MADISON - We keep hearing about the swine flu vaccine, but did you know doctors are developing a vaccine for breast cancer? You can bet women would be lining up for that one.

Hundreds of thousands of women live with the fear that their breast cancer will come back. Some doctors think that fear may someday be a distant memory--thanks to a breast cancer shot.

From buttons, to hoodies, to wristbands... the Choose Hope warehouse in Sun Prairie is a place where cancer patients can find inspiration in all shapes and sizes. Linda Nielsen started the retail business with two friends about 10 years ago. Much of the proceeds go toward breast cancer research.

"We try to give positive, inspirational hope to anybody dealing with a cancer diagnosis, be it them, or anyone in their family," Linda explains.

We asked Linda if she thinks more research needs to be done. Her response: "Absolutely. We're still losing way too many women to this disease."

Linda can talk: She's a 12-year breast cancer survivor. She says even the thought of a vaccine is enough to inspire hope that she won't get breast cancer again.

"I don't dwell on it like I did 12 years ago, but how can you not help thinking about it, because I know women who were 20 years out and recurred," she recalls.

Dr. Mark Burkard works in the U.W. School of Medicine Oncology Department at the Wisconsin Institute of Medical Research. He's anxious to see the results of the current clinical trial. A vaccine is being tested at five U.S. cancer centers--none in Wisconsin though--yet.

"If you can make a flu shot-like vaccine effective for breast cancer, that would be very powerful," Dr. Burkard admits.

He says that vaccine would most likely be used on women who have already had breast cancer, not as a way to prevent getting cancer in the first place.

"I would think we want to know it's effective at eliminating cancer cells in a woman who's at risk of having cancer cells scattered around the body, before we would look at prevention of breast cancer," Dr. Burkard explains.

An approved vaccine is probably still years away, but for survivors like Linda--just knowing the possibility exists is enough--for now.

"There is hope, there is absolutely hope, and we're getting there. It's just not happened quite yet, but we're getting there," she says.

Researchers at U.W. Hospital are actively working on a vaccine for prostate cancer, which looks promising.