A study just published (June 25, 2014) in the Journal of the American Medical Association,found that adding tomosynthesis (3-D imaging) to digital mammograms that analyzed the records of over 250 thousand women found a 10% reduction in the rate of “false positives” and recalls for repeat testing or biopsy and detected 41% more invasive cancers compared to digital mammogram alone.

Finding invasive cancers earlier is an important step in treating breast cancers early. Enhanced detection of invasive cancers is especially important in young women and all women with dense breasts –that can hide behind dense tissue that is superimposed on it. While MRI of the breast and ultrasound can pick-up cancers not detected by routine mammography, they also lead to more “false positives” and are not optimal for screening.

Be sure to check as 3-D scans are not covered by all insurances and may be somewhat more expensive (usually less than $100.00). *false positive mammogram or scan result – radiology reading that notes an area or questions a “change” in an area of the breast that could be abnormal, but upon additional screening or biopsy is shown not to be cancer.

Prostate cancer is a common and dreaded condition.  The controversy over PSA testing, biopsy, and treatment continues to brew.   Age, medical condition, and lifestyle are big factors in determining if, and how, prostate cancer is treated.

Adding to the discussion is an interesting, large, 2013 UK study that found that taking statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) helped reduce deaths in prostate cancer patients.  The reduction in mortality was greatest in men who were taking statins prior to the prostate cancer diagnosis. Statins may have anti-tumor effects .
Take home message for men: if your cholesterol is high and dietary actions have not adequately reduced blood lipid levels, this study may serve to tip the balance toward statin therapy.

Last fall, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Int. Med. Aug. 5, 2013),  showed a significant increase in the risk of developing breast cancer (perhaps double) when  medications, known as calcium channel blockers (commonly used to treat high blood pressure), were taken over a long period of time.  The increased risk appeared to be for two types of breast cancer – invasive lobular and invasive ductal cell types.

While the findings in this study need to be confirmed by other studies, it may be prudent not to use calcium channel blocker medication to treat high blood pressure – if other medications can achieve adequate control.

Controlling your blood sugar is important whether or not you have diabetes.   Elevated blood sugars contribute to heart, stroke, kidney, eye, nerve and other problems.   While many doctors suspected that high blood sugars might cause changes in cognitive (brain) function, there were not strong research studies showing the link.   In August 2013, the New England Journal of Medicine, published a study looking at a large group of people over a long period of time and found that there was an association between high blood sugar levels and development of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

One more reason to care about your weight and your blood sugar.

New findings and results of medical research are published every day.   In 2001, the Women’s Health Initiative studying the effects of taking hormones after menopause abruptly stopped its studies of women who were taking estrogen plus progestin (Prempro) because of bad effects (adverse events).

Women were advised by their doctors to stop taking these medications and other women, alarmed by media reports of the bad effects stopped taking the medications on their own.   Media and medical journals reports were alarming, and failed to adequately separate out women who had undergone removal of their uterus (hysterectomy) and were taking estrogen hormone alone.

Estrogen-only treatment has been found to protect the hearts and bones of women when taken during the 10-years after menopause.  Unfortunately, these positive effects of estrogen treatment in this group of women was lost in the upset over the findings in the WHI study and many of these women, who were being helped by estrogen treatment – for symptoms, heart and bone effects and overall lower death rate – were also advised to stop treatment.

Pretty confusing to most people, including physicians.   What seems clear is that post-menopausal women cannot, and should not, be lumped together as a group.   Women approaching menopause who have had their uterus removed may well benefit from a defined course of estrogen therapy and may benefit more from transdermal (patches) estrogen than pills.

Every woman should discuss the risks and benefits of taking estrogen at menopause with their physicians.  Women, like people in general, come in groups of one.