Examples included a proposal to renew the 1992 Mammography Quality Standards Act for another five years and the Breast Cancer Early Detection Act, which provides coverage for annual mammography screening for women enrolled in Medicare. The latest breast cancer treatments include experimental therapies, drugs and vaccines. Until the scientific community determines breast cancer causes and cures, the goal is to give survivors normal and healthy lives. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a preventive treatment ordered when the cancer is not detectable, but may still exist. It's administered post-surgeries to deplete microscopic remains.
Combination chemotherapy is the use of more than one drug to combat cancer cell growth and division.
However, the drug may only be prescribed by an oncologist and can cause serious side effects in some patients including low white blood cell counts, muscle and joint pain, burning or tingling in the hands and hair loss. June Mumme, a Delta Kappa Chapter alumna from Louisiana State University, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 at age 42. Following a mastectomy, she endured six months of chemotherapy which caused partial hair loss, weight gain and mouth sores. She continues to use eye drops to battle the chronic dryness caused by the chemicals. While June says there is fear of reoccurrence, she is committed to taking responsibility for her health and helping find a cure.