There are many new promising clinical studies taking place in cancer research.  Clinical studies are groups of volunteers to take part in studies of ways to prevent, diagnose, detect, and treat breast cancer.  Many clinical trials are working on ways to improve therapy treatments, and improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients.  

Clinical studies are important for breast cancer research.  They answer important questions about the effectiveness of new treatments for breast cancer.  Studies are being done with volunteers who are testing drugs to prevent breast cancer.  If you are involved in a clinical study, you may be the first one to benefit from any new treatment being studied for breast cancer.  Even if you do not benefit directly, many other women may eventually benefit from your participation. 

Clinical studies use patients with every stage of breast cancer, including those that are cancer free.  Clinical trials of Tamoxifen and another new drug, Raloxifene, are being conducted now with results to be published at the end of 2006.  Women in my area started a clinical study of Tamoxifen six years ago.  Results were encouraging and many women now take advantage of Tamoxifen as a preventive tool to keep cancer from reoccurring.  Any new drug found to be a cancer fighter would eventually need to be tested on humans.  If you would like to take part in a clinical trial, contact your doctor or check the National Cancer Institute web site for new studies beginning in your area.

Mammograms are the most effective tool we have to detect breast cancer.  A first mammogram will serve as a comparison for the mammograms that follow.  It will help doctors recognize any changes that have occurred in the breast since the last mammogram.  That is one reason it is important to have your mammogram done at the same location.  If you do need to change locations, ask your first mammogram to take with you to a new location so your doctor can compare the two. 

Ultrasound is often used to detect changes in density, or any other differences in the breast area.  If a woman is at high risk for developing breast cancer, her doctor may request a combination of both mammogram and ultrasound to carefully watch for any changes in the breasts. 

Research is also continuing in treatments and combinations of treatments to treat breast cancer.  Different types of surgeries are being used, and combined with other forms of treatments.  No longer does a woman need to have a radical mastectomy when simply taking out the lump will be enough.  Other treatments may be used to ensure cancer cells do not spread to other areas of the body. 

Radiation therapy is being studied to see if it can be used as an alternative to surgery.  If a patient is in early stages of breast cancer, the doctor may decide that radiation can shrink the tumor enough that only a small section of the breast needs to be removed.

New drugs are being tested for chemotherapy and to find drugs that don’t have the side effects that most of the drugs used now have.  New drugs and doses of anticancer drugs are being tested every day.  Doctors and researchers are looking at cancer vaccines that may help our own immune system kill cancer cells.  A significant stride recently was a new cervical cancer vaccine approval by the Federal Drug Administration.  We hope and pray for more vaccine discoveries for various forms of cancer.