Breast cancer literacy and health beliefs related to breast cancer screening among American Indian women

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to examine the health beliefs and literacy about breast cancer and their relationship with breast cancer screening among American Indian (AI) women. Using the Health Belief Model (HBM) and hierarchical logistic regression with data from a sample of 286 AI female adults residing in the Northern Plains, we found that greater awareness of breast cancer screening was linked to breast cancer screening practices. However, perceived barriers, one of the HBM constructs, prevented such screening practices. This study suggested that culturally relevant HBM factors should be targeted when developing culturally sensitive breast cancer prevention efforts.     

Ethnic differences in types of social support from multiple sources after breast cancer surgery

Objectives. Diagnosis of and treatment for breast cancer (BCa) may require psychological adaptation and often involve heightened distress. Several types of social support positively relate to psychological adaptation to BCa, and negative support is associated with poorer adaptation. Although Hispanic women report greater distress than non-Hispanic White (NHW) women after diagnosis of BCa, no studies have examined ethnic differences in types of social support received from varying sources after surgery for BCa.

Design. Hispanic (N?=?61) and NHW (N?=?150) women diagnosed with early-stage BCa self-reported emotional, informational, instrumental, and negative support from five sources. Ethnic differences in levels of social support were compared using multiple regression analysis.

Results. When controlling for age, income, days since surgery, and stage of disease in multivariable models there were no ethnic differences in levels of emotional support from any source. Hispanic women reported greater informational support from adult women family members and children and male adult family members than did NHW women. Instrumental support from adult women family members was also greater among Hispanic than NHW women. Hispanic women reported higher negative support from husbands/partners and from children and male adult family members. When the number of years in the USA was controlled, Hispanic women showed greater informational support from adult women family members, children and male adult family members, and friends. Instrumental support from adult women family members remained greater in Hispanic women, but negative support no longer differed.

Conclusion. Family is a greater source of informational and instrumental support for Hispanic than NHW women. Hispanic women reported higher negative support from male sources than did NHW women. Level of support from different sources may also depend on time spent in the USA. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether patterns and sources of social support shift over the course of BCa treatment.     

My experience of breast cancer

The author’s personal experience of breast cancer is provided in this contribution.     

Pathology of breast cancer

The accurate diagnosis of breast cancer and the pathological assessment of breast cancer tissue are key roles undertaken by pathologists working within the field of breast disease. It is essential to differentiate the pathological changes of benign breast disease from those of early and established breast cancer. Once cancer is confirmed, the pathologist is required to provide an evaluation of the pathological features determining prognosis and the requirement for further treatment(s). The pathologist undertakes these roles as a member of the breast cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT), who meet regularly within each breast cancer unit to discuss new patients who may have breast cancer and those with confirmed diagnoses in which the treatment plan requires definition.     

HRT and breast cancer

Research on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the 21st century has been dominated by the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and Million Women Study (MWS). Clinical practice has changed accordingly. Both studies confirm an increase in the risk of breast cancer among women using combined HRT (oestrogen and progestogen) when compared with women who have never used HRT. The risk among women using oestrogen-only preparations of HRT, according to the MWS, is increased, but to a lesser extent than for women using combined HRT. In contrast the WHI Study suggests that oestrogen alone is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Despite these different findings most evidence-based guidelines from professional organizations still advise use of HRT only for the relief of menopausal symptoms and only short term. Routine use of unopposed oestrogen for women with a uterus is being discussed but is still not recommended. New data have also led to the recommendation that HRT is contraindicated for women who have had breast cancer. More research is needed on the contribution of progestogens to the increased risk of breast cancer and on the safety of different routes of administration of both oestrogen and progestogen.     

Forecasting age-specific breast cancer mortality using functional data models

Accurate estimates of future age-specific incidence and mortality are critical for allocation of resources to breast cancer control programmes and evaluation of screening programmes. The purpose of this study is to apply functional data analysis techniques to model age-specific breast cancer mortality time trends, and forecast entire age-specific mortality functions using a state-space approach.We use annual unadjusted breast cancer mortality rates in Australia, from 1921 to 2001 in 5 year age groups (45 to 85+). We use functional data analysis techniques where mortality and incidence are modelled as curves with age as a functional covariate varying by time. Data are smoothed using non-parametric smoothing methods then decomposed (using principal components analysis) to estimate basis functions that represent the functional curve. Period effects from the fitted coefficients are forecast then multiplied by the basis functions, resulting in a forecast mortality curve with prediction intervals. To forecast, we adopt a state-space approach and an automatic modelling framework for selecting among exponential smoothing methods.Overall, breast cancer mortality rates in Australia remained relatively stable from 1960 to the late 1990s, but have declined over the last few years. A set of four basis functions minimized the mean integrated squared forecasting error and account for 99.3 per cent of variation around the mean mortality curve. Twenty year forecasts suggest a continuing decline, but at a slower rate, and stabilizing beyond 2010. Forecasts show a decline in all age groups with the greatest decline in older women.The proposed methods have the potential to incorporate important covariates such as hormone replacement therapy and interventions to represent mammographic screening. This would be particularly useful for evaluating the impact of screening on mortality and incidence from breast cancer.     

改良乳腺癌根治术治疗乳腺癌

目的观察及探讨改良乳腺癌根治术治疗乳腺癌的临床效果。方法选取该院收治的乳腺癌患者100例,在征得患者同意的情况下,将其随机分为观察组及对照组,每组各50例,给予观察组患者采用改良乳腺癌根治术(保留胸大、小肌)进行治疗,给予对照组患者采用常规保乳手术进行治疗,观察两组患者治疗结果,对比两种方法疗效。结果经治疗后采用改良乳腺根治术的观察组患者疗效显著优于采用保乳术的对照组,且观察组患者经手术后乳房美观性较好。结论改良乳腺癌根治术治疗乳腺癌可保护神经免受伤害,术后进行综合性治疗,可获良好的肢体功能及胸廓外形,满足了患者美观需求,安全性高,对患者损伤小,术后恢复快,值得临床广泛应用。     

Family and cultural influences on cervical cancer screening among immigrant Latinas in Miami-Dade County,USA

Cervical cancer disproportionately affects minorities, immigrants and low-income women in the USA, with disparities greatest among Latino immigrants. We examined barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening practices among a group of immigrant Latino women in Florida, USA. Between January and May 2013, six focus group discussions, involving 35 participants, were conducted among Hispanic women in Miami to explore their knowledge, beliefs about cervical cancer and facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening using a theoretical framework. The data showed that family support, especially from female relatives, was an important facilitator of screening and treatment. Women, however, reported prioritising family health over their own, and some expressed fatalistic beliefs about cancer. Major obstacles to receiving a Pap smear included fear that it might result in removal of the uterus, discomfort about being seen by a male doctor and concern that testing might stigmatise them as being sexually promiscuous or having a sexually transmitted disease. Targeted education on cancer and prevention is critically needed in this population. Efforts should focus on women of all ages since younger women often turn to older female relatives for advice.     

Collective memory, candidacy, and victimisation: community epidemiologies of breast cancer risk

Collectively shared ideas of community may be equally relevant for the study of health disparities as quantifying the relationship between community structures and health. Data from focus groups (N = 18) that explored understandings of breast cancer and breast cancer risk in African American neighbourhoods revealed three conceptual domains where shared ideas of community informed responses: collective memory, community candidacy, and community victimisation by external aggressors. Reading the focus group responses in terms of these domains identified perceptions of risk and of candidacy that may be overlooked by individualised or quantitative approaches to studying breast cancer risk perceptions and related behaviours. These include novel perceived risks, such as the 'risk of knowing', as well as community-level constructions of breast cancer candidacy. 'Lay epidemiologies' of breast cancer within this population might therefore be better understood as 'community epidemiologies', where community is central to the interpretation and operationalisation of breast cancer risk. Paying attention to such community epidemiologies of breast cancer provides theoretical insights for studying breast cancer disparities and risk perceptions as well as useful guidance for designing interventions.     

早期乳腺癌保乳治疗40例临床分析

目的探讨早期乳腺癌保乳综合治疗的临床疗效,总结治疗经验。方法回顾性分析2007年1月～2011年1月,40例行保乳手术治疗早期乳腺癌患者的相关资料,对肿瘤采取保乳根治术,术后辅以化疗、放疗、内分泌治疗及生物学治疗。结果所有患者随访17～65个月,无局部复发及远处转移。乳房美容评定标准进行评价,符合优良标准39例（97.5%）,符合差标准1例（2.5%）。结论早期乳腺癌保乳综合治疗创伤小、疗效确切、形体改变小、能提高生存质量,值得进一步临床开展及推广。     

Risk factors and epidemiology of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and the principal cause of death from cancer among women worldwide. Risk factors for breast cancer are manifold. Certain risk factors, such as age and family history are well established. Research in the past decade has further elucidated disease aetiology, in particular the role of hormones and the discovery of breast cancer susceptibility genes (e.g. BRCA1, BRCA2). In spite of the evidence concerning the risks of breast cancer, women often have a poor understanding of its causes and limited personal risk perception. The media are an important source of health information for many women, but the popular and general-interest media often misrepresent risk factors. Knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and perception of personal risk are significant behaviour motivators to prevent, detect and manage disease. This article will review the risk factors for breast cancer, and examine the research on women’s perception of risk and understanding of risk factors, and the reporting of breast cancer in the media.     

Gaining control over breast cancer risk: Transforming vulnerability,uncertainty, and the future through clinical trial participation – a qualitative study

Concepts of disease risk and its management are central to processes of medicalisation and pharmaceuticalisation. Through a narrative perspective, this paper aims to understand how such macro‐level developments may (or may not) be experienced individually, and how an algorithm that is used for recruitment into a clinical trial may structure individual notions of being ‘at risk’ and ‘in need of treatment’. We interviewed 31 women participating in the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR), a chemoprevention trial conducted in the US between 1999 and 2006. Interviews were thematically analysed. Women in the study had experienced the threat of breast cancer and felt vulnerable to developing the disease prior to STAR participation. The diagnosis of ‘being at risk’ for cancer through an algorithm that determined risk‐eligibility for STAR, opened up the possibility for the women to heal. The trial became a means to recognise and collectivise the women's experiences of vulnerability. Through medication intake, being cared for by study coordinators, and the sense of community with other STAR participants, trial participation worked to transform women's lives. Such transformative experiences may nevertheless have been temporary, enduring only as long as the close links to the medical institution through trial participation lasted.     

The relationship between obesity and breast cancer risk and mortality

Obesity is an established risk factor for postmenopausal, but not premenopausal, development of breast cancer. Evidence for a positive association between obesity and breast cancer mortality is mounting. Avoiding adult weight gain and maintaining a healthy body weight may contribute importantly to decreasing breast cancer risk and mortality, especially in postmenopausal women.     

乳腺托架与体膜联合固定在乳腺癌保乳术后放疗中的应用

目的:探讨乳腺托架与体膜联合固定在乳腺癌保乳术后放疗中的应用.方法:选取36例乳腺癌保乳术后患者,用乳腺托架与体膜联合固定,在放疗前应用机载影像系统(on board imager,OBI)获取锥形束CT(cone beam CT, CBCT)图像,用CBCT图像和计划CT图像匹配得出二者间的误差值.结果:左右(X)、头脚(Y)、腹背(Z)3个方向的摆位误差分别为(2.6±0.783)、(3.0±1.027)、(1.6±0.872)mm,摆位误差>5 mm的百分率分别为16.5%、20.7%、9.1%.结论:乳腺癌保乳术后放疗使用乳腺托架与体膜联合固定可以起到很好的固定作用,尤其在Z轴(腹背方向)可明显减少摆位误差,有很好的临床应用价值.     

Screening for breast cancer

Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease that has a worldwide annual incidence of over 1 million cases. In the UK this equates to over 39000 new diagnoses per year. Most of these cases occur in postmenopausal women, and the incidence in both this age group and in younger women is rising. Most of the major risk factors for breast cancer such as female sex, age and a family history of the disease cannot be avoided. However, there is established evidence that earlier detection of breast cancer through mammographic screening does significantly reduce mortality, by up to 24%. Since its inception in 1989, the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has become increasingly effective at detecting breast cancer in the target population of women aged over 50, and together with advances in surgery, chemotherapy and other adjuvant medical treatments, mortality from breast cancer is significantly decreasing. This contribution aims to explore the principles behind the NHSBSP, and will review the key evidence which supports it. The advantages and pitfalls of screening will be examined and an overview of the actual screening and assessment process is included. Screening in high-risk groups is a new and controversial area that is now gaining prominence, and new imaging techniques being used in such groups, in addition to the screening and assessment of breast cancers in the conventional age range, will be covered.     

2006—2010年宁波市女性乳腺癌发病死亡率趋势分析

目的：分析宁波市女性居民乳腺癌发病、死亡率及其发展趋势,为开展乳腺癌预防控制工作提供科学依据。方法：收集整理宁波市2006—2010年监测区女性乳腺癌发病和死亡报告资料,统计分析各年份粗发病、死亡率和标化发病、死亡率,分析各年龄组发病、死亡率等。结果：2006—2010年宁波市监测区女性乳腺癌粗发病率为34．76／10万,中国人口标化率为19．24／10万,世界人口标化率为22．05／10万;粗死亡率为7．52／10万,中国人口标化率为4．02／10万,世界人口标化率为4．66／10万。2006—2010年女性乳腺癌发病率呈上升趋势（P〈O．05）,死亡率未呈上升趋势（P〉O．05）。发病、死亡率均随年龄呈上升趋势,发病率在50～54岁和80～84岁组呈双峰。结论：宁波市女性乳腺癌发病、死亡率在国内处于中上水平,发病率在近年呈快速上升趋势,乳腺癌对宁波市女性居民生命和健康造成严重威胁,应在女性居民中倡导健康生活方式,并做好重点人群的早诊早治工作。     

襄阳市良性乳腺疾病和乳腺癌现况及影响因素分析

目的了解湖北省襄阳市适龄妇女良性乳腺疾病和乳腺癌的流行情况及影响因素,为乳腺相关疾病的防控提供依据。方法襄阳市于2017年对辖区12个市县区的适龄妇女进行乳腺癌筛查并收集了筛查人群的流行病学资料,计算良性乳腺疾病及乳腺癌的检出率,使用Logistic回归分析影响良性乳腺疾病及乳腺癌的因素。结果共有316524名妇女参与了乳腺癌筛查,检出良性乳腺疾病44097例(13.93%),乳腺癌80例(25.27/10万)。良性乳腺疾病的主要危险因素是:年龄30~49岁,以49岁以上妇女为参照,OR=1.26,95%CI:1.21~1.30;文化程度高中及以上,以初中及以下为参照,OR=2.15,95%CI:2.10~2.20;有乳腺癌家族史,OR=1.72,95%CI:1.51~1.96;其他女性生殖系统肿瘤家族史,OR=2.05,95%CI:1.77~2.37;初潮年龄<12岁,OR=1.42,95%CI:1.37~1.48;月经持续时间<4天,OR=1.32,95%CI:1.26~1.39;月经周期<21天,OR=1.21,95%CI:1.01~1.45;月经周期>35天,OR=1.35,95%CI:1.18~1.54;绝经,OR=2.02,95%CI:1.88~2.17;绝经后使用雌激素治疗,OR=1.40,95%CI:1.12~1.75;孕次>3次,OR=1.16,95%CI:1.13~1.19;初产年龄>29岁,OR=1.11,95%CI:1.05~1.18。乳腺癌的主要危险因素:有乳腺癌家族史,OR=10.17,95%CI:3.67~28.17;年龄,随着年龄的增加,乳腺癌的发病风险增高,OR=1.39,95%CI:1.20~1.61;文化程度为高中及以上,以初中及以下为参照,OR=1.83,95%CI:1.11~3.01;而初产年龄<25岁则是乳腺癌的保护因素,OR=0.53,95%CI:0.33~0.84。结论襄阳市乳腺癌和良性乳腺疾病的发病率居于中等水平。积极控制高危因素、定期筛查并及时治疗乳腺相关疾病,有助于降低乳腺癌的疾病负担,提升妇女的健康质量。