Here's something neither Ercoupe nor aviation related. Perhaps you might forgive me for this rare exception to the posting rules as it is health related - directly so for a few of our members and on behalf of the favorite people of the rest of us. I'll ask that responses be filed on the flyin forum or sent to me directly.
There's a movement to get the word out on the "other" type of breast cancer. This cancer does not make lumps and usually doesn't show up on mammograms. It's an aggressive type of cancer that strikes young women in their 40s, 30s, 20s and even in their teens. (I suppose it can also strike older women, too.) It's called Inflammatory Breast Cancer and abbreviated IBC. This type of cancer only accounts for less than 6% of breast cancers. However, since it is aggressive, it will spread fast. It's seen rarely enough that many or most doctors will not recognize it (unless the movement to get this information out succeeds). Please look at the information in the links below and get the other women in your life, from teenagers on up, to do so also. An excellent starter for information is from KOMO TV News detailed report: http://www.komonews.com/ibc/ Other info: Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/inflammatory-breast-cancer/DS00632 Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation: http://www.ibcresearch.org/ National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/IBC Susan G. Komen for the Cure: http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/Content_Binaries/806-03202a.pdf Ed Below is a response from Kathy Wilson a friend (and former Ercoupe owner) who has been a radiology technician specializing in mammograms for the last 20? 30? years. All the medical professionals I've come across are hopping mad that the Federal gov't is advocating waiting until age 50 for a first Mammogram, and then only every other year! We will be dealing with more advanced breast cancers again, and many more women dying needlessly! :( I've seen too many breast cancers in younger women to agree with the new "recommendations". Usually they are the ones with the more aggressive cancers, very often feeding off the woman's own hormones. :( This is why I so strongly encourage ALL women to do BSE (breast self-exam) monthly, a week after her menses stops. (You can help Karen with this.) I take the time to teach those who want to learn BSE because some cancers in dense breast tissue can be felt easier than seen on Mammograms since we cannot separate structures enough with compression to see through as well as we'd like. It would be too painful for the woman. The newer Digital Mammography is far superior in seeing through dense breast tissue with less compression, also is much better for implant patients. Get Karen to ask 'what type of equipment' before she makes her next appointment, and to take her previous mammos with her for comparison. Most of the present breast cancers found are in families with no history, so no female is safe as long as she has breasts. The oldest woman found with breast cancer this year by our facility was 101! So there goes the Fed's stopping mammos at age 65 or 75. :( Yes, I've seen IBC, and it's not pretty. One woman's breast was swollen into the shape of a football and turning greenish black. For some the skin has burst open and turns the breast inside out. Just imagine the smell! Kathy
