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Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

Screening Method for Cervical Cancer

2010 - 09.04

Tags: cancer, Cervical, Method, Screening
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Acetic Acid Wash is another cervical cancer management and screening method that can detect abnormal cellular changes in the cervix much earlier and can thus assist prevent cervical cancer from developing further. Pre-cancerous cells detected at this early stage are still 100% curable.

According to the doctors, whether every woman often undergoes cervical examination or check-up even once in their lifetime or, even better, every 5 years, then they can expect 84% protection from cervical cancer.

In Acetic Acid Wash Detection Method, a large cotton swab is immersed into 3% to 5% acetic acid and is placed on the cervix for approximately 2 minutes. The cotton swab is then removed. Visual inspection of the cervix follows.

Whether the areas of the cervix turn whitish after approximately 5 minutes, there could be some abnormal cancer cells already. Other signs that may represent cervical cancer: a grossly misshapen cervix, ulcers or irregular mass formations on the cervix, and tissue that bleeds easily.

Patient positive for cervical cancer will be immediately referred to a obstetrician-gynecologist for instant colposcopy (a diagnostic tool to determine the cause of abnormalities found in Pap smears) with Pap smear and biopsy whether needed.

Lesions that eventually lead to cancer can be removed thus preventing full-blown cervical cancer.

For cervical cancer, the maximum vital risk factor is infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). This infection can be passed from one person to another during sexual intercourse. Having unprotected sex, particularly at a youthful age makes HPV infection more likely. Women with many sexual partners (or who have sexual intercourse with men with many sexual partners) have a greater chance of getting HPV.

Smoking is too another risk factor for cervical cancer. Tobacco smoke can produce chemicals that may hurt the DNA in cells of the cervix and make cancer more likely to develop. Women smokers are approximately twice as likely to get cervical cancers than non-smokers.

Diet could too play a part as well in the prevention of cancer. Eating more fruits and vegetables may be linked to a lower risk of some cancers.

The main warning of invasive cancer of the cervix is strange bleeding from the vagina at any time, particularly after sexual intercourse. Although bleeding is often due to conditions other than cancer, medical advice should be sought immediately even whether you have had a recent Pap test.

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Vigorous Exercise Cuts Risk of Breast Cancer

2010 - 08.23

Tags: Breast, cancer, cuts, Exercise, Risk, Vigorous
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While preceding studies revealed that exercises may guard against breast cancer, a study by the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health points out that not all exercise qualifies. In following 32, 269 women for 11 years, the researchers learned that those engaging in vigorous exercises on a regular basis were the ones less likely to develop the sickness, regardless of their weight. Their reduced risk amounted to a stunning 30 percent.

Activities that qualify as vigorous include heavy housework, like scrubbing floors and washing windows, or heavy yard work, such as digging or chopping wood. Healthful, fun activities included rapid jogging, competitive tennis, bicycling on hills, and rapid dancing.

The study suggests two possible mechanisms responsible for the benefit measured: enhanced immune function and decreased inflammation in the body. It’s vital to note that excess weight is believed to increase the risk of cancer.

Are Ovarian Cysts Associated with a Higher Risk of Ovarian Cancer?

2010 - 08.23

Tags: associated, cancer, Cysts, Higher, Ovarian, Risk
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Ovarian cysts aren’t strange in women. The maximum common type of cyst on the ovary is called a functional cyst. This type of cyst basically consists of a collection of fluid interior the ovary. These cysts are benign, but many women dread that having an ovarian cyst increases the risk of ovarian cancer. Is this right?

What Causes an Ovarian Cyst?

Functional ovarian cysts form during the menstrual cycle. Normally, when an egg is released during ovulation, it’s surrounded by a protective follicle. As it’s released the fluid ruptures. Whether it fails to rupture as a result of a hormonal imbalance, the follicle swells with fluid and forms a smooth sac called a cyst. These cysts can become several inches in diameter in some cases. This isn’t the only type of ovarian cyst, but it’s the one doctors see maximum often in pre-menopausal women. Post-menopausal women get ovarian cysts too – with nearly 15% of women having one at some point after the age of fifty.

Ovarian cysts can too be classified as simple or complex. A simple ovarian cyst is one that contains only fluid, while a complex ovarian cyst contains both fluid and solid components. Complex ovarian cysts are more of a concern than simple cysts, since they can be malignant.

Does Having an Ovarian Cyst Increase the Risk of Ovarian Cancer?

In a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers looked at the incidence of ovarian cysts in 15,000 women between the ages of 55 and 74 who participated in a cancer screening trial. They found simple cysts in 14 percent of these women, which is not surprising considering simple cysts are so common in women going through menopause.

What was the outcome for these women with simple ovarian cysts? Although the cysts persisted in over a small more than half of the cases, they didn’t progress to ovarian cancer – although in 6 percent of the cases, they developed into a complex cyst. In a third of the cases, the cysts disappeared without treatment. The excellent news? Having a simple cyst didn’t increase the risk of ovarian cancer.

The Risk of Ovarian Cancer and Simple Cysts: What Does This Mean?

A woman who has a simple cyst on her ovary needn’t be too worried approximately it progressing to cancer of the ovary. This is a scarce occurrence. Maximum simple cysts either resolve or persist without undergoing a malignant alter. A small percentage do progress to complex ovarian cysts, which should be surgically explored to govern out cancer. Maximum doctors recommend following simple ovarian cysts in women at low risk for ovarian cancer. In women at tall risk, maximum doctors recommend surgery even for simple cysts – to be secure.

A simple ovarian cyst is generally followed with transvaginal ultrasounds every three to six months and by checking levels of a tumor marker called CA-125. Whether levels of this marker are elevated, it can represent ovarian cancer.

Having an Ovarian Cyst and the Risk of Ovarian Cancer: The Foot Line?

Maximum women having an ovarian cyst will never have ovarian cancer. Simple ovarian cysts rarely progress to ovarian cancer, which should be reassurance to women who have them.

References:

Medscape.com website. “Simple Cysts and Ovarian Cancer Risk”

Salmonella Bacteria Used to Search and Destroy Cancer Cells

2010 - 08.17

Tags: Bacteria, cancer, Cells, Destroy, Salmonella, search, used
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According to Reuters, research from Italian and American scientists learned that treating melanoma cell tumors with salmonella bacteria can induce an immune response that kills, yes kills, cancer cells. Cancerous mice were the first test subjects. They were injected with a secure form of salmonella bacteria that did not cause the illness itself. The bacteria helped to find and kill cancer cells in the mice. The same result was found when the scientists used human cancer cells in the laboratory. The research is now waiting for authorization to do human testing.

How does it work?

Connexin 43 is a protein that forms tiny communication channels between different cell types. Peptides, tiny tumor protein fragments, use these channels to elude, enter immune cells, and act as the “red flag” to trigger an immune response. But, as the cancer cells grow and proliferate, the quantity of connexin 43 being made is not sufficient to stimulate the red flag effect. So, the cancer cells become invisible to immune cells, and therefore are not fought.

The research study found that the connexin 43 increased after injecting the salmonella into the cancer cells and cancerous mice. The increase in connexin thus made modern communication channels that allowed immune cells to be activated and kill the tumor cells. It too seemed to halt the spread of the cancer to other areas of the body.

What does it mean?

This research could spur the development of a modern drug lesson in cancer treatment regiments- immunotherapies or therapeutic vaccines. Immunotherapy drugs are modern to the cancer treatment regiment. The first ever vaccine to treat tumors was fair approved in April when the FDA approved Provenge, a therapeutic vaccine to stimulate the immune system to attack prostate cancer cells. Another experimental immunotherapy drug, ipilimumab, is currently being developed and tried by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Immunotherapies are looking like the hope of the future.

Using Telomere Length to Predict Cancer Risk

2010 - 07.12

Tags: cancer, Length, predict, Risk, Telomere, using
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Doctors may one day be able to predict a person’s risk of getting cancer by looking at the length of their telomeres. Telomeres are parts of DNA at the tips of chromosomes that assist to guard the chromosome from hurt. Without this protection, the chromosome would eventually be ruined since some DNA, or genetic fabric, would be lost during each replication of the chromosome. In a sense, telomeres serve as caps covering the tips of chromosomes to guard them. As it turns out, they may too be a useful tool for predicting cancer risk.

Cancer and Telomeres: What’s the Organization?

The problem with telomeres is they abbreviate a small each time the chromosome replicates – until they become so small that they can no longer guard and stabilize the chromosome. When this happens, the chromosome is unable to function properly and either dies – or undergoes transformation into a cancer cell.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Organization, researchers learned after studying nearly 800 people that those individuals with brief telomere lengths have a sixty percent higher risk of cancer – even after taking other factors into account. Those with the shortest telomere lengths had three times the cancer risk of subjects with the longest ones.

Telomere length seems to affect the risk of dying of cancer too. Cancer morality rates doubled in both males and females in this study with every standard deviation reduce in telomere length.

Telomeres and Cancer: How Could This Information Be Used?

Researchers are hoping that telomere length will become a useful test for determining cancer risk – as well as a person’s likelihood of dying of the sickness since telomere length too plays a role in cancer prognosis. As an example, a person who smokes cigarettes and has brief telomeres may need closer screening using chest x-rays or CT scans so malignancies can be picked up early – when they’re still curable.

Cancer and Telomeres: Brief Telomeres

Studies exhibit that telomere length plays a role in other chronic diseases, and that longer telomeres are associated with longevity. As such, telomeres may be a marker for biological aging. The excellent news? Telomere length isn’t fate. Telomere length can alter over time, and, possibly, in response to certain interventions.

Some studies exhibit that people with higher vitamin D levels have longer telomeres which may clarify the cancer protective benefits of vitamin D found in some studies. Other research shows that calorie restriction lengthens telomeres and may prolong life – at minimum in animals.

There may be other lifestyle interventions that can lengthen telomeres and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer. There’s still much more to memorize approximately the relationship between telomeres and cancer, but, they have the potential to one day be a useful tool for better understanding and treating one of man’s greatest killers.

References:

JAMA. 2010;304:69-75.

Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 86 (5): 1420–5.

Does Taking Fish Oil Supplements Reduce The Risk of Breast Cancer?

2010 - 07.11

Tags: Breast, cancer, Fish, Reduce, Risk, Supplements, Taking
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More people are learning the health benefits of fish oils, and are taking fish oil supplements to boost their levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish oil supplements may assist to lower the risk of heart sickness, reduce blood pressure, and reduce the pain and inflammation of some diseases such as arthritis due to their anti-inflammatory effects. Now, a modern study finds a link between fish oil and breast cancer risk. Can taking fish oil supplements reduce the risk of breast cancer?

Fish Oil and Breast Cancer: What’s the Organization?

A recent study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention looked at the potential benefits of fish oil supplements for preventing breast cancer. They questioned over 35,000 post-menopausal women to fill out questionnaires approximately their use of nutritional supplements and vitamins. The women were then followed for six years to see whether or not they developed breast cancer.

What did they find? The women who took regular fish oil supplements had a thirty-two percent lower risk of breast cancer. The reduction was seen for the maximum common type of breast cancer in women – invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Does Taking Fish Oil Supplements Prevent Breast Cancer?

The researchers were rapid to point out that this study doesn’t demonstrate cause and effect – only an organization between fish oil and breast cancer risk. More studies are needed to say with certainty whether taking fish oil supplements really prevents the sickness.

This isn’t the first study to exhibit an organization between fish and breast cancer. Several preceding studies have found that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may reduce the risk of some types of cancer – including breast, prostate, and colon cancer. On the other hand, when the Journal of the American Medical Organization conducted a review of the international studies looking at the organization between fish oil and breast cancer, they found no benefits.

Whether there is an organization between fish oil and breast cancer, no one knows the exact mechanism. It may be due to the anti-inflammatory effect that fish oil has on the body. Inflammation plays a role in the initiation and growth of many cancers – including breast cancer. Hopefully, further studies will clarify this issue.

The Foot Line?

It’s too early to recommend taking fish oil supplements to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Randomized trials are needed for that. On the other hand, fish oils have a variety of positive health benefits. One way to get them naturally is to eat more fatty fish – but always choose fish that are known to be low in mercury and other toxins. Whether you’re not a fish lover, question your doctor whether taking fish oil supplements is right for you.

References:

JAMA 295 (4): 403–415.

Medical News Nowadays. “Fish Oil May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer”

Does Taking Shark Cartilage Help Cancer?

2010 - 06.06

Tags: cancer, Cartilage, help, Shark, Taking
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A well loved book entitled Sharks Don’t Get Cancer first popularized the use of shark cartilage as an alternative treatment for cancer. Although taking shark cartilage to treat cancer has always been unproven, there is some limited evidence that it slows down the growth of modern blood vessels that supplies nutrients and oxygen to growing cancer cells in the laboratory. Unfortunately, what holds right in the laboratory doesn’t always apply to to humans Now, a well designed study shows that taking shark cartilage for treatment of cancer doesn’t offer any benefits.

Shark Cartilage for Cancer: What a Modern Study Shows

In a rigorously designed study, researchers recruited nearly 400 patients with advanced small cell lung cancer. Half of the recruits were given shark cartilage in a standardized formulation along with chemotherapy and radiation. The other half received chemotherapy and radiation – but no shark cartilage. Because many shark cartilage supplements on the market contain substandard quality and quantities of shark cartilage, a pharmaceutical company made a shark cartilage “drug” to ensure that each patient got a standardized quantity.

The results? The patients who received shark cartilage along with chemotherapy and radiation died, on average, a month sooner than those who got standard treatment. Taking shark cartilage for cancer, at minimum in these patients, didn’t have any benefits in terms of survival – and the tumors showed no response to the shark cartilage treatment.

Other smaller studies including one sponsored by the National Cancer Institute failed to exhibit that taking shark cartilage for cancer is of benefit. Taking shark cartilage is too not side effect release. Some people using it have reported nausea, bloating, and abdominal cramping.

The entire premise behind this book – the thought that sharks don’t get cancer, has been called into question. It’s now known that they do get cancer, but they’re probably more resistant to it than humans are.

Taking Shark Cartilage for Treatment of Cancer: The Foot Line

This well designed, rigorously conducted study is in line with preceding studies that exhibit that shark cartilage is ineffective for treating cancer. This should place to rest any thought that shark cartilage is excellent medicine for cancer.

References:

Medscape.com. “Study: Shark Cartilage No Assist for Cancer”

Inactive Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer

2010 - 05.29

Tags: cancer, Hepatitis, Inactive, Liver
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Whether you have inactive hepatitis B, you may be at higher risk of liver cancer according to a modern study. Hepatitis B is a chronic viral infection that leads to liver inflammation and, in some people, meaningful liver hurt that ends in cirrhosis and death.

A certain number of people with hepatitis B become hepatitis B inactive carriers. This means they carry the hepatitis B virus, but they have normal liver enzymes and don’t have signs of meaningful liver inflammation. Even though the hepatitis B is inactive, hepatitis B inactive carriers are still at higher risk for health problems since the virus can become reactivated in up to twenty-five percent of cases – which leads to active inflammation and even cirrhosis. This occurs maximum commonly in people with decreased immunity.

People with inactive hepatitis B are too at a higher risk of liver cancer. In a recent study that looked at over 20,000 people with inactive hepatitis B sickness, the annually risk of getting cancer of the liver was 0.06% or approximately six out of one thousand. The risk was higher in people who were older, those who drank alcohol, and those with higher baseline levels of a liver enzyme called ALT.

Whether you have chronic inactive hepatitis B, it’s vital to get your liver enzymes checked every three to six months to monitor for signs of liver inflammation – which could represent that the hepatitis B virus has become active. Fascinatingly, it’s not the virus itself that causes hurt to the liver, but the immune response which causes inflammation and tissue hurt. As long as there’s no evidence that the virus is active, chronic inactive hepatitis B generally doesn’t require treatment.

What approximately the higher risk of liver cancer with inactive hepatitis B? There’s no certain way to prevent it, but avoiding alcohol lowers the risk of developing cancer of the liver in people with inactive hepatitis B. The best action plot whether you’re a hepatitis B inactive carrier is to eliminate alcohol entirely from your diet and see your doctor at minimum every six months to monitor for signs of virus reactivation or liver inflammation. Don’t assume because the virus is inactive, that you’re no longer at risk for health problems.

References:

Family Practice News, May 1, 2010. page 42.

Somerset County kicks off ‘Cancer Awareness Month’

2010 - 05.10

Tags: awareness, cancer, County, kicks, Month, Somerset
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Somerset County kicks off ‘Cancer Awareness Month’
SOMERVILLE – Somerset County Freeholder Director Jack M. Ciattarelli will unite representatives from the Somerset County Cancer Coalition (SCCC) and The Wellness Community of Central Modern Jersey to kick off “Skin Cancer Awareness Month” on Thursday, May 6, at 12…

Peruse more on The Somerset Messenger-Gazette

Breast Cancer; Would You Want to Know You Were Going to Get It?

2010 - 05.06

Tags: Breast, cancer, going, know, want, Were, would
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In the contemporary day world, medicine is advancing more quickly than anyone ever thought were possible. Now, with the modern genetic counselling, you can see which diseases you’re likely to get when you grow older, and when they’re likely to occur.

Diseases include Huntington’s Sickness (which would be 100% certainty, as whether you carry the gene, you are guaranteed to develop the sickness) and Breast Cancer (which has other aspects too, for instance lifestyle and body size.

Tales have been told of women who have been told that their risk for breast cancer is tall, so they have chose to have one or both of their breasts removed in an attempt to reduce the risk.. but has science now gone too distant?

Who’s to say that doctors have the right to see into our future? Who’s to say that the future is supposed to be seen at all?

Keep looking for updates.. as this topic is guaranteed to be crucial in the development of the medical world!

Get fit, stay fit, live a happy life..

Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

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