Expert pitch: Breast Cancer Awareness

Lynn Panton, professor of exercise science at Florida State. (FSU Photography Services)
Lynn Panton, professor of exercise science at Florida State. (FSU Photography Services)

October marks National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. For 2016, it is estimated that 246,660 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,450 will die from the disease according to the American Cancer Society.

Florida State University’s internationally recognized experts are available to offer commentary to the media on updates in treatment options after recovery and the marketing movement behind Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

Lynn Panton, professor of nutrition, food and exercise sciences, College of Human Sciences: (850) 644-4685; lpanton@fsu.edu

Panton’s research focuses on how breast cancer patients can recover lost bone density and muscle mass following their treatments. A recent study details how a weight training regimen can help women who’ve survived breast cancer repair chemotherapy-weakened bodies and help them get back to living their lives.

“Bone density and muscle mass decrease when women go through menopause, but those losses are heightened when breast cancer patients go through chemotherapy. If we can prevent that decrease through weight training, that’s a step in the right direction.”

Maura L. Scott, associate professor of marketing, College of Business: (850) 644-6554; mlscott@fsu.edu

Scott’s research focuses on understanding the social, psychological and environmental factors that influence the consumption choices we make, and how those consumer choices affect individual health and well-being.

“My scholarly research found that the specificity of the goal a person sets can increase their willingness to stick with healthy behaviors.This study focused on healthy diet and exercise; the findings can be extended to increasing a woman’s willingness to engage in regular breast screenings. My research found that lower literacy patients were more willing to comply with their physician’s requests when the patients were co-producing the experience along with the physician. These findings suggest that patients who are less knowledgeable about breast cancer are the ones who need to be the most actively involved in their care.”