Health Headlines Friday

VITAMIN D AND BREAST CANCER:

A CANADIAN STUDY SHOWS WOMEN WITH HIGH LEVELS OF VITAMIN "D" ARE LESS LIKELY TO DIE SHOULD THEY DEVELOP BREAST CANCER.

IN WOMEN WITH "HIGHER" THAN NORMAL LEVELS OF VITAMIN "D"...DOCTORS FOUND THEY WERE 27-PERCENT "LESS" LIKELY TO DIE.

NOT ONLY WERE WOMEN WITH LOW LEVELS MORE LIKELY TO DIE ...THEIR CANCER WAS 94-PERCENT MORE LIKELY TO SPREAD.

THE STUDY'S AUTHOR SAYS IT'S TOO EARLY FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS TO START TAKING VITAMIN "D" SUPPLEMENTS...BUT SHE DOES RECOMMEND THEY GET THEIR VITAMIN LEVELS CHECKED.




MORE WOMEN CHOOSING MASTECTOMIES:

SPEAKING OF BREAST CANCER... A STUDY BY THE MAYO CLINIC SHOWS MORE WOMEN ARE GETTING MASTECTOMIES WHEN THEY ARE DIAGNOSED WITH THE DISEASE.

ABOUT HALF THE WOMEN WHO CHOSE TO HAVE A TOTAL BREAST REMOVAL HAD AN M-R-I INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL MAMMOGRAM.

38-PERCENT OF WOMEN WHO HAD A MAMMOGRAM CHOSE A MASTECTOMY.

THE TYPICAL SURGICAL TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER IS A LUMPECTOMY...WHICH REMOVES "ONLY" THE TUMOR AND THE TISSUE SURROUNDING IT.