Breast Cancer

COMMENT: The conclusion says it all: Dietary flaxseed has the potential to reduce tumor growth in patients with breast cancer.' We usually recommend it in the form of a high-lignan flax seed oil that we carry, rather then the muffin. It is important to shake the oil VERY well, otherwise the lignans will sink to the bottom and you won't get the full benefit.

UPDATE 2/26/12- For some reason the website screening.dk is down. The informed consent booklet can still be found at the cochrane collaboration website: http://www.cochrane.dk/screening/mammography-leaflet.pdf

Screening for breast cancer with mammography is a very contentious subject. There are risks and benefits to both screening and not screening, therefore each person needs to really educate themselves and make a very personal decision.

COMMENTS:
It is not that often that a study this important comes along, with the potential to radically alter the way most oncologist practice. Standard practice has been to take out all of the lymph nodes in the axilla (armpit) of the side of the cancer. This practice has a high risk of shoulder pain, lympedema (swelling), as well as infections.
What this study shows is that woman who get the far less invasive Sentinel Node dissection, do just as well long-term as those who get the Axillary Node dissection.