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http://www.belvoireagle.com/archives/2005/JUN/23JUN/project.shtml

DeWitt starts clinical breast care project

June 23, 2005

By Kafia Hosh

Staff writer

A new screening tool being tested at DeWitt Army Community Hospital may help in the early detection of breast cancer among pre-menopausal women.

The Electrical Impedance Scan, or T-Scan is a non-invasive device that uses imaging technology to spot breast tissue abnormalities.

The T-Scan Breast Imaging Study is part of the Clinical Breast Care Project of Walter Army Medical Center.

Women between the ages of 30 and 45 are the target patient group for the instrument, which is being evaluated at five military medical centers, including DeWitt and Walter .

“Right now, it’s considered an investigational device,†said O’Hara, a nurse practitioner at DeWitt’s Well Women Clinic.

Besides a clinical breast exam, there are no effective detection methods for women under the age of 40, who are not at high risk for developing breast cancer.

The T-Scan can potentially determine the probability of breast disease among younger women not already in the high-risk category.

The device consists of a hand-held transducer and a gel-based flat-hand probe both linked to a computer system.

During an exam, a provider uses the probe to take images of a patient’s breasts, while the patient holds the transducer in the opposite hand of the breast being evaluated.

The T-Scan is a physiological exam, and only measures the electrical flow of current through the breast tissue.

“The goal is to test breast abnormality based on the electrical flow,†explained O’Hara. “The idea is that abnormal cells have a different heat current.â€

Scanned images of a patient’s breasts are compared to a database of 20,000 normal breast exams.

At the end of an exam, a red or green barcode appears at the bottom of the computer screen.

Green is considered negative for breast tissue abnormality.

Red indicates that the patient falls out of the norm, and additional diagnostic testing is recommended.

“It would pull out that group of people who could possibly need another exam,†said O’Hara.

The patient also receives an immediate read of their risk in developing breast cancer using the Gail Risk Assessment Tool, a formula that evaluates the patient’s risk based on factors such as family history, number of breast biopsies and their first menstrual period.

Sgt. Christa McDougal, 31, recently participated in the T-Scan study at DeWitt.

She received a clinical breast exam before undergoing the T-Scan.

“It was very comfortable,†McDougal said after her 15-minute exam.

The non-commissioned officer in charge at the Women’s Health Services Clinic, McDougal has no family history of breast cancer, but often self-examines at home.

“That’s why I do it regularly, because you never know,†she said.

McDougal’s results were negative, and a detailed print out indicated that her breast cancer risk was well below the average.

“I was really relieved,†she said. “I didn’t have anything to really reassure me, and this did.â€

More than 100 women have already participated in the T-Scan research study at DeWitt, since it began in April.

The project has created a culture of awareness and breast health education for a demographic of women too young for a mammogram, and not considered at a high risk for developing breast cancer.

“They walk away not only more educated about their breasts, but with more confidence,†said Roslyn , a DeWitt nurse practitioner.

Already, four patients’ T-Scan results came back positive for breast tissue abnormality, and all were sent for further testing at Walter , according to .

Mirabel Medical Systems, an Israel-based company with United States headquarters in Austin, Texas, created the T-Scan.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the device in 1999 to be used as an adjutant to mammography, according to Derer, a Mirabel applications specialist.

It is currently pending FDA approval for use as a screening tool for breast disease.

The T-Scan was first introduced as a possible detection device after previous studies indicated a potential correlation between positive T-Scan results and a clinical breast cancer risk.

“We found that electricity was reacting differently to malignant tissue,†said Derer.

Earlier research included smaller study groups of roughly 1,000 and then 2,000 women, with no patient follow-ups.

“It gave a single snap shot in time for your patients,†Dr. Stojadinovic, a principal investigator with the Clinical Breast Care Project and the Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Walter .

The T-Scan Breast Imaging Study is being conducted over a five-year period, and will test 11,000 women.

An Army lieutenant colonel, Stojadinovic noted that 90 percent of women in uniform are under the age of 40, and the study also focuses on educating these women on their breast health.

Whether the T-Scan will become the standard of care for pre-menopausal women is early to say, according to Stojadinovic.

Essentially, “it’s an investigative device that’s asking questions on many fronts,†he said.

For further information on the T-Scan Imaging Study or to participate in the program call (703) 805-9181 or (703) 805-9182 Monday through Friday or (703) 805-0313 on weekends and ask for the breast study.

Women not eligible for the study include those pregnant or lactating, or those who have undergone recent breast surgery or a breast fine needle aspiration or have an electrically powered implant such as a pacemaker. Breast implants do not disqualify an applicant.

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Lohan: Being Nude Won't Win Her an

Zap2it.com - USA

.... Her body has also been the subject of gossip and speculation: that she had breast implants, that her bust was digitally reduced for more than amply filling out ...

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I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

Kathy Nye

Title: Online ayatollah , Times, The (United Kingdom), Jun 11, 2005

Database: Newspaper Source

Online ayatollah

Section: Home news,

The Week on the Web, pg. 44

"Want to have breast implants but worried that they may not be so pleasing toGod?" asks the Lebanese Daily Star site. It reports how in Iran the clergy arenow offering "your very own online ayatollah"."We set up the site because different people are discussing Islam and...regrettably there is only a superficial understanding," said Nematollah Daneshmand, who runs saneei.org, Grand Ayatollah Youssef Saanei's site.

The largest hub is al-shia.com, which leads to 51 Shia "sources of emulation",including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani of Iraq and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,the supreme leader of Iran.And in case you wondered: "In summary, his eminence has ruled that if aspecialist says that breast implants and liposuction are not harmful to thepatient, they are permitted."www.dailystar.com.lbwww.saanei.org/fa/index.phpwww.al-shia.comCopyright © The Times, 2005

Source: Times, The (United Kingdom), Jun 11, 2005

Item: 7EH0885861394

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Just thought this was culturally interesting.

Kathy Nye

Green siren Ashby still happy to skip tradition

Section: Sport, Interview, pg. 66 Syed meets the woman who has supposedly brought scandal to the sportWHEN I was dispatched to the South Coast to interview Carol Ashby, the world indoor bowls champion in mixed pairs, I was expecting to be bedazzled and half-hoping to be seduced by someone who has made headlines by virtue of herallegedly voracious sexual appetite, breast implants, tattoos and piercings.

I was somewhat surprised, then, to find myself facing a socially awkward 37-year-old who blushed when she had her photograph taken.She turned up in the outfit that had caused a scandal when she first wore itin competition -but it was lacking in the erotic provocation one had been ledto expect: red polo shirt, white cut-off trousers and plimsolls.

You would findmore daring ensembles at a Women's Institute garden party. Her variousadornments similarly lacked the whiff of danger -a few diamond studs, a lizardtattoo above an ankle and two more, on her stomach and lower back.She did exude a volcanic sexuality, but she made it perfectly clear that iterupts only in the presence of her boyfriend. "I have never had a one-nightstand in my life," she said. "I have never cheated on my boyfriend, despite afew rocky patches.

To be honest, I rarely go out. My only close friends livemiles away, so I spend most evenings in front of the telly."How, then, has someone so innocuous created such a fuss? In a word -bowls. Had Ashby excelled at any other sport, no one would have batted an eyelid. Bowls,however, is a bastion of conservatism straight from the novels of Angus ,with members dressing up in tennis outfits circa 1930.

No wonder Ashby's largerthan average breasts and tighter than average tops caused consternation amongthe wives and palpitations among their husbands. "I turn heads," she said. "Butnobody has hit on me -as far as I am aware."Going through the door to the Preston Park club in Brighton, where I metAshby, was like stepping into a Merchant Ivory production. "May I offer you a drink, dear chap?" an affable fellow who escorted me to the bar said. I was half-expecting Mr s, the reticent butler from The Remains of the Day, tostroll in with a decanter of sherry.

When I inquired as to whether I mightborrow someone's woods to try out on the indoor green, an old boy jumped up tofetch his prized possessions. "There you go," he said, encouragingly. "I do hope you like them."Later he came by to offer sandwiches served on a silver tray. I wanted to wrap the whole place up and take it back to London with me to peer into the next time I am shafted by a client or snarled at by someone in a hoody.The only problem with such ostensibly charming places is that they get theirknickers in a twist when confronted with change. It is like stirring an antcolony with a stick.

Two years ago, for example, there was a big fuss whendress regulations were relaxed to allow women to remove their hats when travelling to and from fixtures. Then there was the controversy in January,when the BBC tried to spice up coverage of a women's event by using a bluecarpet. Real trouble flared, however, when Brennan, one of those who had beenoverlooked for selection, alleged that players were being picked on the basisof looks rather than talent.

The fact that she was a size 18 gave her claimsome weight. Ashby said: "I was the defending champion, so I had earned myplace. I don't blame for her opinion, though. She says what she thinksand, as a former Glaswegian taxi driver, she knows how to look after herself.In fact, she gave me my nickname: Glitz and Tits."Those looking in from outside will have been bemused, however, given that theso-called "Bowls Babes", led by Ashby, looked less like the new generation ofcatwalk-savvy female tennis players and more like the umpires.

The truth isthat Ashby's attempts to fire things up have been milder than a Tesco korma.All the heat has been in the minds of the members.One woman once wrote to her asking how she thought it made other wives feel,knowing that she was at the tournaments with the men. There is, of course,nothing to fear. Ashby's meek exhibitionism is not about sexual predation buther own insecurity.

She started wearing her outfits only three years ago, afterbeing dumped by a long-term boyfriend.The hullabaloo is part of the parochialism of some sections of upper-middleclass rural England. Extroversion has been confused with anarchy. Ashby's lovefor bowls is such that she would be lost without it, which is why she has neverwalked away since taking up the sport as a teenager. She is simply therebellious teenager who never left home.matthew.syed@... © The Times, 2005