BCA E-Alert April 2007

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WE PUBLISH A SNAIL MAIL NEWSLETTER TOO - We just can't get enough of you ...and hope
that you can't get enough of us! If you're not already on our mailing list we'd
love to send you our bimonthly newsletter, the BCA Source, filled with information
on treatment, diagnosis, politics, and true prevention updates. Check out the
archives and subscribe online at http://www.bcaction.org/newsletter

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In this issue...

1. NEW AT BCA: Help Us Plan BCA's Future
2. IN THE NEWS: New Guidelines Issued for MRI Breast Exam; Study Reveals Disparities
for Aggressive Breast Cancer
3. TAKE ACTION: Become an Advocate Reviewer for Breast Cancer Research; Tell
Congress to Support the Toxics Right-to-Know Act; Join the Target PVC Day of Action
4. SAVE THE DATE: ASCO Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, IL
5. FAQ OF THE MONTH: What is MRI?

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1. NEW AT BCA: Help Us Plan BCA's Future

Help Us Plan BCA's Future

BCA is undergoing a strategic planning process, and is seeking your input! We’re
conducting a survey of BCA's friends and supporters to get a sense of what’s
important to you as we plan BCA's future. It will take about 10 minutes of your
time—and will help us enormously. Please complete the survey by April 27. Thank
you, in advance! The survey is at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=16393389700

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2. IN THE NEWS: New Guidelines Issued for MRI Breast Exam; Study Reveals Disparities
for Aggressive Breast Cancer

New Guidelines Issued for MRI Breast Exam

On March 28, 2007, the American Cancer Society (ACS) issued new guidelines for using
MRI scans in addition to annual mammograms for women at high risk of developing the
disease (defined as a lifetime risk of 20-25 percent or greater). Additionally, a
study published in the March 29, 2007 edition of the New England Journal of
Medicine, suggests that for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, an MRI can
help find cancer in the opposite breast, helping women to make more informed choices
about their treatment options.

The ACS cautions that MRIs are not appropriate for women with an average risk of
developing the disease. Because MRIs are more sensitive than mammograms, they are
more likely to show spots that are not cancer (a false positive result), leading to
unnecessary biopsies and increased fear and anxiety.

The New York Times covered the new guidelines extensively in a series of two
articles. The first article reported that the guidelines could mean a million or
more women a year will now need an annual MRI. Radiologists are not yet equipped to
meet that demand because MRIs require special equipment, software, and trained
radiologists to read the results. Additionally, because MRIs are more expensive than
mammograms, a million more scans a year would cost the health care system at least
$1 billion, and for individual women, the technology may or may not be covered by
government programs and insurance. The article is at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/health/28mri.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

A second article in The New York Times went into greater detail about some of the
concerns about the new guidelines. BCA's Executive Director, Barbara Brenner, is
quoted in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/health/03cons.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

As with mammography, MRI screening has limitations. Learn more about BCA’s Policy on
Screening and Early Detection at
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/LearnAboutUs/BreastCancerScreening.html

To read the ACS guidelines visit
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Society_Advises_MRIs_for_Some_Women_at_High_Risk_of_Breast_Cancer.asp


Study Reveals Disparities for Aggressive Breast Cancer

As reported in Healthday, a recent study found that women with a particularly
aggressive form of breast cancer (called basal-like or triple-negative) were more
likely to be poor, African-American or Hispanic, and under 40 years old. Because
triple-negative breast cancers lack receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2,
they are especially difficult to treat.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Sutter Cancer Center in Sacramento,
California, compared the demographics of women diagnosed with triple-negative
disease to women with breast cancers that carried hormonal markers. The researchers
found that women under 40 years old were over one-and-a-half times more likely to
have triple negative breast cancers than were patients between the ages of 60 and
69. Additionally, while nearly 25 percent of African-American patients and 17
percent of Hispanic patients had triple-negative breast cancers, only about 11
percent of whites and 12 percent of Asians had a similar diagnosis. Income was also
a factor. Patients with a higher income were less likely to be triple-negative than
poorer breast cancer patients, although the very poorest group did not show a
significantly greater risk. The findings will be published in the May 1 edition of
Cancer.

BCA’s Answers Wanted campaign focuses on the crucial questions in breast cancer that
remain unanswered, including why different racial and ethnic groups have different
breast cancer incidence and mortality rates, and what can be done to successfully
address those disparities. More information about Answers Wanted can be found at
http://www.bcaction.org/answerswanted

To read the Healthday article visit http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=603073

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3. TAKE ACTION: Become an Advocate Reviewer for Breast Cancer Research; Tell
Congress to Support the Toxics Right-to-Know Act; Join the Target PVC Day of Action

Become an Advocate Reviewer for Breast Cancer Research

Help shape the future of breast cancer research. The Department of Defense's Breast
Cancer Research Program is looking for patients, survivors, and family members of
those affected by breast cancer to participate as consumer representatives in their
scientific peer review committees. Consumer representatives play an active role in
setting program priorities and making funding decisions. Consumer representatives
must be nominated by a breast cancer organization or support group. If you are
interested in applying and would like BCA to consider your nomination, please
contact Pauli Ojea at pojea [at] bcaction.org by Friday, May 4. More information is
available at http://cdmrp.army.mil/cwg/requirements.htm


Tell Congress to Support the Toxics Right-to-Know Protection Act

President Bush recently signed an Executive Order (EO) that could exempt hundreds of
federal facilities from reporting toxic chemical releases as a part of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. This
measure follows EPA rulemaking last December that weakened TRI reporting
requirements for all regulated facilities. Together, these actions significantly
undermine the public’s ability to track releases of hazardous chemicals that pose
potentially serious risks to human health.

The TRI program was established in 1986 “to empower citizens, through information,
to hold companies and local governments accountable in terms of how chemicals are
managed.” The recent changes will significantly reduce the public's access to this
valuable information.

The Toxics Right-to-Know Protection Act has been introduced to undo the recent
rollbacks on toxics reporting through the TRI program. Take action by asking your
legislators to vote for this important piece of legislation at
https://secure2.convio.net/psr/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=181&JServSessionIdr005=j9kyb934j1.app6b


More information about this issue can be found at
http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Toxics_Right_to_Know


Join the Target PVC Day of Action

Join the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) and groups from around
the country fighting for safe and healthy communities at a national PVC Day of
Action in May to urge retail giant Target to phase out PVC, the poison plastic.

Unfortunately, Target lags behind other major retailers in phasing out this
unnecessary and dangerous plastic. From production in poor Louisiana communities to
disposal in landfills and incinerators, PVC plastic releases poisonous chemicals
that can cause cancer and birth defects. The good news is that safer alternatives
are available, and many retailers are already doing the right thing by phasing PVC
out of their products.

Help keep the pressure on Target by attending or hosting an action event in your
community. Planning an event can be fun and easy. An action event can be as small as
you and a friend, or as big as dozens of people handing out flyers and a PVC "report
card" outside of a Target store. CHEJ can help by providing you with materials and
tips for your action event.

Learn more and sign up for an event today at
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/CHEJ/signUp.jsp?key=2140&t=PVCsignup.dwt

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4. SAVE THE DATE: ASCO Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, IL

ASCO Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, IL

The 43rd annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting will take place
in Chicago from June 1-5th. The ASCO meeting is a medical conference for patients,
advocates, researchers, and physicians to come together and learn about the latest
research in oncology. For more information and to register, visit http://www.asco.org

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5. FAQ OF THE MONTH: What is MRI?

MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging, is an imaging technique that uses magnetic
fields and radio waves to make computer images of internal body organs. It does not
use radiation. An MRI machine consists of a very large magnet, and it looks like a
large tube or tunnel. Radio waves from the MRI machine send signals to the body and
then receive signals back. These returning signals are converted into pictures by a
computer attached to the MRI machine.

For breast MRI, the patient lays face-down on a table with her breasts hanging into
the machine. In most cases, a contrasting agent is injected into her that will make
lesions light up. MRI is more sensitive than mammography, and it will pick up many
lesions that are not cancer, thus leading to a greater number of false positives and
more biopsies. Like mammography, it can also miss some cancers.

Breast MRI requires special MRI equipment and trained staff to be able to perform
and read the resulting images. Therefore, there are a limited number of health
centers that are equipped to perform breast MRI. It also costs up to ten times more
to perform than a mammogram, and it is unclear whether it will be covered by
Medicare and health insurance.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has recently announced new screening guidelines
for high risk women that include MRI in addition to mammography. "High risk,"
however, is often hard to determine for an individual woman, meaning that it will be
difficult to identify who should be getting MRI and who should not. As with any
screening method, BCA encourages women to talk with their health care provider about
the benefits and limitations of this technology.

To read the new ACS guidelines, visit
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Society_Advises_MRIs_for_Some_Women_at_High_Risk_of_Breast_Cancer.asp

To read BCA's Factsheet on Mammography Screening and New Technologies, visit
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/MammographyAndNewTech.html

To read BCA's Policy on Breast Cancer Screening and "Early Detection," visit
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/LearnAboutUs/BreastCancerScreening.html



-- YOUR INPUT WANTED: Is there a question you want answered, or an issue that you
want BCA's opinion on? Send it to pojea [at] bcaction.org and we'll try to answer it
personally or feature it in a future e-alert!

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That's it for this edition! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or
comments about this e-alert.

Thanks for your continued support of BCA. Until next time,

Pauli Ojea, Community Organizer
Toll free at 877-2STOPBC (278-6722)
http://www.bcaction.org
http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org

Our members are the driving force behind our efforts to end the breast
cancer epidemic. Because Breast Cancer Action does not accept funding from
the government or the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, we need
your support. You can donate online at
http://bcaction.org/Pages/SupportUs/Donate.html, or call 415-243-9301, or
toll-free at 1-877-278-6722. All gifts are deeply appreciated.


Breast Cancer Action is funded in part by a grant from the California Wellness
Foundation (TCWF). Created in 1992 as an independent, private foundation, TCWF's
mission is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for
health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention programs.