Dorothy Hagmajer is a sophomore studying public relations at the University of Florida. This story confirmed her interest in health sciences and sparked an interest in health reporting. Hagmajer considers herself a novice writer, but expert dog-petter.
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of contributing bloggers beginning their careers as journalists/public relations professionals at the University of Florida. Please see my earlier post about getting journalists excited about science writing early on.
By Dorothy Hagmajer
“Am I going to die?”
That was Susan Foster’s first question when her doctor told her she had breast cancer.
Thirty-nine radiation treatments and nine chemotherapy treatments later, Foster had her answer.
In 2013, an estimated 232,000 American women are asking themselves that same question, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, surpassed only by lung cancer.
It’s facts like these that have spurred the search for a breast cancer vaccine.
Recently, a clinic in Cleveland, Ohio set 2015 as a tentative year for the beginning of clinical trials on a vaccine they developed, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The vaccine is intended to create an immune response triggered by certain proteins expressed only in breast tumors – specifically, alpha-lactalbumin, according to research published in 2010 in Nature Medicine.
The protein is typically expressed during late pregnancy and lactation, and appears in high amounts in the majority of breast cancer tumors.
Following a series of trials with mice that were genetically predisposed to grow mouse breast tumors, the vaccine appears to be ready for its first steps to becoming a reality.
Sort of. Continue reading
Layman's Terms Media 