Nowhere was this more apparent than at the bedside of the 84-year-old breast-cancer patient.

When I face my first breast-cancer patient, I already will have thought about the controversy over treatment.

A breast-cancer patient receiving chemotherapy.

Brain metastases occur in up to 10-15% of breast-cancer patients, and often (but not always) occur late in the disease.

About 30 percent of breast-cancer patients can be treated with Herceptin because their tumors have an excess of Her2.

"We intend to educate them on the issues facing breast-cancer patients so they may effectively advocate on the patient's behalf."

As it turns out, 25 percent of breast-cancer patients exhibit a unique genetic variation called Her2 overexpression.

The drug, which is prescribed for breast-cancer patients, had $420 million in 1991 sales, including $210 million in the United States.

Today," she said, "because there are so many advocacy groups for breast-cancer patients who may want to volunteer, they can find places to go closer to home.

In the study, scientists examined the medical records of 2,365 postmenopausal breast-cancer patients taking part in a randomized trial of tamoxifen.