Resources for Patients and Families

The Internet contains a wealth of information about breast cancer and benign breast conditions. The following online resources provide good starting points for individuals diagnosed with or concerned about breast cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, as well as other breast conditions.

• ASBD Member Directory provides easy access to breast specialists around the United States and other countries.
  
  
• Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation provides scholarships for eligible advocates to attend the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The Symposium is an international event in which approximately 9,000 researchers, oncologists, and others in the scientific field learn about and discuss the current and cutting edge breast cancer research.  Deadline for applications is September 1.
  
  
• BreastCancerTrials — In operation for a decade in the San Francisco bay area, BreastCancerTrials.org matches women and men to potential clinical trials in which they might participate, and now serves a national audience. Visit the site at www.breastcancertrials.org. The federal groverment through the National Cancer Institute provides a 10-step guide to finding clinical trials and a wealth of information on breast cancer.
  
  
• The Breast Preservation Foundation's mission is to educate women about skin-sparing mastectomies and its advantages for an overall better cosmetic result. The BPF advocates that women insist their breast surgeon recognize the importance of preserving the breast, which may improve their quality of life after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. READ THE ASBD PROFILE>>
  
  
• Cancer and Careers is committed to changing the face of cancer in the workplace by providing a comprehensive website, free publications, and a series of support groups and educational seminars for employees with cancer. Cancer and Careers' Living and Working with Cancer workbook is available free of charge in English and Spanish.
  
  
• Cancer Prevention — An online, complimentary newsletter on a array of topics related to cancer prevention from the New York Presbyterian Hospital.
  
  
• College of American Pathologists provides an easy-to-use online, e-mail service to remind you to schedule your annual mammograms; service can be used as a reminder of other annual medical screenings and tests.
  
  
• CR magazine is both a print and online source of information for individuals with cancer. It is published by the American Association for Cancer Research. Current Podcasts from the 100th Anniversary Meeting.
  
  
• Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation focuses its efforts on informing women about the symptoms of this aggressive, often misdiagnosed, form of breast cancer that accounts for less than 5% of breast cancer cases annually. READ THE ASBD PROFILE.
  
  
• Living Beyond Breast Cancer provides educational programs, audiotapes, CDs, and interactive message boards to help those diagnosed with breast cancer to live well following their diagnosis. You can also sign up for LBBC's free mailing list to receive their quarterly educational newsletter and mailings.
  
  
• 1 in 8 Foundation is committed to saving women's lives by promoting early detection and regular screening.
  
  
• The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) is "a powerful voice, speaking for women and men across the country, demanding victory in the war against breast cancer." Founded in 1991, the NBCC is a grassroots advocacy organization that focuses on (1) increasing appropriations for high-quality, peer-review research and working within the scientific community to focus research on prevention and finding a cure; (2) increasing access for all women to high-quality treatment and care, as well as breast cancer clinical trials; and (3) increasing the influence of women living with breast cancer and other breast cancer activists in the decisionmaking that impacts all issues surrounding breast cancer.
  
  
• The National Breast Cancer Foundation is committed to increasing knowledge and hope in the fight against breast cancer. NBCF works to fund free mammograms for women who could otherwise not afford them and to support research programs in leading facilities across the country.
  
  
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure awards project grants and fellowships in basic, clinical and translational research. In addition to research on a national and international level, Komen Affiliates fund non-duplicative, community-based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects for the medically underserved.
  
  
• WomenStories provides a series of DVDs in which women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer share their personal stories on Initial Discovery and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, Family Support, Intimacy, Surgical Choices, Young Women and Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, Radiation, Hormone Treatment, Recurrence and Metastasis, and Life After Breast Cancer.
  
  
• Young Survival Coalition is the only international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to women under 40 with breast cancer.
  
  
• The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers is a consortium of national, professional organizations — including the American Society of Breast Disease — dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and the monitoring of outcomes for patients with diseases of the breast. The NAPBC has just announced the first nationally accredited breast centers.
  
  
• The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers that are dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. There may be an NCCN cancer research center near you.
  
  Alabama:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL
  
  California:
  City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA
  Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA
  UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
  
  Florida:
  H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL
  
  Illinois:
  Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
  
  Maryland:
  The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
  
  Massachusetts:
  Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA
  
  Michigan:
  University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI
  
  Missouri:
  Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
  
  Nebraska:
  UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
  
  New York:
  Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
  Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
  
  North Carolina:
  Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC
  
  Ohio:
  Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  Pennsylvania:
  Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
  
  Tennessee:
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN
  Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN
  
  Texas:
  The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
  
  Utah:
  Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
  
  Washington:
  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA