When attorney Barbara Gay found a lump on her breast, she went to her doctor for an evaluation and was referred to a surgeon to have a biopsy. It took a week before the results came in.

“I remember he looked at me and said, ‘You have breast cancer,’ then he spun his stool around and wrote a note in the chart and handed me a piece of paper with an appointment to have it removed.” Barbara didn’t know what her options were or where to go for help. That was seven years ago. She had two lumpectomies, because the first surgery missed some areas of cancer, chemotherapy every three weeks for six sessions and six weeks of radiation five days a week. She sought out a support group and learned from other women about treatment options and their experiences.

“Everybody is really different as to the risks they’re willing to take, the amount of surgery they are willing to undergo, the amount of time they can take off work and their insurance coverage. I wanted to work as much as possible during the treatment. I wanted things to be as normal as possible, and I also feared losing my job and health insurance. Several women in my support group had the same issues. Many women I’ve known who have breast cancer are limited in their treatment choices by the kind and amount of insurance they have. Insurance companies used to fight covering an overnight stay in the hospital after a mastectomy or breast reconstruction, which is a form of plastic surgery.”

Many women opt for a mastectomy because they live too far from anywhere they can get radiation treatment daily for six weeks, which is required when one goes the lumpectomy route.

In 2005 when Barbara was diagnosed, implants were the most common form of reconstruction and the choice was between saline and silicone, both of which had significant drawbacks. “Members of my support group discussed the pain involved with the insertion of the spreaders in the chest, which were gradually expanded to accommodate the implants.” Implants also come with risks such as rupture and infection, and they have to be replaced after roughly 10 years, requiring more surgery.

Dale, who is now in her seventies, has been dealing with the aftereffects of implants since she was diagnosed with breast cancer 14 years ago.

“In l998 I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, and then the cancer came back. In 2010 I had bilateral mastectomies, and then had implants put in. My left chest kept collapsing and getting infected. I was on so many rounds of antibiotics. The implants were removed, and then I went back to the doctor. I was sitting in my hospital gown, and he said to me, ‘You’re a nice lady, but I’m sorry, there is nothing more I can do for you.’ He handed me a piece of paper with the names of other doctors on it. I was shell-shocked. The next day he disappeared, and no one knows where he is.”

Dale has had to go for hyperbaric treatment for the chest infection and now has an opening in her chest that won’t close. “I’ve had three operations in three and a half weeks. I am now going to a doctor who specializes in latissimus flap surgeries, which my other doctor did not specialize in.”

Women today have many more options available to them than they did when Barbara and Dale were diagnosed. As Barbara commented, “The point is that a breast cancer diagnosis doesn’t automatically entail mastectomy and reconstruction. There are often a series of decisions to be made—lumpectomy vs. mastectomy, reconstruction vs. prosthesis, implants vs. flap.”

Newer procedures starting to gain favor are the tissue-flap procedures, in which tissue is removed from the abdomen, back, thighs or buttocks to rebuild the breast. The two most common types of flap procedures are the TRAM flap or transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap, which uses tissue from the lower abdomen, and the latissimus dorsi flap, which uses tissue from the upper back. In both of these cases healthy blood vessels are needed for the tissue’s blood supply, so flap procedures are not usually offered to women with diabetes, connective tissue or vascular disease, or to smokers.

In a TRAM flap, the skin, fat, blood vessels and at least one abdominal muscle are removed from the abdomen to the chest wall. There are two types of TRAM flaps: a pedicle flap, in which the flap is attached to the original blood supply and tunnels it under the skin to the breast. The other is a free flap, in which the flap of skin, fat, blood vessels and muscles for the implant are cut from the original location and then reattached using microscopic surgery to connect the vesicles. This procedure is a longer process and not done as often, but it can result in a more natural shape to the breast.

The latissimus dorsi flap moves muscle and skin from the upper back and is tunneled under the skin to the front of the chest. The side effects of this are pain and weakness in the back, shoulder and arm after surgery.

A newer form of surgery—the nipple-sparing procedure—has been around for about five years, but it’s not appropriate for all patients. In this procedure, the patient’s breast skin, areola and nipple remain. An advantage of this procedure is that the breast remains more cosmetically attractive. The disadvantage is that the nipple and areola lose sensation.
Dr. Deborah Axelrod, associate professor of clinical surgery and the director of clinical breast services programs at NYU Langone Medical Center, specializes in this type of surgery. “This kind of surgery is really for those women who do not have cancer by the nipple but have it peripherally. Someone who had cancer close to the nipple or imaging that showed areas close to the nipple would not be a good candidate, and someone with very large breasts is also not a good candidate.”

The procedure is long and can last up to eight hours, depending on the breast reconstruction performed. Axelrod describes it as being “like an envelope—you are taking the letters out and leaving the envelope, so you are leaving the envelope of skin intact. The nipple stays on the skin, but it is also biopsied to make sure there is no cancer.”

Axelrod acknowledges that women have changed the way breast cancer has been treated. “Women don’t want to be slashed. There is now a team approach to the conversation between the plastic surgeon and the oncologic surgeon to design something so that every time a woman looks down at her chest, she won’t be reminded that she had this horrible surgery or that she had breast cancer. Women say that they feel much more whole and not as hollow.” She does caution that there are not many long-term studies on this type of procedure.

With any kind of surgery, it is important to do your research, ask questions and find a physician who is not only experienced but with whom you feel comfortable, as Patty Harold, an attorney in Long Island, shared with me. Her breast cancer was discovered after she fell off a bike. Patty had a lumpectomy as an outpatient and opted not to have plastic surgery. “My advice would be to make sure you have a surgeon whom you have ultimate confidence in. I loved my surgeon and I was less scared because of her. I also think women should bring someone along who can act as their ‘ears.’ Even though the doctor is speaking to you, somehow it is hard to hear. I had friends and family take turns in visiting doctors with me so they could listen, take notes and help me make decisions when needed.”

Tap Dancer Marshall Davis Jr. joins Savion Glover on stage for a special performance at the newly renovated Bernie Wohl Center inside the Goddard Riverside Community Center on April 19.

Changes Proposed to UWS Retail Rezoning

Earlier this week, the Department of City Planning proposed several modifications to the Upper West Side retail rezoning plan that is currently making its way through the Uniform Land Use Review Process. The proposal will limit the frontages of banks and restrict other retail spaces along parts of Amsterdam, Columbus and Broadway on the Upper West Side.

Many small business owners and residents as well as Community Board 7 and City Council Member Gale Brewer have praised the plan as a way to preserve mom-and-pop shops and keep big-box retailers out, while real estate groups and some BIDs have criticized the plan for limiting business and development.

The proposed changes are intended to help maintain retail diversity and give building and business owners more flexibility, streamline expansion and grant concessions to existing businesses according to a City Planning spokesperson. One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a faster certification process that would let existing businesses apply to expand frontages to 60 feet without submitting an environmental review. It would also increase the maximum residential lobby frontage from 15 feet to 25, a recommendation made by Borough President Scott Stringer, and permanently grandfather stores larger than the proposed allowable frontage, where previously they would be forced to revert to smaller spaces if vacant for two years. Also, construction projects scheduled to be completed within six months will be exempt from any new regulations passed.

Mel Wymore, a Community Board 7 member who has been supportive of the rezoning measure, said that the modifications seem fair and provide “real flexibility and accommodation for local businesses and landlords.” He said that City Planning has been “extremely responsive” to the community’s feedback. The City Planning Commission will be voting on the modifications within the next few weeks.

UWS School Goes Green

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Department of Environmental Protection announced the winners of $4.6 million in grants to community-based green infrastructure projects that aim to improve the water quality of New York Harbor by reducing combined sewer overflows. The Ascension School, at 220 W. 108th St., was awarded $245,213 to create an educational green roof and vegetable garden. The garden will not only provide a learning environment for the students but will help reduce the amount of runoff that flows into the East River watershed by absorbing rainwater.

“The Ascension School will now be able to house a state-of-the-art new green roof, reusing rainwater for growing fruits, vegetables and native plants, all while teaching our schoolchildren about local, sustainable agriculture,” said project manager Will Travers.

Each of the 11 projects that were awarded grants will help keep sewage runoff out of the harbor. When heavy storms hit the city and the sewer system exceeds its capacity, wastewater is released into the rivers in order to prevent it from backing up into buildings. The more water that is absorbed into the ground and permeable surfaces, the less overloaded the sewer systems will be, reducing the quantity and frequency of sewer overflows.

Take a Saunter Around Manhattan

Next Saturday, May 5, the Shorewalkers will hold their 27th annual Great Saunter, a 32-mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan. Pre-registration is closed, but participants can register in person on May 5. The cost is $20 for non-members; the walk is free for members.

Registration will begin at Heartland Brewery, 93 South St. (at Fulton Street) at 7 a.m. The walk starts at 7:30 a.m. The route will take the group up the West Side, clockwise around the island, arriving back at the brewery at approximately 7 p.m. to rest weary leg muscles and toast the day’s achievement. The tour will meander through 20 parks and provide views of the Statue of Liberty, New Jersey, the Palisades, each of the outer boroughs and all kinds of river sights.

There is a stop for lunch in Inwood Park around 1 p.m, with a mid-morning break at River Bank State Park at West 138th Street and a mid-afternoon break at Carl Schurz Park at East 84th Street. Participants are advised to wear comfortable shoes and clothes and bring extra socks, water, snacks and blister treatment. The walk will take place as scheduled rain or shine. Visit shorewalkers.org for information and registration forms.

‘Today’ Host Raises Funds for Breast Cancer

Last week, Today show co-host and breast cancer survivor Hoda Kotb delivered the keynote address at Beth Israel Medical Center & St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospital’s Breast Service Luncheon at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side. Her speech was followed by an exclusive fashion show by designer Zang Toi. The event, now in its 21st year, raised $600,000 to benefit breast cancer programs.

Music to Stop Violence Against Women

Classical pianist and composer Emir Gamsizoglu will give a benefit concert this Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fourth Universalist Society’s Gothic Church, 160 Central Park West. Proceeds from the performance will go to the anti-violence groups Men Can Stop Rape, the Center Against Domestic Violence and VDay’s campaign to stop violence against women in Haiti.

Gamsizoglu, who was born in Turkey, was a basketball player until an injury forced him to change his focus to music. His mother, a ballet teacher, taught him to play Chopin’s Waltz in C Sharp Minor on the piano at age 20, and he continued to study piano in Istanbul and Paris. He will be performing selections from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Prokofiev, as well as his own compositions. Tickets are $20 or $15 for students and seniors, available at the door.

Today’ Host Raises Funds for Breast Cancer

Last week, Today show co-host and breast cancer survivor Hoda Kotb delivered the keynote address at Beth Israel Medical Center and St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospital’s Breast Service Luncheon at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side. Her speech was followed by an exclusive fashion show by designer Zang Toi. The event, now in its 21st year, raised $600,000 to benefit breast cancer programs.

Proceeds from the luncheon, which was chaired by Continuum trustee Betty Yarmon and hosted 500 socially prominent women and men, will benefit the Appel-Venet Comprehensive Breast Center at Beth Israel Medical Center and the Comprehensive Breast Center at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals. These programs provide diagnosis and treatment, educational programs, screenings, genetic counseling, clinical research, support groups and wellness programs for thousands of women and their families.

UES Recycling Event

Upper Green Side is holding a recycling event Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at St. Catherine’s Park, 1st Avenue between 67th and 68th streets. They will be accepting electronics (including computers and related accessories and equipment, TVs, DVD players, video games, cell phones and other devices but not appliances, such as toasters, etc.) paper and clothes of all kinds.

Winners of East River Design Competition

CIVITAS NYC, an Upper East Side community urban planning group, recently chose the first, second and third place winners in a competition that challenged designers and planners to envision ways to revitalize the waterfront of the Upper East Side. They reviewed over 90 submissions from more than 25 different countries.

“The area we are looking at is the waterfront park esplanade on the East River from 60th to 120th Street,” said Hunter Armstrong, executive director of CIVITAS. “A lot of people want to see the waterfront on par with downtown and the Upper West Side.”

Although the neighborhood was recently outfitted with a new bridge at 78th Street and has a project in the works for the nearby 91st Street esplanade, Armstrong pointed out that most of the waterfront greenway of the Upper East Side in these areas is falling apart and slowly crumbling into the river.

The competition, which was co-sponsored by Community Board 8, was opened to designers from all over the world in the fall of 2010. While the contest is designed to open a forum for discussion on what can be done to improve the waterfront, there have been no plans thus far by the city or the Parks Department to take up the project.

The first place winner was Joseph Wood, a designer from Hopewell, N.J. His elaborate design called for an underground river of rainwater that would span the distance between 60th and 120th Street. The river would nourish a park on the esplanade above it and provide a way to send rainwater into the East River.

His design also calls for adding several new bridges to the waterfront spanning over the FDR Drive. For his visionary outlook on handling revitalization and water management, Wood was awarded $5,000 by CIVITAS and will have his work displayed at the Re-imagining the Waterfront exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York beginning June 6.

Armstrong hopes that when the exhibition is put on display at the museum, contractors will take notice of the designs and perhaps put a request in to bring one of the ideas to life.

Healthy Kids Day

The Vanderbilt YMCA is hosting its annual Healthy Kids Day this Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. There will be activities for kids and adults, including a bounce house, carnival games, art projects and a family concert with Rolie Polie Guacamole at 11 a.m. The programs are designed to encourage kids to stay active and healthy as summer vacation approaches. The event will take place at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, on East 47th Street between 1st and 2nd avenues. All events are free.

New UES Landmark

Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) officially designated the former Barbizon Hotel for Women building, at 140 E. 63rd St., as the Upper East Side’s newest landmark. The 23-story hotel, constructed in 1927-1928 and designed by architects Murgatroyd & Ogden, became famous in its heyday as a respectable place for single women in the city to find lodging.

The LPC recognized and praised the building for its “masterful handling of its eclectic mixture of North Italian Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance ornament.” It was built with studio and rehearsal spaces specifically to attract women in artistic fields, and over the decades many talented and soon-to-be famous women—from comedian Elaine Stritch and actress Candice Bergen to writers Eudora Welty and Sylvia Plath, who fictionalized the place in her novel, The Bell Jar— stayed there. Many women who came to the city for modeling careers or as art students filled the hotel, which was strictly monitored for the presence of men and enforced dress codes and curfews on its young residents.

The Barbizon changed hands several times and was converted to condominiums in 2005, but the LPC determined that it retained enough of its architectural glory—and fascinating New York City history—to be worthy of designation as the 127th individual landmark on the Upper East Side.

Neighborhood Meeting

The East 79th Street Neighborhood Association will be holding its next monthly meeting on Thursday, May 10 at 6 p.m. Officers from the 19th Precinct will report on neighborhood safety concerns, and guest speakers from the group Residents for Sane Trash Solutions, which was formed in opposition to the East. 91st Street Marine Transfer Station, will present information. Representatives from local elected officials will also give updates. At the City University of New York, 535 E. 80th St.

By Ashley Welch

After Dr. Allison Stern Rosen was diagnosed with breast cancer over 10 years ago, there were some constants she could count on in her life. Fatigue, muscle and bone pain and overall difficulty in moving plagued her on a daily basis.

Depressed by her physical ailments, Rosen turned to the one thing that still brought her great joy—music. One day she began dancing, swaying and rocking her hips gently.

“I was exhausted all the time from the chemo,” she said, “but even though it hurt to walk, I found it exhilarating that I could move to the music without pain.”

Rosen, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, looked into existing research and found studies suggesting exercise was an important part of the rehabilitation of breast cancer patients. However, there were no classes or exercise DVDs tailored to people with cancer.

Rosen decided to change that. She approached her friends, Jan Albert and exercise physiologist Martha Eddy, about creating a dance class specifically for cancer patients. That’s when Moving On Aerobics was born.

Eddy designed the class based on the symptoms many cancer patients experience, including fatigue, pain and loss of range of motion.

“Only when you push your body will you strengthen it,” Eddy said.

However, participants of the class are allowed to go at their own pace.

Today, Moving On Aerobics offers free classes to cancer patients at community centers and hospitals throughout the city, including the JCC on the Upper West Side.

Such exercise classes are part of the growing number of doctor-recommended complementary treatments for cancer patients—treatments in addition to existing methods like radiation and chemotherapy. As more research emerges proving the benefits of these supplemental treatments, they have gained a much wider acceptance from the medical field.

Dr. Alyson Moadel of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been researching the effects of yoga on breast cancer patients since 2007.

“We’ve found that breast cancer patients participating in a 12-week yoga program show a significant increase in mood, spiritual well-being and overall quality of life,” she said.

In addition, she said, other forms of exercise can “improve energy levels and decrease fatigue and stress in cancer patients before and after treatment.”

Other, less traditional treatments are also being integrated into overall treatment plans for cancer patients.

Dr. Pamela Yee, integrative internist at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center, sees patients both before and after radiation and chemotherapy treatments and surgeries.

“Patients come to me before traditional treatments to find ways to reduce side effects, increase their immune system and do anything to strengthen their bodies to receive the treatment,”  Yee said.

After patients undergo the radiation or chemotherapy, Yee will also suggest ways they can rebuild their strength and remain healthy.

One of the methods she recommends is diet change.

“Though during treatment is not the time to make sweeping dietary changes, there are some alterations that can be made,” she said.

Yee suggests patients try to avoid sugar, as studies suggest it may feed cancer. She also said introducing anti-cancer food like cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts, can be helpful. These vegetables contain compounds that are believed to help prevent many types of cancer, especially breast cancer.

Many cancer patients also find comfort in energetic techniques like acupuncture, the insertion and manipulation of needles in the body to relieve pain and treat other ailments. According to Yee, acupuncture has been proven to reduce some side effects of chemotherapy like nausea and vomiting. However, many of her patients say they benefit from the traditional Chinese practice because it helps balance their whole body.

Yee recommends different herbs or supplements based on the type of chemotherapy a patient has undergone, but she said some are beneficial for most conditions. For example, medicinal mushrooms have been proven to help boost immunity.

While supplements are sometimes difficult to recommend because of the lack of scientific research available, Yee said she does so by analyzing the studies and making suggestions based on the most prevalent available evidence.

Though Yee said conventional methods of treating cancer have certainly proven to be effective, complementary treatments such as these can only help the process.

“When you think of the treatment of cancer, you think about chemo and radiation essentially blasting everything away,” she said. “It’s sort of like a war tactic, bombing and hitting as much as you can. The reason I use other unconventional methods is to attack the cancer in other ways—using other methods that can potentially get a hold on the cancer.

By Francine G. Burke

“We saw something in your films.” These are the most-dreaded words after your tits have gone through Pancakeville. It was finally explained to me that breasts, cysts, fibrous tissue and the like will flatten under the X-ray machine and cancer doesn’t. Good old big “C” is so strong it can withstand the scrunch like a cockroach. The Sharpie mark on my breast is where the machine is going to drill.

Approximately 12.7 percent of women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives: that’s about 1 in 8 women. And all you dudes better man up and get in touch with yourselves! As on a recent episode of CSI, the coroner couldn’t identify some sticky plastic with a metal dot. It was a not-so subliminal television message that guys are clueless about the mammography. The metal ball is a nipple marker, a little Band-Aid with a metal tip. The metal shows up in the X-ray so technicians can see where and what they are looking for. Pulling them off after the test just may be the worst part of the annual ordeal… that is, when the test is negative. When even my hero Peter Criss, the former drummer of KISS, can get boob cancer, you know that it can happen to anyone.

The radiologist poked at the white dots on my X-ray with his pointer. They’re not concerned about the little calcium deposits that are scattered on the fi lms of my fibrocystic breasts, but this is a cluster and it’s necessary to have a biopsy. My mind ran in a hundred directions and my eyes watered, so I fought the tears with a stream of intellectualizing. I badgered the doctor with questions: “What’s the difference between calcium dots and a cluster? And why is one dangerous but not the other? So if it is early detection, it can be isolated right? A little radiation, keep my hair and good to go, ’cause I haven’t met my second husband yet and need my tits and my hair. They are my best features!”

I think the doctor wanted to slap me silent, but, instead, asked me quietly to stop getting ahead of myself. I was given an appointment and a list of stuff to stay away from (like anything that interfered with blood clotting) and didn’t realize just how much I missed my aspirin!

The procedure, called a Stereotactic Breast Biopsy, was scheduled a week later. I am again a part of the bland, scratchy robe-wearing procession of women. But this time, as they are getting routine annual check-ups, I keep my mind distracted by reading crappy, outdated Golf, Parents and Elle magazines, and make a note to self not to pay too much attention to the 2005 fashions until Shivka, a lovely, prematurely gray-haired woman with kind eyes and fi rm voice, calls me to the special room.

The table has a hole in the middle; it rises up so they can work on the spot at eye level. My left tit is milked, prodded, poked and, yes, fl attened again. The room and plastic table are freezing. I whine and Shivka covers me with several blankets. She continues to yank and squish and shoots more films but cannot get a clear shot of where they have to get the biopsy sample.

Dr. Shack arrives, walking around the table, and he looks so short, stern and emotionless that it’s pretty darn disconcerting. They lower the table and tell me it’s an older machine, and they want me to go to another lab a few blocks away that is equipped with a newer, state-of-the art machine. When the table is lowered, I’m surprised to see the “short” doctor is over 6 feet tall.

The nurse and doctor gather all the supplies they could possibly need—not knowing what would be available to them at the new place—and the doctor never changes his expression, instructing Shivka to take the walk with me to the lab. She seems insecure, not knowing the new machine, but is happy to get out of the lab in the warm sunshine.

Armed with manila envelopes filled with anesthesia, alcohol, ice packs, needles, bandages and more, I feel special, having a medical entourage escorting me from West 59th Street and Columbus Avenue to 58th Street and Broadway. While we trundle over, I listen to Shivka tell me about her husband and three sons. Arriving at the new lab, we are welcomed and the magazines are current. The table is prewarmed.

I have four additional women leading, prepping, poking and prodding me, and the lab technicians compare notes and teach each other their “way” with much respect. I am the benefi ciary of all of their great experience. With a total of five women and the doctor taking care of my needs, there’s probably over 100 years of know-how in the room.

When they’re confident that all is ready, they mark the spot, the table is raised again and I’m locked into place by my left udder, er, breast, and I try to ignore the metal squeezing against my breast bone and ribs.

“You’ll hear a clap that will indicate the pinch of the needle is coming for the anesthesia,” the doctor says. And I hear what sounds like two plastic pieces on a tight spring slapping together. I am warned that I will then hear a “whirring” sound when the tool starts excavating.

Unfortunately, the doc didn’t shoot me up with enough anesthesia and there’s a “whirrrr” and PAIN! I scream and nearly jump out of the confi nes of their grip and off the table. “Whirrr!” Pain again! I cry for them to stop and with all of the tension and anxiety that has built up from the time I heard I needed the biopsy, I start sobbing like a baby.

Shivka gripped my leg and sternly told me to hold still while another nurse, Michelle, walks around the table and dabs the tears from my eyes. It’s the lab assistant version of good cop/bad cop, I figure. I’m so afraid to hear the whirr again and cry out: “Please no, please no, stop stop stop!” They shoot me with a large dose of additional anesthesia, and it kicks in and the doctor, confident and pleased, informs me he’s gotten the sample he needed. “It went very well.”

All the women stand around me, instructing me on post-procedural care while I dress. Michelle absently-mindedly evens-out the string in my hoodie, telling me how great I did. Dr. Stack, still emotionless, pushes his card into my hand and says, “Call me tomorrow, so I can tell you it’s benign.”

Dr. Stack’s confident diagnosis held true, and I’m happy to say that I did, indeed, get the benign good news. Just days later, I found out a good friend was not so fortunate and scheduled the next step, a Ductal Carcinoma in. But I’m glad both of us got our checkup, and I continue to spread the word: with early detection, non-invasive procedures can lead to full recovery.

Cats generally have eight mammary glands (four pairs). Dogs vary, but usually have 10 glands. Around 90 percent of feline mammary tumors are malignant; in dogs, less than 50 percent are malignant.

To prevent mammary gland cancer, spay your pet before she goes into heat. Dogs spayed before their first heat are 2,000 times less likely to develop breast cancer. Cats spayed before their first heat have 91 percent less chance of developing breast cancer. After just one heat, the risk rises. Around four months of age is a good time to have your pet spayed, as vaccinations are generally completed by then.

Just like in people, mammary exams for pets are important. Early detection is key. For example, cats with mammary tumors removed when less than 2-centimeters in size have a median survival time of four-and-a-half years, while cats with tumors that are bigger than 3-centimeters have a median survival time of six months.

Once your dog or cat is five years old, perform a mammary exam monthly. Gently feel the tissue under and around each nipple, “rolling” the tissue between your fingers. If you feel even a tiny lump, bring your pet to the veterinarian.

The primary treatment is surgical removal. Depending on the situation, your pet may have only the affected gland removed, several glands in the area or all glands on that side. The tumor will be analyzed to determine if it’s benign or malignant. If malignant, your veterinarian will likely refer you to a veterinary oncologist for advice.

–
Louise Murray, DVM, DACVIM, is director of medicine at ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, and author of Vet Confidential.

Each year the organization hosts the Komen New York City Race for the Cure, a 5K run/walk that raises money for breast cancer research and local community outreach programs. It draws 25,000 participants, including 2,000 survivors. And of course there are plenty of children taking part with their families, friends and schools.

“The race is a huge family event. It is such a festive, wonderful atmosphere,” says CEO of Komen Greater NYC, Dara Richardson-Heron, a physician and 12-year breast cancer survivor.

Pearl Griffith-Eccles, a 40-year survivor.

There’s a lot to celebrate: Over the last 27 years, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has changed how the world talks about and treats breast cancer, helping to transform millions of breast cancer patients into breast cancer survivors. When Komen for the Cure was founded in 1982, the five-year breast cancer survival rate was around 74 percent. Today, with early detection, it’s 98 percent.

But there’s still a lot of work ahead. Aside from funding breast cancer research, Komen Greater NYC supports essential community-based breast health education, screening and treatment programs.

This year’s race includes a special new element that will inspire all who participate: an exhibit by New York City photographer Jeffrey Shaw featuring 10 photographs of breast cancer survivors surrounding the borders of Survivor Village, an area near the Central Park Bandshell where survivors and their families gather before and after the race. The photographs, which stand 5 feet tall, are printed on translucent mesh material, giving them an ethereal quality, and include each woman’s first name and years of survival.

“I wanted the photograph to represent their life’s passion,” says Shaw. “I asked each woman, What do you love? What fulfills you in life? Within each portrait, there’s a story.”

One of the women photographed is Pearl Griffith-Eccles, a 40-year survivor who volunteers at numerous local hospitals and cancer centers. Photographed in her signature brightly-colored head scarf, she is immediately recognizable to other survivors—her story has been told on Oprah, among other places. “As a long-term survivor, people get to know you,” she says. “They tell me, ‘When I see you, my hope is renewed.’”

Fifteen-year survivor George Ann Garrison, who recently celebrated her 75th birthday, says that her picture, taken with her husband Bill in front of the Brooklyn Bridge, represents the 18-mile walk they take over the bridge from their Upper West Side home three times a week, a walk that takes her mind off the disease and helps her “keep going.”

Marilou Young, a photographer who has survived cancer three times since 1996, is shown with her camera. She says that seeing other survivors at the race gives her tremendous hope. “It’s just wonderful to see that the disease has not disabled them,” she says.

This is why people like Dr. Larry Norton, physician-in-chief of breast cancer programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, remain important in the fight against this disease. For more than 40 years, Norton has been working on understanding the mathematics of tumor growth or, more simply, how cancer changes and spreads based on numbers.

“Over the last five years or so, that has morphed into a deep understanding about cancer growth,” he said. “We used to think of it as cell division, and now we are thinking about them moving.”

Dr. Larry Norton

Breast cancer is a complicated subject, but one many women have to think about. This is one reason Norton has spoken about it for the past 17 years at the 92nd Street Y. His next public talk at the cultural center is scheduled for Oct. 22.

“It’s going to touch on what the audience wants to know,” Norton said. “I will basically give an update on the biology of breast cancer and what’s happening with drug therapy.”

The first step in understanding breast cancer is to comprehend how the breast works. A woman’s breasts are really glands, and each breast is made of lobes, which are groups of milk glands called lobules. The lobules are placed around the ducts, which are thin tubes that carry the milk to the nipple. There are also lymph vessels in the breast that are used to pass lymph, the clear fluid that transports cells to help fight infections and other diseases. All together, these make up the glandular tissue of the breast.

Norton’s work focuses on the molecular identification of cancer-causing genes and the development of new drugs, which target cell growth. He also researches a newer type of therapy called “dosed density,” which constitutes scheduling drugs to minimize toxicity and maximize the killing of cancer cells.

Norton didn’t always know he wanted to be a doctor, let alone a world-famous cancer specialist. Born in The Bronx, he started out in the 1960s studying music and getting gigs as a working musician. Later, after a friend talked about his inspirational summer working at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, Norton decided to try the medical field. After getting his M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, he focused on internal medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Medicine became his true path, though he never lost his love for music.

“I think music and medicine have a lot in common,” he said. “The practice of medicine is about communication and listening carefully. The practical thing about music and medicine is that both require a great deal of time alone thinking.”

In a recent interview, Norton highlighted some of the basics women should know about breast cancer.

Should women fear breast cancer?
Norton: People fear the unknown, but the solution to fear is knowledge. My job is to demystify breast cancer so people can deal with it properly.

How common is breast cancer?
Extremely common. It’s essentially neck-to-neck with lung cancer. But with lung cancer, it’s caused by smoking. With breast cancer, we don’t really know what causes it. Though we do talk about prevention strategies. It is very common—10 to 12 percent of American women have the chance of getting breast cancer.

Does having breast cancer mean you have to lose your breast?
Most people can have breast conserving therapy, where the cancer is removed and the breast is treated with radiation. For the most part, you can’t tell that an operation has been done.

At what age is breast cancer most prevalent?
Breast cancer gets more common as you get older, though it can occur in very young people.

How often should a woman check for breast cancer?
Specific recommendations depend on the individual and family history. For sure we advocate starting annual mammograms at the age of 40, and it’s been shown to reduce breast cancer.

Some helpful websites:

www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/check-a-symptom.html

www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/293.cfm

www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understanding-breast-changes
–
“Update on Breast Cancer,” with Dr. Larry Norton
Thursday, Oct. 22, 8:15 p.m., $18
92nd Street Y, Buttenwieser Hall, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500