To Lani and those scientifically inclined

[Paula O]

Dear Lani,

(or if there's anybody else here that either attended that 1 1/2 hour session on breast density at SABCS and "got it"or did not attend but knows science well and willing to give me a hand, I would be very grateful if you contact me)


I posted you a note in the thread you started on the SABCS 2012 last week but didn't hear back from you. I imagine you, like me, are extremely busy catching up after being away for the symposium.

I am not meaning to bug you but I have been working on my report about breast density for a number of hours trying to understand the material and I feel pretty stuck. You seem like somebody who understands science and research well. I am following up just to be sure you got my
message to you in that thread rather than just assuming not hearing a response means you are not able to help me. Can you please pop me a note by email, here, or on that thread letting me know if I can pick your brain about making sense of the slides ie: explaining CD36's effects, Dr Boyd's work on phenotypes, etc in layman's terms and putting the results of those breast density abstracts in plain english (like an article one might find in "Cure" or similar magazine). I'll try not to take up too much of your time. If you are willing, I'd appreciate
emailing you what I've got so far (a couple pages) or talking with you by phone and getting your input.
I understand the basics of breast density, the increased cancer risk involved, and
that there is buzz about legislation passing requiring radiologists notifying patients about their breast density, and insurance companies balking at further screening when mortality outcome may not be impacted.

If you are not able to help me it would be good for me to know that because the report is due the beginning of January and I am trying to find help somewhere. I like to do excellent work and try my best but so far not so good because I don't really understand the science and need to be able to put down the basics so a non-medical person can
understand it. I am a retired RN and used to be a clinical research nurse but I've forgotten a lot of science and some of those slides might as well be in a foreign language because I honestly don't get it. Anyway, I
would appreciate your help if you are able to do that and if you aren't, I'd appreciate you letting me know that too. Thank you, Paula
----------------------
My post in your thread last week:

Lani,

It looks like you aren't reachable with a PM--I tried. I hope I am not
being too bold to ask: I wondered if you possibly would be willing to
help me decipher the take away info in layman's terms on the Mini
Symposium 2: Breast Density: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications. Are
you a scientist? Did you listen in on that session and were you in the
mentoring session that evening? I asked my questions to the medical
panel during that evening mentorring session . I felt that they gave a
good brief overview of Dr Tisty's lecture and limits in the clinical
implications but honestly I could use some help making headway in
understanding and explaining the charts, graphs, etc on the basic
genetics, epidemilogy, and biology. I am finding it very complex and
am supposed to write a 3-5 page paper about those three sessions for
the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation. Right now I am plowing through my
1 1/2 hours of fast and furious messy notetaking with the slides that
are on line and looking up some past medical write ups on the
implications of breast density, cancer, and survival. So far I'm not
seeing any news articles about the research in that particular session
to glean from but read the one that was published in November (that
you posted here) about the legislation and legal mandates in some
states requiring radiologists to notify women of their breast density
and possible increased cancer risk. I printed out another 5-6 on-line
articles on breast density to go through that I hope will be helpful
in understanding the genetics and science from the symposium that I'm
supposed to write about relating to breast density. Anyway, honestly
alot of this stuff is above my head but I want to do a good job. I'm
going to be in contact with a doc from the medical panel that have
made themselves available to mentor us some in these write ups after I
do some more work on my own but wondered if you could give me a hand
on this as well before I contact them or point me to articles maybe I
am not seeing that were written up after the 2012 symposium putting it
into more understandable terms?

Of course no problem or pressure if it doesn't work out for you to
help me--I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask and I would certainly
appreciate it very much if you are able to give me a hand with
understanding this better.
Thanks,

Paula

[SoCalGal]

Here's a layman's link...were "they" suggesting a prophylactic if you have the "dense breast gene" or was this session more about how to get your insurance to cover proper screening, mammogram vs mri, etc?

http://blog.komen.org/?p=2561

A highlight of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium was a phenomenal session on breast density moderated by the Komen Scholar Melissa Bondy that included the experts in the breast density field. Breast density has received a lot of attention in recent years, because it’s seen as one indicator of the potential to develop breast cancer later in life. Pre-menopausal women are more likely to have dense breasts (more fat than tissue), than post-menopausal women.
We know that – in general — women with high breast density, as seen on a mammogram, are 4-5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with low breast density. What we don’t fully understand is how and why that happens, or how to accurately predict which women with dense breasts are at high risk to develop breast cancer, and which are at low risk.
The experts in the San Antonio sessions discussed research being done to use biomarkers and genetics information to more accurately assess an individual’s risk. This is in line with the ongoing goal of breast cancer research toward individualized therapies for breast cancer patients, rather than the “one-size-fits-all” approach to breast cancer that prevailed for many years.
New laws in several states require mammography clinics to inform women about their breast density, and the San Antonio panel agreed that women should receive that information. But they cautioned that given what we know today, women should also be told that the ability to accurately predict an individual’s risk from dense breasts is modest at best.
Learn more about breast density, including questions you should ask your doctor about dense breasts.

[Lani]

Don't think I will be able to help until 24rd or after. I did not attend that session nor any mentoring.

My impression in general is that the scientific knowledge is not there yet ie, all factors/which factors have caused the "relationship" between dense breasts and bc risk and whether it is the same for all SUBTYPES of bc is not known.

Happy for all research into this and any legislation trying to get insurance companies to allow for necessary screening.

Post again on the 23rd if you still need help and I will try to help with the translation from scientific to layman's term.

Hopefully some review of the conference with the relavant info will be posted before then.

PS didn't see your request before. Sorry

[Paula O]

Thanks for the Layman's link, SoCalGal. I appreciate it. It is similar to the other articles I found but was also helpful to read. I've summed up the content of all these articles in my paper but none of these articles I've read so far really gets into the science and research studies much but there sure is tons of science on all those slides. The content of the sessions did not talk about prophylactic mastectomies or legislation. It was looking at genetics, epidemiology,etc behind breast density and it's clinical implications. There is increased risk for breast cancer with breast density but not increased mortality.

Lani, thanks for your willingness to help me later on when you have more time. That would be great.

Paula

[Paula O]

Lani wrote on 12/17:
>Post again on the 23rd if you still need help and I will try to help with the translation from scientific to layman's term.

Hopefully some review of the conference with the relavant info will be posted before then.

PS didn't see your request before. Sorry

Hi Lani,

I hope you're having a great weekend. :0)

I'm really sorry to bother you, especially around the holidays and after a very busy time. My report is due in the beginning of January. I'm grateful for whatever help you are able to give me when it is convenient to you. I wrote the majority of the paper and hope to improve it with more science background in layman's terms incorporated in it if you could possibly "translate" the main point of key studies, like Dr Tisty's research on CD36. I don't think they are expecting complex explanations and I don't want to make a bigger deal out of it than necessary but a couple more simple, brief summaries of the research would be helpful. Can we possibly please correspond privately by email or PM and I'll send you what I've written?

This is where the on-line info is:

Under the daily slide review on the SABCS.org site the slides are under Thursday Dec 6: Mini Symposium 2 (3 sessions).

Dr Tisty did not submit an abstract as far as I can see. Her session was on the biological basis of breast density and cancer risk.

The other two sessions I am covering that do have abstracts posted are:

Genetics and Epidemiology of Mammographic Breast Density
Breast Density: Clinical Implications


With much appreciation and thanks,

Paula