Genetic tumor testing determines the best therapy for fighting cancer and preventing chemotherapy. One simple test saved me from unnecessary chemotherapy for one of the most common forms of breast cancer. One cancer expert at Baylor College of Medicine gave me the OncotypeDX test which saved me from chemo. This was after I consulted doctors at Conroe Regional Medical Center, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center; who actually told me their protocol is to automatically give you chemo without performing a diagnostic test to see if that would benefit a common, curable breast cancer. This test has been FDA approved since 2005 (!!!), yet some doctors are reluctant to change their protocols or inform patients of the test - or dismiss the request. I won't give you my opinion of why I was informed of this, all I will say is that chemotherapy is a big business. Download this informative articles (below) for more information so you will know and can share it. If you or a loved one has breast cancer, then give them the information to make informed decisions about their treatment. Take the time to determine your options. I did and it saved me from unnecessary chemo. And I'm cancer free!
Baylor College of Medicine is a leader in up-to-date cancer treatments, saving thousands of women from unnecessary chemotherapy. It's worth researching. Not everyone has the same type of cancer; some may need chemotherapy but find out first! At the Baylor College of Medicine Smith Breast Center, patient care is internationally recognized ensuring treatment based on the latest findings and discoveries. Baylor's vision for the future is personalized medicine - using patients' own genetic makeup to help identify their potential for breast cancer, prevent its onset, more effectively diagnose and treat the disease when it does occur, and one day, provide a cure. After 30 years of focused research, breast cancer is among the first diseases to be treated using genetic analysis, with the doctors and scientists at Baylor College of Medicine providing much of the scientific data leading to this approach. The Smith Breast Center is using genetic testing to identify women with a predisposed genetic risk for breast cancer and offering treatment programs; including new clinical trials designed to prevent the disease.
Always get a second opinion!
Demand the OncotypeDX be submitted or change doctors.
Genomic Health is a cancer gene testing laboratory that your doctor can use to determine the best treatment for your type of cancer. Below are types of cancers providing answers through genomic tests:
The Oncotype DX cancer test is the first and only multigene expression test to be included in the published guidelines of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, to predict the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit as well as recurrence, for patients with node-negative breast cancer that is estrogen-receptor positive and/or progesterone-receptor positive. The Oncotype DX gene-based diagnostic test can also help men and women with some types of colon cancer learn more about the biological features of their specific tumor and help indicate how likely it is that a patient's cancer may return in the future.
Additionally, physicians use Oncotype DX to make treatment recommendations for certain node-positive breast cancer patients, and the test report also provides quantitative scores for select individual genes. Oncotype DX has been extensively evaluated in thirteen clinical studies involving more than 4,000 breast cancer patients worldwide, including a large validation study published in The New England Journal of Medicine and a chemotherapy benefit study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Both Medicare and private health plans covering over 90 percent of U.S. insured provided reimbursement for Oncotype DX for patients with node-negative breast cancer that is estrogen-receptor positive and/or progesterone-receptor positive through contracts, agreements or policy decisions.
