This suggests that Direct Alert: A reliable and affordable fully oriented assistance to low autonomy.

The device consists of two main parts: a control panel wall and a personal help button. The first provides the link with the assistance center, while the second involves the release button and is worn as a bracelet, a necklace or a brooch.

Any outbreak of medical alarms button is considered a medical emergency and is treated as such by our team of professional players. The aim of the operation is to convey to you as rapidly as information and staff will help you if needed.

The medical alert system is thus based on a combination of proven technology and a team of top professionals. In addition you provide appropriate relief; this device gives you the calming you know out of isolation.

Medical Intelligence already announced it had taken a step towards launch in Europe and America a portable emergency button, equipped with GPS, allowing users to communicate with a help desk wave cell.

The Quebec Company said in a statement that a letter of intent was signed with Vox Mobile of Luxembourg, a mobile service covering 38 countries in GSM / GPRS networks, allowing Medical Intelligence to launch its product, which will have access to networks for roaming.

The new device named Urgentys based on a personal GPS service using Google Maps.
It has features like OnStar, a technology built into some GM cars, but it is miniaturized and is worn at the waist, like a Blackberry, “said Louis Massicotte, founding president of Medical Intelligence.

“It is a true mobile alarm button connected to a central emergency locates the bearer on demand,” he said in a statement.

The manufacture of the product is already begun and marketing could be this summer, said Medical Intelligence. With its new product, the company aims to market the traditional alarm button interior designed for the elderly, which works only in a limited area.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound, also called sonography, is an imaging technique in which high-frequency sound waves that cannot be heard by humans are bounced off tissues and internal organs. Their echoes produce a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging of the breast is used to distinguish between solid tumors and fluid-filled cysts. Ultrasound can also be used to evaluate lumps that are hard to see on a mammogram. Sometimes, ultrasound is used as part of other diagnostic procedures, such as fine needle aspiration (also called needle biopsy). Fine needle aspiration is the removal of tissue or fluid with a needle for examination under a microscope to check for signs of disease.

During an ultrasound examination, the clinician spreads a thin coating of lubricating jelly over the area to be imaged to improve conduction of the sound waves. A hand-held device called a transducer directs the sound waves through the skin toward specific tissues. As the sound waves are reflected back from the tissues within the breast, the patterns formed by the waves create a two-dimensional image of the breast on a computer.

Ultrasound is not used for routine breast cancer screening because it does not consistently detect certain early signs of cancer such as microcalcifications (tiny deposits of calcium in the breast that cannot be felt but can be seen on a conventional mammogram). A cluster of microcalcifications may indicate that cancer is present.

Digital Mammography

Digital mammography is a technique for recording x-ray images in computer code instead of on x-ray film, as with conventional mammography. The images are displayed on a computer monitor and can be enhanced (lightened or darkened) before they are printed on film. Images can also be manipulated; the radiologist (a doctor who specializes in creating and interpreting pictures of areas inside the body) can magnify or zoom in on an area. From the patient’s perspective, the procedure for a mammogram with a digital system is the same as for conventional mammography.

Digital mammography may have some advantages over conventional mammography. The images can be stored and retrieved electronically, which makes long-distance consultations with other mammography specialists easier. Because the images can be adjusted by the radiologist, subtle differences between tissues may be noted. The improved accuracy of digital mammography may reduce the number of followup procedures. Despite these benefits, studies have not yet shown that digital mammography is more effective in finding cancer than conventional mammography.

The first digital mammography system received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2000. An example of a digital mammography system is the Senographe® 2000D. Women considering digital mammography should talk with their doctor or contact a local FDA-certified mammography center to find out if this technique is available at that location. Only facilities that have been certified to practice conventional mammography and have FDA approval for digital mammography may offer the digital system. A list of conventional mammography facilities is available by calling the Cancer Information Service at 1–800–4–CANCER (1–800–422–6237), or by visiting the FDA Web site at http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfmqsa/search.cfm on the Internet.

Computer-Aided Detection

Computer-aided detection (CAD) involves the use of computers to bring suspicious areas on a mammogram to the radiologist’s attention. It is used after the radiologist has done the initial review of the mammogram.

In 1998, the FDA approved a breast imaging device that uses CAD technology. Others are in development. An example of a breast imaging device that uses CAD technology is the ImageChecker®. This device scans the mammogram with a laser beam and converts it into a digital signal that is processed by a computer. The image is then displayed on a video monitor, with suspicious areas highlighted for the radiologist to review. The radiologist can compare the digital image with the conventional mammogram to see if any of the highlighted areas were missed on the initial review and require further evaluation. CAD technology may improve the accuracy of screening mammography. The incorporation of CAD technology to digital mammography is under evaluation.

MRI

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a magnet linked to a computer creates detailed pictures of areas inside the body without the use of radiation. Each MRI produces hundreds of images of the breast from side-to-side, top-to-bottom, and front-to-back. The images are then interpreted by a radiologist.

During an MRI of the breast, the patient lies on her stomach on the scanning table. The breast hangs into a depression or hollow in the table, which contains coils that detect the magnetic signal. The table is moved into a tube-like machine that contains the magnet. After an initial series of images has been taken, the patient may be given a contrast agent intravenously (by injection into a vein). The contrast agent is not radioactive; it is sometimes used to improve the visibility of a tumor. Additional images are then taken. The entire imaging session takes about 1 hour.

Breast MRI is not used for routine breast cancer screening, but clinical trials (research studies with people) are being performed to determine if MRI is valuable for screening certain women, such as young women at high risk for breast cancer. MRI cannot always accurately distinguish between cancer and benign (noncancerous) breast conditions. Like ultrasound, MRI cannot detect microcalcifications.

MRI is used primarily to evaluate breast implants for leaks or ruptures, and to assess abnormal areas that are seen on a mammogram or are felt after breast surgery or radiation therapy. It can be used after breast cancer is diagnosed to determine the extent of the tumor in the breast. MRI is also sometimes useful in imaging dense breast tissue, which is often found in younger women, and in viewing breast abnormalities that can be felt but are not visible with conventional mammography or ultrasound.

PET Scan

The positron emission tomography (PET) scan creates computerized images of chemical changes that take place in tissue. The patient is given an injection of a substance that consists of a combination of a sugar and a small amount of radioactive material. The radioactive sugar can help in locating a tumor, because cancer cells take up or absorb sugar faster than other tissues in the body.

After receiving the radioactive drug, the patient lies still for about 45 minutes while the drug circulates throughout the body. If a tumor is present, the radioactive sugar will accumulate in the tumor. The patient then lies on a table, which gradually moves through the PET scanner 6 to 7 times during a 45-minute period. The PET scanner is used to detect the radiation. A computer translates this information into the images that are interpreted by a radiologist.

PET scans may play a role in determining whether a breast mass is cancerous. However, PET scans are more accurate in detecting larger and more aggressive tumors than they are in locating tumors that are smaller than 8 mm and/or less aggressive. They may also detect cancer when other imaging techniques show normal results. PET scans may be helpful in evaluating and staging recurrent disease (cancer that has come back).

An NCI-sponsored clinical trial is evaluating the usefulness of PET scan results in women who have breast cancer compared with the findings from other imaging and diagnostic techniques. This trial is also studying the effectiveness of PET scans in tracking the response of a tumor to treatment.

Electrical Impedance Scanning

Different types of tissue have different electrical impedance levels (electrical impedance is a measurement of how fast electricity travels through a given material). Some types of tissue have high electrical impedance, while others have low electrical impedance. Breast tissue that is cancerous has a much lower electrical impedance (conducts electricity much better) than normal breast tissue. Electrical impedance scanning devices are used along with conventional mammography to detect breast cancer. The T-Scan 2000, also known as the T-Scan, is an example of such a device. The FDA approved the T-Scan 2000 in 1999.

The electrical impedance scanning device, which does not emit any radiation, consists of a hand-held scanning probe and a computer screen that displays two-dimensional images of the breast. An electrode patch, similar to that used for an electrocardiogram, is placed on the patient’s arm. A very small amount of electric current, about the same amount used by a small penlight battery, is transmitted through the patch and into the body. The current travels through the breast, where it is measured by the scanning probe placed over the breast. An image is generated from the measurements of electrical impedance. Because breast cancer cells conduct electricity better than normal breast cells and tend to have lower electrical impedance, breast tumors may appear as bright white spots on the computer screen.

This device can confirm the location of abnormal areas that were detected by a conventional mammogram. The scanner sends the image directly to a computer, allowing the radiologist to move the probe around the breast to get the best view of the area being examined. The device may reduce the number of biopsies needed to determine whether a mass is cancerous. It may also improve the identification of women who should have a biopsy.

The scanner is not approved as a screening device for breast cancer, and is not used when mammography or other findings clearly indicate the need for a biopsy. This device has not been studied with patients who have implanted electronic devices, such as pacemakers. It is not recommended for use on such patients.

This is the book Val Sampson needed when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Its purpose is to offer hope and support in coping with the fear and sense of loneliness that often comes with a diagnosis of cancer.
Highly practical, The Breast cancer Book clarifies the confusing choices you need to make. It looks at:
the conventional medical treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy
the part which can be played by complementary treatments
how to manage your life, and answers questions on how to break the news to family, friends and children
Based on the author’s own experience, that of other breast patients and co-written with experts in the field, The Breast Cancer Book shows women that it is possible to lead a happy and fulfilling life after a diagnosis of breast cancer and that the power to achieve this lies within the individual.
About the authors
Val Sampson is a freelance journalist who has written for many newspapers and magazines including The Times, The Daily Mail, Woman and You magazine. Debbie Fenlon was Val Sampson’s breast care nurse when she was first diagnosed. She is now an oncology lecturer with the Institute of Cancer Research in association with the Royal Marsden NHS Trust.
Chapter guide
1 Hoping and Coping
2 Fear and how to handle it
3 Cancer and the power of language
4 Who to tell?
5 How to get support from the people around you
6 What is cancer and who should you talk to?
7 Getting into the hospital system
8 Surgery and reconstruction
9 Other conventional treatments
10 Living with secondary disease
11 Mind therapies
12 Body therapies
13 Looking good and feeling better
14 The way ahead
Glossary
Useful addresses
Further reading
Index

208 pages ISBN: 0 09 185613 2
The Breast Cancer Book. Sampson, Val and Fenlon, Debbie. Published by Vermillion 2000
Press coverage
Extracts from the book serialised in The Times Section 2, 5-7 September 2000.
Article in Good Housekeeping on personality and illness, October 2000 edition.
Article in Sunday Mirror’s Personal magazine – Val Sampson’s experiences, 17 September 2000.
Article in Mail on Sunday’s You magazine on talking to children about cancer, 10 September 2000.
Tatler, October edition – talking to your partner
Sunday Mirror’s Personal magazine 17 September – Val Sampson’s story.
Pink Ribbon magazine, September 22 – sex and breast cancer.
ITV’s This Morning September 11 and 13 – Val Sampson on Hope and Breast Cancer; Debbie Fenlon on Prostheses, Diet and Self-examination
Woman, October 9 – an interview with Val Sampson
LBC radio and Liberty Radio, September 23 – an interview with Val Sampson
ITV’s Live Talk, 6 October – Val Sampson appearing in discussion
Best magazine, Jan 2001 – interview with Val Sampson
Radio Oxford phone-in with Debbie Fenlon and Val Sampson – Jan 30 2001
The Times Health pages, Jan 30 2001 – feature on breast reconstruction by Val Sampson

“The Breast Cancer Book has a unique combination of practical advice, information and personal experience that will be of enormous benefit to women and their families. This book should be essential reading for anyone wanting to know more about breast cancer.” Ian E. Smith, Professor of Cancer Medicine, Medical Director, Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research.

“This is an excellent book and I would recommend it to any woman with breast cancer.” Christine Fogg, Chief Executive, Breast Cancer Care.

“Thank You for this wonderful book. My friend bought it for me while I was in hospital in Singapore last month recovering from surgery – it has been the greatest gift I have ever received. Words of hope, practical information I needed and never dreamed of, Sheer fascination and exactly what I wanted to know. It is now accompanying me on my journey through Chemo, Radiation and meditation techniques.” LB

“What a relief to have found your book. It’s by my side constantly and never fails to help and cheer me up. With this book, whatever I am worrying about or feeling, there seems to be a reassuring answer. Thank you”