Education and Information | Pagets | Breast Cancer Research Stamp

We are a  24 hour one-to-one telephone support network for women who have recently been diagnosed with or are undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  Staffed by women who are all breast cancer survivors, our volunteers provide comfort and support to women who may feel uncomfortable in groups, have trouble traveling to meetings or prefer a more private setting for sharing their feelings.

 Whether they are wives and mothers, career women who are working while receiving treatment, or women who need support at an odd hour of the day, our callers now have a support system that will fit their lifestyles and be available to them whenever they need it.

   Our volunteers provide timely support, by sharing their own experiences and resources. Our callers will get practical help from women who have been in the same situation and have asked the same questions!

   Whether a caller needs us for 2 minutes or 2 hours, we are ready to listen.  Breast Friends can also provide company during chemotherapy, hospital visits, or support for a troubled family member.

PAGETS

A Little Known type of Breast Cancer

Paget's disease is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside  of the breast, on the nipple and aureola, it appears as a rash which later becomes a lesion with a crusty outer edge.
 
  What are the symptoms?
 
Usually starts out as a single red pimple on the aureola. One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless. It is frequently thought to be a skin
inflammation or infections, leading to unfortunate delays in  detection and care.
 
  The symptoms include:
 
  1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it
  to itch and burn.
 
  2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal.
 
  3. Usually only one nipple is affected.
 
How is it diagnosed?
 
  Your doctor will do a physical exam, and should suggest having a
  mammogram of both breasts done immediately. Even though the redness,
  oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the
  skin), your doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one
  breast. Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what
  is going on. They will take a sample of your breast tissue in that area
  to test for cancer. If the cancer is only in the nipple and not in the
  breast, your doctor may recommend just removing the nipple and
  surrounding tissue or suggest radiation treatments.
 
 
   

Breast Cancer Research Stamp

May 9, 2006
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE RAISES OVER
$50 MILLION FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service announced today that the Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp has raised over $50.3 million for research. With Mother's Day just around the corner, the Postal Service encourages consumers to use this stamp on Mother's Day cards to further increase funding for research. The U.S. Postal Service's Breast Cancer Research stamp was first issued in 1998 pursuant to legislation enacted by Congress and over 695 million stamps have been sold. As a "semipostal" stamp, the U.S. Postal Service's Breast Cancer Research stamp sells for 45-cents and is valid for postage at the prevailing 39-cent First-Class Mail® letter rate. Seventy percent of the net difference is paid to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 30 percent is paid to the Department of Defense (DoD). The NIH and DoD, which both conduct breast cancer research, were identified as recipients of the funds by the legislation enacted in 1997. The self-adhesive Breast Cancer Research semipostal is a nondenominational stamp, bearing the words "USA" and "First-Class." The background of the vertically formatted stamp design features overlapping areas of pastel blue, yellow, orange and green. Along the top are the words "BREAST CANCER." A line drawing of a female figure, suggesting a "goddess of the hunt or fight" is the main element, while the phrase "FUND THE FIGHT. FIND A CURE®," appears flowing left to right across the stamp in a clockwise, circular pattern, outlining where the figure's right breast would be. The stamp was designed by breast cancer survivor Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, and illustrated by Whitney Sherman of Baltimore. For more information on the United States Breast Cancer Research semipostal, other stamps and stamprelated products, or to purchase them, visit usps.com/shop. Since 1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 144 million homes and businesses every day, six days a week and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than half of the world's mail volume - some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year - and serves seven and a half million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide. Its website, usps.com, attracts more than 21 million visitors each month.