September 2, 2010
September is both Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
CancerCare partnered with L’Oreal Paris and Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) to create a free telephone counseling and referral service for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Launched one year ago, The L’Oreal Paris OCRF Hopeline has proven to be a great source of support for many women facing an ovarian cancer diagnosis. The Hopeline is staffed by professional oncology social workers and operates Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
Call the L’Oréal Paris OCRF Hope Line at 877-OV-HOPE-1 (877-684-6731).
CancerCare responded to the needs of men facing prostate cancer by publishing two new fact sheets: Caring for Your Bones When You Have Prostate Cancer and Prostate Cancer: What You Should Know About Screening and Diagnosis.
For more resources on these cancers, including additional publications, support groups and archived connect education workshops, visit the diagnoses pages on our website.
Leave a Comment » | 
Caregiving, Coping with Cancer, Learn More About Your Diagnosis, Men's Cancers, Women's Cancers | Tagged: cancer information, cancer research, coping, Men's Cancers, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, Women's Cancers | 
Permalink
Posted by Kyle Hornyak
July 20, 2010
Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network (MBCN) have partnered with Genentech to conduct a 10-question survey to better understand how people diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer identify with and feel about living with the illness.
Genentech will donate $5 for each survey completed to programs and services designed specifically for metastatic breast cancer patients. Survey results will be used to produce video and media materials that will be distributed on Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13).
The survey is open and available online until August 31. Please visit facesofmbc.org or text MBC to 74471 to share your story.
Leave a Comment » | Coping with Cancer, Learn More About Your Diagnosis, Survivorship, Women's Cancers | Tagged: breast cancer, cancer information, cancer patients, cancer research, cancer survivors, research, Women's Cancers | Permalink
Posted by Kyle Hornyak
June 7, 2010
Researchers at the University of Colorado, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and UCLA have joined with the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service to investigate how to better provide information about the best treatments possible for patients affected by breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Each of the three studies are seeking participants, who will receive a variety of types of educational information about their diagnosis, and will then be asked to participate in two brief telephone interviews with researchers over a period of nine months. All information is completely confidential.
Healing Choice for Prostate Cancer is for men who have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, but have not yet begun any treatment. The goal is to help men decide on the treatment that’s right for them.
Healing Choices for Women with Breast Cancer is for women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, but who have not yet begun any treatment. The study’s purpose is to determine the best way to provide treatment information to women, and whether the information helped them in making decisions about their treatment.
Pathways to Recovery after Breast Cancer Treatment is for women who are just completing treatment for breast cancer or have completed treatment within the past six months. The goal is to find out the best way to help women get information about life after breast cancer treatment.
To find out if you are eligible to participate in any of these studies, please call 1-866-258-7981.
CancerCare offers free, professional support services to anyone affected by breast cancer or prostate cancer. People affected by either diagnosis may qualify to receive up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance through the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation.
Leave a Comment » | Coping with Cancer, Learn More About Your Diagnosis, Men's Cancers, Survivorship, Women's Cancers | Tagged: cancer information, cancer patients, cancer research, coping, research, Women's Cancers | Permalink
Posted by Kyle Hornyak
November 18, 2009
Women have long been told that, barring a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors, they should start yearly routine mammograms at age 40. Now, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts appointed by the U.S. government, has just released new recommendations stating that women under 50 of average risk do not need regular mammograms and that those ages 50 to 74 should get them just once every two years. An additional recommendation advises physicians not to teach women how to perform breast self-exams.
The USPSTF says that the new recommendations are based on data and analyses showing that older women benefit more from mammograms than do younger women and are aimed at reducing the potential harm from overscreening. The task force is not saying mammograms don’t work, just that the benefits for younger women are modest and should be weighed against the potential harms of further unnecessary tests such as biopsies, and the psychological stress that false-positives can cause patients.
There is concern about how these new guidelines will affect insurance coverage for mammograms; some advocates of annual screening and early detection question whether the new guidelines are based less on the scientific data than the politics of curbing health care costs. But regardless of how the debate will unfold, each woman faces the decision of whether or not to follow the new recommendations.
How is a woman to know what to do, when there is so much conflicting and confusing information? CancerCare advocates that each woman should know her family history of breast cancer and discuss her individual risk with her doctor to make an informed decision.
If you were diagnosed with breast cancer, we invite you to comment on this issue. What role did routine screening and mammography play in your diagnosis, and how do you feel about the new recommendations?
2 Comments | Women's Cancers | Permalink
Posted by Monica Cavazos Mendez
October 14, 2009
CancerCare's Jane Levy (center) with Avon's Carol Kurzig and financial expert Suze Orman, accepting a $1.125 million grant award, made possible by participants in Avon's annual Walk for Breast Cancer.
CancerCare was among 8 non-profit organizations receiving substantial grants this past weekend from the Avon Foundation for Women to support direct services and care for women facing breast cancer.
The grant funds were made possible by the more than 4,000 men and women, including hundreds of breast cancer survivors, who walked in the seventh annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on Oct. 10 and 11 in New York City and raised a record $8.7 million to support a variety of health care non-profits that assist women facing breast cancer.
The Walk is a noncompetitive event, in which participants collect pledges for completing either a walking marathon (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles), split over 2 days.
The Avon Foundation is a long-time supporter of CancerCare’s free counseling, education and financial assistance programs for underserved women with breast cancer who live in New York City and the tri-state area.
CancerCare received nearly $1.13 million — the second largest grant award presented — during the celebratory Closing Ceremony of the Walk. Suze Orman, financial expert and Special Ambassador for the Avon Foundation for Women, and Carol Kurzig, President of the Avon Foundation, were on hand to present the ceremonial check to CancerCare Director of Patient Services Jane Levy.
To date, Avon’s support has allowed CancerCare to provide its free, professional services to more than 39,000 low-income women facing breast cancer.
Leave a Comment » | Coping with Cancer, Financial Assistance, Support CancerCare, Women's Cancers | Tagged: Avon Foundation, breast cancer, cancer survivors, chemotherapy, cost of care, financial resources, low-income, New York City, Women's Cancers | Permalink
Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
September 1, 2009
CALL 1-877-OV-HOPE-1 (877-684-6731)
While any cancer diagnosis is a frightening and stressful experience, when the diagnosis is ovarian cancer, too many women have no place to turn for help in coping with their situation. While five-year survival rates exceed 90 percent in early-stage diagnoses, there is still no effective early-stage test for the disease, which often is not diagnosed until it reaches an advanced stage, when it is far more difficult to treat successfully.
Now CancerCare and its partners, L’Oréal Paris and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, have launched the L’Oreal Paris OCRF Hope Line, a free telephone counseling and referral service staffed by CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers, who can help address women’s concerns about an ovarian cancer diagnosis and identify resources to ensure they receive the best care possible.
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer among U.S. women. This year, approximately 22,000 women will be diagnosed, and nearly 15,000 will lose their lives to the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, call the Hope Line at 877-OV-HOPE-1 (877-684-6731). The line operates Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Leave a Comment » | Coping with Cancer, Learn More About Your Diagnosis, Women's Cancers | Tagged: ovarian cancer, Women's Cancers | Permalink
Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
