#Breast Cancer Companies

[stevenwilliam12]

Be Breast Aware: Recognizing Symptoms for Early Intervention

Introduction

Breast awareness is a crucial aspect of maintaining breast health and can significantly impact the early detection of breast cancer. By understanding your breasts and recognizing changes, you can empower yourself to take action and seek medical advice when necessary. This article provides valuable information on how to be breast aware, the symptoms to look for, and the importance of early intervention.

The Importance of Breast Awareness

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women globally. Early detection is key to improving treatment outcomes and survival rates. Being breast aware involves understanding the normal appearance and feel of your breasts so that you can quickly identify any changes. This proactive approach can lead to early intervention, which is vital in managing breast health effectively.

Common Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Familiarizing yourself with the following symptoms can help you recognize potential issues early:

Lumps or Masses:

A new lump or mass in the breast or underarm area is often the first noticeable sign. It may feel hard or different from the surrounding tissue.

Changes in Size or Shape:

Any noticeable changes in the size or shape of your breasts, including asymmetry or swelling, should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Skin Changes:

Watch for skin alterations, such as:

Dimpling, puckering, or wrinkling

Redness or irritation

Thickening or swelling of the breast tissue

Nipple Changes:

Pay attention to changes in the nipple, including:

Unusual discharge, particularly if it’s bloody or clear

Nipple inversion or flattening

Scaling or crusting around the nipple area

Pain or Tenderness:

While breast cancer may not always cause pain, any persistent discomfort or tenderness in the breast or nipple area should be assessed.

Swelling:

Persistent swelling in the breast or underarm area, even without a distinct lump, warrants further evaluation.

How to Be Proactive About Breast Health

Self-Examinations

Regular self-examinations are a practical way to monitor your breast health. Here’s how to conduct a self-exam:

Visual Inspection:

Stand in front of a mirror with your arms at your sides and then raised. Look for changes in size, shape, or skin texture.

Physical Examination:

Lie down and use the pads of your fingers to feel for lumps or abnormalities. Move in a circular motion to cover the entire breast and underarm area.

Regularity:

Perform self-exams monthly, preferably a few days after your menstrual period when breasts are less likely to be tender or swollen.

Clinical Screenings

In addition to self-exams, regular clinical screenings are vital for early detection. Most organizations recommend that women begin annual mammograms at age 40 or earlier if they have risk factors, such as a family history of breast cancer. Clinical breast exams by healthcare professionals can provide additional monitoring and guidance.

When to Seek Medical Advice

If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above or have concerns about changes in your breasts, it’s essential to consult a healthcare professional promptly. Early diagnosis can lead to more effective treatment options and better outcomes.

Conclusion

Being breast-aware is a critical component of proactive breast health management. By recognizing the symptoms of breast cancer and conducting regular self-examinations, you can empower yourself to take charge of your health. Remember that early intervention can make a significant difference, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your healthcare provider if you notice any changes or have concerns. Your awareness and proactive approach can play a crucial role in ensuring your well-being.

Latest Reports

Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Market | Radioligand Therapies Market | Surgical Site Infections Market | Wound Closure Devices Market | Biliary Atresia Market | Binge Eating Disorder Market | Bladder Cancer Market | Capnography Device Market | Cardiac Biomarkers Testing Devices Market | Central Venous Catheters Market | Epilepsy Market | Gaucher Disease Market | Generalized Pustular Psoriasis Market | Healthcare Due Diligence Services | Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market | Implantable Infusion Pumps Market | Neuromodulation Devices Market | Neurostimulation Devices Market | Neurotrophic Keratitis Market | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Market | Post-bariatric Hypoglycemia Market | Absssi Market | Acute Gout Flare Market | Adrenoleukodystrophy Market | Adult Myopia Market | Alopecia Areata Market | Alpha-mannosidosis Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Anemia In Ckd Market | Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Market | Artificial Lung Devices Market | Automated External Defibrillators Market | Biochips Market | Cardiac Amyloidosis Market | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Market | Centronuclear Myopathy Market | Chronic Rhinosinustis Market

[liquidgirl13]

Suzanne Somers - Wikipedia

Rest in peace, Suzanne Somers.

Thanks for "Three's Company"...

[timetravelingcourtney]

Confession

I’ve not been posting because of serious stuff.

When Felicity arrived home from the hospital, I thought it was time to share with the community.

In mid June, I felt a lump in my breast. By mid July, I saw my primary care physician who assured me it was probably nothing but sent me to get a mammogram. That mammogram turned into a biopsy and that biopsy turned into a breast cancer diagnosis.

I am so lucky. I caught it early. I have employer sponsored health insurance. I have a support system. I am gonna be ok.

I had surgery in August and will have radiation in the next few weeks. My prognosis is excellent.

As my amazingly candid anesthesiologist said, “cancer don’t care”.

If you are a person with breasts, do your self checks, if you find anything, go to your doctor. 1 of 8 people with breasts will get breast cancer but treatment is not only effective, it is far less devastating than it once was.

Take care of yourselves my friends 💕 Felicity and I send love, hope and joy.

[soft-witcher-club]

So new Dragon Age game let you have top surgery scars but no body hair, eczema, atopic skin, acne, acne scars or bigger chest and bottom size... Truly this is a "peak" of gaming.

[jcmarchi]

Unlocking mRNA’s cancer-fighting potential

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/unlocking-mrnas-cancer-fighting-potential/

Unlocking mRNA’s cancer-fighting potential

What if training your immune system to attack cancer cells was as easy as training it to fight Covid-19? Many people believe the technology behind some Covid-19 vaccines, messenger RNA, holds great promise for stimulating immune responses to cancer.

But using messenger RNA, or mRNA, to get the immune system to mount a prolonged and aggressive attack on cancer cells — while leaving healthy cells alone — has been a major challenge.

The MIT spinout Strand Therapeutics is attempting to solve that problem with an advanced class of mRNA molecules that are designed to sense what type of cells they encounter in the body and to express therapeutic proteins only once they have entered diseased cells.

“It’s about finding ways to deal with the signal-to-noise ratio, the signal being expression in the target tissue and the noise being expression in the nontarget tissue,” Strand CEO Jacob Becraft PhD ’19 explains. “Our technology amplifies the signal to express more proteins for longer while at the same time effectively eliminating the mRNA’s off-target expression.”

Strand is set to begin its first clinical trial in April, which is testing a proprietary, self-replicating mRNA molecule’s ability to express immune signals directly from a tumor, eliciting the immune system to attack and kill the tumor cells directly. It’s also being tested as a possible improvement for existing treatments to a number of solid tumors.

As they work to commercialize its early innovations, Strand’s team is continuing to add capabilities to what it calls its “programmable medicines,” improving mRNA molecules’ ability to sense their environment and generate potent, targeted responses where they’re needed most.

“Self-replicating mRNA was the first thing that we pioneered when we were at MIT and in the first couple years at Strand,” Becraft says. “Now we’ve also moved into approaches like circular mRNAs, which allow each molecule of mRNA to express more of a protein for longer, potentially for weeks at a time. And the bigger our cell-type specific datasets become, the better we are at differentiating cell types, which makes these molecules so targeted we can have a higher level of safety at higher doses and create stronger treatments.”

Making mRNA smarter

Becraft got his first taste of MIT as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois when he secured a summer internship in the lab of MIT Institute Professor Bob Langer.

“That’s where I learned how lab research could be translated into spinout companies,” Becraft recalls.

The experience left enough of an impression on Becraft that he returned to MIT the next fall to earn his PhD, where he worked in the Synthetic Biology Center under professor of bioengineering and electrical engineering and computer science Ron Weiss. During that time, he collaborated with postdoc Tasuku Kitada to create genetic “switches” that could control protein expression in cells.

Becraft and Kitada realized their research could be the foundation of a company around 2017 and started spending time in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. They also received support from MIT Sandbox and eventually worked with the Technology Licensing Office to establish Strand’s early intellectual property.

“We started by asking, where is the highest unmet need that also allows us to prove out the thesis of this technology? And where will this approach have therapeutic relevance that is a quantum leap forward from what anyone else is doing?” Becraft says. “The first place we looked was oncology.”

People have been working on cancer immunotherapy, which turns a patient’s immune system against cancer cells, for decades. Scientists in the field have developed drugs that produce some remarkable results in patients with aggressive, late-stage cancers. But most next-generation cancer immunotherapies are based on recombinant (lab-made) proteins that are difficult to deliver to specific targets in the body and don’t remain active for long enough to consistently create a durable response.

More recently, companies like Moderna, whose founders also include MIT alumni, have pioneered the use of mRNAs to create proteins in cells. But to date, those mRNA molecules have not been able to change behavior based on the type of cells they enter, and don’t last for very long in the body.

“If you’re trying to engage the immune system with a tumor cell, the mRNA needs to be expressing from the tumor cell itself, and it needs to be expressing over a long period of time,” Becraft says. “Those challenges are hard to overcome with the first generation of mRNA technologies.”

Strand has developed what it calls the world’s first mRNA programming language that allows the company to specify the tissues its mRNAs express proteins in.

“We built a database that says, ‘Here are all of the different cells that the mRNA could be delivered to, and here are all of their microRNA signatures,’ and then we use computational tools and machine learning to differentiate the cells,” Becraft explains. “For instance, I need to make sure that the messenger RNA turns off when it’s in the liver cell, and I need to make sure that it turns on when it’s in a tumor cell or a T-cell.”

Strand also uses techniques like mRNA self-replication to create more durable protein expression and immune responses.

“The first versions of mRNA therapeutics, like the Covid-19 vaccines, just recapitulate how our body’s natural mRNAs work,” Becraft explains. “Natural mRNAs last for a few days, maybe less, and they express a single protein. They have no context-dependent actions. That means wherever the mRNA is delivered, it’s only going to express a molecule for a short period of time. That’s perfect for a vaccine, but it’s much more limiting when you want to create a protein that’s actually engaging in a biological process, like activating an immune response against a tumor that could take many days or weeks.”

Technology with broad potential

Strand’s first clinical trial is targeting solid tumors like melanoma and triple-negative breast cancer. The company is also actively developing mRNA therapies that could be used to treat blood cancers.

“We’ll be expanding into new areas as we continue to de-risk the translation of the science and create new technologies,” Becraft says.

Strand plans to partner with large pharmaceutical companies as well as investors to continue developing drugs. Further down the line, the founders believe future versions of its mRNA therapies could be used to treat a broad range of diseases.

“Our thesis is: amplified expression in specific, programmed target cells for long periods of time,” Becraft says. “That approach can be utilized for [immunotherapies like] CAR T-cell therapy, both in oncology and autoimmune conditions. There are also many diseases that require cell-type specific delivery and expression of proteins in treatment, everything from kidney disease to types of liver disease. We can envision our technology being used for all of that.”

[fangshing]

very weird that Chiquita Banana is making advertisements to promote breast cancer awareness

[cynicalclassicist]

Yeh, that would do a lot more good.

[kaijutegu]

Beating the Heat while Fat: A Summer Survival Guide

Summer is (almost) here and it’s going to be hotter than ever. If you’re fat (like me), you know how much hot weather sucks. Specifically, we get to deal with fun issues like underboob sweat, chub rub, skin fold sunburn, and more. And while I like to take a body neutral approach to everything, this can be hard in summer thanks to exclusion and neglect.

The thing is that not a lot of people really... talk about these things, though, because that would interfere with our image of summer. Not a lot of companies are marketing their stuff as a solution to fat people’s problems, because that would be acknowledging that fat people might actually want to go outside during summer.

Having been fat for many a summer now, I want to share some of my resources for enjoying summer! These are all based on personal recommendations and things I have directly experienced. Please feel free to reblog and add on with your experiences and recommendations!

However, if your commentary is even remotely fatphobic, you will be blocked and your comments will be deleted. This post is not for you, and nobody is actually interested in what you have to say!

Back and Underboob Sweat

Two words: Gold Bond. Gold Bond fixes this. It comes in powder, stick, and spray form. I’ve used the powder in shoes, but not on my body. They’ve recently released an invisible form of the spray, which I’m very excited about.

Spray this under your breast tissue or other skin folds, or on flat areas of skin like your lower back that tend to sweat. Some of their powders have aloe in them, which is delightfully soothing for the skin.

Make sure that if you’re sensitive to scent, you buy one of the unscented versions. The “fresh” scent is nice, but it is a scent!

When you’re using this type of spray, do it clean but dry. Don’t do it right after a shower- give your skin a chance to dry off. Lift your breast or skin fold, spray underneath, and then hold it for a couple of seconds to let the spray dry down.

You can also use other types of powder, like body powder or baby powder. There’s mixed evidence about talc-containing powder and its link to cancer, but some people do find talcum powder more irritating than talc-free powder, so whether or not you use this is up to you.

Do keep in mind that this is NOT sunscreen! Apply your sunscreen first for areas of exposed skin.

Chub Rub

Dealing with the tops of your thighs rubbing together is extremely unfun. There are a couple of ways I like to deal with this!

Slip Shorts

I actually reviewed a bunch of these a few years ago. Slip shorts or bike shorts are perfect for wearing under dresses or loose-fitting rompers as a way to stop your thighs from rubbing. As a bonus, if you’re using bike shorts, sometimes they come with extra pockets to stash stuff in.

Friction Sticks

If you’re wearing a swimsuit and don’t want to wear shorts, or just don’t want to wear shorts, period, then a friction stick is another good way to avoid chub rub! I have a couple, Bodyglide and Gold Bond.

If you’re buying Bodyglide, they have one that’s just as good, Bodyglide Outdoor, that is sometimes cheaper. There’s a Bodyglide “For Her” which I’ve never tried, but that’s usually more expensive and let’s be real, do you really need to moisturize your inner thighs? I think not!

There’s also creams you can use but I find those messy and less effective than the sticks. You might like them, though! Experiment with products to find the one(s) that work for you.

Friction sticks can also stop foot blisters. Rub a little on your heel, toe, or wherever you get hot spots. 

Dealing With Sweat

I sweat, you sweat, we all sweat. Humans were meant to sweat. Sweating’s a good thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s fun, and frankly I hate being sweaty. Typically, fat people sweat more than thin people, for several reasons related to the way we thermoregulate.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to make summer sweating less annoying. I’ve written about this before, so you can check out that post for some of my favorite tips for dealing with sweat. Here’s some of the highlights.

Evaporative Cooling

A bandanna or other wrap filled with water crystals can do AMAZING things. You can make this yourself really easily- if you can’t find water crystals, you can just use Orbeez. They sell little 99 cent packs of those in the checkout lines at some stores and at the dollar store, and you can make several cooling wraps with one packet.

You can also get evaporative cooling towels, like Frogg Toggs. I don’t like those as much because they tend to start smelling a little funny, but they’re great for larger area coverage.

Using these will help cool you down and will do the same thing that sweat does– without being sticky.

Hair

If you have long hair, get it off the back of your neck. I used to put it up in a bun with a bun former, but now I just use claw clips. They’re cuter and easier! Seriously, this will help you so much. Get the hair up and away from your skin, you’ll feel so much better.

Hand Fans

I always have a hand fan with me, but not one of the little battery operated ones. I’ve tried a lot of those! I even took one up a mountain once, and it was the only reason I survived. But they never provide the same level of breeze that my folding fan does.

I use this one because it’s cute, and you can get cute ones for a couple bucks on Amazon. I do prefer fabric to the stiff paper ones, just because they’re a bit more durable- I’ve had mine for years now. It’s good.

I’m also not a huge fan of those fans that go around your neck, but I’ve seen many people enjoying them. If they work for you, great!

Hydration and Electrolytes

Carry water with you when you go places, and if you’re gonna be out for a while doing anything strenuous, take some electrolyte tablets with you. I like Nuun because I think they taste good, but there’s lots of brands out there.

There’s no one mineral called electrolyte, just so you know. Electrolytes are a group of minerals that includes sodium, potassium, and chloride as the primary (or significant) electrolytes. Electrolytes are important because they have a natural positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water. This electricity is how your nerves transmit information and how your cells make your muscles contract, so low levels of electrolytes can cause some serious issues. Different electrolyte imbalances have different symptoms, but common symptoms include nausea, fatigue, confusion, tremors, muscle spasms (cramps), and dizziness.

If you’re feeling those as you’re moving around outside, get somewhere cool, drink some water, and either eat some food or add electrolyte tablets to your water. This will help stabilize you quickly!

Skin Fold Sunburn Prevention

Everybody should wear sunscreen, period. End of story.

But if you’re applying sunscreen by yourself and you have skin folds, it can be a pain to reach them! This is especially true for any folds that form on your upper back or around your upper arm.

These areas can burn and be very painful, especially if you’re in swimwear or a sleeveless top. It’s also VERY easy to forget that these areas need sunscreen!

If you don’t want or don’t have someone to help you apply those areas you can’t reach, spray sunscreen can be a way to get those areas. If you don’t like the spray or want heavier coverage with a cream, then use a lotion applicator!

If the stick style doesn’t work for you (like if you have shoulder mobility issues), the strap style asks for a different range of motion. If you can’t find one that works for you at a big box store, look at a pharmacy. These are often sold as disability aids or for elderly people with a reduced range of motion.

But honestly, one of the most important things about this is just knowing your body. Know where your skin folds are and think about how they move as you’re applying sunscreen. Get underneath them- as you move, those areas can be exposed to the sun, too.

So yeah, that’s my best advice for beating the heat while fat. If you’ve got other tips, feel free to share them!

[lookingforcactus]

A big cost and concern for many seniors in the U.S. is the price of prescription drugs and other healthcare expenses—and this year, thanks to The Inflation Reduction Act, their costs may go down dramatically, especially for patients fighting cancer or heart disease.

I learned about the new benefits because my ‘Medicare birthday’ is coming up in a couple months when I turn 65. I was shocked that there were so many positive changes being made, which I never heard about on the news.

Thousands of Americans on Medicare have been paying more than $14,000 a year for blood cancer drugs, more than $10,000 a year for ovarian cancer drugs, and more than $9,000 a year for breast cancer drugs, for instance.

That all changed beginning in 2023, after the Biden administration capped out-of-pocket prescriptions at $3,500—no matter what drugs were needed. And this year, in 2024, the cap for all Medicare out-of-pocket prescriptions went down to a maximum of $2,000.

“The American people won, and Big Pharma lost,” said President Biden in September 2022, after the legislation passed. “It’s going to be a godsend to many families.”

Another crucial medical necessity, the shingles vaccine, which many seniors skip because of the cost, is now free. Shingles is a painful rash with blisters, that can be followed by chronic pain, and other complications, for which there is no cure

In 2022, more than 2 million seniors paid between $100 and $200 for that vaccine, but starting last year, Medicare prescription drug plans dropped the cost for shots down to zero.

Another victory for consumers over Big Pharma affects anyone of any age who struggles with diabetes. The cost of life-saving insulin was capped at $35 a month [for people on Medicare].

Medicare is also lowering the costs of the premium for Part B—which covers outpatient visits to your doctors. 15 million Americans will save an average of $800 per year on health insurance costs, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Last year, for the first time in history, Medicare began using the leverage power of its large patient pool to negotiate fair prices for drugs. Medicare is no longer accepting whatever drug prices that pharmaceutical companies demand.

Negotiations began on ten of the most widely used and expensive drugs.

Among the ten drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiation were Eliquis, used by 3.7 million Americans and Jardiance and Xarelto, each used by over a million people. The ten drugs account for the highest total spending in Medicare Part D prescription plans...

How are all these cost-savings being paid for?

The government is able to pay for these benefits by making sure the biggest corporations in America are paying their fair share of federal taxes.

In 2020, for instance, dozens of American companies on the Fortune 500 list who made $40 billion in profit paid zero in federal taxes.

Starting in 2023, U.S. corporations are required to pay a minimum corporate tax of 15 percent. The Inflation Reduction Act created the CAMT, which imposed the 15% minimum tax on the adjusted financial statement income of any corporation with average income that exceeds $1 billion.

For years, Americans have decried the rising costs of health care—but in the last three years, there are plenty of positive developments.

-via Good News Network, February 25, 2024

[stevenwilliam12]

Market Insights into HR-positive/HER2-negative Breast Cancer: Future Therapies Shaping the Landscape

Introduction

HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer is the most prevalent subtype of breast cancer, representing approximately 70% of all cases. Characterized by the presence of hormone receptors and the absence of the HER2 protein, this subtype typically responds well to hormone therapies. However, challenges remain, particularly concerning treatment resistance and recurrence. With ongoing advancements in targeted therapies, the treatment landscape for HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer is evolving rapidly, offering hope for improved patient outcomes and quality of life.

Current Landscape of HR-positive/HER2-negative Breast Cancer Treatment

The management of HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer has traditionally relied on hormone-based therapies aimed at inhibiting estrogen's effect on tumor growth. Common treatments include:

Tamoxifen: A selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used mainly in premenopausal women.

Aromatase Inhibitors: Such as letrozole and anastrozole, which reduce estrogen production in postmenopausal women.

Fulvestrant: A selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) that downregulates estrogen receptors.

Despite their effectiveness, many patients experience disease recurrence, prompting researchers to explore new therapeutic options that can address resistance mechanisms and enhance treatment efficacy.

Emerging Therapies Transforming the Market

The HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer market is witnessing a wave of innovative therapies that aim to improve patient outcomes. Key emerging therapies include:

1. CDK4/6 Inhibitors

Examples: Palbociclib, ribociclib, abemaciclib.

Mechanism: These drugs inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6, proteins critical for cell division. In clinical trials, CDK4/6 inhibitors combined with endocrine therapy have demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival for patients with advanced HR-positive breast cancer.

Market Impact: The integration of these inhibitors into treatment regimens has reshaped standard care for metastatic HR-positive breast cancer, leading to increased demand and growth in this segment of the market.

2. PI3K Inhibitors

Example: Alpelisib.

Mechanism: Targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which is often activated in HR-positive tumors, alpelisib has been approved for use in combination with endocrine therapy for patients with PIK3CA-mutated tumors. This targeted approach addresses specific genetic alterations that contribute to treatment resistance.

Market Potential: As genetic profiling becomes more common in clinical practice, the demand for PI3K inhibitors is expected to rise, offering personalized treatment options for patients.

3. Next-Generation SERDs

Example: Elacestrant.

Mechanism: Next-generation SERDs are designed to more effectively degrade estrogen receptors and block estrogen's proliferative effects. These oral agents provide a more convenient alternative to intramuscular fulvestrant.

Market Growth: As clinical trials continue to show efficacy, next-generation SERDs may become a preferred option in the treatment of HR-positive breast cancer, expanding their market share.

4. BCL-2 Inhibitors

Example: Venetoclax.

Mechanism: BCL-2 inhibitors induce apoptosis in cancer cells by inhibiting proteins that prevent cell death. Early studies suggest that combining venetoclax with hormonal therapies may enhance treatment effectiveness, particularly in cases of resistant disease.

Emerging Role: The potential for BCL-2 inhibitors to improve outcomes in HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer could contribute significantly to market expansion.

5. Combination Therapies

Trend: The future of HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer treatment is increasingly focused on combination therapies that leverage the strengths of multiple agents. Pairing CDK4/6 inhibitors with aromatase inhibitors or other targeted therapies can provide a more robust approach to combating resistant disease.

Market Outlook: The trend toward combination therapies is likely to drive innovation and growth in the HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer market, as new treatment regimens are developed and tested.

The Role of Biomarkers and Personalized Medicine

As understanding of tumor biology advances, the importance of biomarkers in tailoring treatment strategies is becoming clear. Identifying genetic mutations and alterations, such as PIK3CA or ESR1 mutations, enables healthcare providers to select therapies that align with the unique characteristics of each patient’s cancer. This personalized approach is expected to improve treatment efficacy and reduce unnecessary side effects.

Market Challenges and Considerations

Despite the promising developments, the HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer market faces several challenges:

Drug Resistance: Ongoing resistance to current therapies remains a critical concern, necessitating the development of novel agents that can overcome this barrier.

Cost of Treatment: New therapies often come with high price tags, limiting accessibility for some patients and posing challenges for healthcare systems.

Clinical Trials and Approvals: Continuous research and clinical trials are essential to bring new treatments to market, ensuring they are safe and effective for patients.

Conclusion: The Future of HR-positive/HER2-negative Breast Cancer Treatment

The landscape of HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer treatment is rapidly evolving, with a host of emerging therapies poised to reshape care. As new drugs enter the market and personalized medicine continues to gain traction, patients can look forward to improved treatment options and outcomes. Continued investment in research and development, along with the integration of advanced technologies for biomarker identification, will be crucial in driving future growth in this dynamic market.

Latest Reports

Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Market | Radioligand Therapies Market | Surgical Site Infections Market | Wound Closure Devices Market | Biliary Atresia Market | Binge Eating Disorder Market | Bladder Cancer Market | Capnography Device Market | Cardiac Biomarkers Testing Devices Market | Central Venous Catheters Market | Epilepsy Market | Gaucher Disease Market | Generalized Pustular Psoriasis Market | Healthcare Due Diligence Services | Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market | Implantable Infusion Pumps Market | Neuromodulation Devices Market | Neurostimulation Devices Market | Neurotrophic Keratitis Market | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Market | Post-bariatric Hypoglycemia Market | Absssi Market | Acute Gout Flare Market | Adrenoleukodystrophy Market | Adult Myopia Market | Alopecia Areata Market | Alpha-mannosidosis Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Anemia In Ckd Market | Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Market | Artificial Lung Devices Market | Automated External Defibrillators Market | Biochips Market | Cardiac Amyloidosis Market | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Market | Centronuclear Myopathy Market | Chronic Rhinosinustis Market

[cerastes]

It IS fun seeing the AI* bubble stretch thin and threaten to burst each passing day these bozos fail to monetize it successfully, but what I really want is for the post-burst period when someone with an actual good head on their shoulders uses this technology for stuff like early breast cancer detection or as a tool animators can use to lessen the weight on the more trivial but equally time-consuming parts of animating, and other such things that the technology can be used for, because I think it’s important to understand the technology IS impressive and has potential, it just happens to currently be something big companies are trying to purpose into a replacement for employees at all and leading the most annoying people you’ve seen online argue that “actually using it makes you akin to an art director”.

*or what tech chuds have sold and branded as AI, which in fact is not Artificial Intelligence.

[timetravelingcourtney]

The Story Of This Outfit

I thought I might share the inspiration for this sewing project and the story I wrote to go with it. Some of you might remember that over the summer, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. About a week ago I completed my treatment (yay!) and am starting to return to my old self. Along the way I had been sent a package in the mail from a support group with a handmade bag. I was cranky about the kind gesture because the box clearly indicated my diagnosis which I hadn’t shared with anyone. I almost dumped the whole thing in the trash until I noticed that the bag was made of vintage 1980’s fabric and the inside…well the inside was a perfect match for Sari’s dress! I squirreled it away for a time when I was less frightened and cranky. That time was this weekend.

I thought I might reproduce some Saris but after I took apart the bag and saw how much fabric I had, I thought I might be able to make a dress for Kirsten. Wait no, I could make a whole dress like your doll outfit for Kirsten! So, I found some additional vintage 80's fabric online for the boots and shawl and went to work.

I used Flossie Potters 1800's Simple Stitches pattern, which I love, for the dress and designed my own apron and shawl. But the boots, what to do about the boots? I remembered that a while back I'd gotten a big lot of Kirsten items with handmade grey felt boots. I found them and they were perfect. I just had to totally dismantle them. I used the deconstructed felt pieces as my pattern, pinned them to the cotton which I'd applied fusible interfacing to and cut them out. I'll probably make a pattern and upload it here for everyone to use because it worked really well all things considered.

The story just kind of tumbled out of me so I figured I'd put it alongside the photos. My holy grail Kirsten really is my muse.

[scientia-rex]

I had one of those days where I just had too many feelings to fit inside my skin, and I’ll have to recover from it.

Telling a patient she has breast cancer. Telling a patient she has dementia. Calling a patient at 6:30pm, still sitting at my desk, because even though I finished seeing patients at 5pm, I have work to do. Doing an endometrial biopsy on a patient who may have cancer. Calling a company so I can get the password to a website so I can recredential every three months so my clinic can charge for my work. Working with an assistant on whom I’ve also done an endometrial biopsy. My regular MA is out with COVID. I’m getting a year-end bonus for the first time in my life. Some idiot kid thinks I don’t know how ears work. I saw back to back ADHD patients; one is a trans woman who paused her transition because she can’t afford it. One is a kid who did loops around the exam room chairs the whole time I talked to his mother. His mother was frosty towards me at first because I was running late because I was telling a patient she had breast cancer, and she was crying, and her daughter was crying, and when her partner died of a different cancer last year the hospice workers were homophobic and she’s afraid of hospice. A different idiot kid thinks I don’t know how soap works. The ADHD kid’s mom warmed up to me when she realized I cared and knew what I was talking about. The kid said, “AHEM. What’s up, chicken butt?” I laughed and high fived him. I gave his mom the Vanderbilt forms to assess ADD symptoms across multiple environments. I saw a patient who had a certain air about her that I recognized intimately, and at the end I asked what she did, and she was a doctor, too. I knew it had to be something like that. When I explain medical concepts I aim for lay language, but I can see when people get faintly impatient with me for it, and I’ll add in more and more technical language and see when they start looking confused; she didn’t. I could watch every new patient take in my brightly-colored hair, combined with the utterly forgettable rest of me, all browns and grays and dress slacks and comfortable shoes, because the hair is my one concession to my deep need for attention; in the exam room, I need to recede into the background so the patient can be the focus. Studies have shown that patients don’t like it when doctors disclose that they have the same medical issues. It might seem like bonding, but it shifts the focus away from where it belongs: the patient. That island of time is theirs. The breast cancer patient’s daughter said to me, “Thank you for spending the time with us. I know you didn’t have the time.” And I said, “From each according to their something or other, to each according to their needs. It’s lukewarm Marxism.” I don’t think she heard it all, or took it all in, which was good. I had a migraine that made my head feel three sizes too big with a steady drumbeat of pain despite taking two Ubrelvy, two Aleve, and two Tylenol, plus 100mg of caffeine and a propranolol and a Zofran. You have to disconnect each patient from the next. I can’t bring the breast cancer patient’s grief and heaviness into a room where a little boy is doing hand-stands and telling me silly puns. One of the nurses brought me a sublingual Toradol from a stash—someone’s purse, somewhere—because she wanted me to feel better, and I felt tears stinging my eyes because she cared about me. I couldn’t afford to cry. I just told a woman she has dementia and she doesn’t believe me. I told her to bring her husband to our next visit. I ended my clinic day doing an endometrial biopsy, trying to pass a uterine sound through a stenotic cervix, but I’ve done this before enough times to know to have the set of dilators ready. I dilated her cervix gently but firmly, with the back pressure of the tenaculum, until I could get the sound in, and then I left the sound there while my assistant handed me the sampling pipelle, because if you remove it there’s a good chance the cervix will tighten down again and you’ll have to repeat the dilation. The patient was holding her husband’s hand and chanting to him under her breath, in pain despite the Xanax I gave her.

I’m a doctor. It’s everything to me.

[jcmarchi]

AI Will Transform Traditionally Female Spheres – We Can’t Afford to Ignore Their Voices

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/ai-will-transform-traditionally-female-spheres-we-cant-afford-to-ignore-their-voices/

AI Will Transform Traditionally Female Spheres – We Can’t Afford to Ignore Their Voices

Female business leaders are playing a vital role in AI’s development, safety and social impact. Yet they remain a stark minority in AI fields, representing just 26% of analytics and AI job positions and authoring 14% of AI research papers.

Ironically, we are about to see AI transform many aspects of life that have traditionally been associated with women. From educating our children (the pandemic she-cession was a harsh reminder of women’s outsized role here), to caring for the vulnerable, and managing the household.

AI will soon drastically change how 50% of our population spends their time, and the AI sector should reflect that reality. Yet gender bias can occur at all stages of AI development, from the coding to the training data to user input.

I’ll explore why female involvement in AI development is vital, and the sub sectors that will emerge with this new technological evolution.

Women building for predominantly female sectors

On a recent trip to London, I was inspired by the female founder of AI family assistant Aurora First, which helps manage home and family responsibilities. With much of the discussion around AI deployment focusing on productivity at work, little attention has been given to the ways it can disrupt day-to-day lives of a huge share of women.

What Aurora does struck me as custom-made for the lifestyle and responsibilities of many women. built with the knowledge that can only come from lived experience. Its AI companion slots itself in to help people manage family activities, communications, appointments and more. I believe we’ll soon start seeing the emergence of similar apps that use AI to manage our doctors’ appointments, schedule meetings with teachers, organize our weekly shop, and help us pre-screen, hire and manage nannies.

Women often assume the role of caregivers and workers or entrepreneurs, and simply don’t have the headspace to keep all our ducks in a row. A 2022 study found that women in the US spend 2x as much time in unpaid caregiving tasks compared to men, amounting to four work weeks a year.

If our kids go on vacation, we need to make sure their bag is packed with meds and other supplies. We need to make sure that we’ve bought them first. We need to organize travel logistics. Make sure they have travel insurance. A new wave of multifunctional apps could take some of this off our hands, potentially taking on half the work we need to do as family life organizers.

But this will only work if we have the right people at the helm – people who understand women’s daily responsibilities and can foresee potential risks that may come with these AI solutions.

If  a product is designed exclusively by men, it may not account for predominantly female issues. Women represent only 1 in 4 leadership positions in the 20 largest global tech companies – it’s unsurprising, then, that some of the negative repercussions of emerging tech hit women the hardest. If we take the social media industry as an example, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and Snapchat were all founded by exclusively male teams – and women are 3x more likely to report online sexual harassment.

Female health may get the attention it deserves

The exclusion of women and minorities from “scientific” research is a tale as old as time. The FDA explicitly excluded women of reproductive age from clinical research trials in 1977 – a policy that was only reversed in 1993.

To this day, even when it comes to ailments that predominantly affect women, research often fails to focus specifically on women and how they react differently to men.

Time has helped reduce this marginalization of women, and now, AI may cause us to take a huge leap forward in our exploration and understanding of female health.

A new study by FemTech Analytics mapped 170 femtech companies leveraging AI in women’s health, pregnancy, longevity and more. It mentions AI tools that help track and predict fertility, detect breast cancer, prevent pregnancy complications, and carry out gynecological imaging.

This emerging sector could not only improve women’s health, it could usher in more testing and scientific research specific to the female population. We need women to even conceptualize such solutions in the first place. That means putting them in a position to do so, with equitable access to financing, research and resources.

Subverted stereotypes

Just because some of the aforementioned fields – like childcare and the home – have historically been female-dominated, it doesn’t mean they need to stay that way. AI could open up the door to a society-wide mindset shift … or, done the wrong way, it could engrain certain stereotypes even deeper.

Take the emergence of personal technologies over the past few decades. At-home virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri have been largely feminized – and subsequently insulted by users – which developers later tried to correct for. Humanoid robots have often been hypersexualized. Just recently, OpenAI’s controversial female chatbot voice Sky was described as flirtatious and intentionally “empathetic and compliant.”

Observers talk about how generative AI doesn’t just reproduce stereotypes, it actually exacerbates and amplifies them. A UNESCO report also warned about how gender stereotypes risk being encoded into and even shaped by AI tech.

Founders must be thinking about the long term impact of their AI product on the world and on the perception of gender roles – not implying that certain roles are only suitable for women, or that women are unsuitable for certain tasks. Women are more likely to be sensitive to this need and, crucially, able to do something about it if they approach the issue from a leadership position rather than one of subordination.

An age old problem

The exclusion of women and other minorities from the tech sector is above all a systemic problem that needs far more attention from academic institutions and legislators.

The tech industry has traditionally self-selected for men. Around the time the internet was taking shape, supposedly “scientific” studies associated male characteristics with the tech persona – a false stereotype that still remains to this day.

Our long-held internal biases not only stop women from being considered for certain jobs or for funding, but they may discourage women from entering the field altogether. Just consider that in 1990 the proportion of females in computer and math professions was 35%, and that had fallen to 26% by 2013.

We can’t allow that to happen with the emerging AI discipline. Each company can take steps to undermine the inequalities that divide us – such as selecting job candidates for neutral or predominantly female characteristics – and ensure broader participation in this world-changing technology.

All stakeholders in AI have a responsibility to not allow today’s inequalities to infiltrate tomorrow’s tech, especially as the next generation of companies begin to redefine our daily lives. We shouldn’t have to sing the praises of women to get equal representation in this critical industry, we’re simply necessary – as leaders, researchers, developers and users – to create products that are truly usable by society.

[theoutcastrogue]

"The majority of high-tech patent lawsuits are brought by patent trolls—companies that exist not to provide products or services, but primarily have a business using patents to threaten others’ work. Some politicians are proposing to make that bad situation worse. ...

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, S. 2140, (PERA), sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) would be a huge gift to patent trolls, a few tech firms that aggressively license patents, and patent lawyers. For everyone else, it will be a huge loss. That’s why we’re opposing it, and asking our supporters to speak out as well. 

Patent trolling is still a huge, multi-billion dollar problem that’s especially painful for small businesses and everyday internet users. But, in the last decade, we’ve made modest progress placing limits on patent trolling. The Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Alice v. CLS Bank barred patents that were nothing more than abstract ideas with computer jargon added in. Using the Alice test, federal courts have kicked out a rogue’s gallery of hundreds of the worst patents. 

Under Alice’s clear rules, courts threw out ridiculous patents on “matchmaking”, online picture menus, scavenger hunts, and online photo contests. The nation’s top patent court, the Federal Circuit, actually approved a patent on watching an ad online twice before the Alice rules finally made it clear that patents like that cannot be allowed. The patents on “bingo on a computer?” Gone under Alice. Patents on loyalty programs (on a computer)? Gone. Patents on upselling (with a computer)? All gone. ...

PERA’s attempt to roll back progress goes beyond computer technology. For almost 30 years, some biotech and pharmaceutical companies actually applied for, and were granted, patents on naturally occuring human genes. As a consequence, companies were able to monopolize diagnostic tests that relied on naturally occurring genes in order to help predict diseases such as breast cancer, making such testing far more expensive. The ACLU teamed up with doctors to confront this horrific practice, and sued. That lawsuit led to a historic victory in 2013 when the Supreme Court disallowed patents on human genes found in nature. 

If PERA passes, it will explicitly overturn that ruling, allowing human genes to be patented once again. ...

“To See Your Own Blood, Your Own Genes”

From the 1980s until the 2013 Myriad decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patents on human genomic sequences. If researchers “isolated” the gene—a necessary part of analysis—they would then get a patent that described isolating, or purified, as a human process, and insist they weren’t getting a patent on the natural world itself.

But this concept of patenting an “isolated” gene was simply a word game, and a distinction without a difference. With the genetic patent in hand, the patent-holder could demand royalty payments from any kind of test or treatment involving that gene. And that’s exactly what Myriad Genetic did when they patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene sequences, which are important indicators for the prevalence of breast or ovarian cancer. 

Myriad’s patents significantly increased the cost of those tests to U.S. patients. The company even sent some doctors cease and desist letters, saying the doctors could not perform simple tests on their own patients—even looking at the gene sequences without Myriad’s permission would constitute patent infringement. 

This behavior caused pathologists, scientists, and patients to band together with ACLU lawyers and challenge Myriad’s patents. They litigated all the way to the Supreme Court, and won. “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated,” the Supreme Court stated in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. 

A practice like granting and enforcing patents on human genes should truly be left in the dustbin of history. It’s shocking that pro-patent lobbyists have convinced these Senators to introduce legislation seeking to reinstate such patents. Last month, the President of the College of American Pathologists published an op-ed reminding lawmakers and the public about the danger of patenting the human genome, calling gene patents “dangerous to the public welfare.”  

As Lisbeth Ceriani, a breast cancer survivor and a plaintiff in the Myriad case said, “It’s a basic human right to see your own blood, your own genes.” "