MayoClinic.com Helps Women Decide What to do After Breast Surgery

Friday, October 18, 2002

ROCHESTER, Minn. — What do you do after breast cancer surgery? MayoClinic.com's new adjuvant-therapy decision guide can help women and their doctors answer that question. Adjuvant systemic therapy uses chemotherapy drugs or hormone therapy to help destroy any cancer cells that were not removed during surgery. The goal is to decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

The adjuvant-therapy guide on MayoClinic.com, which was made possible by an educational grant from The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, helps women consider all the factors regarding the treatment options available to them. Women who choose to do so can use the guide to calculate their own projected cancer-free survival rates 10 years after diagnosis — with and without adjuvant systemic therapy. The site cautions that the answer may be disturbing before showing it to you. The calculator, developed by Mayo Clinic oncologists Charles Loprinzi, M.D., and Stephan Thomé, M.D., is based on mathematical estimates.

"If you face the decision to use or not use adjuvant therapy, the MayoClinic.com guide can help you learn more about what you stand to gain or lose in your adjuvant therapy choice," explains Brooks Edwards, M.D., MayoClinic.com medical editor.

The guide and calculator are designed for a woman and her doctor to use together. A patient can share information about her values and what's important to her; her doctor can share expertise gained through years of medical training and experience.

The personal stories section of the guide features two women who made choices based on their own situations and preferences. It also includes answers to frequently asked questions about adjuvant systemic therapy by a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic.

There is no right or wrong choice, only what makes sense to you after you evaluate the options, risks and benefits of adjuvant systemic therapy. MayoClinic.com puts the information together in a way that makes the research easier to understand. The adjuvant-therapy guide can be found at http://www.Mayoclinic.com/goto/?topic=adjuvant.

MayoClinic.com gives you access to the experience and knowledge of the more than 2,000 physicians and scientists from Mayo Clinic. MayoClinic.com is a source of reliable health information on topics from cancer to quitting smoking, healthy traveling and first aid. This site is produced as part of Mayo Foundation's commitment to serve as a dependable source of health information for the public.

For 18 years, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has provided funding for basic, clinical and translational breast-cancer research and for innovative projects in the areas of breast-health education, and breast-cancer screening and treatment. In addition, The Foundation awards three-year postdoctoral fellowships to individuals working under the guidance of experienced cancer researchers — to recruit and retain young scientists in the field of breast-cancer research. Credited as a leading catalyst in the fight against breast cancer, The Susan G. Komen Foundation runs one of the most innovative, responsive grant programs in breast cancer today with a focus on research projects with potential for high impact that may not be considered by other agencies. In addition to funding research, The Foundation and its affiliates fund non-duplicative, community-based, breast-health education and breast-cancer screening and treatment projects for the medically underserved.

Carol Lammers
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511(evenings)
email:newsbureau@mayo.edu

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