Currents

    Men With Breast Cancer Risk Relapse

    According to scientists at UC Irvine’s Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute, men who have been treated for breast cancer run a significant risk of developing a second primary cancer.

    A study of data collected by the California Cancer Registry suggests that men diagnosed with primary breast cancer have a 16 percent higher risk of developing a second kind of cancer than men who have never had the disease.

    More than 10 percent of the 1,926 men diagnosed with breast cancer surveyed went on to develop a second kind of cancer at least two months later.

    The risk is especially high in men diagnosed at a young age, UC Irvine Chief of Epidemiology Hoda Anton-Culver said. Over the 15-year span of the study, researchers saw an increase in high levels of other cancers — primarily colorectal, stomach, bladder, skin and a relapse of breast cancer — prompting researchers to conclude that closer monitoring is necessary to prevent future illness in these patients.

    “”These findings indicate that male breast cancer patients need to be primary candidates for active cancer screening, early detection and cancer prevention counseling,”” Anton-Culver stated.

    Swapped: UCSD Staff Members Trade Wives

    Two UCSD staff members will be featured on an episode of Fox Network’s reality show “”Trading Spouses,”” airing on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9.

    UCSD Director of Special Events and Protocol Judy Lane swapped places with Julie Chase, a saddlemaker from Oregon, and spent a week with Chase’s husband, Charlie, and two teenage daughters.

    Chase was sent to live with Lane’s same-sex partner, Pepper Lane, coordinator of regional and constituent programs for UCSD’s Alumni Association, and their children Cory and Shea. The program’s premise allows the participants to see what it is like to live in each other’s shoes, and pays $50,000 to each participating family.

    According to Pepper Lane, the experience with Chase — who frequently made prejudiced comments in front of her — was difficult. However, it made her and her partner more appreciative of their own family and the accepting atmosphere they have created.

    “”To me, the grass is the perfect color green at home,”” Pepper Lane stated in a press release.

    If given the chance, they would not go through the experience again, the couple stated. However, they are hopeful that the broadcast will edit them favorably.

    “”I hope nothing will embarrass my children,”” Judy Lane stated. “”As long as that goes well, I don’t care. Nothing is going to embarrass me at this point.””

    Med Center Employee Delivers 1,000th Baby

    UCSD Medical Center nurse midwife Hope Renn has reached a milestone — after 10 years, she has delivered her 1,000th baby.

    Renn, a self-described “”birth junkie,”” helped Ana Torres deliver her son, Jesus Alexis, after a quick labor at the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

    Renn has been a nurse midwife at the medical center since 1999, and has delivered more than 800 babies at UCSD.

    “”I think the midwife program is a wonderful option for low-risk women giving birth in San Diego,”” Director of Women and Infant Services Linda Levy, a registered nurse, stated in a press release. “”It gives women a great deal of control over their birthing experiences.””

    Renn, who was first exposed to her trade while working in a Vietnamese refugee camp in the Philippines, and says that the experience led her to pursue midwifery as a career.

    “”I am so honored to be able to walk with women and their families on their journey through pregnancy, labor, birth and into parenthood,”” Renn stated.

    Midwives at the medical center assist physicians in the hospital’s department of reproductive medicine, and all UCSD midwives are registered nurses with advanced Certified Nurse Midwife degrees.

    More to Discover
    Donate to The UCSD Guardian
    $200
    $500
    Contributed
    Our Goal

    Your donation will support the student journalists at University of California, San Diego. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, keep printing our papers, and cover our annual website hosting costs.

    Donate to The UCSD Guardian
    $200
    $500
    Contributed
    Our Goal