"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Pfizer and Lily have developed a new treatment medication, called a PK 4/6 inhibitor, that provides dramatic benefits for women with hormone sensitive breast cancer. Prolonged longevity and reduced death rate are seen with the well-tolerated medication, with additional testing pending to provide the final proof that the treatment should become widely used and widely …
A recent study in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) has raised questions about the safety of one of our most commonly prescribed blood pressured medications, the CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS. In a case-control study, the researchers demonstrated at 2.5x greater risk of breast cancer in those women on the medication for 10 years or more. …
Dear Dr. Lakin, I have been reading so many controversial things on taking mammography….. especially unnecessary radiation. Also, many false positives and that they do not save lives….. I am going to be 79 years old. I am cystic. My mother died of ovarian cancer. (However, I do have a pelvic exam …
Read More “A PATIENT ASKS ABOUT HER MAMMOGRAM….AND I RESPOND”
There is controversy over the ideal duration of anti-hormone therapy for women with breast cancer. In women with hormone responsive breast cancer, we treat them after that initial therapy, with ‘anti-hormone medications’ such as Tamoxifen (in the older days) or Arimidex (newer version). These ‘anti hormones’ are in two categories: Tamoxifen (SERM’s….Selective Estrogen Receptro Modulators) …
Read More “LONGER DURATION OF BREAST CANCER TREATMENT IS BETTER”
I just read a NY Times review on a fascinating new book: BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams. The review describes an interesting take on the female (and male) breasts, both historically and medically, but the review makes the claim that ‘the breast cancer incidence continues to rise,’ and this caught my …
Compliance is the term doctor’s use to mean ‘adherence’ to a medication regimen. Compliance is critical to gaining the benefits from medication because clearly, you can only benefit from a medication if you take it. An interesting study of Compliance with breast cancer prevention medications called Aromatase Inhibitors (Aromasin/Arimidex), only 80% of patients took their …
Read More “COMPLIANCE WITH MEDICATIONS REMAINS CRITICAL…EVEN FOR CANCER PATIENTS”