormal mammograms: a controlled trial:
Abstract of article in J Natl Cancer Inst 2004(7 Apr); 96(7): 529-38
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Some links about screening, mammography #3 [links last verified 21 Sep 2007]:
Breast Self-Examination Does Not Reduce Breast Cancer Mortality: Presented at EBCC:
Article by Paula Moyer, Doctor's Guide Dispatch, 18 Mar 2004
Breast self-examination and death from breast cancer: a meta-analysis:
BJC 2003(7 April); 88(7): 1047
Breast self examination: Letters by Richard J Epstein & Rosetta Manasciewicz,
BMJ 2003(29 Mar); 326(7391): 710.
When statistics provide
unsatisfying answers: revisiting the breast self-examination controversy:
Barron H. Lerner, CMAJ 2002(January 22); 166(2): 199-201
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Organochlorines & BrCa #1 [links last verified 11 Dec 2007]:
How strong is the evidence of a link between environmental chemicals and adverse effects on human reproductive health?:
Review in BMJ 2004(21 Feb); 328(7437): 447-451. Excerpt:
"Present evidence suggests that exposure, as an adult, to
organochlorine chemicals alone is not a major determinant of breast
cancer". [Caution: this area of research continues to be controversial]
Serum organochlorines and breast cancer: a case-control study among African-American women:
Abstract of an article in Cancer Causes Control 2007(Feb); 18(1): 29-39.
The final sentence of the abstract: "This study, the largest study of
African-American women to date, does not support a role of DDE and
total PCBs in breast cancer risk at the levels measured".
Environmental Toxins and Breast Cancer on Long Island. II. Organochlorine Compound Levels in Blood:
Abstract of an article in Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2002(Aug); 11(8): 686-97.
An excerpt: "These findings, based on the largest number of samples analyzed to
date among primarily white women, do not support the hypothesis that
organochlorines increase breast cancer risk among Long Island women".
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Organochlorines & BrCa #2 [links last verified 20 Apr 2008]:
Urban Legend: Plastic-Tac-Toe: Via the snopes.com website:
"Claim: Research shows that microwaving foods in plastic containers
releases cancer-causing agents into the foods. Status: False"
Don't Use Plastic for Heating Foods in a Microwave Oven Because of
Exposure to Dioxins-Unproven! & Fiction!: Via the TruthOrFiction.com
website
Ukraine candidate 'was poisoned': BBC News, Dec. 11
2004. "The doctors said extensive tests showed a form of dioxin
had been used, leaving Mr Yushchenko's face disfigured"
Dioxin: Seveso disaster testament to effects of dioxin:
Article by Mick Corliss, May 6, 1999
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A few links about risk communication [links last verified 14 Oct 2007]:
Communicating evidence for participatory decision making:
Abstract of article in JAMA 2004(May 19); 291(19): 2359-66
Use and Misuse of Population Attributable Fractions:
Citation for an article by Beverly Rockhill and colleagues in
Am J Public Health 1998(Jan); 88(1): 15-19. An excerpt from the
full text: "The population attributable fraction does not address
probability of causation for a specific case of disease, nor does
its estimation enable epidemiologists to discriminate between those
cases caused by, and those not caused by, the risk factors under
consideration".
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A few links about decision aids #1 [links last verified 6 Nov 2007]:
Using
decision aids to help patients navigate the "grey
zone" of medical decision-making: Commentary by
Annette M. O'Connor, CMAJ 2007(22 May) 176(11): 1597-98.
Some key points about patient decision aids
Alphabetical
List of Decision Aids by Health Topic:
Via the website of the Ottawa Health Research Institute
Top Ten Lessons from People that Have Been There:
From Jeff Belkora, Community Breast Health Project, Palo Alto: For
those who are facing difficult decisions about breast cancer
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A few links about decision aids #2 [links last verified 14 Oct 2007]:
Promoting informed choice: transforming health care to dispense knowledge for decision making:
Abstract of an article in Ann Intern Med 2005(16 Aug); 143(4): 293-300
Decision Tool Benefits Women Considering Adjuvant Chemotherapy
for Breast Cancer: A press release in JNCI 2003(16 Apr); 95(8): 569
Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions: Abstract
of a review in Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003; (2): CD001431
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Information about various kinds of cancer #1 [links last verified 14 Oct 2007]:
Cancer.gov:
An excellent source of reliable information about cancer
(from the NCI-USA)
Cancer Information Service (CIS) in Canada: The telephone-based component of the Cancer
Information Service of the Canadian Cancer Society can be
reached at: 1-888-939-3333 (within Canada)
Information from CancerBACUP:
A U.K.-based website
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Information about various kinds of cancer #2 [links last verified 14 Oct 2007]:
Patient/Public Info:
Another source of reliable information about various types of cancer,
from the BC Cancer Agency
CancerLinks website: Maintained
by Alexandra Andrews (home page last updated 2 Sept. 2007)
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Information about drugs #1 [links last verified 7 Jan 2008]:
Drugs_at_FDA:
A Catalog of FDA Approved Drug Products (can search
by drug name or active ingredient).
Drug
Information: Via Medline Plus Health Information
Side
effects of specific chemotherapy drugs: Via the website of
Cancer Research UK
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Information about drugs #2 [links last verified 7 Jan 2008]:
Drug Information Resource:
Via the Drugs.com website
RxList:
"The Internet Drug Index"
The intelihealth.com
website: Provides a Drug Search
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Tobacco-related issues #1 [links last verified 21 Sep 2007]:
Breast Cancer Risk Among Women Who Start Smoking as Teenagers:
Abstract of an article in Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005(Jan);
14(1): 61-6. "Compared with never smokers, women who smoked for at least
20 years and who smoked 10 cigarettes or more daily had a
RR of 1.34 (95% CI, 1.06-1.70)" [Caution: a 34% increase in risk
is not, from the perspective of an individual, a large increase,
although it represents a substantial impact on a large population].
Tobacco smoking NAT2 acetylation genotype and breast cancer risk:
Abstract of an article in Int J Cancer 2006(15 Oct); 119(8): 1961-1969.
"In conclusion, our data indicate that passive smoking is not
associated with breast cancer risk; however, active smoking might be
associated with an increased risk for early onset breast cancers".
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Tobacco-related issues #2 [links last verified 24 Jun 2006]:
Cancer Fact Sheets about Tobacco Use/Smoking: From the website of the NCI-US
Tobacco:
Information provided by the Canadian Cancer Society
Tobacco-Related Cancer Fact Sheet: Via the ACS website
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Cancer statistics #1 [links last verified 20 Apr 2008]:
Canadian Cancer
Statistics: Via the website of the Canadian Cancer Society
Breast cancer stats [Canada]: Last modified 9 April 2008.
Excerpt: "Breast cancer death rates have declined in all ages combined and in every age group
since at least the mid 1990s"
The Median Isn't the Message, by Stephen Jay
Gould, via Steve Dunn's CancerGuide website. Stephen Jay Gould
died (of a cancer unrelated to his previous one) on May 20, 2002,
at age 60
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Cancer statistics #2 [links last verified 20 Feb 2008
Global trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality 1973-1997:
International Journal of Epidemiology, February 28, 2005.
"Conclusions: Breast cancer incidence and mortality rates remain highest
in developed countries compared with developing countries, as a result
of differential use of screening mammograms and disparities in lifestyle
and hereditary factors. Future studies assessing the combined contributions
of both environmental and hereditary factors may provide explanations for
worldwide differences in incidence and mortality rates"
SEER Cancer
Statistics Review 1975-2004: Cancer incidence and survival data
for the USA, published annually by the NCI
Statistics for 2008 (USA): Via the website of the American
Cancer Society. Includes "Cancer Facts & Figures 2008" and
"Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2007-2008"
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Cancer statistics #3 [links last verified 7 Jan 2008]:
About statistical concepts of the curability of breast-cancer: Three
concepts of cure are defined--statistical, clinical and personal (PubMed
abstract of a 1991 article by J.L. Haybittle)
More about statistics on the curability of breast-cancer: Questions
about the concept of cure (PubMed abstract of a 1975 article by
J.L. Haybittle; "Haybittle" is misspelled)
How to read a paper: Links to
a series of papers in BMJ (includes "Statistics for the non-statistician")
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About interactive health communication #1 [links last verified 21 Sep 2007]:
Communication in Cancer World is Key to Survival: New Report Says Need is Greater as Information Grows:
EurekAlert release, 19 Sep 2007
Use and Impact of eHealth System by Low-income Women With Breast Cancer:
Abstract of an article in J Health Commun 2005;10 Suppl 1:195-218.
An excerpt: "We conclude that an eHealth system like CHESS
will be used extensively and have a positive impact on
low-income women with breast cancer"
Evaluation of support groups for women with breast cancer:
importance of the navigator role: A commentary of mine,
published in the open-access journal Health and Quality of
Life Outcomes 2003(May 1); 1: 16
Cancer-related electronic support groups as navigation-aids:
Overcoming geographic barriers: Eprint version of another
commentary of mine, published in Journal of Cancer Integrative
Medicine 2004(Winter); 2(1): 21-24
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About interactive health communication #2 [links last verified 15 Jul 2008]:
Read this OA article and call me in the morning:
An item about "Information Therapy", posted to Peter Suber's Open
Access News blog on July 9, 2007
Internet research ethics: list mining, open access:
A webpage of mine which includes information about advocacy for
open access (OA) to peer-reviewed research publications
Quality of Information:
From Dr. Bob's 'Virtual En-psych-lopedia' (Robert Hsiung, MD)
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About interactive health communication #3 [links last verified 25 Mar 2008]:
Open Access Newsletter:
An excellent resource about "how the internet is transforming scholarly
research and publication"
Budapest Open Access Initiative: An
initiative to accelerate progress in the international effort
to make research articles in all academic fields freely
available on the internet
Be openly accessible of be obscure:
A blog of mine, about topics relevant to the open access movement (established
20 November 2006)
Open access journals in the health sciences:
Via the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Lund University
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Links about "unconventional therapies" #1 [links last verified 8 Aug 2008]:
Complementary/Integrative Therapies: Via a website of the M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center, University of Texas
Complementary therapies for cancer-related symptoms:
Abstract of an article in J Support Oncol 2004(Sep-Oct); 2(5): 419-26.
Excerpts: "Meditation, relaxation therapy, music therapy, and
massage mitigate anxiety and distress". ... "Botanicals or dietary
supplements are popular but often problematic"
Complementary and Alternative Medicine During Cancer Treatment:
Beyond Innocence: Abstract of an article in The Oncologist
2006(July); 11(7): 732-741. Excerpt: "Unfortunately, besides direct
(and sometimes serious) side effects, several CAM ingredients are
capable of interfering with the metabolism of concurrently used
drugs, which may render the therapeutic outcome of the subscribed
drug unpredictable".
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Links about "unconventional therapies" #2 [links last verified 31 Dec 2007]:
CAM on PubMed:
Allows you to easily find journal citations related to complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM)
Unconventional
Cancer Therapies: Via the website of the British Columbia Cancer Agency
(revised June 2005)
Psychological and behavioral mechanisms influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients:
Annals of Oncology 2008; 19(1): 49-55. Excerpt from the abstract:
"The primary factor for the stage of CAM use was the expectation from family".
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Links about "unconventional therapies" #3 [links last verified 25 Mar 2008]:
Complementary
and Alternative Medicine: Information about 714X, cartilage
(bovine & shark), hydrazine sulfate and various other
unconventional therapies, via the Cancer.gov website of the
NCI-US
Cancer Survivors’ Use of Complementary Therapies: Perceived Impact on Recovery and Prevention of Recurrence:
Abstract of an article in Integrative Cancer Therapies 2005; 4(1): 14-20
Advice
from an oncology nurse: About alternative therapies (link provided
with her permission)
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Links about herbal therapies #1 [links last verified 25 Mar 2008]:
Information Resource: About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products:
Via the website of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
How to Know What Is Safe: Choosing and Using Dietary Supplements:
Via the website of the American Cancer Society
Adverse effects of herbs:
Some known (or suspected) possible harms of herbal medicines
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Links about dietary-related information #1 [links last verified 8 Aug 2008]:
Nutritional Guidelines: Via the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
website
Homepage of the 5to10aday.com
website: Facts about diet & cancer (available in English and
French)
Frequently Asked Questions:
About nutrition information for cancer survivors, compiled by Diana Dyer, MS, RD
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Links about dietary-related information #2 [links last verified 20 Apr 2008]:
Fad Diets and Why We're Obsessed:
Via the WebMD site, Feb. 25, 2004. An excerpt:
"People want a quick fix and they also want a program to follow,"
[...]. "It's not enough to say watch portion sizes and increase
exercise, they need more structure."
Office of Dietary
Supplements (NIH-US): Provides access to searchable databases
NutritionData:
NutritionData.com is a member of the Condé Nast Publications family
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A few links about soy-containing foods [links last verified 8 Aug 2008]:
Addressing the Soy and Breast Cancer Relationship: Review, Commentary, and Workshop Proceedings:
Abstract of an openly-accessible review in JNCI 2006(20 Sep);
98(18): 1275-1284. Excerpt: "Neither the existing animal nor human
data allow definitive conclusions to be drawn about the effect of
soyfoods or isoflavones on breast cancer risk in high-risk women and
on the survival of breast cancer patients"
Implications of Phytoestrogen Intake for Breast Cancer:
CA Cancer J Clin 2007(Sep-Oct); 57(5): 260-277
Soy and Breast Cancer: The Controversy Continues:
Editorial in J Natl Cancer Inst 2006; 98: 430-431
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Some links about 'humor therapy' #1 [links last verified 6 Jun 2008]:
The
Wit and Wisdom of Sue Hunter: Sue Hunter, an original and witty
writer, was an active member of the breast cancer list for nearly
four years until her death in May, 1999
Puffie's Home Page: 'Puffie
the Goldfish' was a sidekick and alter-ego of Sue Hunter
Humor Therapy: Via Yahoo! Health (last updated June 27, 2007)
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Health-related resources #1 [links last verified 25 Mar 2008]:
Glossary:
Via the Cancer Survivors On Line website (it's authors are members of
an American "cancer cluster" family)
Deciphering Medspeak: A dictionary of the specialized language
of health professionals
Lab Tests Online: Breast Cancer:
Information about clinical lab testing (last reviewed March 24, 2008)
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Health-related resources #2 [links last verified 15 Jul 2008]:
Entrez: Provides access
to PubMed, an excellent way to search for abstracts of
research publications
Open access journals in the health sciences:
Via the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Lund University
Free Medical Journals :
Promoting free access to medical journals
The "Hardin MD" webpage: Free medical journals: PubMed search
HighWire Press Lists: information about free access via journals
published online with the assistance of HighWire Press
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Health-related resources #3 [links last verified 15 Jul 2008]:
Minority
Health: Via the website of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (USA)
Cochrane Reviews:
Abstracts of evidence-based reviews
National Guideline Clearinghouse: Links to Patient Resources
Classifications of Diseases:
From the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics
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Some Canadian organizations #1 [links last verified 8 Aug 2008]:
The Canadian Cancer Society: Canada's
premier community-based, non-governmental, non-profit anti-cancer
organization
The Terry Fox Foundation:
Established in memory of a heroic young Canadian
Canadian Breast Cancer Research
Alliance : Canada's unique breast cancer research partnership
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Some Canadian organizations #2 [links last verified 15 Jul 2008]:
The Canadian Breast Cancer Network
(CBCN): An influential Canadian breast-cancer advocacy network
Wellspring:
A network of support centers for cancer patients and their families,
based in Southern Ontario (and Calgary)
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer:
An independent corporation charged with accelerating action on cancer
control across Canada
Cancer
Advocacy Coalition of Canada: Provides access to some
interesting "report cards" about the state of cancer care in
Canada
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Ways to translate a webpage [links last verified 6 Nov 2007]:
For a translation (by a computer, so it's not exact!) of the contents of a
webpage from (for example) English into several other languages,
please try entering it's URL into the webpage at:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/translate.dyn
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About this website's editor, and his interests:
My photo (and
research interests): Via a (sometimes unavailable!) website at the
University of Toronto
My Research Ethics
webpage: Contains links to sets of notes about the ethics of online
research, research priorities, and genetics research
An online resume:
Via the COS Expertise website
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Please read this disclaimer:
Disclaimer:
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