Turning Heads - the book to give away

I"m a doctor and photographer. It is just what I am. Rarely do the two meet in any artistic way. Oh sure, there is the occasional moment or two if I bring my camera to work and see something cool. Click on that cool link and you'll see a cool work photo. But few and far between.

Then one day about 5-6 years ago I got a call from Jackson Hunsicker. Jackson is just one of those people you want to know. She is funny, bright as can be, very cool, fun to be with, well, you get the idea.
Jackson's idea was to gather 2 waves of people to do something remarkable. One wave was bald women of every size, color, ethnicity, and strength. These women were all breast cancer patients who lost their hair from chemotherapy. The second wave of people were photographers. And I mean great photographers - famously great photographers.

Jackson set out to publish (on her own) a remarkable book about bald woman.
Here is the official link to this remarkable book. Check it out right here.


The purpose of Turning Heads is to show the world that life does not stop with a cancer diagnosis. That bald women can be strong, vital, and beautiful people with full lives.

The book succeeds wildly. Firstly, because it is a brilliant idea - a creative force.

Secondly, the photos are works of art taken from 59 different world class, I wish I could shoot like them, photographers. You've heard of a lot of them. You may own or collect some of their other works. You should collect and own this book. The photos are that good. Who are these photographers?

How about Stephen Wilkes, Annie Wells (Pulitzer winner), Joyce Tenneson, Greg Gorman, and Lauren Greenfield to name a few. What more do I really need to say with names like these gracing the pages.

I could say the book only cost $21.86 at Amazon and please tell everyone women to buy one for a friend. Or tell your oncology friends to stack them for giveaway in the waiting room.

Actually, every medical oncologist, breast surgeon, radiation oncologist, psychologist, should keep a stack in the waiting room to GIVE to patients. It would not really make a dent in their yearly marketing budget and be far more effective than, say, a bad holiday gift basket that is gone in a day.

Bald patients see this book and smile. They understand the message is meant for them and it is a positive, loving, beautiful message. Click on those links above, please.

Dr. Susan Love and research

While I was writing the post on the robot MRI (see below) I noted that Dr. Susan Love has several research projects within her foundation. I thought I would post on some of these because of their importance.

While the robot MRI might be years in the future these studies are open now to qualifying women. Here is one that is quite intriguing in that a small amount of chemotherapy is injected into the tumor area after diagnosis. Read on and please visit Dr. Love's blog and main page.
http://www.dslrf.org/endingbc/content.asp?L2=1&L3=7&L4=4&SID=292


Effect of Intraductal Therapy of DCIS with Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin (PLD) on Pathology and Biomarkers: A Presurgery Study
(Currently Recruiting)
The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation is looking for 30 women recently diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to take part in a groundbreaking new research project. Study volunteers will need to have been diagnosed with a core needle biopsy or with ultrasound and not yet have had surgery. The study involves having a small amount of a chemotherapy drug injected through the nipple into the affected milk duct. The volunteer will be observed for a couple of hours, and then go home, with a surgery date set in the next four to six weeks. Prior to surgery, ductal fluid will be aspirated and an MRI will be performed. The tissue removed during the surgery will be examined to see what effect the drug had on the DCIS. It is hoped that the findings from study will provide the data necessary to support the launch of a nationwide clinical trial of intraductal therapy for the treatment of DCIS.

This research is being conducted in collaboration with Ellen Mahoney, MD, St. Joseph's Hospital in Eureka, Calif., and the Humboldt Community Breast Health Project. Research participants will need to travel to Eureka, Calif., for the treatment and the surgery. This study was funded by the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP). Please call Ashley Casano at (310) 828-0060 Ext. 32 or send her an email for more information.

Future Breast cancer treatment

I agree with Dr. Susan Love. The ideal way to cure breast cancer is to prevent it. And thru her pioneering efforts we will do just that. In the meantime we still have to take care of the thousands of women who are diagnosed each year.

One area where we have made great strides is in reduction of side effects and amount of breast tissue treated. For instance, mastectomy used to be the only option for most women. Now, mastectomy is reserved for those who cannot (or will not) undergo lumpectomy and radiation. We have also learned that a sampling of lymph nodes is just as good as a full lymph node surgery for most women. And that partial breast radiation is perfectly suited for some women instead of whole breast radiation. That is a lot of improvement over a short period of time.

I do not usually comment on the "latest and greatest" news item--but this one caught my attention. It is about a robot within an MRI that can detect and destroy breast cancer cells. The only catch. Not ready for prime time until some time in the future. But it is intriguing.

Here is the link
http://gizmodo.com/5062325/robot-prototype-finds-attacks-and-kills-breast-cancer-cells

It is intriguing because this kind of thinking and technology is what leads to further reductions in side effects for women. And in lessening the trauma of breast cancer treatment.

I don't know if a robot can do everything the article says it can. But I do know that just a few years ago the words partial breast radiation, lumpectomy, sentinel lymph node were unknown to most of the world.

So until Dr. Love's vision of prevention of breast cancer is realized we still have to advance our ability to treat women with more finesse and less side effects. We are very good at this.

Breast Cancer in the news

It's amazing how often a report appears in the news about preventing or causing breast cancer.
I decided to post on this topic today. So many woman (and doctors) are confused by very common questions about the cause of breast cancer. And no wonder. The mountains of conflicting news stories and research IS confusing. One day you read not to drink coffee the next you should drink coffee and so on.

Below is a sample of stories to appear in the news during October --breast cancer awareness month.

A woman's risk of breast cancer is not increased by consuming caffeine, concludes a report published in the October 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

A study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests a possible role for nicotine in breast tumor development and metastases.


researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the University of Santiago de Compostela reveals that regular use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a 12 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer compared to non-users.

A separate analysis for Aspirin showed a 13 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer and an analysis for Advil showed a 21 per cent relative risk reduction.

So for this month anyway let's all meet at Starbucks for coffee and Advil because caffeine is not bad and NSAIDs are good. And of course, let's stay away from smoking and smokers.

Until next month, that is, when the story may be different.
Stay tuned.