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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
October 11, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 Breast Cancer Awareness Month Cheryl Holloway Releases ‘The Black Woman’s Breast Cancer Survival Guide’ Understanding Genetic Differences Between Breast Cancer Tumors is Key to Better Treatment C By Jonathan Rennhack and Jing-Ru Jhan, Michigan State University heryl Holloway, PhD, and program director for the Bachelor of Science in Public Health program at South University in Novi, Michigan, is a two- time breast cancer sur- vivor whose book, “The Black Woman’s Breast Cancer Survival Guide, Understanding and Heal- ing in the face of a Na- tionwide Crisis” was just published by Praeger, ABC-CLIO. Holloway also teaches courses on women and minority health issues and public health and wellness. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Holloway discov- ered that Black women have a higher risk than women of other races and ethnicities for ag- gressive forms of breast cancer that can occur before a woman’s 40th birthday. In fact, Hollo- way was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 39 years old. A long-time volunteer for the American Can- cer Society and a fervent supporter of mammo- grams for women, Hol- loway decided to inves- tigate how breast cancer affects Black women. As a Black woman herself, she understands that some women are fearful of the health care system and reticent about ask- ing questions. Yet Black women urgently need an- swers so they can obtain the best treatments for their diagnosis, whatev- er type of breast cancer they may have. Holloway B discovered that some Black women likely don’t obtain mammograms or cancer treatment be- cause cancer centers are far from their homes and they may not realize transportation help is available. She also dis- covered some women are fatalistic about their can- cer, refusing to receive treatment. Holloway says simply that God made on- cologists to help women with breast cancer. This book is available for purchase at Amazon. com. Red Cross Urges Public to Support Cancer Patients by Giving Blood M ary Alice Donofrio gave blood for the first time in memory of her mother who received sever- al blood transfusions while be- ing treated for breast cancer. “I had no idea what to expect, but the experience was very easy and quite rewarding. Ever since then, I try and give blood as often as I can, and every time it gives me a good feeling in my heart. It is so nice to know that taking just an hour or so out of my day can help save the lives of others.” According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 1.7 million new cases of cancer are expected in the U.S. this year. Breast cancer is the most common can- cer among women, with nearly 253,000 women expected to be diagnosed in 2017. Cancer patients may need blood products during chemotherapy, sur- gery or treatment for complications. To sign up to donate blood, you can download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood. org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733- 2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identifi- cation are required at check-in. Indi- viduals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and oth- er donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-dona- tion reading and health history ques- tionnaire online, on the day of their donation, from a computer or mobile device. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site. reast cancer is not a single dis- ease. It is in fact, a collection of genetic changes that all lead to the same outcome: a tumor in the breast. This means that breast cancer pa- tients can’t be treated with identical therapies. Instead, therapy must be tailored to the underlying genetic changes that causes the tumor. To do this, physicians can look at a tumor’s genetic markers, which are called bio- markers. Looking at these biomarkers helps oncologists choose the treat- ment that is most likely to be effective in a particular tumor. Based on her tumor’s biomarkers, a breast cancer patient could receive hormone therapy, targeted therapy or chemotherapy as her treatment See TREATMENT on page 10
