Breast Cancer Awareness

As October comes to a close, the color pink will also start to fade. There is a tremendous amount of national and local support demonstrated throughout all of October for Breast Cancer Awareness month. From local organizations and businesses raising money for research to professional football teams incorporating pink into their uniforms, Breast Cancer Awareness is everywhere. For some of us the visible support shown on a daily basis will soon fade away until October of next year. For others, those that have survived, suffered or even experienced someone who lost the battle, Breast Cancer Awareness is an everyday topic.

All women have fear of falling victim to breast cancer, so when a drug is released that can reduce the odds it becomes an appealing preventative measure. According to a recently released study that reviews the risks and benefits of the drugs raloxifene or tamoxifen, it was found that when taken by women it can reduce their risk of developing invasive breast cancer up to half, but they may be at greater risk for potentially serious blood clots. Researches found that for every 1,000 women who take the medications each year, there are seven to ten fewer cases of breast cancer. While both medications increase the risk of blood clots, tamoxifen has a bigger risk out of the two drugs. Tamoxifen not only increases the risk of endometrial cancer and cata in the study it was said that for every 1,000 women who take tamoxifen each year, four to seven additional cases of blood clots occur.