|
The Breast Center's proximity to the South Carolina Cancer Center gives patients access to important research about breast cancer causes and treatments. This gives women from our region access to cutting-edge therapies without having to travel long distances. Translational research focuses on the biological changes that occur as a cancer cell develops. Our multidisciplinary team of laboratory scientists is trying to discover what events happen at the cellular and molecular levels that send a normal cell along the path towards cancer. Our Clinical Research focuses on bringing new treatments and new combinations of therapies to patients with breast cancer. The goal is to try new drug treatments, radiation techniques or new surgical procedures in an environment that will allow us to learn whether or not patients are gaining substantial benefit from them. Our Population Studies program is a multidisciplinary program composed of epidemiologists, physicians, nurses and basic scientists. This team is investigating the roles of diet, other lifestyle factors and normal genetic differences and how they interact to increase or decrease the risk of cancer. The team also is developing new tests to detect cancers at an early, curable stage and to assess who is at risk for developing cancer, why they are at risk, what they can do about it, and whether or not their efforts are having a preventive effect. Take one more step in the fight against breast cancer… We are looking for women to participate in a research study who have regular mammograms or who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. If you know of someone who is interested and falls into these categories, please pass on this information. If you agree to participate…
And we may also collect a sample of:
Following the clinical visit, you will be given a take-home questionnaire. The questionnaire should take approximately 2 hours to complete. The questions asked fall into the following general categories:
Who we are… If you have questions or would like more information, call Wendy McKenzie, Project Coordinator, 434-1628 Clinical Trials are studies that try to improve knowledge of prevention, advance current treatment or find new treatments for cancer. They are the only reliable way to prove the effectiveness of various treatments. During a clinical trial, information is carefully collected to assess improvement in outcomes, and risks that may be associated with new treatments. To see a list of available clinical trials related to breast cancer, visit the South Carolina Cancer Center Clinical Trial index. Another way physicians and researchers study breast cancer is by collectively reviewing patient tests, results and treatment outcomes, and looking for trends that may provide insight into the disease. This “outcomes” research is most successful when large numbers of cases can be looked at together. As a comprehensive center that includes physicians and patients from two major hospitals, we have an advantage in being able to perform these types of studies. For example, in only our first 100 days as a combined, comprehensive center, we spotted some important trends about breast cancer in African-Americans. |
