Siteman Cancer Center

Mass offers healing for those affected by breast cancer

Maureen Kiely went for regular mammograms.

At her workplace, she and her co-workers chuckled over taking time away from the workday when the mammography van came by to offer screenings.

But it was no longer a laughing matter when Kiely's results came back positive for breast cancer. That was 10 years ago. Because of early detection and treatment, Kiely was able to successfully battle her cancer and has been doing well ever since. She said she's thankful to God for that.

That's why Kiely attended a Mass, organized by the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate, last weekend at her parish, St. Mary Magdalen in Brentwood, to remember those who have been affected by breast cancer. The American Cancer Society said excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and accounts for nearly one in four cancers diagnosed in U.S. women.

About 50 people attended the 8 a.m. Mass June 11, which coincided with the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis. Father Jack Siefert, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen, was the main celebrant. The sanctuary was decorated with sprays of pink and red carnations, roses and gerbera daisies.

Respect Life Apostolate director Beth Lauver said the Mass was offered as a positive, prayerful way for Catholics and others to remember those affected by breast cancer.

Some affiliates of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization (not including Missouri) provide grants to Planned Parenthood. The organization also endorses embryonic stem-cell research as a means of seeking treatments cures for breast cancer and dismisses the link between abortion and breast cancer.

'A major shock'

Kiely was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 48. She got regular mammograms, even though breast cancer doesn't run in her family. "It was a major, major shock," she said.

Recently divorced and becoming more involved in caring for her aging parents, Kiely admitted telling the doctor, "I have too many things to take care of. I can't do this."

But she also quickly recognized that she was very fortunate -- the cancer was detected at an early stage, she had health insurance and the support of her family and friends. She later realized how fortunate she was to never had gotten sick, even when she went through surgery to remove the tumor and subsequent chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

She also turned to her faith for help in getting through it.

New Test for Breast Cancer Will Help Guide Treatment Choices ...

February 9, 2009 -- One in eight women in the United States will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer in their lifetime, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Now a new test will help physicians determine the best possible treatment for each patient.

"Our research shows that there is a subset of women who can be cured without getting any treatment at all, other than a lumpectomy," explains Philip Bernard, M.D., an investigator at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute and one of the senior authors on a multicenter study published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology ."In women whose tumors have spread, we can predict with very high accuracy which women are going to respond to chemotherapy and which type of chemotherapy will work."

 Only recently have scientists known that there are different breast cancer subtypes that lead to differences in outcome. The group narrowed down 50 genes that play an important role in identifying subtypes of breast cancer. By measuring the expression level of these genes in the tumors, they could determine how each individual will respond to standard therapies.

"This will give women peace of mind knowing that we're diagnosing cancer more accurately than ever before. We can tell them if they are likely to benefit from chemotherapy. If chemo isn't going to be beneficial, we shouldn't be giving it," Bernard says.

The research translates into a simple test that will be available nationwide this summer. The test has been validated on thousands of women with breast cancer and has shown to be useful in many different clinical situations.

Based on the type of tumor, doctors now will be able to prescribe only the treatment that will be most beneficial. For some patients that could mean no chemotherapy at all. For others it will mean targeted treatments that work best for that patient, and they will no longer have to endure needless chemotherapy.

Women whose tumors indicate a resistance to current treatments will be referred to clinical trials of investigational drugs and treatments, opening the door to more effective medications in the future.

The group is currently designing prospective clinical trials using the test, which they refer to as the Breast Bioclassifier. Bernard plans to run these trials at Huntsman Cancer Institute and collaborating institutions.

The research took 10 years to complete and involved cooperation among several research institutions. The multicenter study was led by researchers at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah (Philip Bernard, M.D., assistant professor of pathology and medical director of molecular pathology at ARUP Laboratories); the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Charles Perou, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics and pathology); the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Torsten Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology); and Washington University Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Matthew Ellis, M.D., professor of medicine).