September 26, 2006
Breast Biopsy is Best Detection Method
I have written here about the core breast biopsy I had a few years ago, and I just finished reading an interesting article that compares the different success rates for detection methods. The breast biopsy was judged to be the most accurate. In one study the "false negative" rate for the core biopsy was 6%. The other methods tested were MRI, ultrasound, PET scan, and scintimammography.
In the AHRQ report, the researchers found that the use of MRI missed 38 cancers for every 1,000 women; ultrasound missed 50 tumors for every 1,000 women; and PET scans missed 76 per 1,000 women. Scintimammography, a nuclear medicine test method that uses a small amount of dye and a scanner to detect cancer, missed 93 tumors for every 1,000 women.
Biopsy Best for Breast Cancer Detection
Good information to know if you ever need to make a choice.
Posted by laura at 9:14 PM | Comments (3)
July 11, 2006
DEXA T-Scores After Strontium Citrate
Thought I would post the results of my latest DEXA bone density scan. Good and bad news. Here are my T-scores for 4 different scans over the last 5 years......
Spine:
-2.7 (2001)
-3.1 (2002)
-3.1 with Advacal (2004)
-2.8 with Advacal and strontium (2006)
Femur:
-3.2 (2001)
-2.2 (2002)
-1.9 with Advacal (2004)
-2.3 with Advacal and strontium (2006)
So the spine got better and the femur got a worse since the last scan (third). But overall since the first scan I’m pretty much holding my own from where I started with the spine, and the femur has gone from osteoporosis to osteopenia.
I do have to say that I have only been taking the strontium correctly for a few months. I knew not to take it with calcium, but thought you were supposed to take it with meals. Not correct. I was taking it away from calcium supplements but with meals, and probably was not getting all the benefits. I only corrected it in the last few months and have been doing it in the morning an hour before breakfast. Dr.Hoffman (below) says take it at night so I may switch to that. (Always take more calcium than strontium.)
I really hoped for and expected better results, but am going to continue to take it. (If I had gotten these results after knowing that I had taken it correctly the whole time, I might have decided to quit.) Also there is no acceptable alternative for me now that the Fosamax and related drug stories are out about the jaw necrosis problem.
Dr. Ronald Hoffman: "Strontium is available as strontium carbonate, strontium chloride, strontium sulfate, strontium gluconate and strontium citrate. In clinical research strontium gluconate was absorbed better than strontium carbonate. It is my clinical opinion that strontium citrate is absorbed better than the other forms of this mineral. Remember that strontium is very closely related to calcium. They both utilize the same carrier protein for transport. Calcium will win this tug of war effortlessly. The take home message is to take strontium 4 hours away from calcium (preferably other minerals as well) before bed. Currently, I dose strontium at 681mg in one dose prior to bed (each strontium citrate capsule contains 227mg of pure strontium citrate = 3 capsules) on an empty stomach (defined as 2 hours after a meal)." (drhoffman.com)
Note: I'm contributing to the new Got Bones blog if you want more information about bone health.
Posted by laura at 7:26 PM | Comments (32)
April 14, 2006
Fosamax Lawsuits
This news story is very distressing. There are lawsuits by women claiming Fosamax causes osteonecrosis of the jawbone.
"The osteoporosis drug Fosamax is under fire, with reports linking its long term use to a condition causing patients' jawbones to rot and die. That disease is called osteonecrosis (ONJ) and it caused Gwendolyn Wolfe to develop ONJ." (wate.com)
Oh great! A rotting jawbone?!!! I sure am glad I continued to resist doctors who wanted me to take this. As I stated before, my mother took it and ended up with problems swallowing. Just what she needed when she was dying from breast cancer!
Check out a copy of Overdosed America by John Abramson, M.D., (or just go in a bookstore and read). The chapters on hormones, osteoporosis and Fosamax are very eye opening. His website has an excerpt from the book on Fosamax… click on Chapter 13.
I'm finally going back on Wednesday for a follow-up bone density to see if the strontium is working. (I take strontium citrate.) I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!
Note: I'm contributing to the new bone health blog if you want more information about Fosamax.
Posted by laura at 2:10 PM | Comments (0)
April 3, 2006
Supplements to Prevent Breast Cancer
Well, it sure has been awhile so I thought I would do some catching up and talk about an interesting product I heard about this morning.
I was watching a news show and they had Dr. Christine Horne on talking about a new supplement for breast cancer prevention. Dr. Horne is the surgeon who headed up a national campaign in the 90s that pushed legislation through Congress requiring insurance companies to pay for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. So I searched for a news story and found this.
The supplement is called Protective Breast Formula and combines seven natural ingredients in clinically-studied doses: Vitamin D, Calcium D-Gluconate, Green Tea Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Indolplex (DIM), Maitake D-fraction, and Turmeric. They have established clinical efficacy for promoting breast health. You can read all about it and check out the ingredients here.
I already drink green tea and have been taking DIM or I3C for years. But this supplement looks pretty good and I'm considering taking it. Dr. Horne also has an interesting website.
As for other progress in my quest toward figuring out how to live well with menopause, I don't have too much to report. I completely quit the natural progesterone. Could be a mistake but I didn't intend to do it forever anyway and I'm not having hot flashes. I'm still taking the Maca which does seem to help a little, and of course still on the vaginal estriol for dryness.
I had my yearly mammogram, ultrasound, and pap smear. Everything was fine and that was certainly a relief after what happened last year.
Related HealthDiaries.com Content
20 Health Benefits of Turmeric
The Breast Cancer Blog
Posted by laura at 3:53 PM | Comments (1)
July 25, 2005
Testosterone and Libido
Saw an interesting segment on the Today show this morning about the connection between low libido and testosterone in women. Dr. Judith Reichman was the guest and she basically said there is no direct connection. I did a search for an article and did find one.
"The report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association questions the assumption among sex researchers that low sexual desire in women has roots in low levels of testosterone or certain related hormones. If a woman with low libido walks into her doctor's office and asks for a blood test to see if she can use that new testosterone patch, well, there's no basis for that," said lead author Dr. Susan Davis of Monash Medical School in Victoria, Australia. "They're totally uninformative."
Apparently the key is not a woman's level of testosterone but how much those levels may have changed over time. Makes sense to me since my testosterone level is fine and my libido is not. I don't know what my levels were before menopause. I think that's a good case for testing your hormones before menopause so you know what the normal levels are for you.
Posted by laura at 2:01 PM | Comments (1)