Milk Samples Needed for Breast Cancer Research Study

African American moms are needed for a breastmilk study. Can you help?

As I've written before, I have the privelege of working with Professor Kathleen Arcaro at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on her groundbreaking breast cancer/breastmilk research.

Kathleen analyses breastmilk to study DNA changes in breast cells, which are naturally present in breastmilk, and their relationship to breast cancer. It's very gratifying work because a better understanding of these patterns may one day lead to new early detection, prevention and treatment strategies for breast cancer. Here's a sampling of some of the recent press coverage about this research.

Our current goal is to recruit African-American mothers to donate milk samples. Why African-American moms? Because Kathleen wants to ensure that her findings apply to all women, and to do that she needs a diverse sample of mothers participating. Having African-American moms well represented in this research is of particular interest because we have different patterns of breast cancer than women of other races. You may know that black women are more likely to get triple negative breast cancer, which is more aggressive and more likely to reocur, spread beyond the breast and result in death.

One of my main duties is helping Kathleen recruit moms to participate in her studies. The response to her work has been incredible, but we still need more black moms to donate breast milk! So, the UMass Breastmilk Lab is currently seeking:

•African American mothers who are nursing

•Living anywhere in the U.S.

•Willing to donate a *fresh* breastmilk sample (shipped via overnight mail at the lab's expense)

•Willing to fill out a consent form and questionnaire

Participants will receive $25 in thanks - and the knowledge that they are advancing our understanding of breast cancer! I hope that you can donate, or help us find moms willing to donate milk for this important research.

To participate, or for more information, you can email Beth, or call Beth or Eva at (413) 545-0813. More information is also available at the UMass Breastmilk Lab website. You can also like us on Facebook where we're keeping you updated on the latest in breastmilk research and Kathleen's work!

We need help spreading the word about this study. Contact me if you'd like me to write a guest post, and link, share on Facebook, Pin, and Tweet to your heart's content!

And if you're African-American (nursing or not), PLEASE consider signing up for the Love/Avon Army of Women, who are funding this important research. Please select "Breast milk study" when asked how you heard about the Army of Women.

Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here. Follow me on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/blacktating

Black moms needed to sign up for the Army of Women

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you may have heard that I am working with Dr. Kathleen Arcaro of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst on her groundbreaking breastmilk and breast cancer study. Along with Tanya Lierberman, IBCLC of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog and Kathi Barber, CLC and author of The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding. We are specifically recruiting black moms to give a breastmilk sample to be analyzed in Dr. Arcaro's lab. The response from you all has been amazing and the milk samples are um, pouring in. Because of you, we are on our way to ensuring that this important breast cancer research represents ALL women. We will eventually need more of you to send in milk samples, but today I am asking you for a different, but just as important, favor.

I want all of my African American women readers, whether you're breastfeeding or not, to sign up for the Love/Avon Army of Women.

What's the Army of Women? It's an effort backed by Dr. Suan Love and the Avon Foundation to focus on breast cancer prevention. Great strides have been made in the treatment of breast cancer, but little progress has been made in preventing women from developing breast cancer in the first place. The Army of Women connects women with researchers so that they can participate in research (if they choose) to help us understand how to prevent breast cancer.

How does it work? You register and provide very basic information such as your name, email, age, city, and state of residence. You will then receive email updates from us announcing new research studies looking for volunteers with or without breast cancer, just like you. If you fit the criteria and you’d like to participate, all you need to do is “RSVP.” You will be asked to go through an online screening process to confirm you fit the criteria for the study. Throughout the process, you remain in complete control and you self select what you want to do! You will never be pressured to take part in any study. The decision to take part is yours—and yours alone.

The most important part is that when you fill out the registration form you check "breast milk study" when asked how you learned about the Army of Women.

Why are we looking for African American women? Researchers want to ensure that their findings apply to all women, and to do that they need a diverse pool of particpants for their studies. A good example is the current call for African American moms to participate in the Jewels in our Genes study, which is recruiting African American breast cancer survivors now.

What can you do? Please go to the Army of Women registration page and please select "breast milk study" when asked how you learned about the Army of Women. We thank you!




Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here. Follow me on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/blacktating

New study seeks genetic component to high rates of breast cancer in black women

We already know that African-American women have higher rates of breast cancer than our white counterparts. We are also more likely to die of breast cancer, in part because the cancer we tend to get is more aggressive than other forms. A new study is now asking if it's possible that there are certain  inherited genetic mutations that may also be responsible for our increased rates of breast cancer.

Heather Ochs-Balcom, PhD at the University at Buffalo believes genetics plays an important role in black breast cancer rates and she and her team are looking for women to participate in a study. They are specifically looking for African-American women who were diagnosed with breast cancer of any stage, including metastatic disease and DCIS, AND their relatives who are also breast cancer survivors. This study may sound familiar to you, as Army of Women were helping to recruit women for the study in October 2010. The researchers are working toward their goal of enrolling 400 women in the study but still need more families to participate.

The study will help to better understand if there are undiscovered genes unique to African Americans that may predict early breast cancer risk. If you join the Jewels in Our Genes study you will be asked questions about your breast cancer diagnosis and about your family history of breast cancer. You will be asked to give a sample of saliva so that the researchers can collect your DNA. You can join the Jewels in Our Genes study if you match ALL of these criteria: you are a woman older than 18; you consider yourself to be Black/African American; you were diagnosed with breast cancer of any stage, including metastatic disease and DCIS. There is no time limit since diagnosis and it is OK if you are currently receiving treatment. You must also have at least one living female blood relative who was also diagnosed with breast cancer of any stage; you have tested negative for the BRCA 1 and 2 mutations (if known); and you live in the US.
If you are interested in being a part of this study, you can RSVP and the researcher will ask you additional questions to be sure that this study is the right fit for you.



Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here. Follow me on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/blacktating

Breast Cancer Vaccine: Medical Miracle or Scary Science?

Dr. Vincent Tuohy of the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute thinks he may have found a way to eradicate breast cancer as we know it. Dr. Tuohy found that a single vaccination with the antigen alpha-lactalbumin prevented breast cancer tumors from forming in mice. Because of the favorable results, human trials of the vaccine could begin as early as next year.

So how does this work? Unlike most doctors who work in cancer research, Dr. Tuohy is an immunologist, so his approach to curing cancer has been different. Rather than targeting cancers that are already present and developed, his idea was to attack the tumor before it even has a chance to grow. What we already know about cancer is that  it is an overdelopment of the body's own cells, rather than an invasion of foreign bodies. So this vaccine attacks the healthy cells before they can become cancerous, rather than vaccinating against a virus.

In the research article published in this month's Nature journal, the researchers explain how they came to develop the vaccine.

"We selected a-lactalbumin as our target vaccine autoantigen because it is a breast-specific differentiation protein expressed in high amounts in the majority of human breast carcinomas and in mammary epithelial cells only during lactation. We found that immunoreactivity against a-lactalbumin provides substantial protection and therapy against growth of autochthonous tumors in transgenic mouse models of breast cancer and against 4T1 transplantable breast tumors in BALB/c mice. Because a-lactalbumin is conditionally expressed only during lactation, vaccination-induced prophylaxis occurs without any detectable inflammation in normal nonlactating breast tissue. Thus, a-lactalbumin vaccination may provide safe and effective protection against the development of breast cancer for women in their post–child-bearing, premenopausal years, when lactation is readily avoidable and risk for developing breast cancer is high."

So basically the key to curing cancer is finding a target within the tumor that is not typically found in healthy people. Alpha-lactalbumin is not found in healthy women, except when they breastfeed. So this vaccine will attack the a-lactalbumin. Did you catch that this vaccine would prevent women from being able to breastfeed? From the full text of the article (which I'm able to access through a subscription database):


 "This unique conditional expression of a differentiation protein provides an opportunity for prophylactic breast cancer vaccination of normal healthy women who are either willing to avoid lactation or are past their child-bearing years." [emphasis mine]

It sounds like they've figured out a way to remove healthy tissue before it becomes cancerous that would allow women to keep their breasts and not have to have mastectomies. Sounds good, right?


But what about younger women who have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer? Will they be encouraged to get the vaccine before their child-bearing years are over? And what if they want the vaccine, because in their minds, giving up breastfeeding is a small price to pay to eliminate the risk of cancer AND get to keep your breasts. According to a press release from the Lerner Institute, the strategy would be to vaccinate women over 40. But many women are still having children well into their 40s. These women would also likely have to forget about being able to breastfeed


And what about the most ironic thing of all, that we already know that breastfeeding can reduce your risk of getting breast cancer in the first place? A study at Yale found that breastfeeding for two years cut a woman's breast cancer risk by 50%. 

Where does it end? Dr. Tuohy thinks an adult vaccination program is the wave of the future. Instead of your vaccine schedule ending in childhood, you'd start all over at age 40, getting a vaccine for breast and ovarian cancer and maybe even Alzheimer's one day.


So what do you think about a breast cancer vaccine? Would you get it?

Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here. Follow me on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/blacktating

Cancer Sucks: When Cancer Leads to Abrupt Weaning

I received my Spring edition of Brain, Child magazine a few weeks ago in the mail and though I always look forward to it, I was especially excited to read this issue's personal essay on breastfeeding. This essay entitled "This Sucks," was about a mom who had to abruptly wean her infant son when she found out she had breast cancer. The author, Kelly Feinberg, writes:

When Ari was only seven months old, I was forced to wean him from exclusive and happy breastfeeding when an enlarged milk duct turned out to be cancerous. Due to my age, treatment needed to be swift and aggressive, involving a bilateral mastectomy. One day I breastfed Ari on demand, wore him wrapped tight against my chest, and slept with him skin-to-skin; the next day I mixed bottles of formula to hand over to my husband and moved to the other side of the bed, out of reach.

This sucks, indeed. Thankfully, although she had to wean, Kelly found a new way to remain attached and bonded to her son: finger sucking. Like breastfeeding, Kelly soon found out finger sucking can sometimes be too intimate, embarrassing in public and uber demanding. Often the skin on her fingers would be raw from Ari sucking on them all night. Her emotional state caused her to lash out at him and she even tried covering her fingers with a glove to dissuade him from sucking. She says the sucking made her feel strangely exposed in a way that nursing in public didn't. She writes,

Then, I felt important breastfeeding in public, a champion of all things natural and best for my baby. Now I just feel sad. My finger is a poor substitute for breastfeeding, and my baby and I both know it. It is evident in his continuous, never-satisfied suck and in my impatience.

Having to wean abruptly due to a cancer diagnosis is heartbreaking, but I loved the way the author and her son found a way to continue their nursing relationship. Another mom who was dealt this shitty hand is Jenn Michelle of the blog bits of myself. She had to wean her daughter Nugget so she could begin chemotherapy and in the meantime, they nursed like this

Photo © Jenn Michelle

Luckily Jenn and Nugget were eventually able to resume nursing. Unfortunately Jenn learned in June of last year that her cancer is back. Kelly also learned that breast cancer had metastasized to her liver and has begun chemotherapy again as well.

Reading about these stories makes you hug your own baby a little bit closer. Even though I have been ready to wean, when my son asked for his milkies this morning when he woke up, I pulled him in close to me and gladly nursed him, thankful that I still had the option to do so.
Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here.
Twitter me- I'm blacktating

Black Breastfeeding Moms: How You Can Help Save Lives

I am pleased to present this guest post by Tanya Lieberman, IBCLC, of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog.

African American breastfeeding moms - we need you in the fight against breast cancer!

You probably know some facts about breast cancer: 1 in 8 women will develop it. Early detection saves lives. Breastfeeding reduces your risk.

But did you know that African American women tend to develop a more aggressive form of breast cancer? And that a higher percentage die from it?

These facts are daunting, but there is a special contribution African American nursing moms can make in the fight against breast cancer.

A study based at the University of Massachusetts is seeking African American nursing moms who have had, or are expecting to have, a breast biopsy for participation in a groundbreaking study. The lead researcher, Dr. Kathleen Arcaro, is examining the breastmilk of nursing mothers to identify molecular biomarkers for the development of breast cancer. Dr. Arcaro needs African American moms to participate so that she can determine if her findings are applicable to all women, and different types of cancer.

The identification of these biomarkers may lead to new breast cancer treatments, and perhaps a test which would use breastmilk to determine breast cancer risk.

If you participate, you would provide a breastmilk sample, which is overnight mailed from your home to the lab, and provide a copy of a biopsy report. You would receive $50 in thanks for your participation.

If you think you may qualify, please contact Dr. Sarah Lenington by email or by phone: (413) 577-1823. If you don't, please spread the word by forwarding this on. If you're a blogger and would like to spread the word, contact Tanya about a guest post. Flyers and brochures are available. For more information, see the study website. Thank you for your help!


Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here.
Twitter me- I'm blacktating

Breastfeeding and breast cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. All of us know a woman who has battled or lost her life to breast cancer. Please take the time to do a self exam every month, even if you're breastfeeding. Although the chances are slim, you can still get breast cancer while nursing.

Unfortunately, if you find a lump you'll probably be told you need to wean your baby and stop all breastfeeding for 6 months before you can have a biopsy done. It's probably news to most of us (it was to me) that when you make milk, cells from your milk ducts exfoliate off in the process. These are called epithelial cells, and they're detectable in your milk.

Research has shown that long before you notice a lump, those epithelial cells start changing in ways that are precursors to the development of breast cancer.

Dr. Kathleen Arcaro, a UMass professor who studies breastfeeding and breast cancer risk wants to analyze those cells. Check out her answers to questions about breastfeeding and breast cancer.

The primary goal of her research is to determine if it's possible to create a non-invasive, early way of assessing breast cancer risk through breastmilk. If it's successful, it would also establish 'molecular biomarkers' for breast cancer risk.

An additional benefit to breastfeeding mothers is that we would not be told to wean before a mammogram or biopsy can be done. No more choosing between breastfeeding and a breast cancer test. It could be as simple and sending in a milk sample to a lab!

In order to conduct this research, Dr. Kathleen Arcaro needs to find 250 women who are both lactating and scheduled for a biopsy. To participate, you'd overnight milk samples to her lab, at no cost to you. If you or someone you know is in this situation, please contact Dr. Arcaro.