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Janet Guttsman is bureau chief for Reuters in Canada, and has worked for the company in Germany, Russia and the United States. When she's not running the Canadian news file, she enjoys long bicycling trips in Canada and beyond. In the following story she writes of the support she received online after a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer.By Janet GuttsmanTORONTO (Reuters) - "Forgive me a freakout moment here," I wrote to a woman's-only Internet bicycling forum I've been posting on for years. "I have to see a specialist for something that they suspect is very early breast cancer."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel genetic test for determining whether patients with breast cancer are good candidates for treatment with the drug Herceptin (trastuzumab). The SPOT-Light HER2 CISH kit is a test that measures the number of copies of the HER2 gene in tumor tissue. This gene regulates the growth of cancer cells.

Most women with breast cancer assume that surgery to preserve their breast will be less disfiguring than a mastectomy that removes the entire breast. But nearly one-third of women reported pronounced asymmetry between their breasts, and that perceived disfigurement greatly affects a woman's quality of life after treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday that it had approved a new test that measures the strength of HER2 gene amplification in breast cancer patients so that decisions can be made about whether they should be given the cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab).

Scientists at the Kimmel cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have made a key discovery about the mechanism of breast cancer metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads. Focusing on a gene dubbed "Dachshund," or DACH1, they are beginning to pinpoint new therapeutic targets to halt the spread of cancer. Reporting their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers led by Richard Pestell, M.D., Ph.D.

The Aurora® breast MRI Society, a rapidly growing group of dedicated breast health specialists committed to advancing the use of cutting-edge dedicated breast MRI technology, debuted its inaugural issue of The Journal of Breast MRI. The Journal was produced as a platform for Society members to relay clinical information and best practices for the detection, diagnosis and management of breast disease.

Recently identified genetic markers, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that are associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of breast cancer do not appear to substantially improve the accuracy of existing models that use clinical factors to predict an individual's risk, according to a study in the July 8 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The former clinical chief of pathology at Eastern health concluded his testimony Tuesday at the Cameron Inquiry, saying burn-out is the reason he is on sick leave from the health authority, whose pathology labs ...

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- A third of women who opt for breast-conserving cancer surgery say they now have an asymmetry between their breasts that greatly affects their quality of life, a new study says.

Title: FDA Approves Genetic Test for breast CancerCategory: health newscreated: 7/9/2008 2:00:00 amlast Editorial review: 7/9/2008