Category Archives: Breast Cancer

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Fullerton, CA

Breast Cancer, ,

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of this disease. While several woman may be aware of breast cancer, very few take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage other women to take the same steps. Taking the proper steps to detect breast cancer is vital for women’s health. Breast cancer is one of the most common type of cancers in women. In fact, about one in eight women born in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. Those statistics are scary, however, as I mentioned earlier, there are steps that you can take to become aware of the symptoms that come along with this terrible disease. To help you detect the symptoms of breast cancer I have complied a list of the signs and symptoms that all of us should be aware of.

Change in the way breast or nipple feels

  • Nipple tenderness, lump or thickening in or near your breast or underarm area
  • Change in the texture of your skin or enlargement of the pores of your breasts
  • A lump in your breast (even if it’s small be sure to seek professional help for a screening)

Change in Breast or Nipple Appearance

  • Any unexplained change in size or shape of your breast
  • Dimpling anywhere on your breast
  • Unexplained swelling of your breast
  • Unexplained Shrinkage of your breast
  • Unexplained asymmetry of your breast (it’s common for women to have one breast larger than the other)
  • Your nipple is slightly inward or inverted
  • Skin of your breast, areola, or nipple that becomes red, scaly or swollen or resemble the skin of an orange

Any Nipple Discharge

  • Particularly if you have clear discharge or bloody discharge

Most of the time these symptoms are not due to cancer, but if you have any breast cancer symptoms you should be seen by your doctor immediately to be sure you are healthy and cancer free. Even if you haven’t experienced any symptoms, it’s still vital to be seen for regular screenings. Your doctor is always able to screen for breast cancer before you have any noticeable symptoms.

If you would like to take the first step towards good health, contact Dr. Gordon C. Gunn MD in Fullerton, CA at 714-912-2211 to schedule an appointment today .Or visit www.gordongunnmd.com for additional information regarding women’s health. 

Dr. Gordon Gunn proudly serves Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut and all surrounding Orange County areas.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Fullerton, CA

Breast Cancer, ,

ThinkstockPhotos-490784832

October is National Breast Cancer awareness month. Breast Cancer is one of the most common cancers among American women, affecting around 230,000 women each year. Raising breast cancer awareness is extremely important as it doesn’t only affect women; but it also affects around 2,300 each year as well. Breast cancer does not discriminate; it affects people of all ages and races. One of the first steps we can take towards effectively identifying and treating breast cancer is by taking preventive action and being aware of the symptoms that come along with this terrible disease. The following list includes breast cancer symptoms that we should all be aware of:

Change in the way breast or nipple feels

  • Nipple tenderness, lump or thickening in or near your breast or underarm area
  • Change in the texture of your skin or enlargement of the pores of your breasts
  • A lump in your breast (even if it’s small make sure to see professional for a screening)

Change in Breast or Nipple Appearance

  • Any unexplained change in size or shape of your breast
  • Dimpling anywhere on your breast
  • Unexplained swelling of your breast
  • Unexplained Shrinkage of your breast
  • Recent unexplained asymmetry of your breast (its common for women to have one breast larger than the other)
  • Your nipple is slightly inward or inverted
  • Skin of your breast, areola, or nipple that becomes red, scaly or swollen or resemble the skin of an orange

Any Nipple Discharge

  • Particularly if you have clear discharge or bloody discharge

 

Most times these symptoms are not due to cancer, but if you have any breast cancer symptoms you should be seen by your doctor immediately to be sure you’re healthy and cancer free. Even if you haven’t experienced any symptoms, it’s still incredibly important to be seen for regular screenings. Your doctor is always able to check for breast cancer before you have any noticeable symptoms.

To schedule a breast cancer screening, contact Dr. Gordon C. Gunn MD in Fullerton, CA at 714-912-2211 or visit our website at www.gordongunnm.com for more information regarding our services. 

Dr. Gordon Gunn proudly serves Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut and all surrounding areas.

New Model to predicting cancer in Women | Fullerton, CA

Breast Cancer, Gynecology, Womens Health, ,

Branch of dogwood blossoms against a dark backgroundScientists have developed a new model that can predict a woman’s risk of developing breast, ovarian and endometrial (womb) cancer.

The model uses easily obtainable information on known risk factors for these cancers, according to the researchers.

Researchers developed these models by using data from two large US studies that included white, non-Hispanic women aged over 50 years and by including commonly known risk factors, such as parity (the number of children a women delivered), body mass index (an indicator of the amount of body fat), use of oral contraceptives, and menopausal status and use of menopausal hormone therapy.

Researchers said the new models are able to predict individual women’s risk of each cancer.  For instance, individual women’s risk for endometrial cancer calculated using this model ranged from 0.5% to 29.5% over the next 20 years depending on their exposure to various risk factors.

“These models predict absolute risks for breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers from easily obtainable risk factors and may assist in clinical decision-making,” researchers wrote.

“Limitations are the modest discriminatory ability of the breast and ovarian models and that these models may not generalize to women of other races,” they added.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

Contact Dr. Gordon C. Gunn, M.D., a specialist in female urology.  Don’t continue to suffer, call his office today for an appointment 714-912-2211 or visit his website at www.gordongunnmd.com.

Dr. Gordon Gunn also proudly serves Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut and surrounding areas

Story written by Christine Hsu for www.counselheal.com.  Story is dated July 30, 2013

 

Menopause and Hormone Therapy | Fullerton, CA

Breast Cancer, Gynecology, Heart Attack, Menopause, , ,

iStock_000014235018SmallMenopause is a natural occurring event that all women will experience, usually in their early 50’s, when their ovaries cease producing estrogen. Post-menopause is diagnosed when a woman has not menstruated for one year and marks the end of the reproductive period of her life. Gunn Center of Fullerton, CA offers some interesting and useful information on menopause and hormone therapy.

Peri-menopause is diagnosed when the menstrual cycles vary in frequency and length and may be associated with psychological, emotional and/or physical symptoms (discussed later). These disturbances are due to a declining ovarian production of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone that may be periodic or continuous. Women born prior to the 1930’s had a life expectancy of about 50 yrs. Today, a woman can expect to live well into her 80’s with over one-third of her life occurring after menopause and be subject to the physical changes discussed later in this paper.

The history of hormone replacement in women has seen many swings in popularity over the past few decades. In 1991 the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) launched the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study involving about 161,000 healthy postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years with an average age of 63 years. The study was designed to test the effects of hormone therapy on heart disease, bone fractures, breast cancer and colon cancer. One group of women who had undergone a hysterectomy received oral estrogen (Premarin) alone [estrogen replacement therapy or ERT]. A second group received a combination of Premarin and progesterone (PremPro) [combination hormone replacement therapy or HRT]. A third group received a placebo, which contained no hormone. In 2002 the study was stopped because the Provera group was associated with a slight increase in the incidence of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots.

Millions of women in the U.S. stopped their hormone out of fear and they entered into “hot-flash hell”. A recent careful re-analysis and follow up review of the data has revealed that the actual risks of breast cancer, stroke and heart disease were NOT increased over time and were, in fact decreased; especially in women who were perimenapausal when they initiated hormone therapy.

In April 2011 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a follow-up study of the women in the WHI who took estrogen alone. The finding: a statistically significant reduction in breast cancer over time. Further, those women who did develop breast cancer were 63% less likely to die from their disease. Among the women with a prior hysterectomy treated with estrogen alone and followed for 11 years, there was NO increased risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, hip fracture, colon cancer or mortality. Importantly, there was a persistent decrease in the risk of breast cancer. This finding is now contrary to the persistently held belief that estrogen causes breast cancer and increases the risk of heart attacks.

After a decade of fear and confusion regarding the risks and benefits of estrogen replacement therapy, medical studies have now clearly established its safety and its health benefits. In March 2012 the North American Menopause Society released a statement that supports these findings, stating that combination hormone therapy (both estrogen and progesterone) initiated around the time of menopause is safe.

Contact Dr. Gordon Gunn today at (714) 912-2211 to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Gordon Gunn also proudly serves Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut, and surrounding areas.

Breast Cancer Survivors and the Role of Hormone Therapy | Fullerton, CA

Breast Cancer, , ,

Senior Woman Enjoying Hot DrinkIn the United States, one out of nine women will have developed breast cancer by the time they reach their 90’s. Although the incidence of breast cancer is rising, the cure rate of early-detected invasive disease (lymph nodes negative for tumor) is excellent (97%). The role of estrogen as a possible risk factor for breast cancer has and continues to be a subject of major concern.

Contact Dr. Gordon Gunn today at (714) 912-2211 to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Gordon Gunn also proudly serves Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut, and surrounding areas.

Breast Cancer Screening – Fullerton CA

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Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed among women. In 2008, an estimated of 182,460 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed, and more than 40,480 women will die of the disease and is second to lung cancer as the most common cause of cancer death in the U.S. Women in the United States have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer by the time they reach their 90’s. The single most important factor for surviving breast cancer is the stage at which the disease is detected. The survival rate for early stage disease is 97%. It is 77% for disease, which has spread to the nearby lymph nodes, and 21% for distant metastatic disease.

Mammogram Screening:

In adolescence, the breast tissue is very dense; however, as women age, the dense breast tissue is infiltrated with fat cells, which allows for greater penetration of the x-rays used in mammograms. Women who have a first-degree relative with breast cancer should have their initial breast mammogram performed at 30 years of age, and then every two years until she is 40. Women without an immediate family history should begin mammogram screening at 35 and then every two years until 40. After 40, the accuracy of the mammogram greatly increases as the amount of fat replacement becomes more significant and mammograms should be performed annually

Self-Breast Examination:

Self-breast examinations should be performed on the last day of each menstrual period during the reproductive years. When a woman ceases menstruating, she is recommended to perform the self-exam on the first day of each calendar month. Remember, when performing self-breast exams, you are looking only for a change that you didn’t notice on previous self-exams (such as an area of thickening, or a small lump, or tenderness). When you do not find anything new or different, you can trust there is generally nothing to find.

Contact Dr. Gordon Gunn today at (714) 912-2211 to schedule an appointment.

Dr. Gordon Gunn also proudly serves Anaheim, Buena Park, La Mirada, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar, Walnut, and surrounding areas.