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Birth of the Allegheny Health Network
Two weeks ago Highmark and the West Penn Allegheny Health System entered into an affiliation that established the Allegheny Health Network, a unique patient-centric integrated healthcare delivery network for the western Pennsylvania region. Dr. Tony Farah, Chief Medical Officer for the Network, and Dr. Blair Jobe, a former leading UPMC surgeon who recently joined the Network, were guests on KDKA-TV's Sunday Business Page with John Delano and talked about why the Network will set the standard for healthcare quality, service and affordability. Watch it here!
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USA Today: Study: Bone drug lowers breast cancer risk 38% in high-risk women
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
A common osteoporosis drug, raloxifene, reduces breast cancer risk by 38% in women at high risk for the disease, without causing the serious side effects of similar drugs, a new study shows.
That suggests more high-risk women should consider taking raloxifene, also known as Evista, says Victor Vogel, main author of the study presented Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington.
"It's not a cure ... but it's an important protection for women who are at very high risk," says Vogel, who followed nearly 20,000 high-risk, postmenopausal women for almost seven years.
Both raloxifene and another drug, tamoxifen, are approved to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk. Few women take them for prevention, however, because of concerns about side effects.
Tamoxifen reduces breast cancer by 50% but can also cause hot flashes and other symptoms. So about half of breast cancer patients, who often take it to prevent a relapse, stop the drug early, says study co-author Lawrence Wickerham of Allegheny General Hospital.
To read more, visit the USA Today website.
