New research suggests that long-term use of any type of hormones to ease menopause symptoms can raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

It is already known that taking pills that combine estrogen and progestin – the most common type of hormone therapy – can increase breast cancer risk. but women who no longer have a uterus can take estrogen alone, which was thought to be safe and possibly even slightly beneficial in terms of cancer risk.

The new study suggests otherwise, if the pills are used for many years. it tracked the health of about 60,000 nurses and found that use of any kind of hormones for 10 years or more slightly raised the chances of developing breast cancer.“There’s a continued increase in risk with longer durations of use, and there does not appear to be a plateau,’’ said study leader Dr. Wendy Chen of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The hormone picture has been confusing, and the absolute risk of breast cancer for any woman taking hormone pills remains small. Doctors say women should use the lowest dose needed for the shortest time possible.

“It’s hard to be surprised that if you keep taking it, sooner or later it’s going to raise risk,’’ said Dr. Robert Clarke of Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study was discussed Sunday in Chicago at a conference of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Another study presented at the conference might help explain why black women are so much more likely than whites to develop and die from cervical cancer: they seem to have more trouble clearing HPV, the virus that causes the disease.

Doctors have long thought that less access to screening and follow-up health care were the reasons black women are 40 percent more likely to develop cervical cancer and twice as likely to die from it. the new study involving young college women suggests there might be a biological explanation for the racial disparity, too.

If further study confirms this novel finding, it would make the HPV vaccine even more important for black women, said Worta McCaskill-Stevens, a prevention specialist at the National Cancer Institute. the vaccine is recommended for all girls starting at age 11.

Certain strains of HPV, the human papillomavirus, cause cervical cancer, but brief infections are very common in young women. they usually go away on their own within a year or so and only pose a cancer risk when they last long-term.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina in Columbia studied 326 white and 113 black students taking part in a wider federal health study. All were given Pap tests – lab exams of cells scraped from the cervix – and HPV tests every six months throughout their years in school.

Although the groups were similar in how many new HPV infections were detected and risk factors such as how many sex partners they had, doctors saw striking differences in how long their infections lasted.

At any checkup, black women were 1.5 times more likely to test positive for infection with one of the HPV strains that raise cancer risk, said study leader Kim Creek.

“the African-American women weren’t clearing the virus as fast,’’ he said. “they were actually holding onto it about six months longer,’’ for 18 months versus 12 months for white women. ten percent of black women had abnormal Pap tests versus 6 percent of whites.

Two years after initial infections were found, 56 percent of black women were still infected but only 24 percent of white women remained infected.

The government’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities sponsored the study.

Twenty years ago my dad went to bed with pressure in his abdomen. he thought it was gas so he popped some antacids and tried to sleep. But the pressure grew and became unbearable. My mom found him pale and pacing the bedroom some hours later.

She called 9-1-1 and told the operator that my father had probably had a heart attack, but because he had abdominal pain, doctors did not initially treat him for that. Hours were lost. My father died. the cause was a heart attack.

It is a dreadful moment not unlike what many others have faced. when exactly is the pain you are experiencing evidence of a heart attack? the good news is that what happened to my family wouldn’t happen today.

Yes, symptoms still get misread but there has been a lot of progress made in technology and the way doctors approach heart disease in recent years.

“I’m always hammering into my nurses that as far as I’m concerned, anything from the pelvis up to the neck is a heart attack until proven otherwise,” says Dr. Santo Polito, interventional cardiologist and medical director of cardiovascular services at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center.

A heart attack is sudden and intense, and in the lead-up, men and women often experience different warning signs. it could be a crushing pressure-like discomfort in the chest associated with shortness of breath, cold sweats and vomiting or unexplainable flu-like symptoms with no chest pain whatsoever as in 70 percent of all heart attacks in women.

According to the American Heart Association, it kills more women each year than men. in fact it’s the no. 1 killer of women 65 and older. part of the reason is that women’s symptoms are often subtle or their pain occurs in areas not typically associated with a heart attack, such as the jaw or the abdomen.

Men’s symptoms can be just as misleading.

Whatever the symptoms, the no. 1 rule of thumb says Dr. Raluca Arimie, a cardiologist at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, is to get it checked out.

Chest pain doesn’t always signal a heart attack, which happens to be the subject of Arimie’s upcoming seminar at Northridge Hospital on Feb. 24. Dubbed “What’s That Crushing Feeling in My Chest,” she offers a range of culprits, from indigestion and muscle strain to angina (when a portion of the heart isn’t getting enough oxygenated blood).

Of course angina can range in severity, from mild to a precursor of a heart attack. given the statistics it’s best to check it with your doctor.

“Even if it’s not a heart attack it could be a pulmonary embolism (sudden blockage of the lung artery), it could be arrhythmia (an irregular heart beat) or it could be something else significant,” she says.

It could also be a false alarm.

Emergency rooms are often filled with people (and mostly men) who think they’ve had a heart attack. It’s for that reason, Glendale Memorial Hospital created the Chest Pain Center – the only accredited center of its kind in the region.

The center opened more than a year ago in a separate room in the emergency department. according to Polito, an average of 40 people per month come into the center, where they are immediately given an electrocardiogram (a test to check the heart’s electrical activity), followed by a blood test.

Another blood test is done two hours later with all the testing and analysis done at bedside. if there are any doubts about the results doctors follow up with a stress test (a measure of the blood flow to the heart both at rest and during exercise through imaging).

In four to eight hours after walking through the center’s door, a patient knows if it’s cardiac related. if there is no problem (as is the case 99 percent of the time) the person is released with instructions to follow up with his or her primary care physician about other causes.

Right now there are two beds with plans for another four “barcaloungers” and televisions to help patients pass the time between tests at the center.

But no one is bedridden here.

“We’ve created a different environment that’s not so scary and it’s not so onerous,” says Polito, who began envisioning the center five years ago. “We’re helping people the way we should.

“And because you’re in the Chest Pain Center, you don’t run up a huge bill like you would in the hospital,” he says, adding other hospitals are looking to follow Glendale’s lead.

For now their big push is educating the public about the ways to prevent heart disease through proper diet, exercise and clean living.

As Arimie says, “once heart disease is there we can only treat it but we cannot cure it. So the more we learn the better off we are.”

What: Dr. Raluca Arimie, a Northridge Hospital cardiologist, talks about the many causes of chest pain and when to call 9-1-1.

Where: 5th Floor Penthouse Auditorium at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 18300 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge.

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24

Admission: Free, but registration is required. Call 818-734-4870 to register.

What: Northridge Hospital cardiologists Dr. Raluca Arimie and Dr. Jahandar Saleh host a night of pampering and health screenings (cholesterol and blood pressure) for ladies only. Includes manicures, eyebrow shaping and hair styling. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will also be served.

Where: Education Auditorium at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 18300 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge.

When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Admission: Free, but registration is required. Call 818-885-3547.

I am breastfeeding my one year old and have yet to see my period return. For the past week or so I have had pregnancy symptoms. I'm naseous, my nipples are tingly and sensitive, tired and moody. I have taken three pregnancy tests and they have all been negative. I am starting to wean but have only cut out one pumping session during the day. She still nurses when I'm home and once during the night. I feel like I'm going crazy. is it possible for me to get pregnant if I haven't had a period yet? could there be another reason for my symptoms besides pregnancy? could it be weaning or hormones fluctuating? any thoughts would be appreciated and put my mind at ease.

Well…….

Is it possible for me to get pregnant if I haven't had a period yet? yes you could definetly be pregnant, u dont need ur period to be so..
Could there be another reason for my symptoms besides pregnancy? the feelings might possibly be from hormone changes though, I think I would call my Dr just to be sure..
Could it be weaning or hormones fluctuating? yes as above
Any thoughts would be appreciated and put my mind at ease. Well I am not sure I can ease your mind as I know of those who have gotten pregnant while breastfeeding and while not having a period… my dr put me on birth control, specifically for brast feeding moms…

I wish u the best….

DECATUR – in 2011, it is projected that 590 women in Illinoiswill be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 180 of them will die,according to data from the Illinois Department of PublicHealth.

In recognition of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, thedepartment is providing a special opportunity for health careworkers to educate themselves about the disease. the Office ofWomen’s Health and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Program willsponsor a Webinar entitled “The many Issues of Human Papillomavirusand its Prevention.”

The event, geared toward doctors, nurses and public healthpersonnel, will take place from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday 27, andwill feature speaker Dr. Lea Widdice from the U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention’s HIV and STD prevention center inCincinnati.

The event will focus on the link between cervical cancer andHPV, the importance of cervical cancer screenings, risk factors forHPV infection, transmission and vaccination as well asprevention.

“Two types of HPV cause approximately 70 percent of cervicalcancers. the more education we can provide to physicians and healthcare workers about HPV risk factors, transmission, vaccination andscreenings, the better able we are to reduce the risk of cervicalcancer and other cancers caused by HPV,” said Dr. Damon T. Arnold,director of the Department of Public Health.

According to the agency, genital HPV is the most common sexuallytransmitted infection. more than 40 known strains of the virus caninfect the genitals, mouths and throats of women and men, but mostpeople never develop symptoms or health problems, according to theDepartment of Public Health.

Certain strains of HPV can cause genital warts in men and women,and some HPV types can cause cancers of the vulva,

vagina, penis, anus and head and neck, as well as cervicalcancer, the release stated.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccinesfor preventing infection with the HPV strains known to cause mostcervical cancers. the vaccines are recommended for 11- and12-year-old girls and are most effective when given before sexualactivity begins, but they also can be given to females through age26. Even in women who have had the vaccine, it is important tocontinue regular cervical cancer screenings as recommended by one’sprovider.

The department also sought to remind women of the IllinoisBreast and Cervical Cancer Program, which provides free mammograms,breast exams, pelvic examinations and Pap tests to uninsured women.in the past fiscal year, the program provided 18,000 cervicalcancer screenings to women statewide.

For more information about the program, visitidph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/ibccp/index.htm.