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Breast Cancer Resources

Breast Cancer Information

  1. American Cancer Society: Breast Cancer Resources – You have cancer. You want to understand more about your disease; you feel overwhelmed by your life; you want someone to help you.
  2. Cancer.Net – Oncologist-approved cancer information from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
  3. Macmillan Cancer Support – Macmillan and Cancerback merged in 2008. “Together we provide free, high quality information for people affected by cancer through our publications…”
  4. UpToDate, Inc. – Electronic clinical resource tool for physicians and patients.

Clinical Trial Resources

  1. National Cancer Institute – Information on how to find cancer clinical trials, what clinical trials are, recent research, and resources for researchers.
  2. Cancer Clinical Trial Search – Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups providing the most up-to-date source of cancer clinical trial information for cancer patients, healthcare providers and advocates.

Research Organizations

  1. Breast Cancer Research Foundation – BCRF is an independent not-for-profit organization with a mission to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer.
  2. Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium – TBCRC, created in 2005, now comprises clinical trialists, translational scientists, and patient advocates from 14 academic medical centers dedicated to innovative, high impact and biologically-driven clinical research.

Community Resources for Breast Cancer

  1. Alaska Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening Assistance Program (AK B+C)– The program provides free or low-cost breast and cervical cancer screening services to eligible Alaskans through participating providers statewide.
    • Division of Public Health
      Section of Women’s, Children’s & Family Health
      Anchorage, Alaska
      907-312-9555
      Email: AKBC@alaska.gov
  2. Alaska Division of Public Health (BCHC) – National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship Guide to Cancer Resources. Southeast Alaska Breast and Cervical Early Detection Program.
  3. Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum – The APIAHF is dedicated to promoting policy, program and research efforts for the improvement of health status of all Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities. Translations include Chinese, Tagolog, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, Gujurati, Urdu, Farsi, Thai, and Cambodian.
  4. YWCA ENCOREplus Program – 324 E. 5th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska
  5. SEARHC Native Women’s Breast Cancer Support Group and Health Program – Ketchikan General Hospital 907-228-7629
  6. Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic Outreach Program – Homer, Alaska
  7. YKHC, Bethel, Alaska – YKHC in partnership with Norton Sound Health Corporation and numerous rural health care providers provides breast cancer awareness and outreach programs.

Cancer Prevention Resources

  1. Breast Cancer Action – Breast Cancer Action’s mission is to achieve justice for all women at risk of and living with breast cancer. They believe in tackling the root causes of the breast cancer epidemic.
  2. Breast Cancer Fund – The website states, “Prevention starts here. Help us expose and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer. Together we can stop this disease before it starts.”
  3. Silent Spring Institute – The Silent Spring Institute partners with physicians, public health and community advocates and other scientists to identify and break the links between environmental chemicals and women’s health, especially breast cancer.

Hospitals

  1. Providence Cancer Center, Anchorage
  2. Alaska Regional Hospital Cancer Care Center, Anchorage
  3. Mat Su Regional Medical Center, Palmer
  4. Bartlett Regional Hospital, Juneau
  5. Central Peninsula Hospital, Soldotna
  6. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
  7. Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage

Breast Cancer Facts

  • Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. Nearly 1.4 million women around the world are diagnosed annually. In the U.S. alone, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed each year.
  • Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths among women.
  • In the U.S., a woman has a 1 – 8 (12 percent) risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime.
  • One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 3 minutes.
  • One woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S.; and every 69 seconds somewhere in the world.
  • The 5-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent, compared to 74 percent in 1982.
  • Approximately 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are due to heredity. The majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors.
  • A woman’s chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. Approximately 95 percent of all breast cancers occur in women over 40.
  • The chances of a woman dying from breast cancer are approximately 1 in 33 (3 percent).
  • African-Americans have the highest death rate from breast cancer of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S.
  • The federal government devotes more than $900 million annually toward breast cancer research, treatment and prevention, compared to $30 million in 1982.
  • Nearly 75% of women over 40 years of age now receive regular mammograms, thought to be the most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early.

In the U.S. today, there are nearly 2.5 million breast cancer survivors – the largest group of cancer survivors in the country. They are a vital, living testament to the power of awareness and science saving lives.

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