Latest Breast Cancer News

A Lifelong Commitment: For Dr. Funmi Olopade, Teaching and Connection With Breast Cancer Petients Balances Time Devoted to Research
October 4, 2009: Spend 10 minutes with Funmi Olopade and you wonder if there's a single word that might best capture her curious, compassionate nature. More...

MacArthur Fellows Science Series: Dr. Funmi Olopade: Nature, Nurture, and Breast Cancer
September 22, 2009: Dr. Funmi Olopade, oncologist and genetics expert, is one of tthe world's leading authorities on hereditary breast cancer and cancer risk assessment. An international leader in breast cancer research, Dr. Olopade continues to help scientists - and the general public - gain a greater understanding of the disease. More...

Mapping Breast Cancer Genes
August 2009: As scientists learn more about the genetic mutations that can lead to cancer, they are able to tailor patient therapy. They can also target people who are at high risk for cancer, so they benefit from preventative treatments and lifestyles. Breast cancer has been a major focus of cancer genetics and prevention efforts. More...

International Leader Discusses the Varying Forms of Cancer Among Different Communities
July 10, 2009:Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade is an international leader in breast cancer research. Sh'es the Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago, where she has been on faculty since 1991. More...

Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade Receives ASCO/ACS Award for Pioneering Research in Breast Cancer Genetics
May 31, 2009: The ASCO/American Cancer Society (ACS) Award and Lecture honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the prevention and management of cancer but also to understand causation and focus on prevention. In 2009, ASCO and the ACS honor Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP, for her outstanding research achievements and professional leadership. More...

Partnership Targets Women Who Need Assistance to Cope with Breast Cancer
May 14, 2009: African American women in Chicago are 116 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than their white counterparts. This stunning fact came from a study that the Metropolitain Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force undertook in 2008, as did the finding that this shocking disparity is increasing every year. More...

University of Chicago Cancer Specialist Elected to the National Academy of Science's Prestigious Institute of Medicine
October 13, 2008: Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor in Medicine and Human Genetics and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago, has been elected to the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine. More..

Forum Honors New 'Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day'
October 7, 2008: In the world of breast cancer survival, Shirley Mertz has come a long way by battling for 17 years. That is a long time to constantly be thinking about what treatment will come next and what the next scan will show. She has metastatic breast cancer, and like many patients who live with the disease, she has endured many emotional ups and downs. More...

Not Cured But Cancer Free
October, 2008: Doctors and patients are trying to transform metastatic breast cancer from what used to be a death sentence to a chronic condition - and Shirley Mertz is living proof. While average life expectency for breast cancer that spreads to other parts of the body used to be only a couple of years, that statistic is outdated because it's based on treatments from 5 years ago or more. More...

Triple Threat: How to Fight Breast Cancer Disproportionately Affecting Young Black Women
October, 2008: On any given day at a hospital on Chicago's South Side, Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, can be found doing one of the things she does best: setting women straight about the realities of breast cancer and preaching the gospel of early, aggressive treatment. "I have a patient right now - a hardworking, middle-class Black woman in her forties. She came to me after getting three medical opinions," says Olopade, a hematology oncologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center. "Everyone said to her, 'You have triple negative breast cancer, and here's the benefit of chemotherapy.' The patient's response was: 'I can't get chemotherapy. I have a business to run.' More...

Stopping Hormone Therapy Did Not Reduce Cancer Risk for African Americans
April 15, 2008: The decreased incidence of invasive breast cancer in the United States seen in 2002 and 2003 did not extend to women of African ancestry, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center report at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego. More...

Personalized Medicine Can Cut Breast Cancer Risk
February 15, 2008: The time has come for breast cancer risk assessment, counseling and genetic testing to move from cancer specialists to the realm of primary care, according to a presentation at the AAAS annual meeting, held this year in Boston. More...

University of Chicago Cancer Research Center Awarded $11.5 Million SPORE Grant for Breast Cancer Research
December 8, 2006: The National Cancer Institute has awarded a Specialized Programs for Research Excellence (SPORE) grant to the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center for a series of projects designed to benefit women at high risk for breast cancer. The grant will provide $11.5 million over five years to support innovative, translational research with a global strategy. More...