Oct 29, 2009 2:36 pm US/Pacific
Rethinking A Type Of Breast Tumor
SAN JOSE (CBS 5) ―
This weekend, thousands of people in the South Bay are expected to lace up their shoes and hit the road to raise money for breast cancer research. But when it comes to a very common breast tumor, one expert panel is urging to no longer call it cancer at all.
"My mom is my inspiration," explained Monika Miles of San Jose as she prepared for a five-mile walk.
In 1996, Monika's mother Doris was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"As part of that experience, I felt that I needed to do something," Monika recalled.
That five-mile walk would be Saturday's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. But as for the strides, what kind of progress has really been made?
In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer and enlisted the help of scientists nationwide to find a cure. Roughly 40 years later, breast cancer is still a top killer of American women. But there is progress, especially in how we now understand the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer.
It's called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. With DCIS, abnormal cells develop and are confined to milk ducts in the breast. Now, a federal advisory panel is urging that this kind of cancer no longer be called "carcinoma."
"I do not think of DCIS as cancer," said breast cancer expert Dr. Laura Esserman.
Esserman, a specialist at UCSF, said the majority of DCIS tumors probably will not develop into cancer. By diagnosing or aggressively treating them as if they were may do more harm than good.
"When people are terrified that they have cancer and they're going to die of cancer, when they aren't, that's harm," Dr. Esserman explained.
As for Monika, this year her mother planned to fly out from Texas to walk with her.
"It makes me very grateful to have her," Monika said. "To walk in these walks with her is especially rewarding. She's the reason I started doing this and she's the reason I continue to do it."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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