Coalition Voice

Serving those with gynecologic cancers is an honor and a privilege. We have learned a great deal from the courageous souls who have faced one of these diseases. In line with our mission to provide education here are some of the facts on gynecologic cancer.

I became a breast cancer survivor in January of 2021. Surgery was behind me, I was taking an aromatase inhibitor (AI), and I had my final radiation treatment. I was full of joy when I rang the bell to signal the end of my active treatment! Finally, I could breathe again, after months of tremendous mental strength and courage. […]

Dr. Cheryl Williams is a palliative care physician associated with the University of Rochester Medical Center in Canandaigua.

Jean Weber and her young family had recently moved from New York City to a small town in northern Illinois when Jean found a large lump under her arm while shaving. Her primary care physician referred her to a general surgeon who diagnosed breast cancer. Jean soon underwent a lumpectomy and axillary node dissection. […]

Survivors of breast cancer, especially those whose tumors were estrogen-receptor positive, are often advised by well-meaning friends and family members to avoid soy foods. This myth persists despite evidence to the contrary. It is true that soybeans contain a significant amount of phytoestrogens, which are plant-based compounds similar to human estrogen, […]

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Black women and White women get breast cancer at about the same rate, but Black women die from breast cancer at a higher rate than White women.” Furthermore, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a subtype of the disease that presents challenges to treatment. […]

In the search for information that is meaningful to patients, sifting through the abstracts and presentations from this highly-regarded annual symposium can be a daunting task, not unlike the proverbial needle-in-a-haystack conundrum.

It comes as an unwelcome surprise to many who are diagnosed with breast cancer that treatments for the disease often result in weight gain.

Danielle Erin Desa is a third-year Ph.D. student working with the laboratory of Edward Brown, Ph.D. at the University of Rochester. As the 2019 recipient of the Coalition’s Pre-and-Post-Doctoral Grant for her proposal, Understanding the Mechanisms Underlying a Novel Predictor of Metastasis, she will study an optical signal produced by fibrillar collagen in breast tumors.