A Blog About Cancer

Famous tobacco victims (mostly cancer victims)

2008-10-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Bill Hicks, 32, comedian * pancreatic cancer

Lorraine Hansberry, 34, playwright (Raisin in the Sun) lung cancer

Luiz Jose Costa, 36, Brazilian music star * lung cancer

Carrie Hamilton, 38, actress, Carol Burnett's daughter * lung cancer

Wilhelmina Cooper, 40, modeling pioneer * lung cancer

Eric Carr, 41, musician (Kiss drummer) * lung cancer

Carolina Knapp, 42, author (Pack of Two/The Hunger) * lung cancer

Judy Holliday, 43, actress * throat cancer

Chris "Punch" Andrews, 43, popular Toronto radio DJ * lung cancer

Nat "King" Cole, 45, singer * lung cancer

Nancy Gore Hunger, 46, sister of V.P. Al Gore * lung cancer

Lon Chaney, 47, actor/director * lung cancer

Graham Chapman 48 comic ("Monty Python") * throat cancer

Mary Wells, 49, singer ("My Guy") * larynx cancer

Jack Cassidy, 50, actor * died in a fire from smoking in bed

Errol Flynn, 50, actor *heart attack

Jim Varney, 50, comedian (Ernest) * lung cancer

Roger Maris, 51, baseball player (N.Y. Yankees) * lung cancer

Wayne McLaren, 51, "Marlboro Cowboy" * lung cancer

Robert Shaw, 51, actor (Jaws) * heart attack

Rod Serling, 51, director & heavy smoker * heart disease

Carl Wilson, 51, musician (Beach Boys) * lung cancer

Lloyd Haynes, 52, TV actor (General Hospital) * lung cancer

Eddie Kendrick, 52, singer (Temptations) * lung cancer

Roy Orbison, 52, singer ("Pretty Woman") * heart attack

Jimmy Dorsey, 53, musician, band leader * lung cancer

Jerry Garcia, 53, musician (Grateful Dead) * heart attack

Lindley ("Spike") Jones, 53, band leader * emphysema

Babe Ruth, 53, baseball player * oral cancer

William Talman, 53, actor (Perry Mason's adversary) * lung cancer

Jack Wild, 53, actor (Artful Dodger in Oliver) * mouth cancer

Mark Belanger, 54, baseball shortstop Orioles * lung cancer

Michael Landon, 54, actor * pancreas and liver cancer

Larry Gilbert, 55, PGA golfer * lung cancer

Susan Hayward, 55, actress * lung cancer

Lee Remick, 55, actress * lung and liver cancer

Ian Fleming, 56, James Bond creator * heart attack

King George VI, 56, Father of Queen Elizabeth II * lung cancer

Betty Grable, 56, "pin-up" girl, actress * lung cancer

Doug McLure, 56, TV actor (The Virginian) * lung cancer

Roger Miller, 56, singer/songwriter * lung/throat cancer

Eddie Rabbitt, 56, singer/song writer * lung cancer

Humphrey Bogart, 57, actor ("Casablanca") * esophagus cancer

Wolfman Jack, 57, music disk jockey * heart attack

Edward R. Murrow, 57, reporter * lung cancer

Will Thornbury, 57, modeled for Camel TV ads * lung cancer

George Harrison, 58, musician (The Beatles) * lung cancer

R.J. Reynolds, 58, tobacco company founder * emphysema

R.J. Reynolds, III, 59, tobacco company heir * emphysema

Clark Gable, 59, actor ("Gone With The Wind") * heart attack

Anne Ramsey, 59, actress (Goonies - Mama Fratelli) * throat cancer

A 50% chance of exchanging 5,000 sunrises for 1 chemical. Why?

Celebrities About Cancer

2008-10-28T05:27:00.000-07:00

The moment my doctor told me, I went silent. My mum and dad were with me. Then we all fell to pieces.
Kylie Minogue
On being diagnosed with breast cancer

I feel more inspired than ever, and think that I will finally achieve what I have long been wishing for: a balance of work and privacy - a harmony.
Kylie Minogue
On getting through battle against cancer

It has been an extraordinary experience and, in many ways, extremely positive.
Marianne Faithful
On her successful recovery from breast cancer

My mum [who has breast cancer] is a fighter. I've got that from her, I know she's a fighter.
Naomi Campbell

Breast cancer deaths in America have been declining for more than a decade. Much of that success is due to early detection and better treatments for women. I strongly encourage women to get a mammogram.
Larry Craig

My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new, healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritize my life.
Olivia Newton John

If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell.
Lance Armstrong

Time is shortening. But every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me.
Ingrid Bergman

Cancer victims who don't accept their fate, who don't learn to live with it, will only destroy what little time they have left.
Ingrid Bergman

Cancer patients are lied to, not just because the disease is (or is thought to be) a death sentence, but because it is felt to be obscene -- in the original meaning of that word: ill-omened, abominable, repugnant to the senses.
Susan Sontag

Cancer is a word, not a sentence.
John Diamond

During chemo, you're more tired than you've ever been. It's like a cloud passing over the sun, and suddenly you're out. You don't know how you'll answer the door when your groceries are delivered. But you also find that you're stronger than you've ever been. You're clear. Your mortality is at optimal distance, not up so close that it obscures everything else, but close enough to give you depth perception. Previously, it has taken you weeks, months, or years to discover the meaning of an experience. Now it's instantaneous.
Melissa Bank

We "need" cancer because, by the very fact of its incurability, it makes all other diseases, however virulent, not cancer.
Gilbert Adair
"Under the Sign of Cancer," Myths and Memories, 1986

One must not forget that recovery is brought about not by the physician, but by the sick man himself. He heals himself, by his own power, exactly as he walks by means of his own power, or eats, or thinks, breathes or sleeps.
Georg Groddeck
The Book of the It, 1923

Once you choose hope, anything's possible.
Christopher Reeve

My veins are filled, once a week with a Neapolitan carpet cleaner distilled from the Adriatic and I am as bald as an egg. However I still get around and am mean to cats.
John Cheever
In The Letters of John Cheever, 1989, concerning his cancer and its treatment

Via [All Great Quotes]

Famous oral cancer victims

2008-10-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Oral cancer has touched the lives of many people; however some of the better known oral cancer victims may surprise you.

Babe Ruth
Sigmund Freud
Jack Klugman
Aaron Spelling
Alan King
Humphrey Bogart
Lana Turner
Eddie Van Halen
Rod Stewart
Bill Blass
Burl Ives
Sammy Davis, Jr.
John Prine
Jim Thorpe
Mary Wells
George Harrison

Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use And Lung Cancer

2008-10-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

Marijuana smoking also did not appear to increase the risk of head and neck cancers, such as cancer of the tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus, the study found.

The findings were a surprise to the researchers. "We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use--more than 500-1,000 uses--would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana," said the senior researcher, Donald Tashkin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles.

The study looked at 611 people in Los Angeles County who developed lung cancer, 601 who developed cancer of the head or neck regions, and 1,040 people without cancer who were matched on age, gender and neighborhood. The researchers used the University of Southern California Tumor Registry, which is notified as soon as a patient in Los Angeles County receives a diagnosis of cancer.

They limited the study to people under age 60. "If you were born prior to 1940, you were unlikely to be exposed to marijuana use during your teens and 20s--the time of peak marijuana use," Dr. Tashkin said. People who were exposed to marijuana use in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancer typically starts to develop, he added.

Subjects were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diet, occupation, family history of cancer and socioeconomic status. The subjects' reported use of marijuana was similar to that found in other surveys, Dr. Tashkin noted.

The heaviest smokers in the study had smoked more than 22,000 marijuana cigarettes, or joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 to 22,000 joints. Even these smokers did not have an increased risk of developing cancer. People who smoked more marijuana were not at any increased risk compared with those who smoked less marijuana or none at all.

The study found that 80% of lung cancer patients and 70% of patients with head and neck cancer had smoked tobacco, while only about half of patients with both types of cancer smoked marijuana.

There was a clear association between smoking tobacco and cancer. The study found a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day. The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater the risk of developing both lung cancer and head and neck cancers, findings that were consistent with many previous studies.

The new findings are surprising for several reasons, Dr. Tashkin said. Previous studies have shown that marijuana tar contains about 50% higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancer, compared with tobacco tar, he noted. Smoking a marijuana cigarette deposits four times more tar in the lungs than smoking an equivalent amount of tobacco. "Marijuana is packed more loosely than tobacco, so there's less filtration through the rod of the cigarette, so more particles will be inhaled," Dr. Tashkin said. "And marijuana smokers typically smoke differently than tobacco smokers--they hold their breath about four times longer, allowing more time for extra fine particles to deposit in the lung."

One possible explanation for the new findings, he said, is that THC, a chemical in marijuana smoke, may encourage aging cells to die earlier and therefore be less likely to undergo cancerous transformation.

The next step, Dr. Tashkin says, is to study the DNA samples of the subjects, to see whether there are some heavy marijuana users who may be at increased risk of developing cancer if they have a genetic susceptibility for cancer.

via: ScienceDaily 26 May 2006. 28 September 2008

Candida Causes Serious Infections in Cancer Pacients

2008-10-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Science Daily
October 8, 2007

How A Benign Fungus Can Become Life-Threatening

Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute
of Molecular and Cell Biology have discovered new molecular mechanisms that
provide a more detailed understanding of how the normally benign Dr.
Jekyll-like fungus known as Candida albicans transforms into a serious and
often life-threatening Mr. Hyde-like form.

C. albicans can cause serious and potentially life-threatening infections in
the mouth, blood and other tissues of people who are undergoing cancer
chemotherapy or radiation treatments, or who have developed AIDS or other
diseases that damage the immunity of the individual.

In two separate papers recently published in Developmental Cell and the EMBO
journal, the team of scientists led by Wang Yue, principal investigator at
IMCB, have managed to reveal previously unknown mechanisms which are
responsible for causing the infectious phase of C. albicans.

The fungus starts its ‘attack’ on a patient by changing its oval shape into
a filamentous form, which has thin, threadlike appendages emerging from the
cell body. Wang’s team, who has been studying C. albicans for more than
seven years, was responsible for identifying the master “controller” protein
called Hgc1 in 2004.

This “controller” functions like a regulator and tells the fungus when to
start the transformation from the harmless oval shape to the infectious
filamentous form.

“One question remained, however - how does it activate the cellular
machineries that determine the fungal cell shape?” said Wang.

Wang’s team found the answer to this question in two proteins called Rga2
and Cdc11. They discovered that they each function like a switch on two
different cellular machineries that normally determines cell shape. “The
master regulator Hgc1 acts like the ‘finger’ that flips the switches to
start the infection process,” said Wang.

“Our findings have uncovered detailed molecular mechanisms which define how
these two proteins interact with the master ‘controller’ to cause
infections. This has opened new opportunities for us to investigate further
into a new range of therapeutic targets for fungal infections,” explained
Wang.

In the same issue of Developmental Cell, the team’s work was given an expert
mention by a leading C. albicans researcher, Dr. Peter Sudbery, stating its
importance in bringing awareness of the cellular processes that is necessary
for C. albicans to transform to its infectious state.

In addition, the new knowledge of the detailed interaction of these proteins
with other cellular machineries has also revealed critical information on
how cells in general determine their shape, a fundamental question in
biology as Rga2 and Cdc11 are also found in nearly all eukaryotic organisms.

Largely due to the AIDS pandemic in the last 25 years, the once nearly
harmless and commensal fungus Candida albicans has become one of the most
prevalent microbial pathogens in AIDS patients, causing life-threatening
infections with high death rate, especially in infected children.

References: XD Zheng, RTH Lee, YM Wang, QS Lin, and Y Wang. Phosphorylation
of Rga2, a Cdc42 GAP, by CDK/Hgc1 is crucial for Candida albicans hyphal
growth. The EMBO Journal 26, 3760-3769 (2007).

I Sinha, YM Wang, R Philp, CR Li, WH Yap, and Y Wang Cyclin-Dependent
Kinases Control Septin Phosphorylation in Candida albicans Hyphal
Development. Developmental Cell 13: 421-432 (2007).

For more information on Candida infection symptoms visit Candida Symptoms site

Breast Cancer Self Exam

2008-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Breast Cancer Self Exam Wedge Method -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Inflamatory Breast Cancer

2008-10-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Facts on Colon Cancer

2008-10-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Colorectal cancer—cancer of the colon or rectum—is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. In 2004, more than 53,000 people in the United States died of colorectal cancer (26,881 men and 26,699 women).¹*

Colorectal cancer also is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States. In 2004, more than 145,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with colorectal cancer (73,997 men and 71,086 women), making it the third most common cancer in men and in women.¹

Findings from CDC's 2000 National Health Interview Survey indicate that many people who are at risk for colorectal cancer are not being screened.² Although screening rates are beginning to rise, they remain too low to achieve the Healthy People 2010 objective for reducing mortality from colorectal cancer. In 2004, approximately 57% of adults aged 50 years or older reported having received a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or lower endoscopy within 1 year of being surveyed by CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, compared with 54% of adults surveyed in 2002.⁵

A recent CDC study demonstrated that:

Approximately 41.8 million average-risk people aged 50 or older have not been screened for colorectal cancer according to national guidelines.

The U.S. health care system has enough capacity to conduct widespread screening of the unscreened population, using FOBT and diagnostic colonoscopy for those with a positive FOBT.

Widespread screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy may take up to 10 years, depending on the proportion of available capacity used for colorectal cancer screening.³ ⁴

*Incidence counts cover approximately 98% of the U.S. population. Death counts cover 100% of the U.S. population. Use caution in comparing incidence and death counts.

References

¹U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 2004 Incidence and Mortality. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2007.

²Swan J, Breen N, Coates RJ, Rimer BK, Lee NC. Progress in cancer screening practices in the United States: results from the National Health Interview Survey. Cancer 2003;97(6):1528–1540.

³Seeff LC, Manninen DL, Dong FB, Chattopadhyay SK, Nadel MR, Tangka FKL, Molinari N-AM. Is there endoscopic capacity to provide colorectal cancer screening to the unscreened population of the United States? Gastroenterology 2004;127(6):1661–1669.

⁴Seeff LC, Richards TB, Shapiro JA, Nadel MR, Manninen DL, Given LS. How many endoscopies are performed for colorectal cancer screening? Results for the CDC's survey of endoscopic capacity. Gastroenterology 2004(6);127:1670–1677.

⁵Seeff LC, King J, Pollack LA, Williams KN. Increased use of colorectal cancer tests—United States, 2002 and 2004. MMWR 2006;55(11):308–311.

via [CDC]

Lung Cancer Facts

2008-10-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Lung cancer strikes many Americans each year. It is one of the most common forms of cancer, and is often fatal. It causes 3 million deaths each year, making it one of the most deadly cancer types in existence. Only about one in ten patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer survive for the next five years following their original diagnosis. Because of these facts, it is very important that people are aware of both the risks and symptoms that are associated with lung cancer, as well as how to detect it and treatment available. An interesting fact to know is that more women die of lung cancer than from ovarian, uterine, and breast cancer combined every year. Women are much more in danger of getting lung cancer, and scientists think this is due to the uniqueness of women's genetic makeup. As most people know, smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. Heavy smokers are in danger of getting lung cancer, and are encourage to quit smoking as soon as possible. Doctors generally feel that if people can stop smoking by the time they are 30 years old, their risk for lung cancer diminishes significantly. Over 90% of lung cancer cases involved smokers. Second hand or passive smoke also affects people, and on average about 3,000 people per year who have dealt with passive smoke were also diagnosed with the disease. Quitting smoking is perhaps the most important and significant thing one can do to prevent lung cancer.

Many famous people have passed away due to lung cancer. Recently, news anchor Peter Jennings, who was a lifelong smoker, passed away from lung cancer. Also, Dana Reeve, the wife of famous actor Christopher Reeve, also died of the disease. She, however, was not a smoker. It is important to know the various symptoms associated with lung cancer. These include shortness of breath, coughing up blood, constant chest pain, wheezing, coughing up sputum, hoarseness in the voice, and difficulty swallowing, to name a few. Lung cancer can spread rapidly if not treated, and can spread to areas of the body such as the liver, spine, or brain, making it a very dangerous and often fatal form of cancer. Early detection is very important, although often with lung cancer, it goes unnoticed because the symptoms are so closely related with symptoms of heavy smoking. A chest X-ray is the most common way the doctor will test for lung cancer, but CAT Scans and MRI tests, as well as biopsies are also performed to be sure. The severity, size, and how far the cancer has spread all determine what treatments will be needed. Scientists are constantly researching new ways to try to treat lung cancer since it is such a tough cancer to beat. The best advice for all who are concerned about getting lung cancer is to quit smoking as soon as possible, and try to get exercise so that you can live a long and healthy life that is cancer free.

Cancer Risk by State

2008-10-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunatly the chart is avialable for lung cancer and is located Here.

Cancer and Muscle Pain

2008-10-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Muscle pain, also known as myalgia, can be described in two different ways:

* a deep, dull, and steady ache
* a quick, random, and sharp ache

The pain may be focused in a specific area or it may be all over your body. The pain may range from mild and manageable to severe and debilitating. Muscle pain is often accompanied by joint pain. Muscle pain can cause fatigue and can sometimes lead to depression if the pain is constant.

The following breast cancer treatments may cause muscle pain:

* chemotherapy
* radiation therapy
* hormonal therapy:
o Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole)
o Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane)
o Femara (chemical name: letrozole)
o tamoxifen
o Evista (chemical name: raloxifene)
o Fareston (chemical name: toremifene)
o Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant)
* Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab), a targeted therapy

Bisphosphonates, medicines that are used to protect bones during breast cancer treatment, also may cause muscle pain and stiffness.

Muscle Contractions in Cancer Patients

2008-10-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Muscle cramps in cancer patients.
Steiner I, Siegal T.

Department of Neurology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.

We prospectively evaluated 50 cancer patients with new complaints of muscle cramps. Neurologic examination and laboratory evaluation identified disorders related to neural, muscular, or biochemical abnormalities in 41 (82%) patients. Abnormalities were confined mainly to the peripheral nervous system and included peripheral neuropathy in 22 patients, root and plexus pathology in 17 patients (six with leptomeningeal metastases), and polymyositis in two patients. Hypomagnesemia accounted for muscle cramps in only one patient. Identifiable causes of muscle cramps were related mostly either to metastatic or nonmetastatic complications of the underlying malignancy (14 patients) or to complications of its treatment (21 patients). Cramps, or rather complaints of cramps, were the presenting symptom of recognizable and previously unsuspected neurologic dysfunction in 64% (27 of 42) of the identified causes. Therefore, we conclude that muscle cramps in cancer patients may not be a benign complaint and that they usually mark the presence of an identifiable neurologic disorder. The use of simple clinical and laboratory measures is rewarding in the evaluation of these patients and leads to diagnosis in the majority of them.

Cancer. 1989 Feb 1;63(3):574-7.

What is Skin Cancer?

2008-10-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

(From the National Cancer Institute PDQ Statement)

Skin cancer is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the outer layers of your skin. Your skin protects your body against heat, light, infection, and injury. It also stores water, fat, and vitamin D.

The skin has two main layers and several kinds of cells. The top layer of skin is called the epidermis. It contains three kinds of cells: flat, scaly cells on the surface called squamous cells; round cells called basal cells; and cells called melanocytes, which give your skin its color.

BASAL CELL & SQUAMOUS CELL

(From the National Cancer Institute PDQ Statement)

There are several types of cancer that start in the skin. The most common are basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer, which are covered in this PDQ patient information statement.

Skin cancer is more common in people with light colored skin who have spent a lot of time in the sunlight. Skin cancer can occur anywhere on your body, but it is most common in places that have been exposed to more sunlight, such as your face, neck, hands, and arms.

Skin cancer can look many different ways. The most common sign of skin cancer is a change on the skin, such as a growth or a sore that won't heal. Sometime there may be a small lump. This lump can be smooth, shiny and waxy looking, or it can be red or reddish brown. Skin cancer may also appear as a flat red spot that is rough or scaly. Not ail changes in your skin are cancer, but you should see your doctor if you notice changes in your skin.

MELANOMA

(From the National Cancer Institute PDQ Statement)

Melanoma is a disease of the skin in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the cells that color the skin (melanocytes). Melanoma usually occurs in adults, but it may occasionally be found in children and adolescents. Your skin protects your body against heat, light, infection, and injury. It is made up of two main layers: the epidermis (the top layer) and dermis (the inner layer). Melanocytes are found in the epidermis and they contain melanin, which gives the skin its color. Melanoma is sometimes called cutaneous melanoma or malignant melanoma.

Melanoma is a more serious type of cancer than the more common skin cancers, basal cell cancer or squamous cell cancer, which begin in the basal or squamous cells of the epidermis. If you have basal cell or squamous cell cancer of the skin, refer to the patient information statement for skin cancer.

Like most cancers, melanoma is best treated when it is found (diagnosed) early. Melanoma can spread (metastasize) quickly to other parts of the body through the lymph system or through the blood. (Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body; they produce and store infection-fighting cells.) You should see your doctor if you have any of the following warning signs of melanoma: change in the size, shape, or color of a mole; oozing or bleeding from a mole; or a mole that feels itchy, hard, lumpy, swollen, or tender to the touch. Melanoma can also appear on the body as a new mole. Men most often get melanoma on the trunk (the area of the body between the shoulders and hips) or on the head or neck; women most often get melanoma on the arms and legs.

If you have signs of skin cancer, your doctor will examine your skin carefully. If a mole or pigmented area doesn't look normal, your doctor will cut it out (called local excision) and look at it under the microscope to see if it contains cancer. This is usually done in a doctor's office. It is important that this biopsy is done correctly.

Famous People With Colon Cancer

2008-10-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

The list of famous people with colon cancer:

* Eric Davis - Baseball Player
* Mildred "Babe" Didrikson - Olympic Track & Field Athlete
* Ron Fineman - TV Journalist
* John Forsythe - Actor
* Dick Hickox (Esophageal Cancer, Colon Cancer) - Basketball Player
* Chen Jinlang - Singer (Singapore)
* Ernie Ladd (Colon, Stomach, Bones) - Football Player, Wrestler
* Sharon Osbourne - Wife of Ozzie Osbourne
* Walter K. Palmer - Health Insurance Executive
* Ronald Reagan - US President
* Ted Schroeder - Tennis Champion
* Charles Schultz - Peanuts
* Joel Siegel - TV Journalist
* Damu Smith - Peace and Environmental Activist
* Darryl Strawberry - Baseball Player
* Edward Yang - Film maker

Colon Cancer Early Symptoms

2008-10-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Colon Cancer early Symptoms include:

* Change in bowel habits.
* Blood in stools (melena, hematochezia).
* Bowel obstruction (rare) by the tumor

Often, these symptoms (which can be associated with colon cancer) are much less specific:

* Unexplained weight loss.
* Anemia, with symptoms such as tiredness, malaise, pallor
* Hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver) due to speading of the tumor

It is also possible that there will be no symptoms at all. This is one reason why some recommend periodical screening for the disease.

Last Stages of Kidney Cancer

2008-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

The following are simplified definitions of the various stages of kidney cancer:

* Stage I - the primary cancer is 7 centimeters (about 3 inches) or less and is found only in the kidney, with no spread to lymph nodes or distant areas (sites).
* Stage II - the primary cancer is larger than 7 centimeters (about 3 inches) and is found only in the kidney, with no spread to lymph nodes or distant areas.
* Stage III - the primary cancer, regardless of size, has spread beyond the kidney, but is still enclosed in the fat around the kidney; or has spread to blood vessels near the kidney; or has spread to one nearby lymph node.
* Stage IV - the primary cancer has spread to distant areas, has invaded directly beyond the local area, or involves more than one lymph node.
* Recurrent - means that cancer has returned after primary treatment, which is generally surgery.

The last stages are stages III and IV, normally with methastasis. TReatment applied is chemo or radiotherapy, depending on the cell cancer develops.

Symptoms of Kidney Cancer

2008-10-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

These symptoms for kidney cancer may also be caused by other conditions. Consult your doctor if you are experiencing any/all of the following:

* blood in the urine
* low back pain (not caused by an injury)
* unrelieved pain in the side
* mass or lump in the belly
* fatigue, tiredness
* loss of appetite
* rapid, unexplained weight loss
* recurrent fever (not caused by a cold or the flu)
* swelling of ankles and legs
* high blood pressure (less frequently)
* anemia (less frequently)

Additional tests may be ordered by your physician to determine if these symptoms are a result of kidney cancer

Diagnosis

If a patient has symptoms of kidney cancer, a doctor may take the patient's medical history and perform a physical examination, and run routine blood and urine laboratory tests. Additional evaluation procedures may include:

* intravenous pyelogram (IVP) - a series of x-rays of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder with the injection of a dye to show changes in the shape of these organs and nearby lymph nodes.
* arteriography - a series of x-rays of the blood vessels with the injection of a dye to show the dye as it moves through the network of blood vessels in and around the kidney.
* other imaging tests - include computed tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and/or ultrasonography, which can show the difference between diseased and healthy tissues.

Based on results of other tests and procedures, a biopsy may be needed. A biopsy is a procedure in which a sample of the tumor is removed and sent to the laboratory for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. Biopsy is the only sure way to diagnose cancer

The most deathly disease shared among men and women-Colon cancer.

2008-10-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Colon Cancer Stages

2008-10-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

As colon cancer progresses from Stage 0 to Stage IV, the cancer cells grow through the layers of the colon wall and spread to lymph nodes and other organs.

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)

In stage 0, abnormal cells are found in the innermost lining of the colon. These abnormal cells may become cancer and spread into nearby normal tissue. Stage 0 is also called carcinoma in situ.

Stage I

In stage I, cancer has formed and spread beyond the innermost tissue layer of the colon wall to the middle layers. Stage I colon cancer is sometimes called Dukes A colon cancer.

Stage II

Stage II colon cancer is divided into stage IIA and stage IIB.

* Stage IIA: Cancer has spread beyond the middle tissue layers of the colon wall or has spread to nearby tissues around the colon or rectum.
* Stage IIB: Cancer has spread beyond the colon wall into nearby organs and/or through the peritoneum.

Stage II colon cancer is sometimes called Dukes B colon cancer.

Stage III

Stage III colon cancer is divided into stage IIIA, stage IIIB, and stage IIIC.

* Stage IIIA: Cancer has spread from the innermost tissue layer of the colon wall to the middle layers and has spread to as many as 3 lymph nodes.
* Stage IIIB: Cancer has spread to as many as 3 nearby lymph nodes and has spread:
o beyond the middle tissue layers of the colon wall; or
o to nearby tissues around the colon or rectum; or
o beyond the colon wall into nearby organs and/or through the peritoneum.
* Stage IIIC: Cancer has spread to 4 or more nearby lymph nodes and has spread:
o to or beyond the middle tissue layers of the colon wall; or
o to nearby tissues around the colon or rectum; or
o to nearby organs and/or through the peritoneum.

Stage III colon cancer is sometimes called Dukes C colon cancer.

Stage IV

In stage IV, cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes and has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver or lungs. Stage IV colon cancer is sometimes called Dukes D colon cancer.

via [http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/colon/Patient/page2]

Bob Marley Died of Metastatic Melanoma at Age 36

2008-10-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

In 1977 Marley had himself checked by a doctor when a wound in his big toe would not heal completely. The cancer was located on his toe, under his toenail. The only way he found out was when he injured his toe during a soccer game in 1977, and the wound did not fully heal for nearly 3 years! Even his doctors were baffled as to how he could have Melanoma due to his color, but they came to a conclusion since Bob Marley's father was a white Jamaican of English decent, Bob had the gene that made him susceptible to that form of cancer. This can be hereditary. It is widely believed, therefore, that Bob inherited the disease from his father, who also apparently suffered from it. He refused to have his toe amputated as his doctors recommended, claiming it contradicted his Rastafarian beliefs, although some claim that the main reason behind his refusal was the possible negative impact on his dancing skills. The cancer was kept secret from the general public, and Bob continued working. Returning to Jamaica in 1978, he continued work and released "Survival" in 1979, followed by a successful European tour. In 1980 he participated at the independence ceremony of Zimbabwe, being the only foreign artist invited. It was a time for great success for Marley, and he started an American tour to reach blacks in the US. He played two shows at Madison Square Garden, but collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park on September 21, 1980. The cancer he ignored earlier had finally caught up with him, and it had spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital on May 11, 1981. He was only 36 years old.

Famous People With Skin Cancer

2008-10-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

10 famous people with skin cancer:

Bob Marley - He died of melanoma and brain cancer in 1981 at the age of 36, and is still the best-selling reggae artist in the world.

Eva Cassidy - Probably more famous after her death than in life, Eva Cassidy was an extraordinary vocalist, best known for her interpretation of Sting's "Fields of Gold." Sting was quoted as saying that he has rarely heard a "voice of such purity" after hearing her rendition of his classic song.

Burgess Meredith - Famous actor who died from a combination of melanoma and Alzheimer's. Probably best known for his "Mickey" character in the "Rocky" movies. Appeared in more than 120 movies in his long Hollywood career including both "Grumpy Old Men" movies and "Clash of the Titans".

Cody Palance - Son of Oscar-winning actor Jack Palance. An actor in his own right he appeared alongside his father in the film Young Guns. He was 42 when he died from malignant melanoma in 1998. His father hosts the Cody Palance Memorial Golf Classic to raise funds and awareness for the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

John Milford - Appeared in dozens of TV shows including The Rifleman, The X Files, Marcus Welby, MD and Melrose Place in a career spanning three decades. He is credited for helping to create the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bert Kramer - A familiar face on television for decades with appearances on such shows as Mission: Impossible, Mash, Rockford Files and Matlock.

Richard Rogers - Documentary filmmaker. Died from metastasized melanoma. Director of the Film Study Center at Harvard University. He made several films for PBS, including biographical films about poets Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams, and the novelist William Kennedy.

Maureen Reagan - Daughter of former President Ronald Reagan. Worked as political analyst, radio talk show host, commentator and author of "First Father, First Daughter: A memoir." Maureen Reagan had battled skin cancer since 1996. She was hospitalized in early 2001 but released in June when her treatment appeared successful. But she learned shortly after that the tumors had spread to her brain.

Catherine Voorsanger - An associate curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who specialized in 19th- and early 20th-century American art, died of complications of melanoma. She was 51. She helped to organize last year's exhibit ``Art and the Empire City: New York 1825-1861,'' which traced the beginning of New York's ascendancy as a cultural capital.

Howard Squadron - Howard Squadron, a lawyer known for his ties to influential figures from presidents to choreographers, died of melanoma. He was 75. Squadron had high-profile clients such as media magnate Rupert Murdoch and Playboy magazine. He was considered a tough strategist and negotiator. Known for his nearly photographic memory and full Rolodex, Squadron had ties to Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, the owners of the famed Studio 54 nightclub. He also was David Dinkins' lawyer before Dinkins became mayor of New York. A longtime patron of the arts, Squadron led several cultural organizations, and was president of the American Jewish Congress from 1978 to 1984.

Screening for Skin Cancer (Skin Cancer #10)

2008-10-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Tips for Preventing Skin Cancer (Skin Cancer #9)

2008-10-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

Treating Melanoma (Skin Cancer #8)

2008-10-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

Understanding Melanoma (Skin Cancer #7)

2008-10-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

Treating BCC and SCC (Skin Cancer #6)

2008-10-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

Understanding Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Skin Cancer #5)

2008-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Understanding Basal Cell Carcinoma (Skin Cancer #4)

2008-10-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Treating Actinic Keratoses (Skin Cancer #3)

2008-09-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

Stage One of Skin Cancer: Actinic Keratoses (Skin Cancer #2)

2008-09-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Skin Cancer on the Nose - Video

2008-09-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Examining Skin Growths (Skin Cancer #1)

2008-09-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

Celebrities ‘Stand Up to Cancer’

2008-09-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

Cancer is getting a full-frontal assault from many famous faces.
The latest developments in fighting the disease will be showcased by a parade of personalities in “Stand Up to Cancer,” an information and fundraising special ABC, CBS and NBC will air simultaneously at 8 p. m. Friday. The networks’ principal news anchors — respectively, Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams — have been promoting the hourlong program, on which they’ll also appear.
“It is significant,” says Couric, an advocate for cancer detection and prevention in the 10 years since colon cancer claimed her husband, attorney Jay Monahan. (Her sister, Virginia Sen. Emily Couric, died of pancreatic cancer in 2001.) “These are very difficult economic times, and I know people have a lot of strains on them already. We just think that if Americans felt compelled to get involved in this movement, we could conceivably produce some very exciting results with the research dollars that are amassed.
“It means a tremendous amount to me, but I think it also means a tremendous amount to anyone who has lived through a cancer diagnosis and is just desperately waiting for that critical breakthrough that often doesn’t come,” adds Couric of the program initiated by the health-concerned Entertainment Industry Foundation and Noreen Fraser Foundation. She cites the impact “when you think that one person dies every minute in this country from some form of cancer, and that it affects one in every two men and one in every three women.”
Among the many celebrities scheduled to “Stand Up to Cancer” on the program are Jennifer Aniston, Lance Armstrong, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Neil Patrick Harris, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, and the animated Homer and Marge Simpson. Also featured: Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who?”), whose own struggle with breast cancer became known publicly after she had signed up for the special.
“It’s terrible when someone who’s well-known is diagnosed with the disease,” Couric reflects. “On the other hand, it draws attention when someone who is young and vibrant and apparently healthy is diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s a painful reminder that this disease is ubiquitous.”
Also involved in “Stand Up to Cancer” is Denise Richards, whose mother’s recent death from cancer was addressed on “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated,” the actress’s E! Entertainment Television show.
“I’ve gotten so many letters from people who have cancer,” she says, “or have lost a parent or a grandparent to it. Losing my mother has been the worst year of my life, so to be a part of this is helpful to me, even if it’s just to inspire someone to get through this. You just have to keep fighting and have faith.”
“Stand Up to Cancer” — also represented by the Web site standup2cancer.org — is widely relevant since cancer research is funded mainly by private sources, such as philanthropists and other individuals.
“The technology and the novel approaches, such as targeted therapies and the isolation of genes, are there as never before,” Couric concludes. “We have the know-how, but without the funding, science can’t move forward in the immediate way that many people are anxious for. We all collectively need to try, in big ways and small, to pick up the slack at this really important time in medical history.”

Goulet Dreams of Cancer Cure

2008-09-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

by Sharon M. Brown

SOUTH BEND - From "Camelot" to "The Man of La Mancha," Robert Goulet is well known as a singer and actor of the highest caliber. His fight against prostate cancer isn't as famous.

Goulet appeared in South Bend on Thursday to present the 1996 Leighton Lecture to a full house at Century Center. The lecture, an annual event featuring information on health of particular interest to senior citizens, is sponsored by Memorial Hospital's Leighton Center for Senior Health.
Goulet was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1993. Since then, he has spoken to groups across the country about the importance of early detection of prostate cancer. His appearance Thursday marked the kick-off of a campaign on prostate health awareness and screening by Memorial Hospital, the South Bend Medical Foundation and area physicians.
The awareness campaign will provide educational materials, programs and increased access to screening in the community, according to information provided by the Leighton Center. The campaign will help create survivors, which is how Goulet described himself.
"I'm a prostate cancer survivor. When you or the person you love is diagnosed with cancer, the first thought is of the end, and that is our destiny, but I'm here to talk about the value of living with cancer. It's not an easy battle, but we need to believe life goes on even in the face of cancer, and life can become more full because of cancer," Goulet said to the group of about 600.
Goulet was diagnosed by a fluke. He had no symptons, no problems with urination or other signs that anything was wrong. Instead, he was tested for insurance purposes while working on a film, he said. Unlike women, who have forced breast cancer into the open and become vocal supporters of prevention and early treatment, men hide from the notion of cancer. "We men act as if we were bullet-proof. I say now, if you're over 40 and go to the doctor and don't get a rectal exam, you didn't luck out, you were cheated." As a matter of fact, he added, "The vast majority of men do not know a urologist and feel uncomfortable seeing one. The first step for a man with problems urinating is to see a specialist, because it's not going to get better."
Keys to success include proper nutrition, exercise and listening to your body, he said. "If men cared about their bodies the way they care about their cars, they'd be a lot better off."
Goulet had a normal rectal exam, but blood tests were abnormal. After a biopsy and radical prostatectomy, he was back on tour as the king in "Camelot" in three weeks. "My main concern was incontinency," he admitted. "I had to go on stage in three weeks wearing tights." His catheter was removed the night before he went back on stage, and "it was a little scary. They gave me a great big thing called a diaper, but I was never incontinent. Whether it was luck or not, I don't know." On stage, he said, "I looked pretty formidable, I guess in tights with Depends and three pairs of jockey shorts." From the audience's perspective it must have looked quite funny, he added.
But prostate cancer isn't funny, he said: "200,000 men are found with prostate cancer each year, close to 40,000 men die of it each year." "This silent disease claims too many lives. You have to catch the diagnosis early. I did it by accident. I want you to do it on purpose. With early cancer screening there's an 85 percent chance of being caught early with treatment to cure the cancer," he added.

News article from SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE on May 24, 1996

New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre

2008-09-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

As his New York Yankees struggled to hold onto first place in their division during one of the team's worst Septembers in history, Joe Torre took time out from his hectic schedule to call. He didn't want to talk about the Yankee ball team he's been managing for five seasons, but about his prostate cancer, and of the tremendous help he received from his wife, Ali, in dealing with all the complex issues he faced immediately after being diagnosed in early 1999. (For those of you who don't follow baseball, the Yankees eventually came out of their late-summer funk weeks later and went on to win their third consecutive World Series title.)

"Unfortunately, heart disease runs in my family," says the 60-year-old Torre, whose brother Frank received a heart transplant in 1996. "So in February, 1999, just like I do every year, I took my series of medical tests. Only this time, my cardiologist told me that my PSA level appeared to be a bit elevated and I should have it checked out again when I got down to Florida for spring training, which I did. My PSA came back at 4.5 ng/ml and my free PSA was extremely low. A biopsy that was performed shortly after came back positive. I was told that I had an aggressive cancer.

Woman with a mission

"Up until the final biopsy test result came in, Ali was in her own form of denial, in that she hoped that I didn't have cancer. But once she knew for sure, she was on my case. She is the one who did all the researching. She went on the Internet for background medical information. She bought all the books on the subject of prostate cancer and later came up with a written list of questions we needed answered by the doctor to help us in the tough decision-making process. By the time we eventually went to see the urology specialist in St. Louis, we were extremely well prepared for our appointment.
"I was numb when I got the cancer diagnosis and I don't know what I would have done if Ali hadn't been there to get me through it all. It later became very clear to me that you need a spouse or a good friend to be there for you, to keep you on level ground and to give you hope. Otherwise, saddled with the cancer diagnosis, it becomes so easy to think of your cancer as some sort of a dark hole, and that there is no way out for you.
"Ali and I are very lucky to have each other. I don't think I've ever felt closer to her than I did after I was diagnosed. One of the reasons we want to talk about the "couple effect" of prostate cancer is to encourage men not to shut their spouses out after they've been diagnosed but instead to work with them in fighting this disease. Your wife is your partner in the truest sense of the word. After my own diagnosis, I found that I began thinking a lot of negative things. Talking about it with Ali, however, made it less morbid. And then there was a tremendous amount of medical information to absorb. A lot of it was conflicting and confusing. But I knew if I missed something or didn't really understand it, Ali would be there to talk it over with me.

A winning strategy

"So many people have asked me how I dealt with my prostate cancer. Well, I knew for sure as a baseball player for 17 years and then as a manager of pro teams that I had to start practicing what I preached. This basically boiled down to the fact that if you have a bad day or week, and if you or your team are not doing particularly well, you need to find effective ways to deal with it. You must become proactive and get into the attack mode, doing everything you can to get answers.
"This approach is what I had to bring to my own cancer treatment. What scared me initially, in addition to my cancer, was that I didn't have the answers I needed. It certainly was a very difficult time emotionally. I was a mess, my blood pressure had skyrocketed—all from being scared about the cancer and what I had to do about it.
"When we finally got to St. Louis, the specialist went over all my test results in detail and eventually said that, based on the aggressiveness of the cancer and my age, he'd recommend that I have a radical prostatectomy. Ali and I listened as he described the intricacies of the surgery and what my post-operative experience would be like. Hearing his description helped to calm me down enormously.
"The ultimate decision about what to do, the doctor said, was mine to make. He got up and headed for the door, saying he would leave us alone for a while to make that decision. Ali and I sat together and discussed the pros and cons of the various treatment options. We finally decided that surgery, with its strong chance for cure and limited side effects, was what we wanted to do.
"My surgery proceeded without any complications and the specialist said it had been successful. In addition to getting all the cancer out, he was also able to save both nerves on the prostate that control sexual function. Back home from the hospital, I had some post-operative problems with incontinence but they cleared up very quickly. One thing I really noticed after the surgery, however, was a distinct energy loss. I felt that the fatigue came from a combination of factors, which included the physical trauma of the surgery, having the urinary catheter in for three weeks, and finally just the psychological fatigue that came from knowing that I had cancer. Put them all together and you get pretty tired.
"People often ask me if I made any changes in my diet after my cancer diagnosis. Since heart disease runs in my family, I have always been conscious about eating healthful, lowfat meals. But since Ali and I had read about the possible effects of nutrition on prostate cancer, we consulted nutritionists after my surgery to find ways of replacing all the cholesterol-laden foods still in our diet. We were given tasty recipes that were low in fat, high in fiber, and rich in phytochemicals. I also decided to extend my nutritional changes to the snacks I eat in the dugout. During the sixth inning of every game I have a soy shake and throughout the game I will drink anywhere from six to eight cups of iced green tea. Both are supposed to play a preventive role against prostate cancer and since I like the taste, it's not a problem.
"Regular exercise was part of my recovery program. I'm a believer in the power of exercise so I was religious about the walking routine I followed daily. I have to admit, though, sometimes I worked out too rigorously in the early days and had to back off in order to recover.
"With the 1999 major league baseball season in full swing during my recovery period, I was anxious about getting back to the team as soon as I was able. When to do this was left completely up to me by our team owner. Managing the team is a 7-day-a-week job with many late nights, and it takes a certain level of stamina to keep up the demanding pace. If I worked a 9-to-5, 5-day-a-week job, I think I could have gone back to work much earlier than I did because I could have rested up on the weekends and recovered in time for work the following Monday. Baseball doesn't offer that luxury.
"The most difficult time came near the end of my recovery, when I was feeling pretty good during the day. But then I routinely found myself nodding off at about 10 pm. I had to be realistic. If I had been back managing the team, I would have been nodding off like that in the dugout in the sixth inning of a game. To do the job right, I needed to be able to stay awake until at least one or two o'clock in the morning, so I decided to hold off my return to the Yankees until I could do that. Finally, two months after my surgery, I was back in the Yankee dugout. Energy-wise, I was fine and could do my work without a problem."

A spouse's perspective

Joe passed the phone to Ali, who told about her father's successful prostate cancer surgery 12 years earlier and how it had helped to prepare her for her husband's upcoming ordeal. "When Joe told me he had cancer, I was sad because of all the mental and physical anguish I knew that he would have to go through. There were many dark moments for Joe after his diagnosis and in the time prior to his decision to have the surgery. I could see the anxiety and stress he was under. However, once he made the decision to go forward with the surgery, he felt much better. His surgeon and the hospital staff made the procedure such a positive experience for him that it relieved a great deal of his stress.
"Prostate cancer is a difficult experience to go through. Although the prostate cancer was first and foremost about my husband's life, it would be the two of us who would have to fight this disease, both on our own and as a couple. One thing every spouse needs to do is to educate herself about prostate cancer. Get all the information you can so you are on the same page as your doctor and can ask intelligent questions.
"Communication is critically important, also. Even though he may never verbalize it to you, understand that your man is going through an extremely emotional time, with so many conflicting and oftentimes dark thoughts racing through his mind throughout the waking hours. Of course, you will console him as best you can. But perhaps just as important, you need to communicate and tell him exactly how you feel emotionally because of his diagnosis. Tell him of your own fears and your hopes for the future.
"Since the day that I finally sat down with Joe and opened up to him, telling him how lousy I felt because of his cancer diagnosis, I felt that we made great strides. This was the ice-breaker that let us talk freely about what he and I were going through and it allowed us to make plans for handling our problems. Prostate cancer is a long journey and we knew we were going to have to confront some intimate issues, including possible erectile dysfunction and incontinence.
"What also proved to be very important for us was an effective and extensive support system. I was lucky enough to have my sisters, parents, and a wonderful group of friends who were there for me when I needed to cry on someone's shoulder. Having support, whether from your loved ones, or from a prostate cancer support group such as US TOO! or Man To Man, allows you to feel less alone in this truly dark time. Outside support allows you to vent your feelings, to zero in on what's really important, and offers you the necessary arena for solving problems."

From the Johns Hopkins Prostate Bulletin

THE LEGEND CONTINUES... After Prostate Cancer

2008-09-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

by Barbara Payne

For almost fifty years, the name Arnold Palmer has been synonymous with golf. Since he first began competing on the links as a teenager in Pennsylvania, people have loved to watch him work his magic with the clubs, and his popularity has grown right along with his success.
Today, there are many words that can be used to describe Arnold Palmer — golf legend, business executive, devoted husband, father and grandfather — and prostate cancer survivor. Not too long ago, the athlete was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, as he has done with everything else in his life, Arnie tackled this challenge with concentration and perseverance. He now stands as a positive role model for men across the country who are battling this disease.

The Birth of a Legend

Arnie may not have been born with a golf club in his hand when he entered the world on September 10, 1929 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, but he was swinging his first clubs by age four. His father, Milfred “Deacon” Palmer, who worked at Latrobe Country Club as both golf professional and course superintendent, gave his young son lots of encouragement and pointers so it came as no surprise that young Arnie was beating some of the older caddies by the time he reached his teen years.
In high school, Arnie really began to concentrate on his game and his hard work paid off when he won his first of five West Penn Amateur Championships at age 17. He went on to win national junior events and, as a student at Wake Forest University (then College), Arnie became the top man on the golf course and one of the leading collegiate players of that time. With graduation in sight, however, an auto accident claimed the life of his close friend, Bud Worsham, the younger brother of 1947 U.S. Open Champion Lew Worsham. Deeply affected by the loss of his friend, Arnie left college and signed up for a three-year hitch with the Coast Guard.
After discharge from the service, Arnie ended up in Cleveland where he worked as a salesman and played amateur golf. He won the U.S. Amateur Tournament in 1954, followed by a second victory in the Ohio Amateur competition. Later that year, he met Winifred Walzer, who caught his eye at a tournament in Eastern Pennsylvania. After a whirlwind courtship, they were married in the fall of 1954 and she traveled with him as he turned professional early the following year.
Arnie kicked off his professional career by winning the 1955 Canadian Open. Seven of his victories came in what the golfing world considers the four major professional championships. He won the Masters Tournament four times, (1958, 60, 62 and 64); the U.S. Open in 1960; and the British Open in 1961 and 62. Among these major tournaments, only the PGA Championship has eluded him; but he has finished second three times.
In addition to his remarkable performance on the country’s premier golf courses, Arnie’s charisma and magnetic personality drew fans like bees to honey. Television sports commentators dubbed his growing flock of fans “Arnie’s Army;” a band of spectators made up of loyal proponents of the sport and the man.
He entered the hottest stretch of his career in 1960, when — before the end of 1963 — he landed 19 titles and accumulated almost $400,000 when the tournament purses were small compared to today’s significant prizes. In three of those years, Arnie was the leading money winner and twice he represented the U.S. in the prestigious Ryder Cup Match, serving as the victorious captain in 1963.
He was named “Athlete of the Decade” (1960s) by the Associated Press in recognition of his enormous impact on the game of golf, due in no small part to his popularity and appeal. Since then, he has received virtually every national award in golf, including both the Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year” and Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” trophies. Arnie has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a Charter Member; the American Golf Hall of Fame; and the PGA Hall of Fame. Since his first pro victory in 1954 to the end of 1997, Arnold Palmer amassed 92 championships in national or international tourneys.
The name Arnold Palmer would be one of the most recognizable in the world even if he had done nothing more than play golf. But he has also earned well deserved recognition as a successful entrepreneur. Not surprisingly — under the umbrella of Arnold Palmer Enterprises — many of his commercial ventures have to do with golf: design and management of golf courses; manufacturing sporting goods and golf equipment; cable TV’s “The Golf Channel” based in Orlando; and the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy.

Palmer As Spokesman

Over the past decade or so — off the course — the gentle, friendly face of Arnold Palmer has appeared in both print and electronic media for such diverse causes as spokesperson for a premium motor oil, and as the national honorary chairman of the March of Dimes Foundation. This is a man for whom integrity is one of life’s cornerstones, and who pleads convincingly for support in his fund-raising roles. He recognizes that people do listen to what he has to say and he takes this fact very seriously, especially when sharing information about his experience with prostate cancer.
In this exclusive interview with PROACT, Arnie shares some of his personal thoughts on the subject.
“Enjoying good health is especially important on the golf course, so I have been in constant touch with my doctors over the years,” Palmer explained. “They had given me the results of my annual PSA tests so I was aware that my prostate was acting up a little bit. I guess I was aware of what might happen, but I had no idea that anything was wrong. I didn’t have any feelings and, as far as my personal health habits were concerned, nothing had really changed.”
“I guess most of us would rather not discuss cancer because we are all afraid we might be told we have it,” Palmer continued. “It’s hard for people to even say the word, and that’s the first obstacle you have to overcome when you are diagnosed with the disease. I think once you understand a little more about it... I don’t mean it gets any easier...but I think you give it more in-depth thought about how you’re going to deal with it.”
Palmer says he has a lot of confidence in his doctors, at the time of his diagnosis and now
“I believed strongly in what they were telling me. I decided I was going to the Mayo Clinic — where the diagnosis was confirmed — and then I proceeded to get on with what was necessary. They told me the bottom line on what I had, where it was, and how to treat it...and I accepted that. While I certainly had all the options to do whatever I wished, as far as the treatment was concerned, I chose the aggressive option. I chose surgery,” Palmer said, “and I’m happy with that decision. I was fortunate to experience no side effects, other than the recovery period which was, to me, rather lengthy. I looked at it like this: if you’re recovering from cancer then you’re in a pretty good mode, and should accept it. Yes, indeed,” he said emphatically, “I’d make the same decision again.”
About eight weeks after surgery, Arnie was back on the golf course. “I discovered that I was somewhat weak,” Arnie remembered, “I didn’t have the strength that I felt I used to have. This is certainly a consequence of surgery and you have to be ready for that. I’m still not totally at full strength, but I’m also getting older, so that may have something to do with it,” he chuckled.
Arnie is concerned that men need to make the commitment to maintaining good prostate health, and he offers some sound advice on the subject:
“Just get your regular check-ups and PSAs and, if you’re diagnosed, do everything you can to eradicate the disease. I think we are fortunate to have the best doctors in the world in this country. If you’re not satisfied with the diagnosis and prognosis, then get another couple of opinions. But, in the final analysis, you need to do what it takes to get rid of the cancer and get on with your life.”
Palmer says that a lot of men have come to him and said that they are getting their PSAs because they have heard him recommend it.
“I know that there are also a lot of men who are NOT getting a regular PSA. I don’t know how you can convince them that this simple test might just save their life. I guess we just have to keep saying it over and over, stressing that this is something that is really very necessary. This is also an area where I think it the federal government has a major role to play. The government is, after all, the people. They have a responsibility — in addition to funding research — to help translate this message to the general public.”
Palmer is very stoic about being a cancer survivor. “I think there is always the potential that, once you have been diagnosed with cancer — depending on your age and attitude on life — that this can affect your personality. I would hope,” he said firmly, “that we can overcome whatever ill effects that might have on us, and get on with enjoying life.”

via [PROACT]

3 Day Breast Cancer Walk

2008-09-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

What is the Breast Cancer 3-Day? :
It is a 60 mile walk fundraiser sponsored by The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The event lasts all weekend in select cities across the United States. The 3-Day begins in August of 2006 this year.
What Cities are Participating?:
Boston, Michigan, Seattle, Twin Cities, Chicago, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Arizona and San Diego are all participating cities of the Breast Cancer 3-Day.
Registration Information: Registration is open now, and the fee is $90.00. You can register online at www.the3day.org, or by calling (800) 996-3DAY.
How Much Money Do I Have to Raise?:
In order to participate in the walk, you must raise at least $2200. It's easier than you think! The Foundation provides coaches that will help you raise the money.
Age Minimum to Particpate:
You must be at least 16 to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day.
How is the Money that is Raised Used?:
85% of net proceeds go to cancer research, education, and screening programs through The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Do They Help You Train for the Walk?:
Yes! Each city has organized volunteer walk groups that help you get ready for the big day. It takes months to train up; walkers need to start now.
visit the Breast Cancer 3-Day site, or call (800) 996-3DAY .

Why Harry Belafonte Talks About Prostate Cancer

2008-09-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

Singer Harry Belafonte proved it: Real men talk about prostate cancer.Yes, he had prostate cancer, Belafonte told 500 guests at a benefit for the Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach.Yes, he had surgery to remove it. Yes, he had problems with incontinence "but, because I was tenacious about doing the {curative} exercises, after one year it no longer existed," he said. And yes, he and his wife still enjoy a level of physical affection that "unifies our lives."That said, Belafonte, 70, had gotten the topics of prostate cancer and its conversational taboos--incontinence and impotence--out in the open.Used to be, men didn't want to talk about cancer of the prostate, Belafonte told his mostly female audience at the recent event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach.Men were just too "macho," he said. "The prostate is something that attacks that central part of the male body that men are very preoccupied with. Somehow, any disorder there means your life is over, you can't be a man anymore, you are now something less."And, because the magic of Hollywood can turn the public perception of a man into that of "a good-looking tall thing that walks about" it can be even more difficult to discuss it, he said. "The perception of you being somehow omnipotent is tarnished; the insurance companies don't want to insure you--you're not bankable for a play or film."Belafonte decided to conduct lectures about his bout with prostate cancer so others may "improve their cancer experience and help themselves," he said."For a long time, I had watched people speak about cancer in varying degrees of misinformation."When he learned that he had the disease--he was "quite startled.""Not that I thought myself untouchable, I just thought myself untouchable. God would not smite me. After all, I was doing good work, I was kind to my neighbors, I raised my children best I could."Besides, cancer was a woman's disease, he had thought."I remember very early on understanding that cancer was something that was more about women--breast cancer, ovarian cancer. I had a social attitude: Cancer is something they have, we don't get that. I thought that somehow women who had cancer visited upon them were somehow socially responsible for their condition; it must have been something they did or something they did not do."When he learned of his own cancer, he began to understand the frustration women have felt over the ignorance of others about their disease. He also understood he would be faced with the same ignorance from friends and colleagues."I began to see what women have been through--the terror," he said.Fortunately, his cancer was caught early. But there were questions: "What to do about the options? How to treat this {disease} if it turned out to be other than the doctor suspected?"His doctors at Johns Hopkins University unanimously decided that Belafonte should have surgery. And that prompted another question: "What if they opened me up and found that it wasn't contained?"When a cancer patient's medical procedures are over, there are still questions: "What is it that I have not done that I would like to do? What is it that I have done that I would like to undo?"He discovered that he had not done anything he didn't want to do, he said; and he wanted the "wonderful opportunity to do more of the same."Besides his career as a concert singer, Belafonte has worked for the Peace Corps and UNICEF and in the fight against famine in Africa and the immunization of African children against disease.Belafonte will continue to sing, work for UNICEF and speak publicly about prostate cancer--the most common cancer and the No. 2 killer behind heart disease among American men, reports say."I'm very fatalistic," he said. "If you're going to have it, you're going to have it. It's what you do about it that makes the difference--how you conduct your life." After you have endured the required medical procedures, it's time to "get on with your life," he advised. "Make it work. Live life as fully as possible."The event at which Belafonte spoke celebrated the 10th anniversary of Circle 1000, a support group of the Hoag Cancer Center. Since it was founded, the group has given the center more than $2 million.Among guests at the brunch was Dr. Robert O. Dillman, the center's medical director."Cancer and men have been kind of ignored for years because heart disease has so much been the major killer," he said. "Most men, once they are diagnosed with prostate cancer, live with it for a long time. It's like breast cancer in that way--something they are dealing with for a long time."The No. 1 cancer deterrent? "By far and away it is not to smoke," Dillman said. "The association of cancer with smoking is very strong. And it's not just cancer of the lung; it's cancer of the head, neck, esophagus and bladder."Also among guests: Sandy Sewell, Circle 1000 founding chairwoman; Judy Steele, Circle 1000 chairwoman; and the event's major underwriters, including Ginny Ueberroth, Judie Argyros, Patricia Cox, Donna Crean, Arden Flamson and Nora Hester.

from the Los Angeles Times, April 21, 1997

Details of John Kerry's Victory Over Prostate Cancer

2008-09-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

Senator John Kerry could become the first "cancer survivor" to be elected president, but he rejected the term as creating an unfair stigma. He is free of any vestiges of the cancer and characterized it as a nonissue in an interview in Las Vegas on Sept. 16. "I am cured, " he said. "I am cancer-free, and the percentages of me being cancerfree 10 years from now are about as good as they get."
Mr. Kerry's doctors said they had told him that he was cured. They based their optimism on an array of tests and concluded that he had a less than 3 percent chance of a recurrence in the next nine years. Even if the cancer came back, it could be treated without seriously interfering with presidential duties, Mr. Kerry's doctors and experts said.
The likelihood that he is going to have a significant problem with this cancer is infinitesimally small," said Dr. Patrick C. Walsh, the Johns Hopkins University urologist who performed the operation. The five-year death rate for the kind of prostate cancer that Mr. Kerry developed is virtually zero.
Mr. Kerry, in expressing confidence that he was cured of prostate cancer, pointed to former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, 81, who underwent the same operation in 1991, five years before he lost the presidential election to Bill Clinton.
Mr. Dole "is doing great today," Mr. Kerry said. "There's your answer."
Since his surgery, blood tests performed every six months to check Mr. Kerry's prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., a marker for cancer, have indicated no recurrence. The latest test was performed Sept. 18 in a house call by Dr. Doyle.
Reasons for Concern
Mr. Kerry's P.S.A. was in the normal range when his cancer was detected during an annual checkup in December 2002. But because the figure had risen by 70 percent over two years, both Teresa Heinz Kerry, the senator's wife, and Dr. Doyle independently felt the need to check further.
The P.S.A. test was a normal 3.24 nanograms per milliliter. But Mrs. Heinz Kerry said she told her husband, "it's low, but high for you" and urged him to see Dr. Doyle in Boston and repeat the tests.
When the doctor examined Mr. Kerry on Dec. 17, 2002, it was his patient's first checkup in nearly two years. A standard digital examination and an ultrasound test found no nodules or other prostate abnormality that might signal cancer. His new P.S.A. level was a normal 3.4 nanograms per milliliter. Nevertheless, Dr. Doyle said he was concerned because the figure had crept up from 2.7 in Feb. 2001 and 2.0 in Dec. 1999 and Nov. 2000.
So Dr. Doyle consulted Dr. Alex F. Althausen, a urologist, who recommended a biopsy. "The rate of increase was what alarmed us both," Dr. Doyle said.
After learning that an ultrasound "isn't a fail-safe" test, Mr. Kerry decided he wanted a biopsy.
After fitting Mr. Kerry into his schedule between surgeries on Dec. 20, Dr. Althausen told Dr. Doyle that the biopsy specimens did not look suspicious to his naked eye, Dr. Doyle said.
But the real test was viewing the biopsied tissue under a microscope, and the pathology report showed cancer in five of the pieces that were removed.
Mr. Kerry was one of more than 200,000 men in the United States in whom prostate cancer is diagnosed each year. About 1 in 6 American men will develop the disease at some point, but only 1 in 33 will die of it, the American Cancer Society says. The reason is that prostate cancers often do not develop until men are in their 70's or older and often grow slowly; men who develop prostate cancer often die of other causes.
Dr. Doyle wanted to inform Mr. Kerry about the finding in person, as he usually does. "Most patients are overwhelmed when they first learn they have cancer, and many lose their focus," he said.
But for four days over the long holiday weekend, (Christmas was midweek) Dr. Doyle's attempts to leave messages for Mr. Kerry at his Senate and local offices failed because the voice mailbox was full. He finally reached Mr. Kerry on Christmas Eve at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
"To have to tell someone over the phone is difficult," Dr. Doyle said. "But I had to because we wanted to get things squared away as soon as possible."
When he delivered the news to his patient, Dr. Doyle said, "He didn't miss a beat and just asked all these appropriate questions right away as though it were someone other than himself."
"What does this mean?" Dr. Doyle said Mr. Kerry asked him. "What are my options? What is the time frame we are talking about here? How soon can we get moving on it?"
Mr. Kerry recalled, "A lot of things went through my mind," including memories of his father, who died of prostate cancer at age 85 in 2000. (Studies show that a family history of prostate cancer increases the risk of developing the disease but not the rate of its progression.)
"My dad had radiation, and I saw just how he lived at the end, and I didn't want to go through that," Mr. Kerry said.
After consulting with people who had different treatments for prostate cancer, Mr. Kerry said, "I knew what I wanted and needed to do."
"I made the decision, boom, and we booked the surgery, and 30 days later I did it," he said.
Mrs. Heinz Kerry said she had read about Dr. Walsh, who had developed a nerve-sparing prostate operation that preserves continence and potency for many patients, and suggested the couple call him.
The decision to have the surgery in Baltimore irked many doctors in his home, Boston. Mr. Kerry said he regretted that attitude, and that he preferred to recuperate near his office in Washington. The operation, removing the entire prostate gland, was performed on Feb. 12, 2003 and "went by the book," Dr. Walsh said. His patient, though, did not allow himself much time to recover.
"He needed to be at a major event out in California two weeks later," Dr. Walsh said. "So he shortened his recovery schedule by a little bit just to make it fit."
Mr. Kerry said, "It takes you a little longer to get back up to speed than you think because they put a bunch of stitches in you, and I was surprised at how many."
"The prostate slowed me down a little bit at a critical time," Mr. Kerry said. "It was an annoyance; it was aggravating."
The pathology report was the best that Mr. Kerry could receive: the cancer was confined to the left side of the prostate gland. And on the Gleason scale, a standard measure of the severity of prostate cancer, Mr. Kerry's score was 6 out of 10, considered a very favorable finding.
If Mr. Kerry had a recurrence, Dr. Walsh said, "he would be astonished, and so would I, and I am telling you this with the very conscious understanding of what happened to Senator Tsongas."
Dr. Peter T. Scardino, the chief urologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in Manhattan, who is not connected with Mr. Kerry's case, said that while "there are no guarantees," he agreed with the prognosis given Mr. Kerry. "Something bizarre could happen as an exception to the rule, but it would be extremely surprising," Dr. Scardino said.
If Mr. Kerry's cancer did return, it could be controlled by radiation therapy over six weeks, Dr. Scardino said. "That would almost certainly not interfere with his functioning as president except" to limit travel during that period and for the fatigue that often follows radiation therapy, he said.

Abstracted from New York Times.

Testimony on Prostate Cancer, by Bob Dole

2008-09-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

Bob Dole testified on June 16, 1999 before the Senator Arlen Spector's Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services on the need to ensure that Medicare patients have access to the best and newest treatments for the disease.

Mr. Chairman, Senator Harkin:
Thank you for inviting me here this morning to discuss prostate cancer. It seems that just about every family in America has been touched in some way by cancer. My family has. And, I have.
Over eight years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was lucky to have had the disease diagnosed early and treated promptly through surgery.
Eight years later, I am happy to say I am cancer free. Since the time of my diagnosis, I have tried to speak out as much as possible about the value and importance of early detection. I truly believed then, and continue to believe today, that early detection saved my life. The cancer was found when it was still contained within the prostate gland and when I had a variety of treatment options from which to choose.
I will use this opportunity today to say it again: if you're a male over age 40, particularly if you have a family history, ask your doctor about getting a prostate check up. People ask me how I can be so open about my own experience with prostate cancer. I must admit, when I first started speaking out about this disease there were plenty awkward moments. But, then I decided that the alternative -- silence -- can be deadly. So, when I am fortunate enough to be asked to testify before Congress on this issue, I do it.
While my message of the importance of early detection is one that I will continue to deliver, I would like to take a moment to talk about treatment options.
When I was diagnosed, I was basically given two options: surgery or radiation. That was it. I was told of the side effects of both, the risks of the procedures, and the probability for cure. I have to admit, it was almost a toss up. Both had side effects that sounded unpleasant, to say the least, but both also had high rates of success. I chose surgery. And, since I am cancer free today, I of course believe I made the right decision.
But, every day there is a scientist looking for the cure for cancer, or looking for a new treatment option. And, one of these days -- I think in the not so distant future -- there will be a cure. But, the question is will we recognize it when we see it? And, I think that is an important question for members of Congress and the administration to think about. Is our government prepared to take the steps that are necessary so that when a new technology for treatment becomes available, patients with the disease can access it?
One example is a proposed change in the reimbursement rate for an innovative prostate treatment known as brachytherapy. This therapy involves the implantation of radioactive seeds into the prostate directly. The seeds emit radiation that destroys cancer cells while minimizing exposure to surrounding tissues. For some patients, this minimally invasive procedure, done on an outpatient basis, has been shown to treat some forms of prostate cancer.
Currently, Medicare reimburses for this procedure. But, if the reimbursement is reduced, as is currently proposed, this type of technology will become less available to patients.
I am on the advisory board of a company that makes a cryosurgical device that freezes the prostate so that the cancer can no longer grow. When I had my surgery, I was in the hospital for a week and recovering for months. With cryosurgery, a patient can leave the hospital the same day and return to work the next.
It's not for every patient, of course, but neither is surgery. Yet, despite it's success, Medicare took three years to cover this procedure, and it actually will not begin coverage until next month. I wonder how many patients could have benefited from cryosurgery, but couldn't because of the government's reimbursement policies.
Please do not misunderstand me. I have been and will continue to be an advocate for Medicare's solvency. But, as our health care system continues to evolve and change, policy makers must encourage the adoption of innovative therapies. What's the point of science making advances everyday if there is no way to deliver the technologies to patients who need them?
The private sector readily accepts new therapies partly because they are often cost effective, but mostly because the consumers in the market demand them. As the baby boomers age, I believe Medicare will feel the same pressure from its consumers.
When the country's 77 million baby boomers start becoming Medicare eligible in 2011, the government is going to have to deliver -- the demand will be so high. In order to satisfy that demand, the Medicare program will have to be modernized. That means looking at new therapies and keeping pace with scientific advances.
Of course, in 2011, Michael Milken and CaPCURE will have found a cure for prostate cancer, Joe Torre will own the Yankees, and I will be writing my memoirs on being the country's "first gentleman".
Thank you very much.

Most Men Will Get Prostate Cancer In Their Lifetime

2008-09-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer found in American men, behind skin cancer. This year, some 232,000 men will be told that they have prostate cancer. This means1 in 6 men (about 16 percent) will be diagnosed with prostate cancer sometime in their lives. Three percent will die of the disease. But many more men will actually have prostate cancer, but not know it. Autopsy studies of men who died of other causes have found that about one-third of all men in their 50s have some traces of prostate cancer in their prostates. By age 75, half to three-quarters of men will have some cancerous changes in their prostates. Most men will never know this. And it will not matter, as most of these cancers remain latent, causing no symptoms, or are so slow to grow that they won’t ever become a serious threat to health. But as diagnostic and screening tests improve, more and more men are finding out what men from previous eras never knew -- that they have cancer. And now these men are facing the decision about what to do about it.

If treatment were simple, this would not be a major issue. But it is not. All treatments come with risks of serious side effects, including impotence and incontinence. This site is dedicated to helping men understand that not all prostate cancers need treatment. Such decisions must be made by men in conjunction with their doctors, of course. This site seeks to assist in that decision-making process by offering information that might not otherwise be easily obtainable.

Leukemia or Blood Cancer facts

2008-09-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). It is part of the broad group of diseases called hematological neoplasms.
Symptoms
Damage to the bone marrow, by way of displacing the normal bone marrow cells with higher numbers of immature white blood cells, results in a lack of blood platelets, which are important in the blood clotting process. This means people with leukemia may become bruised, bleed excessively, or develop pinprick bleeds (petechiae).
White blood cells, which are involved in fighting pathogens, may be suppressed or dysfunctional. This could cause the patient’s immune system (white blood cells etc.) to start attacking other body cells.
Finally, the red blood cell deficiency leads to anemia, which may cause dyspnea. All symptoms can be attributed to other diseases; for diagnosis, blood tests and a bone marrow examination are required.
Some other related symptoms
* Fever, chills, night sweats and other flu-like symptoms* Weakness and fatigue* Loss of appetite and/or weight* Swollen or bleeding gums* Excess bleeding (from minor cut)* Neurological symptoms (headache)* Enlarged liver and spleen* Easy Bruising* Frequent Infection* Bone Pain* Joint Pain* Swollen Tonsils
The word leukemia, which means ‘white blood,’ is derived from the disease’s namesake high white blood cell counts that most leukemia patients have before treatment. The high number of white blood cells are apparent when a blood sample is viewed under a microscope. Frequently, these extra white blood cells are immature or dysfunctional. The excessive number of cells can also interfere with the normal function of other cells.
Some leukemia patients do not have high white blood cell counts visible during a regular blood count. This less-common condition is called aleukemia. The bone marrow still contains cancerous white blood cells, and they are disrupting the normal production of blood cells. However, they are staying in the marrow instead of entering the bloodstream, where they would be visible in a blood test. For an aleukemic patient, the white blood cell counts in the bloodstream can be normal or low. Aleukemia can occur in any of the four major types of leukemia, and is particularly common in hairy cell leukemia.
Four major types
Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases.
Leukemia is clinically and pathologically split into its acute and chronic forms.
* Acute leukemia is characterized by the rapid proliferation of immature blood cells. This crowding makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells. Acute forms of leukemia can occur in children and young adults. (In fact, it is a more common cause of death for children in the US than any other type of malignant disease). Immediate treatment is required in acute leukemias due to the rapid progression and accumulation of the malignant cells, which then spill over into the bloodstream and spread to other organs of the body. However, CNS involvement is uncommon, though the disease occasionally causes cranial nerve palsies.
* Chronic leukemia is distinguished by the excessive build up of relatively mature, but still abnormal, blood cells. Typically taking months to years to progress, the cells are produced at a much higher rate than normal cells, resulting in many abnormal white blood cells in the blood. Chronic leukemia mostly occurs in older people, but can theoretically occur in any age group. Whereas acute leukemia must be treated immediately, chronic forms are sometimes monitored for some time before treatment to ensure maximum effectiveness of therapy.
Furthermore, the diseases are classified according to the type of abnormal cell found most in the blood (lymphoid cells vs. myeloid cells).
Causes and risk factors
There is no single known cause for all of the different types of leukemia. The different leukemias likely have different causes, and very little is certain about what causes them. Researchers have strong suspicions about four possible causes:
* natural or artificial ionizing radiation* certain kinds of chemicals* some viruses* genetic predispositions
Leukemia, like other cancers, result from somatic mutations in the DNA which activate oncogenes or deactivate tumor suppressor genes, and disrupt the regulation of cell death, differentiation or division. These mutations may occur spontaneously or as a result of exposure to radiation or carcinogenic substances and are likely to be influenced by genetic factors. Cohort and case-control studies have linked exposure to petrochemicals, such as benzene, and hair dyes to the development of some forms of leukemia.
Viruses have also been linked to some forms of leukemia. For example, certain cases of ALL are associated with viral infections by either the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, responsible for AIDS) or human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1 and -2, causing adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma).
Fanconi anemia is also a risk factor for developing acute myelogenous leukemia.
Until the cause or causes of leukemia are found, there is no way to prevent the disease. Even when the causes become known, they may prove to be things which are not readily controllable, such as naturally occurring background radiation, and therefore not especially helpful for prevention purposes.
Treatment options for leukemia by type
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
It is most common for adults; more men than women are affected. Many different chemotherapeutic plans are available for the treatment of AML. Overall, the strategy is to control bone marrow and systemic (whole-body) disease while offering specific treatment for the central nervous system (CNS), if involved. In general, most oncologists rely on combinations of drugs for the initial, induction phase of chemotherapy. Such combination chemotherapy usually offers the benefits of early remission (lessening of the disease) and a lower risk of disease resistance. Consolidation or “maintenance” treatments may be given to prevent disease recurrence once remission has been achieved. Consolidation treatment often entails a repetition of induction chemotherapy or the intensification chemotherapy with added drugs. By contrast, maintenance treatment involves drug doses that are lower than those administered during the induction phase.
In addition, specific treatment plans may be used, depending on the type of leukemia that has been diagnosed. Whatever the plan, it is important for the patient to understand the treatment that is being given and the decision-making process behind the choice.
Initial treatment of AML
Initial treatment of AML usually begins with induction chemotherapy using a combination of drugs such as daunorubicin (DNR), cytarabine (ara-C), idarubicin, thioguanine, etoposide, or mitoxantrone, anabolic steroids.
Follow-up treatment
Follow-up therapy for such patients may involve:
* supportive care, such as intravenous nutrition and treatment with oral antibiotics (e.g., ofloxacin, rifampin), especially in patients who have prolonged granulocytopenia; that is too few mature granulocytes (neutrophils), the bacteria-destroying white blood cells that contain small particles, or granules (< 100 granulocytes per cubic millimeter for 2 weeks)* injection with colony-stimulating factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which may help to shorten the period of granulocytopenia that results from induction therapy* transfusions with red blood cells and platelets
Patients with newly diagnosed disease also may be considered for stem cell transplantation (SCT), either from the bone marrow or other sources. Allogeneic bone marrow transplant (alloBMT) is reserved primarily for patients under 55 years of age who have a compatible family donor. Approximately half of newly diagnosed AML patients are in this age group, with 75% achieving a complete remission (CR) after induction and consolidation therapy. Allogeneic bone marrow transplant is available for about 15% of all patients with AML. Unfortunately, it is estimated that only 7% of all AML patients will be cured using this procedure.
People who receive stem cell transplantation (SCT, alloBMT) require protective isolation in the hospital, including filtered air, sterile food, and sterilization of the microorganisms in the gut, until their total white blood cell (WBC) count is above 500.
Treatment of central nervous system leukemia, if present, may involve injection of chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g., cytarabine or ara-C, methotrexate) into the areas around the brain and spinal cord.
Consolidation or maintenance therapy
Once the patient is in remission, he or she will receive consolidation or maintenance therapy, for example, consolidation therapy with high-dose ara-C (HDAC) with/without anthracycline drugs).
If, however, the AML patient has resistant disease (about 15%) or relapses (about 70%), second remissions sometimes are achieved by treating them with:
* conventional induction chemotherapy* high-dose ara-C (HDAC), with/without other drugs* etoposide or other single chemotherapeutic agents
Elderly AML patients have special treatment concerns. They may be less able to tolerate the septicemia (blood poisoning) associated with granulocytopenia, and they often have higher rates of myelodysplastic (’preleukemia’) syndrome (MDS). Individuals who are over age 75 or who have significant medical conditions can be treated effectively with low-dose ara-C. High-dose post-induction chemotherapy is unlikely to be tolerated by elderly patients.
Until recently, the treatment plans and responses of children with AML did not differ much from those of adults. Yet new, more intensive induction and consolidation treatments have resulted in higher remission rates and prolonged survivals. Many induction trials have produced good results using combinations of cytarabine (ara-C) plus an anthracycline (e.g., daunorubicin, doxorubicin). In children under 3 years of age, the anthracycline used for induction should be chosen with care, since doxorubicin produces more toxicity and related deaths than daunorubicin.
Consolidation therapy is complex, but it should include at least two courses of high-dose ara-C (HDAC). Children who have hyperleukocytosis (too many white blood cells), especially monocytic M5 leukemia, have a poor prognosis.
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
The challenge of treating newly diagnosed CML is to determine the best overall strategy to control the disease. General strategies for management include a variety of options:
Leukapheresis, also known as a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, with stem cell cryopreservation (frozen storage) prior to any other treatment. The patient’s blood is passed through a machine that removes the stem cells and then returns the blood to the patient. Leukapheresis usually takes 3 or 4 hours to complete. The stem cells may or may not be treated with drugs to kill any cancer cells. The stem cells then are stored until they are transplanted back into the patient.HLA (human leukocyte antigen) typing of all patients under age 60, as well as typing of siblings, parents, and children, if available. This procedure will determine whether a compatible donor is available for stem cell transplantation.
Pre-treatment fertility measures (e.g., cryopreservation of semen prior to treatment; completion of a pregnancy prior to treatment) in young patients who have not completed their families.
Interferon-alpha (INF-a) therapy’.
Chemotherapy with drugs such as hydroxyurea (Hydrea®), busulfan (Myleran®) or imatinib mesylate (Gleevec(tm)).
In general, CML treatment options are divided into two groups: those that do not increase survival and those that do. Chemotherapeutic drugs such as hydroxyurea (Hydrea®) and busulfan (Myleran®) can normalize the blood count for a period of time, but they do not increase survival. They often are used to control blood counts in patients who cannot undergo SCT or who do not respond to interferon therapy because of age or medical considerations.
Gleevec, is one of a new class of cancer drugs that disables an abnormal enzyme in the cancerous cell, kills it, but leaves healthy cells virtually untouched. Other cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, attack healthy cells as well as cancer cells, leaving patients with unpleasant and often severe side effects.
In June of 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib (Sprycel(tm)) to treat CML that does not respond to other therapy.
One treatment that does impact on CML survival is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, the use of high dose chemotherapy and radiation followed by infusion of a donor bone marrow. This procedure removes the chromosomal abnormality in a large percentage of patients and for them is curative. In addition, there is treatment with interferon (INF). About 20% to 30% of patients taking interferon show elimination of the abnormal chromosome and improved survival. Recent findings also suggest that low-dose cytarabine (ara-C), in combination with interferon, may be more beneficial than interferon alone. For patients who do not respond to interferon, autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation is the only alternative.
Patients with advanced-phase disease may be treated with cytotoxic drugs. For example, individuals showing myeloid transformation may be given drugs that are used to induce remission in AML - that is, daunorubicin and cytarabine, with or without 6-thioguanine or etoposide. Blast cell numbers will be reduced temporarily, but they will increase again within 3 to 6 weeks. Individuals showing lymphoid transformation have a slightly better outlook. They are treated with drugs used in the management of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) - that is, prednisone, vincristine, and daunorubicin, with or without L-asparaginase.
New drugs that are being studied in clinical trials of CML include homoherringtonine with interferon-alpha (INF-a), paclitaxel (Taxol®), QS21 (a plant extract that heightens immune responses), and amifostin (a chemical that lessens some side effects of chemotherapy). In addition, clinical trials are evaluating the potential benefits of substances such as vaccines, monoclonal antibodies (immunologic substances that can direct the patient’s immune system to kill cancer cells), and hormones (e.g., growth factors, interleukins).
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
Proper management of ALL focuses on control of bone marrow and systemic (whole-body) disease as well as prevention of cancer at other sites, particularly the central nervous system (CNS). In general, ALL treatment is divided into several phases:
Induction chemotherapy to bring about remission - that is, leukemic cells are no longer found in bone marrow samples. For adult ALL, standard induction plans include prednisone, vincristine, and an anthracycline drug; other drug plans may include L-asparaginase or cyclophosphamide. For children with low-risk ALL, standard therapy usually consists of three drugs (prednisone, L-asparaginase, and vincristine) for the first month of treatment. High-risk children may receive these drugs plus an anthracycline such as daunorubicin.
Consolidation therapy (1-3 months in adults; 4-8 months in children) to eliminate any leukemia cells that are still “hiding” within the body. A combination of chemotherapeutic drugs is used to keep the remaining leukemia cells from developing resistance. Patients with low- to average-risk ALL receive therapy with antimetabolite drugs such as methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP). High-risk patients receive higher drug doses plus treatment with extra chemotherapeutic agents.
CNS prophylaxis (preventive therapy) to stop the cancer from spreading to the brain and nervous system. Standard prophylaxis may consist of:
1. Cranial (head) irradiation plus spinal tap or intrathecal (IT) delivery (into the space around the spinal cord and brain) of the drug methotrexate.2. High-dose systemic and IT methotrexate, without cranial irradiation3. IT chemotherapy.
Only children with T-cell leukemia, a high white blood cell count, or leukemia cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) need to receive cranial irradiation as well as IT therapy.
Maintenance treatments with chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g., prednisone + vincristine + cyclophosphamide + doxorubicin; methotrexate + 6-MP) to prevent disease recurrence once remission has been achieved. Maintenance therapy usually involves drug doses that are lower than those administered during the induction phase. In children, an intensive 6-month treatment program is needed after induction, followed by 2 years of maintenance chemotherapy.
Follow-up therapy for ALL patients usually consists of:
* supportive care, such as intravenous nutrition and treatment with oral antibiotics (e.g., ofloxacin, rifampin), especially in patients with prolonged granulocytopenia; that is, too few mature granulocytes (neutrophils), the bacteria-destroying white blood cells that contain small particles, or granules (< 100 granulocytes per cubic millimeter for 2 weeks)* transfusions with red blood cells and platelets
A laboratory test known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is advisable for ALL patients, since it may help to identify specific genetic abnormalities. Such abnormalities have a large impact upon prognosis and, consequently, treatment plans. PCR testing is especially important for patients whose disease is B-cell in type. B-cell ALL usually is not cured by standard ALL therapy. Instead, higher response rates are achieved with the aggressive, cyclophosphamide-based regimens that are used for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Among ALL patients, 3-5% children and 25-50% of adults are positive for the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1)[citation needed]. Because these patients have a worse prognosis than other individuals with ALL, many oncologists recommend allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT), since remission may be brief following conventional ALL chemotherapy.
People who receive bone marrow transplantation will require protective isolation in the hospital, including filtered air, sterile food, and sterilization of the microorganisms in the gut, until their total white blood cell (WBC) count is above 500.
Recurrent ALL patients usually do not benefit from additional chemotherapy alone. If possible, they should receive re-induction chemotherapy, followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplant (alloBMT).
Alternatively, patients with recurrent ALL may benefit from participation in new clinical trials of alloBMT, immune system agents, and chemotherapeutic agents, or low-dose radiotherapy, if the cancer recurs throughout the body or CNS.
[edit] Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
The unpleasant truth is that CLL is probably “incurable” by present treatments. But, fortunately, a large group of CLL patients do not require therapy. Studies suggest that people with Stage A CLL (that is, individuals who have fewer than three areas of enlarged lymphoid tissue) do not benefit from early treatment. They may, in fact, suffer drawbacks because of it. Therefore, most oncologists base CLL treatment upon both the stage and symptoms of the patient.
For example, in older patients (60+ years) who have low-risk early stage disease (Rai Stage 0) a conservative “watch and wait” approach may be taken.
By contrast, older individuals with CLL-related complications or more advanced disease (Rai Stage III or IV) may benefit from chemotherapy and treatment with a corticosteroid (e.g., prednisone, prednisolone).
Corticosteroids are first-line agents for people in whom the immune systems has been altered by CLL. CLL may cause autoimmune syndromes in which the patient’s immune system attacks and destroys his or her own blood cells. When the red blood cells are affected, the condition is known as immunohemolytic anemia, characterized by decreased numbers of red blood cells, which may cause fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath. When the blood platelets are affected, it is called immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, in which a decreased numbers of platelets may lead to bleeding.
For younger patients who are experiencing symptoms, the physician may consider early chemotherapy, plus allogeneic or autologous bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT; autoBMT).
In general, the indications for treatment are:
* falling hemoglobin or platelet count* progression to a later stage of disease* painful, disease-related overgrowth of lymph nodes or spleen* lymphocyte doubling time (an indicator of lymphocyte reproduction) of fewer than 12 months
[edit] Transformation of CLL to high-grade disease or aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
If the patient experiences blood flow problems caused by high numbers of leukemia cells in the circulation, the physician may recommend leukapheresis, also known as apheresis, to separate out white blood cells, prior to chemotherapy. Symptoms that are related to enlargement of the lymph nodes in one area or an overgrown spleen may be treated by localized, low-dose radiotherapy, or surgical management by splenectomy (removal of the spleen). But if leukemia has invaded the lymph nodes at many different sites, total body irradiation (TBI) may be needed.
Chemotherapy for CLL
The chemotherapeutic plans that are used most often for CLL are:
* combination chemotherapy with chlorambucil (Leukeran®) or cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan®) plus a corticosteroid drug such as prednisone, or* single-agent treatments with nucleoside drugs such as fludarabine, pentostatin, or cladribine (2-chlorodeoxyadenisine; 2-CDA). However, such drugs usually are reserved for cases in which CLL is resistant (unresponsive to treatment) or returns after chemotherapy with chlorambucil or cyclophosphamide.
People with intermediate (Rai Stage I and II) or advanced (Rai Stage III or IV) disease may be helped by participation in a clinical trial. At the present time, clinical trials are being conducted using immunologic compounds (e.g., interferons, monoclonal antibodies) as well as new chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., bryostatin, dolastatin 10, and PSC 83 - a cyclosporine drug given with chemotherapy to overcome drug resistance).
Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL)
Hairy cell leukemia is an incurable, indolent blood disorder in which mutated, partly matured B cells accumulate in the bone marrow. Its name is derived from the shape of the cells, which look like they are covered with short, fine, hair-shaped projections. Unlike any other leukemia, HCL is characterized by low white blood cell counts.
Patients with hairy cell leukemia who are symptom-free typically do not receive immediate treatment. They engage in “watchful waiting” with routine bloodwork and exams every three to six months to monitor disease progression and identify any new symptoms.
Treatment is generally considered necessary when the patient shows signs and symptoms such as low blood cell counts (e.g., infection-fighting neutrophil count below 1.0 K/ul), frequent infections, unexplained bruises, anemia, or fatigue that is significant enough to disrupt the patient’s everyday life.
Patients who need treatment, which includes most newly diagnosed HCL cases, usually receive either cladribine or pentostatin, which are both in a class of chemotherapeutic drugs known as purine analogs or nucleosides. In most cases, one round of treatment will produce a prolonged remission.
Other treatments include rituximab infusion or self-injection with Interferon-alpha. In limited cases, the patient may benefit from splenectomy (removal of the spleen). These treatments are not typically given as the first treatment for a new patient because their success rates are lower than cladribine or pentostatin.
In the short term, especially when neutrophil counts are low, an immune system hormone called granulocyte colony-stimulating factor may be taken to increase white blood cell counts. This is believed to help prevent or treat an infection. Many patients also take antibiotics until their white blood cell counts have recovered to normal levels.
Clinical trials are being conducted with high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplantation.
Research
Açaí Palm
In 2006, a study performed at the University of Florida showed that açaí fractions containing polyphenolics could reduce proliferation of HL-60 leukemia cells in vitro. This was most likely due to increased rapid cell death (apoptosis) as fractions were also found to activate caspase-3 (an enzyme important in apoptosis) which was inversely correlated to cell death. (Pozo-Insfran et al., 2006). This is a very preliminary study, but indicates a need for more research on the possible anti-cancer effects of açaí.
via [Daily Facts]

GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF: The Man's Cancer: Prostate cancer is reaching epidemic levels in the U.S.

2008-09-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

Three years after his triumph in the gulf war, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf was feeling invincible. But in March 1994, uncomfortable with nagging tendinitis in one knee, he stopped by the MacDill Air Force Base Hospital in Tampa, Florida. While there, he decided to visit the base urologist for an exam. "I feel something not quite right," the doctor said, after making a routine rectal exam. "But if it's cancer, I can tell 90% of the time, and I don't think so."Schwarzkopf, then 59, had reason to feel confident. He had recently undergone a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and registered a count of only 1.8, well below the level considered indicative of cancer. But to play it safe, the urologist performed an ultrasound exam ("It looks like a stone," he reassured the general), took a biopsy of the prostate gland and sent it off to a pathologist. Schwarzkopf left the hospital relaxed and optimistic. But a week later, the doctor called, paused and then said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you have prostate cancer."Shaken, and like most men woefully uninformed about prostate cancer, Schwarzkopf began devouring books and medical-journal articles. He overcame his squeamishness and started talking to friends and experts about this disease that seems to strike at the very core of masculinity. "For me, it was like war," he says. "First thing you do is learn about the enemy."Schwarzkopf had little idea how formidable that enemy is. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1996, 317,000 Americans will be told they have prostate cancer, more than the 184,000 new cases of breast cancer and nearly a quarter of all non-skin cancers expected this year. That figure represents a staggering increase over last year's 244,000 new prostate-cancer cases and the fewer than 85,000 recorded as recently as 1985. The acs predicts that deaths from prostate cancer in the U.S. will reach 41,400 this year, a number fast approaching the annual breast-cancer toll of 44,300. Says Dr. Nelson Stone, a urologist at Manhattan's Mt. Sinai Medical Center: "It sounds like an epidemic to me."In a way, it is. The life-span of Americans is increasing, and because the disease most often strikes men who are in their 60s or 70s, more of them are now afflicted. When the baby-boom generation matures, the number will balloon. "As men live longer and do not succumb to heart disease and stroke, more will die from prostate cancer," says Dr. William Catalona, a urologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. "And it is not a nice death."By far the biggest factor in the sharp rise of prostate-cancer diagnoses is the increasingly widespread use of the controversial PSA test, which in many cases can detect the disease early in its course, long before the tumor becomes palpable. By making early detection and treatment possible, the test could eventually reduce the number of prostate-cancer deaths. Paradoxically, it could also lead to a rise in premature or even unnecessary treatments.Although 1 in 5 American men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, most are only vaguely aware of the disease, its treatment and its consequences. Unlike women, who usually talk freely among themselves about intimate health problems, most men shy away from exchanging information about any of their physical disorders, let alone problems involving a gland that produces seminal fluid and affects urinary flow. And they prefer not to undergo, or even think about, the traditional test for detecting prostate problems: the infamous digital rectal exam.Still, says Dr. William Fair, head of the urology division at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "prostate cancer is beginning to come out of the closet. Fifteen or 20 years ago, you couldn't even mention the word prostate in polite mixed company." Indeed, popular awareness of prostate cancer may now be at a stage similar to that of breast cancer two decades ago, after Betty Ford and Happy Rockefeller revealed publicly that they were victims of a cancer that until then had been discussed only in private, and urged women to have mammograms.Their role is now being played by Schwarzkopf, who, after learning that his cancer had not metastasized, quickly decided on major and somewhat risky surgery--a radical prostatectomy--to excise the prostate gland. "I'm not a type-B personality who knows I have a cancer growing inside of me and can live with the knowledge," he says. "I go into a kung-fu attack position when I go through the door of a hospital." The position apparently worked. Schwarzkopf made a speedy recovery from the surgery, is now cancer free and, as spokesman for Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, lectures regularly, warning men over 50 about their risks.In his crusade, Schwarzkopf has joined forces with an unlikely but powerful ally who has even more reason than the general to be motivated: Michael Milken, the famous junk-bond wizard of the 1980s.For Milken, the world changed on a day in January 1993 that should have been a happy one. He had just been released from a halfway house after serving two years in prison for securities-law violations. Only 46, apparently in good health and eagerly anticipating his freedom, he called the doctor who had given him a physical exam the week before.During that exam, Milken recalls, he asked for a PSA test. "Why bother?" the doctor responded. "You're too young." But Milken insisted, and now the results were in. "He told me that everything was perfect," says Milken, "except that I had a PSA score of 24." Two repeat PSA tests produced similar results, and a subsequent biopsy confirmed the worst: he did indeed have cancer."To say that the biopsy results were devastating would be an understatement," Milken says. "I remember lying in bed with my wife and talking about the Book of Job, wondering how many more challenges were coming my way. I was in a state of depression."It didn't last long. Mustering the relentless drive that made him a Wall Street billionaire in his 30s, Milken declared a personal war on prostate cancer, vowing not only to fight his own illness but to help finance the larger scientific battle against the disease. "I decided that I had to change the course of history," he says. And he may just do that, for himself and for the millions of other men who have or will develop prostate cancer.Like Schwarzkopf, Milken pored over the medical literature, conferred with experts and opted for a prostatectomy, relieved, he says, because "technology had improved and a lot of horror stories that you hear are related to surgeries from the past."That relief was short-lived. Returning to his urologist for a diagnostic computer scan, Milken learned that his lymph nodes were swollen. A subsequent needle biopsy confirmed that the nodes were malignant. His cancer had metastasized, spread beyond the walls of his prostate; surgical removal of the gland would now really serve no purpose.Milken was stunned. "I'd mentally got myself geared up to the realization that I had prostate cancer," he recalls. "I'd gotten over the 'Why me?' and spoken to a number of friends who had had successful surgery. That's where I was going to make my stand." Now what? Searching for an answer, he scheduled a bone-marrow test at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to determine if the cancer had spread to his bones. If it had, his life expectancy would be measured in months, and he was hardly sanguine about the outcome. "I had not been successful in one test I'd taken," he recalls. "Every test I'd taken had turned out for the worst." This time, however, the word was good. Milken's cancer had not metastasized to his bones.The growth of prostate-cancer cells is stimulated by the male hormone testosterone, and to halt and possibly reverse the progress of Milken's malignancy, his doctors prescribed a hormone treatment that shuts down production of testosterone. "I began taking two pills three times a day," says Milken, and got a time-release shot once a month." The results were dramatic. His PSA level dropped from 24 to 15, then to 10, 5 and 3, and by August, when he began undergoing supplementary radiation therapy, it stood at zero. The computer scans were also encouraging; they showed that his swollen lymph nodes had shrunk back to normal size. Milken's cancer was, and still is, in remission.Milken is back in business, running several of his family businesses and philanthropic enterprises and flying around the U.S. for meetings with top corporate officers. [Milken has since founded CaPCure, devoted to researching prostate cancer.But Milken is realistic. He knows that in men who have undergone hormone therapy, the cancer cells eventually learn to thrive and multiply without testosterone, usually within a year or two. While Milken has reacted unusually well to the treatment, he is all too aware that he has not been cured. "We just don't know how long before it comes back," he says. "It's not that it's gone. It's how long."For all of Milken's angst, however, he has never had an overt symptom of advanced prostate cancer, no pain in his bones, weight loss, chronic fatigue or problems with urination. "That's one of the things that's scary about this," he says. "Had I not had a PSA, I would not have known."The PSA test, available since the 1980s and now administered to hundreds of thousands of men annually, measures the blood level of a protein produced by all prostate cells. In general, readings under a PSA count of 4 indicate that cancer is highly unlikely. The probability of cancer increases with a rising count between 4 and 22 and becomes highly likely over 22.Usually in a man around age 50, the prostate begins to enlarge, and the growing number of cells contribute to what is generally a steady but slight rise in the PSA count. But if prostate cells become cancerous and begin multiplying, the PSA level jumps dramatically. Even if a rectal exam fails to detect any palpable evidence of cancer, an elevated PSA is most often warning enough to prompt the doctor to view the prostate with a transrectal ultrasound probe, and frequently to take needle biopsies from several regions of the gland.Men whose prostate cancer is detected early have more choices than Milken did. Yet they may agonize even more before making a decision, because they face a painful dilemma: virtually all the therapies available to them can drastically affect their quality of life, and the only one that can virtually guarantee a cure--if the cancer has not metastasized--is the most forbidding of them all.That one is radical prostatectomy, surgical removal of the entire prostate gland. If the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate wall and the gland is removed, the cancer is gone. Period. Three days after his surgery, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Bethseda, Maryland, Schwarzkopf was visited by the chief of pathology, who said, "Good news. We looked at your cancer, and it was very slow-growing. We have 100% of your cancer in a jar."Still, there are drawbacks. In performing a prostatectomy, the surgeon must reach the prostate by cutting through either the abdomen or the region behind the scrotum. This is major surgery, and the patient must undergo a hospital stay of at least several days and many weeks of recovery--attached all the while to a catheter. It can entail risks for anyone, but particularly for older men not in the best of health. Also, because the walnut-size prostate surrounds the urethra--the tube through which urine passes from the bladder--some of the sphincter muscle that controls the flow of urine may be cut away.As a result, there is a substantial risk of incontinence. About 1% or 2% of prostatectomy patients will have complete lack of urinary control, according to Dr. Keith Light of Memorial Sloan-Kettering. From 20% to 50% will have partial control and stress incontinence--leakage caused by any kind of physical pressure--and more than half will have minimum leakage, only a few occasional drops. Many of these men will eventually regain control, but for some, pads or diapers will become essential wardrobe items. Schwarzkopf was fortunate. Within a day after he returned to the hospital to have his catheter removed, he says, "I had complete control." He attributes this to weeks of vigorous postoperative walks taken with catheter in tow.A prostatectomy poses an even more intimate threat to a man's life-style. Because the two nerve bundles controlling erection run along the surface of the prostate, the operation until recently almost invariably rendered the patient impotent. Then in the early 1980s, Dr. Patrick Walsh of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, pioneered a technique that enables the surgeon to move the nerve bundles out of the way before excising the prostate. After this nerve-sparing surgery, which Walsh practices only when it seems likely that the cancer does not lie close to those bundles, many patients are eventually able to have satisfactory erections. Walsh says as many as 90% of men under age 50 regain potency. Schwarzkopf? It's O.K., he says. The surgery has hardly slowed the general down in other physical activities. He was fly- fishing in Alaska two months after the operation and, a month later, climbing mountains during an African safari.For men whose health is too fragile to withstand the rigors of a prostatectomy, and for those who want to avoid the week-long hospital stay, weeks-long dependence on a catheter, and extended recovery time associated with this surgery, external-beam radiation is often the therapy of choice. While it involves a series of exposures over several weeks to a finely focused X-ray beam, no hospital stay is required.But radiation often fails to kill all the cancer cells. While the tumor shrinks significantly and PSA counts drop to low levels or even zero for several years, the cancer eventually returns. A study conducted by Dr. Thomas Stamey of Stanford University in California, concluded that nearly a decade after radiation therapy, 20% to 25% of the radiation patients had apparently been cured. But the remaining 75% to 80% showed "a steeply rising PSA," indicating a recurrence of the cancer. Also, as many as 50% of these patients became impotent within five years of treatment.A completely different radiation technique, advanced by the late Dr. Willet Whitmore at Sloan-Kettering, places dozens of tiny radioactive palladium or iodine seeds directly in the prostate. Because the radiation emanates from each seed and affects only the immediate surrounding region of the prostate--instead of passing in a beam through the body to reach the gland--damage to nearby healthy tissue is minimized and a stronger dose can be delivered directly to the tumor. Though seeds remain permanently in the prostate, their radioactivity sinks to negligible levels after several months.But even this relatively benign procedure--which can often be performed in an hour on an outpatient basis--poses some risks. Incontinence is common for weeks afterward and is permanent in about 5% of patients. Impotence occurs in about 15% of men under 70 and more often in older men. And while a five-year study from the Northwest Tumor Institute in Seattle shows that this method produces a lower rate of tumor recurrence than either prostatectomy or external-beam radiation, no longer-range studies have been published, and doctors can't say with any certainty that the cancers have been cured.Yet another form of treatment, cryotherapy, involves pushing metallic probes into the prostate and circulating liquid nitrogen at -195 degrees F through them, forming an ice ball that freezes and kills the prostate cells. In the process, the overlying nerve bundles are usually frozen too, leaving more than 60% of patients impotent. Incontinence is seldom a problem, because a catheter is used to warm the urethra and keep it from freezing during the operation. One drawback to this strategy: prostatic tissue immediately adjacent to the catheter does not freeze, leaving the disturbing possibility that some cancer cells will survive to resume their attack.While some doctors see promise in cryotherapy, especially for salvaging cases of recurrence after more conventional treatment, no studies have yet been conducted to gauge its long-range effectiveness. And hormone therapy, which Milken is now receiving, is at best a holding action; it is sometimes also used to shrink tumors before prostatectomies.Faced with this bewildering array of draconian treatments--and their humiliating side effects--many older men and some younger ones opt for "watchful waiting." This controversial nontreatment calls for frequent blood tests, rectal exams and an occasional biopsy but no intervention unless the cancer becomes more aggressive.Who should be treated, and who is a candidate for watchful waiting? Because the average prostate cancer takes a decade to develop symptoms that seriously affect quality of life, Washington University's Dr. Catalona argues that any man whose life expectancy is 10 years or more should be treated. "Men with prostate cancer should have two goals," Catalona says. "One should be to live longer if they can, and the second should be to avoid dying of prostate cancer. A quick heart attack is far preferable." For these reasons, he supports widespread PSA screening to detect cancer early.Yet experts at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Maryland, point out that PSA readings sometimes raise alarms that are misleading, fail to differentiate between fast-growing and less threatening prostate cancer and can lead to debilitating treatment that may not be necessary.The fact is a few cancer cells are not necessarily that alarming. Oncologists estimate that by age 50, as many as 4 out of 10 men have at least some cancerous cells in their prostate, cells that are likely to result in higher PSA readings. Yet of these men, says Stanford's Dr. Stamey, only 8% will eventually develop symptoms that affect their quality of life, and only 3% will die of the cancer. "This is the only cancer that never really causes problems in a high proportion of men who develop it," says Dr. Otis Brawley, a senior investigator at the NCI, "and treating some patients may end up doing more harm than good."The possibility that widespread PSA testing will lead to many cases of unnecessary treatment also disturbs Dr. Gerald Chodak, a University of Chicago urologist. "How many people is it O.K. to treat without benefit, and even with harm, in order to save one life?" he asks. "I find this issue very troublesome."In his own practice, Chodak avoids either recommending or advising against a PSA test. "My approach," he says, "is informed consent. I tell my patients, 'If you want to see if you have cancer, then take the test. If you want to minimize your risk of undue harm, then don't take the test.'"Much of the uncertainty could be eliminated, of course, if doctors could tell, while a prostate cancer is still small, if it is the lethally aggressive or relatively benign type. In other words, whether a man will die of it or merely with it. "The challenge," as the British Medical Journal editorializes, "is to separate the pussycats from the tigers and identify aggressive tumors."Milken's millions may help meet that challenge. Three years ago, undoubtedly acting out of enlightened self-interest but with more universal goals also in mind, he set up a public charity, called CaP CURE, dedicated to finding a cure for prostate cancer, and pledged $25 million over the next five years to fund basic and clinical research, recruit scientists, sponsor scientific meetings and increase public awareness of the disease.By last week, CaP CURE, with the help of a star-studded scientific advisory board, had awarded $22 million in grants to hundreds of researchers in the U.S. and abroad--making it the world's largest private source of funding for prostate-cancer research, second only to the NCI. Yet researchers complain that much more financing is needed. A CaP CURE brochure points out that while the number of deaths from prostate cancer is about the same as for aids and breast cancer, the Federal Government provides $1.3 billion for aids research and $313 million for breast cancer but only $59 million for prostate cancer.Under the auspices of CaP CURE, Milken is financing the establishment of a prostate-cancer "virtual consortium," led by University of Washington molecular biologist Leroy Hood, that brings top U.S. researchers together via a computer network to facilitate communication.Hood's immediate objective is to find biological markers that will characterize a tumor as essentially harmless or dangerous while it is still small--which would eliminate much of the uncertainty about decisions to treat, how to treat or not to treat prostate cancer. "A great many men who die in their their 70s and 80s have small prostate cancers that haven't done anything," Hood says, and wouldn't have benefited from treatment.His strategy is to make use of the large bank of prostate tissue gathered by Washington University's Dr. Catalona and Dr. Paul Lange of the University of Washington, both members of the consortium. Researchers in Hood's lab plan to test every one of the consortium's variety of 600 tumor cells along with normal prostate cells collected at every stage of human development. Then they will use genetic-engineering techniques to produce markers that can identify tumors that are dangerous and those that are not. The same approach, he says, may eventually be used to identify many other kinds of cancer.Hood's group is also trying to find its first prostate-cancer gene, perhaps before the end of the year. All told, researchers believe, there could be as many as 10 such genes. Once these genes are identified, scientists can develop tests for a man's susceptibility to prostate cancer and eventually, perhaps, use gene therapy to fight the disease. Long before that, however, identification of the genes may help doctors understand what environmental factors interact with the genes and contribute to the development of prostate tumors.To achieve this goal, they need blood samples and pedigrees from volunteer families with at least three living members who have prostate cancer. They are currently working with 200 families recruited when Hood made an appeal during an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, but many more are needed. (Interested families can call 800-777-3035 to volunteer.)While genetics plays a major role--black Americans, for example, have a 37% higher risk than whites of contracting the disease--environment is obviously involved. In such countries as China and Japan, where low-fat diets of vegetables and fish are the norm, the incidence of prostate cancer is extremely low. But prostate-cancer rates for first- and second-generation Japanese Americans are considerably higher than in Japan.Those facts seem to point to an environmental factor, probably the change to a Western diet. In a test of that conjecture, researchers at Sloan-Kettering, led by Dr. William Fair and pharmacologist Warren Heston, discovered that tumors grew more rapidly in mice fed a high-fat diet than in those on a low-fat diet. And when the animals on high-fat diets were switched to low-fat ones, the growth of their tumors slowed.Milken, for one, isn't waiting for confirmation of that theory. "You should feel comfortable knowing that everything we eat here is nonfat and vegetarian," he tells visitors to his Santa Monica, California, offices. A typical lunch, prepared by his private dietitian, consists of mushroom barley soup, a tofu egg-salad sandwich (the "egg" is actually tofu with mustard and spices ) with carrots and lettuce, and a black-bean-and-corn salad with a soy-based drink. One of Milken's favorites, an Egg McNothing, consists of a fat-free crumpet with soy cheese, vegetarian Canadian bacon and scrambled egg whites.Why all the tofu and soy? Milken points to tests showing that soy products reduce tumors in rats. Impressed by other studies indicating that prostate-cancer rates are higher in northern climates, possibly because of less exposure to sunlight and a corresponding decrease in the production of vitamin D, he spends more time outside and at the beach. "Of course," he concedes, "we have to balance skin cancer with prostate cancer, I guess."In an effort to dispel some of the guesswork about prevention and the choice of treatment, the NCI is conducting two large-scale prostate-cancer trials. One, called pivot (for Prostate Cancer Intervention Versus Observation Trial), is just getting under way, and will involve monitoring the progress over 15 years of 2,000 prostate-cancer patients in the Veterans Administration hospital system. The goal: to determine if radical prostatectomies save enough lives to justify choosing surgery over watchful waiting. The NCI's Dr. Richard Kaplan, who is supervising the trial, suspects that surgery "might not make a difference" for either low-grade or advanced, highly aggressive cancers. "Any real benefit," he says, "may be in the intermediate-grade group."The other trial, organized in 1993, will eventually enroll 18,000 healthy men who are at least 55 years old and have a PSA level of 3 or less. Its aim is to determine if finasteride, a Merck drug, will help prevent prostate cancer. Every day for seven years, in a double-blind test, half the volunteers will take a finasteride tablet while the others take a placebo. Medical researchers suspect that finasteride may be effective because it reduces the level of a testosterone byproduct that promotes tumor growth. The NCI's Dr. Brawley, who is supervising the trial, anticipates that "those taking the drug will have a 25% lower incidence of cancer than those taking a placebo."As important as these long-range trials may be, however, they hardly address the urgency felt by men with advanced prostate cancer. Milken is convinced that a massive, well-financed effort, making full use of available high technology and advances in genetics, can find "a cure or a permanent delaying action" for the disease not in decades but in a few years.While most of the male prostate-cancer researchers are hardly that optimistic, they share the sense of urgency, all too aware that they also are vulnerable. "If I'm at all lucky, I won't be diagnosed with the disease," says Brawley. "But the odds that I'll get prostate cancer by the time I'm 70 are pretty good." For millions of other American men, that realization is beginning to hit home.

From Time Magazine, 4/1/96

Giuliani's Choices

2008-09-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

When Rudy Giuliani, New York's high-visibility mayor, revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he joined 180,000 American men who will be told by year's end they have the disease. Giuliani's cancer was apparently caught in its early stages, thanks to a PSA blood test that often signals prostate abnormalities. That's good news for the mayor, since he's likely to be completely cured--and need not endure more than a brief disruption of his Senate race against Hillary Clinton.
But like other men caught in a similar bind, Giuliani must choose from several different courses of treatment, each with decided advantages and disadvantages. The most conservative choice is surgical removal of the walnut-size gland, but this comes at great risk of losing sexual function or becoming incontinent. These two primary side effects cause many men to turn the other way--especially those as relatively young as Giuliani, who will be 56 on May 28. Although surgeons are getting better at protecting the nerves that control erection, even in the most skilled hands there's still a 30% chance of temporary impotence.
Radiation treatment, the second major option, may be as effective as surgery and is often used in combination with it. It's delivered by high-energy beams that zap the prostate or by radioactive pellets the size of rice grains implanted in the prostate. Radiation carries risks similar to surgery in terms of incontinence and impotence.
Lower on the list is a promising new treatment--though far from the most effective--in which the cancerous cells are freeze-killed. It's also unlikely that Giuliani will choose hormonal therapy, which prevents the male hormones from stimulating further prostate growth. It can be used together with other therapies, but it's more common when the cancer has spread.
Recovery time varies with each treatment, but with surgery and/or radiation--Giuliani's likeliest options--I wouldn't be surprised to see him back on the campaign trail within a month.
Like other celebrities who have spoken openly about their prostate cancer--Senator Bob Dole, General Norman Schwarzkopf, singer Harry Belafonte--Giuliani is delivering a powerful public lesson in the lifesaving importance of annual checkups that include both a PSA blood test and the infamous gloved-finger rectal exam. After his father died of prostate cancer at age 73, Giuliani started his screening early, a practice recommended for any man with a family history of the disease. Tests by the mid-40s are a good idea for other high-risk groups as well, especially African Americans, who have a 34% higher prostate-cancer rate than whites.
PSA screening probably played a key role in reducing prostate-cancer deaths in the past decade--by 16% among whites and 11% among African Americans. But as effective as the test is at detecting the cancer in its early stages, it isn't perfect. Other prostate conditions such as inflammation (prostatitis) can elevate PSA levels, so a biopsy may be necessary, as it was in Giuliani's case. When I was late for school, my mother liked to say the early bird catches the worm. When it comes to prostate cancer, early screening can mean the difference between life and death.

US: Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew In '74

2008-09-15T05:09:00.000-07:00

by Raymond Cushing,

The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February 2000, when researchers in Madrid announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. The Madrid study marks only the second time that THC has been administered to tumor-bearing animals. In 1974, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institutes of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice -- lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia. The DEA quickly shut down the Virginia study and all further cannabis/tumor research, according to Jack Herer, who reports on the events in his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. In 1976, President Gerald Ford put an end to all public cannabis research and granted exclusive research rights to major pharmaceutical companies, who set out -- unsuccessfully -- to develop synthetic forms of THC that would deliver all the medical benefits without the "high." The Madrid researchers reported in the March issue of Nature Medicine that they injected the brains of 45 rats with cancer cells, producing tumors whose presence they confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ). On the 12th day they injected 15 of the rats with THC and 15 with Win-55,212-2, a synthetic compound similar to THC. "All the rats left untreated uniformly died 12-18 days after glioma ( brain cancer ) cell inoculation ... Cannabinoid ( THC )-treated rats survived significantly longer than control rats. THC administration was ineffective in three rats, which died by days 16-18. Nine of the THC-treated rats surpassed the time of death of untreated rats, and survived up to 19-35 days. Moreover, the tumor was completely eradicated in three of the treated rats." The rats treated with Win-55,212-2 showed similar results. The Spanish researchers, led by Dr. Manuel Guzman of Complutense University, also irrigated healthy rats' brains with large doses of THC for seven days, to test for harmful biochemical or neurological effects. They found none. "Careful MRI analysis of all those tumor-free rats showed no sign of damage related to necrosis, edema, infection or trauma ... We also examined other potential side effects of cannabinoid administration. In both tumor-free and tumor-bearing rats, cannabinoid administration induced no substantial change in behavioral parameters such as motor coordination or physical activity. Food and water intake, as well as body weight gain, were unaffected during and after cannabinoid delivery. Likewise, the general hematological profiles of cannabinoid-treated rats were normal. Thus, neither biochemical parameters nor markers of tissue damage changed substantially during the seven-day delivery period or for at least two months after cannabinoid treatment ended." Guzman's investigation is the only time since the 1974 Virginia study that THC has been administered to live, tumor-bearing animals. ( The Spanish researchers cite a 1998 study in which cannabinoids inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, but that was a "petri dish" experiment that didn't involve live subjects. ) In an e-mail interview for this story, the Madrid researcher said he had heard of the Virginia study, but had never been able to locate literature on it. Hence, the Nature Medicine article characterizes the new study as the first on tumor-laden animals and doesn't cite the 1974 Virginia investigation. "I am aware of the existence of that research. In fact I have attempted many times to obtain the journal article on the original investigation by these people, but it has proven impossible," Guzman said. In 1983, the Reagan/Bush Administration tried to persuade American universities and researchers to destroy all 1966-76 cannabis research work, including compendiums in libraries, reports Jack Herer, who states, "We know that large amounts of information have since disappeared." Guzman provided the title of the work -- "Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids," an article in a 1975 Journal of the National Cancer Institute -- and this writer obtained a copy at the University of California medical school library in Davis and faxed it to Madrid. The summary of the Virginia study begins, "Lewis lung adenocarcinoma growth was retarded by the oral administration of tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ) and cannabinol ( CBN )" -- two types of cannabinoids, a family of active components in marijuana. "Mice treated for 20 consecutive days with THC and CBN had reduced primary tumor size." The 1975 journal article doesn't mention breast cancer tumors, which are featured in the only newspaper story ever to appear about the 1974 study -- in the "Local" section of The Washington Post on Aug. 18, 1974. Under the headline, "Cancer Curb Is Studied," it read in part: "The active chemical agent in marijuana curbs the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice and may also suppress the immunity reaction that causes rejection of organ transplants, a Medical College of Virginia team has discovered." The researchers "found that THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers, and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent." Guzman, writing from Madrid, was eloquent in his response after this writer faxed him the clipping from The Washington Post of a quarter century ago. In translation, he wrote: "It is extremely interesting to me, the hope that the project seemed to awaken at that moment, and the sad evolution of events during the years following the discovery, until now we once again draw back the veil, over the anti-tumoral power of THC, 25 years later. Unfortunately, the world bumps along between such moments of hope and long periods of intellectual castration." News coverage of the Madrid discovery has been virtually nonexistent in this country. The news broke quietly on Feb. 29, 2000 with a story that ran once on the UPI wire about the Nature Medicine article. This writer stumbled on it through a link that appeared briefly on the Drudge Report Web page. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times all ignored the story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors.

"What is Prostate Surgery?" featuring Drs. Tewari and Schlegel

2008-09-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

Cancer Facts

2008-09-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

What is cancer?

Cancer is a group of many related diseases that begin in cells, the body’s basic building blocks. To understand cancer, it is helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancerous.

The body is made up of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow and divide to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. The extra cells form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor. Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.

Benign tumors are not cancer. They can often be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.

Malignant tumors are cancer. Cells in malignant tumors are abnormal and divide without control or order. Cancer cells invade and destroy the tissue around them. Cancer cells can also break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system.

Blood vessels include a network of arteries, capillaries, and veins through which the blood circulates in the body. The lymphatic system carries lymph and white blood cells through lymphatic vessels (thin tubes) to all the tissues of the body. By moving through the bloodstream or lymphatic system, cancer can spread from the primary (original) cancer site to form new tumors in other organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.
What causes cancer?

Scientists have learned that cancer is caused by changes in genes that normally control the growth and death of cells. Certain lifestyle and environmental factors can change some normal genes into genes that allow the growth of cancer. Many gene changes that lead to cancer are the result of tobacco use, diet, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, or exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in the workplace or in the environment. Some gene alterations are inherited (from one or both parents). However, having an inherited gene alteration does not always mean that the person will develop cancer; it only means that the chance of getting cancer is increased. Scientists continue to examine the factors that may increase or decrease a person’s chance of developing cancer.

Although being infected with certain viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C (HepB and HepC), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), increases the risk of some types of cancer, cancer itself is not contagious. A person cannot catch cancer from someone who has this disease. Scientists also know that an injury or bruise does not cause cancer.
Can cancer be prevented?

Although there is no guaranteed way to prevent cancer, people can reduce their risk (chance) of developing cancer by:

* not using tobacco products
* choosing foods with less fat and eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
* exercising regularly and maintaining a lean weight
* avoiding the harmful rays of the sun, using sunscreen, and wearing clothing that protects the skin
* talking with a doctor about the possible benefits of drugs proven to reduce the risk of certain cancers

Although many risk factors can be avoided, some, such as inherited conditions, are unavoidable. Still, it is helpful to be aware of them. It is also important to keep in mind that not everyone with a particular risk factor for cancer actually gets the disease; in fact, most do not. People who have an increased likelihood of developing cancer can help protect themselves by avoiding risk factors (see Question 2) whenever possible and by getting regular checkups so that, if cancer develops, it is likely to be found and treated early. Treatment is often more effective when cancer is detected early. Screening exams, such as sigmoidoscopy or the fecal occult blood test, mammography, and the Pap test, can detect precancerous conditions (which can be treated before they turn into cancer) and early-stage cancer.

The NCI is conducting many cancer prevention studies to explore ways to reduce the risk of developing cancer. These studies are evaluating dietary supplements, chemopreventive agents, nutrition, personal behaviors, and other factors that may prevent cancer. More information about cancer prevention trials is available in the following NCI resources:

What are some of the common signs and symptoms of cancer?

Cancer can cause a variety of symptoms. Possible signs of cancer include the following:

* new thickening or lump in the breast or any other part of the body
* new mole or an obvious change in the appearance of an existing wart or mole
* a sore that does not heal
* nagging cough or hoarseness
* changes in bowel or bladder habits
* persistent indigestion or difficulty swallowing
* unexplained changes in weight
* unusual bleeding or discharge

When these or other symptoms occur, they are not always caused by cancer. They can be caused by infections, benign tumors, or other problems. It is important to see a doctor about any of these symptoms or about other physical changes. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. A person with these or other symptoms should not wait to feel pain because early cancer usually does not cause pain.

If symptoms occur, the doctor may perform a physical examination, order blood work and other tests, and/or recommend a biopsy. In most cases, a biopsy is the only way to know for certain whether cancer is present. During a biopsy, the doctor removes a sample of tissue from the abnormal area. A pathologist studies the tissue under a microscope to identify cancer cells.
How is cancer treated?

Cancer treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biological therapy. The doctor may use one method or a combination of methods, depending on the type and location of the cancer, whether the disease has spread, the patient’s age and general health, and other factors. Because treatment for cancer can also damage healthy cells and tissues, it often causes side effects. Some patients may worry that the side effects of treatment are worse than the disease. However, patients and doctors generally discuss the treatment options, weighing the likely benefits of killing cancer cells and the risks of possible side effects. Doctors can suggest ways to reduce or eliminate problems that may occur during and after treatment.

Surgery is an operation to remove cancer. The side effects of surgery depend on many factors, including the size and location of the tumor, the type of operation, and the patient’s general health. Patients have some pain after surgery, but this pain can be controlled with medicine. It is also common for patients to feel tired or weak for a while after surgery.

Patients may worry that having a biopsy or other type of surgery for cancer will spread the disease. This is a very rare occurrence because surgeons take special precautions to prevent cancer from spreading during surgery. Also, exposing cancer to air during surgery does not cause the disease to spread.

Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells in a targeted area. Radiation can be given externally by a machine that aims radiation at the tumor area. It can also be given internally; needles, seeds, wires, or catheters containing a radioactive substance are placed directly in or near the tumor. Radiation treatments are painless. The side effects are usually temporary, and most can be treated or controlled. Patients are likely to feel very tired, especially in the later weeks of treatment. Radiation therapy may also cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells, which help protect the body against infection. With external radiation, it is also common to have temporary hair loss in the treated area and for the skin to become red, dry, tender, and itchy.

There is no risk of radiation exposure from coming in contact with a patient undergoing external radiation therapy. External radiation does not cause the body to become radioactive. With internal radiation (also called implant radiation), a patient may need to stay in the hospital, away from other people, while the radiation level is highest. Implants may be permanent or temporary. The amount of radiation in a permanent implant goes down to a safe level before the person leaves the hospital. With a temporary implant, there is no radioactivity left in the body after the implant is removed.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs that kill cancer cells throughout the body. Healthy cells can also be harmed, especially those that divide quickly. The doctor may use one drug or a combination of drugs. The side effects of chemotherapy depend mainly on the drug(s) and the dose(s) the patient receives. Hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy; however, not all anticancer drugs cause loss of hair. Anticancer drugs may also cause temporary fatigue, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and mouth and lip sores. Drugs that prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting can help with some of these side effects. Normal cells usually recover when chemotherapy is over, so most side effects gradually go away after treatment ends.

Hormone therapy is used to treat certain cancers that depend on hormones for their growth. It works by keeping cancer cells from getting or using the hormones they need to grow. This treatment may include the use of drugs that stop the production of certain hormones or that change the way hormones work. Another type of hormone therapy is surgery to remove organs that make hormones. For example, the ovaries may be removed to treat breast cancer, or the testicles may be removed to treat prostate cancer.

Hormone therapy can cause a number of side effects. Patients may feel tired, or have fluid retention, weight gain, hot flashes, nausea and vomiting, changes in appetite, and, in some cases, blood clots. Hormone therapy may also cause bone loss in premenopausal women. Depending on the type of hormone therapy used, these side effects may be temporary, long lasting, or permanent.

Biological therapy uses the body’s immune system, directly or indirectly, to fight disease and to lessen some of the side effects of cancer treatment. Monoclonal antibodies, interferon, interleukin-2, and colony-stimulating factors are some types of biological therapy.

The side effects caused by biological therapy vary with the specific treatment. In general, these treatments tend to cause flu-like symptoms, such as chills, fever, muscle aches, weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients also may bleed or bruise easily, get a skin rash, or have swelling. These problems can be severe, but they go away after the treatment stops.
Are clinical trials (research studies) available? Where can people get more information about clinical trials?

Yes. Clinical trials are an important treatment option for many cancer patients. To develop new, more effective treatments, and better ways to use current treatments, the NCI is sponsoring clinical trials in many hospitals and cancer centers around the country. Clinical trials are a critical step in the development of new methods of treatment. Before any new treatment can be recommended for general use, doctors conduct clinical trials to find out whether the treatment is safe for patients and effective against the disease.

People interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk with their doctor. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI’s Cancer Information Service (CIS) (see below) at 1–800–4–CANCER and in the NCI booklet Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know, which is available at http://www.cancer.gov/publications on the Internet. This booklet describes how research studies are carried out and explains their possible benefits and risks. Further information about clinical trials is available at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials on the NCI’s Web site. The Web site offers detailed information about specific ongoing treatment trials as well as trials focused on prevention, screening, and diagnosis by linking to PDQ®, the NCI’s comprehensive cancer information database. The CIS also provides information from PDQ.
Does cancer always cause pain?

Having cancer does not always mean having pain. Whether a patient has pain may depend on the type of cancer, the extent of the disease, and the patient’s tolerance for pain. Most pain occurs when the cancer grows and presses against bones, organs, or nerves. Pain may also be a side effect of treatment. However, pain can generally be relieved or reduced with prescription medicines or over-the-counter drugs recommended by the doctor. Other ways to reduce pain, such as relaxation exercises, may also be useful. Pain should not be accepted as an unavoidable part of having cancer. It is important for patients to talk about pain so steps can be taken to help relieve it. The fear of addiction or “losing control” should not stop patients from taking pain medication. Patients who take medications for cancer pain, as prescribed by their doctor, rarely become addicted to them. In addition, changing the dose or type of medication can usually help if the patient has troublesome side effects.

via [Daily facts]

Celebrities with Prostate Cancer

2008-09-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Senator Bob Dole was one of the first celebrities to "go public" with his prostate cancer. The year was 1992. Since then, many other high-profile men with prostate cancer have made a similar decision. Their stories - how they were diagnosed, what treatments they selected, how they've fared, and what impact the disease has had on their lives - are told here to help others cope. Increased public awareness, which was stimulated by the efforts of these men, has led to increased federal funding and a declining mortality rate of this disease.

Those who chose surgery:

Bob Dole,U.S. Senator

Colin Powell, Secretary of State

John Kerry, U.S. Senator

Harry Belafonte, Musical artist, actor, entertainer

Norman Schwarzkopf, Retired general

Richard S. Mueller III, F.B.I. Director

Arnold Palmer, Professional Golfer

Joe Torre, NY Yankees Manager

Robert Goulet, Actor and singer

Those who chose radiation therapy:

Andy Grove, President & CEO, Intel Corp.

Rudolph Giuliani, (Giuliani's Choises) former NYC Mayor

Richard Riordan, Former LA Mayor

Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

Chuck Tanner, Former Pittsburgh Pirates Manager

Those who were diagnosed too late:

Steve Ross, Former Chairman Time-Warner Inc.
1927 - 1993

Telly Savalas, Actor
1924 - 1994

Billy Bixby, Actor
1934 - 1993

Linus Pauling, Ph.D., Scientist, Two-time Nobel Prize Winner
1901 - 1994

Frank Zappa, Musician
1941 - 1993

Timothy Leary, LSD Advocate

1920 - 1996

10 interesting facts about prostate cancer

2008-09-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

One in 10 000 men under the age of 40 develop prostate cancer, whereas one in eight men between the ages of 60 and 80 suffer from the disease.

For some reason not yet fully understood, the rate of prostate cancer among black men is higher than that of other race groups. A possibility exists that higher levels of testosterone may be responsible.

Many men die with prostate cancer, but not from it.

Although it has not been proven conclusively, it is thought that a diet high in fats could lead to increased testosterone production.

Lack of exercise can lead to general ill-health and makes someone more susceptible to all sorts of diseases, prostate problems included.

A man with three first degree relatives with prostate cancer has a ten times increased risk of developing prostate cancer himself.

The prostate needs time and male hormones to develop cancer. Testosterone does not cause prostate cancer, but is essential for prostate cancer to develop.
Men whose mothers or sisters have developed breast cancer are also at increased risk for prostate cancer.

Because prostate cancer generally takes so long to develop, many doctors opt for the so-called 'watchful waiting' as a treatment option.

Besides castration at a young age, which is obviously not a viable option, there is no certain way of preventing prostate cancer.

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows

2008-09-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.
THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.
"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.
Acting through cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, endocannabinoids (as well as THC) are thought to play a role in variety of biological functions, including pain and anxiety control, and inflammation. Although a medical derivative of THC, known as Marinol, has been approved for use as an appetite stimulant for cancer patients, and a small number of U.S. states allow use of medical marijuana to treat the same side effect, few studies have shown that THC might have anti-tumor activity, Preet says. The only clinical trial testing THC as a treatment against cancer growth was a recently completed British pilot study in human glioblastoma.
In the present study, the researchers first demonstrated that two different lung cancer cell lines as well as patient lung tumor samples express CB1 and CB2, and that non-toxic doses of THC inhibited growth and spread in the cell lines. "When the cells are pretreated with THC, they have less EGFR stimulated invasion as measured by various in-vitro assays," Preet said.
Then, for three weeks, researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells, and found that tumors were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent in treated animals compared to a control group. There was also about a 60 percent reduction in cancer lesions on the lungs in these mice as well as a significant reduction in protein markers associated with cancer progression, Preet says.
Although the researchers do not know why THC inhibits tumor growth, they say the substance could be activating molecules that arrest the cell cycle. They speculate that THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.
Preet says much work is needed to clarify the pathway by which THC functions, and cautions that some animal studies have shown that THC can stimulate some cancers. "THC offers some promise, but we have a long way to go before we know what its potential is," she said.

via [ScienceDaily]

Vitamin B17 Prevents Cancer

2008-09-09T05:02:00.000-07:00

Imagine the world without cancer. It has been proven that cancer is a deficiency disease caused by the lack of Vitamin B17 (Laetrile). Today there are more people making money from cancer than dying from it. That is the one of the main reasons why Vitamin B17 is disapproved by FDA and cancer associations. You can do research and find that pharmaceuticals companies pushed FDA to disallow sales of raw apricot seeds in the United States. Raw apricot seeds are known to have abundance of B17 vitamin. There is lots of money to make from patented drugs and if we all start eating raw apricot seeds than there will be no profit. This information is not a new breaking research, but we are trying to spread the truth about Vitamin B17 through the Internet. This fact has not been proven as fact or fiction. Please see the comments and draw conclusions on your own research.

What should I know about breast cancer?

2008-09-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States after skin cancer. And for all the money spent on research, the survival rate for malignant breast cancer is about the same as it was 60 years ago.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 211,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year and 43,300 patients will die from the disease. Breast cancer is an epidemic among women.

Men get breast cancer, too. 1 male will develop breast cancer for every 100 women with breast cancer. The American Cancer society estimates that 1,600 men will develop the disease this year. Men with breast lumps are evaluated with the same techniques used to evaluate women including mammography.

Breast cancer is uncommon in women younger than 35. Most cases develop in women older than 50, and the risk increases as women pass 60, 70, and 80.

Good nutrition, exercise and hormone balance play a key role in women's health and longevity. Eating cold-water fish (wild salmon, sardines, tuna and mackerel) containing high levels of omega-3, fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grain foods are major factors in the reduction of breast cancer risk.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

2008-09-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

History of prior breast cancer: Women who have had breast cancer in one breast are at greater risk of developing the disease in the other breast.
Family history of breast cancer: Women whose mothers, sisters, or daughters have had breast cancer face increased risk, especially if their relatives had breast cancer while young. However, it is estimated that only about 5 percent of women have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer.

Genetic factors: Testing in families where many women have had breast cancer sometimes shows changes in specific genes. These changes increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

Exposure to chemicals: Women exposed to environmental toxins, pesticides, industrial waste and contaminated water are more likely to get breast cancer. Avoid the exposure to pesticides, herbicides and most petrochemical products directly onto your skin. For example, use natural cleaners for your kitchen and laundry and natural shampoos and conditioners that are much better for you.

Birth control pills: Women that have taken birth control pills at a young age are also at risk for breast cancer. Most birth control pills have progestins (synthetic progesterone) which block the benefits of progesterone. They also block ovulation and the production of the woman's own hormones.

Other known risk factors for Breast Cancer:

Exposure to synthetic hormones: In general, the longer women are exposed to synthetic estrogen (Hormone Replacement Therapy), the more likely they may be to develop breast cancer. To learn more about estrogen and progestins effects on breast cancer, go to this FREE website women's health initiative.
Women who began menstruating before age 12 or who went through menopause after age 55 may be at increased risk. The same may be true for women who never had children and those who are taking or who recently took synthetic HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for five years or longer.

Removal of ovaries: Removal of the ovaries means "instant menopause" and it also means limited production of female hormones. Remember that the ovaries are the primary source of hormones (including estrogens, progesterone and testosterone).

Learn more about how hormone imbalance affects your health and your life.

First child after age 30: Women who have first children later in life may have a greater chance of developing the disease than those who have first children earlier.

Dense breasts: Since breast cancer most often develops in lobular or ductal tissue, women with a high proportion of this kind of dense tissue may be at greater risk.

Radiation therapy: Women whose breasts were exposed to radiation during radiation therapy before age 30 are at increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life. The more X rays you are exposed to the greater the risk of breast cancer.

Alcohol use: Some studies show a slightly higher risk of breast cancer in women who consume more than one alcoholic drink a day. Avoid drinking excessively - your liver is an excellent detoxifier and it protects your body against toxins. Your liver will not function well when exposed to alcohol, cigarrette smoking, pesticides, drugs, poor diet, stress and sedentary lifestyle.

Supporting your body with a healthy lifestyle is the best form of breast cancer treatment. If you drink a lot of alcohol every day, your liver will have difficulty eliminating and regulating the estrogen and toxin levels in the body. The best recommendation is to drink in moderation - one glass of wine a few times a week will not increase your risk of breast cancer.

Obesity: Women who are obese, particularly after menopause, may be at higher risk. Of course, obesity at any age is not healthy and needs to be addressed.

Each year, over 40,000 women in the U.S. die from breast cancer. According to Dr. Lee and Dr. Zava, the sources that cause the epidemic of breast cancer in this country are: excessive estrogen, HRT (hormone replacement therapy), diet, hormone imbalance, household and environmental pollutants.

Two or more drinks a day in postmenopausal women doubles risk of endometrial cancer

2008-09-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Postmenopausal women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day may double their risk of endometrial cancer, according to a new study published by Veronica Wendy Setiawan and colleagues at the University of Southern California.

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system and accounts for six percent of all cancers in women, according to the NCI.

According to Setiawan, previous studies have shown that alcohol consumption has been associated with higher estrogen levels in postmenopausal women, which could be the mechanism that increases the risk of endometrial cancer.

Heart failure rare in leukemia patients on Gleevec

2008-09-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

According to researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, congestive heart failure rarely occurs among leukemia patients who take Gleevec (imatinib).

The study was led by Dr. Jorge Cortes who said that there is no need for routine cardio-specific monitoring of all patients taking imatinib, although those with cardiac history should be close monitored. In a separate paper lasat year, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported that imatinib may be cardio-toxic in humans.

Imatinib targets two members of the tyrosine kinase class of enzymes and a hybrid tyrosine kinase known to cause chronic myologenous leukemia (CML) and Ph-postive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Before imatinib, only about half of CML patients survived five years. Now the five year survival rate is 95 percent.

Treating Melanoma (Skin Cancer #8)

2008-09-05T05:07:00.000-07:00

More men need prostate cancer testing

2008-09-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

n Canada, health officials are wanting more men in the high-risk group (most likely, middle aged) to get screened for prostate cancer. Why? Well, only two in every five men in that country from within that group apparently have tested for prostate cancer in the past year. That's just too low.

An astounding 39 percent (only) of men over the age of 45 have taken blood tests to measure the prostate specific antigen levels, with only 33 percent having undergone a digital rectal exam.

In other words, there could be a lot more undiagnosed prostate problems under development with such a low amount of high-risk men being tested.

Oncologists critical in managing psychiatric disorders

2008-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

According to an article in CANCER, mental illness and emotional distress in patients with advanced cancer is often overlooked by oncologists, but proper management can improve a patient's quality of life.

The review article was written by Dr. Michael Miovic and Dr. Susan Block from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Miovic and Block found that 50 percent or more of patients with advanced or terminal cancer suffer from at least one of three major disorders: adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. Medical management of cancer has improved in the last decade, but management of mental health issues has lagged, according to the authors. Studies show that depressive symptoms can even impact patients' lives even more than pain.

The authors recommend listening as the most important screening tool in the oncologist's toolkit.

Testicular cancer linked to birth weight

2008-09-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

There might be some bad news out there for men with above or below normal birth weights -- new studies are showing that they might be at a high risk for testicular cancer than those who were born a more normal size. To be more precise, men with low birth weights were 18% more likely to develop testicular cancer than their normal-sized counterparts, and high birth weight men were 12% more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. It should be noted, however, that the findings are only try to seminoma testicular cancer, which is the most prevalent type.

Researchers are not indicating whether they believe there might be a reason to these findings. I wonder if some unhealthy habits of mothers that may have lead to low or high birth weights could be playing a role in the health of their sons later in life? What do you think?

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell

2008-09-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

Colin L. Powell was nominated by President Bush on December 16, 2000 as Secretary of State. After being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was sworn in as the 65th Secretary of State on January 20, 2001.

Prior to his appointment, Secretary Powell was the chairman of America’s Promise - The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of young people.

Secretary Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held myriad command and staff positions and rose to the rank of 4-star General. His last assignment, from October 1, 1989 to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm in the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf war.

Following his retirement, Secretary Powell wrote his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey, which was published in 1995. Additionally, he pursued a career as a public speaker, addressing audiences across the country and abroad.

Secretary Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937 and was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Secretary Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

Secretary Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations.

Secretary Powell’s civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President’s Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country.

Secretary Powell is married to the former Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama. The Powell family includes son Michael; daughters Linda and Anne; daughter-in-law Jane; and grandsons Jeffrey and Bryan.

Mobile phone cancer link brought up once more

2008-09-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

In the last decade, we've seen studies that try to link mobile phone use to all kinds of cancer, the most common type being brain cancer. The thinking is that the radiation output from these devices affects the brain when those phones are held close to the head for extended periods.

Well, here's one to shoot this theory down, I guess. In Australia, authorities there have said that mobile phone use does not cause cancer, and talking on a phone in the car is no more dangerous than having a passenger aboard. Wow-- those are heavy hitters.

For many of us, those ultra low-power Bluetooth headsets are the solution for not holding that cellphone near your head for along periods of time. You?

Study Finds Quitting Smoking Helps Odds for Cancer Patients

2008-08-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

Stopping smoking even after lung cancer develops -- can lengthen patient survival, a Canadian study has found.

Patients who continued to smoke during treatment were more likely to die within five years than patients who quit smoking before beginning treatment for lung cancer, the study's principal author, Dr. Gregory M. Videtic, said.

The study was described today at a meeting of cancer specialists here.

A second research team reported evidence that a derivative of vitamin A showed promise in preventing lung cancer among former smokers.

In other studies, two experimental drugs showed promise against advanced lung cancer and cancer of the colon and rectum.

These were among the findings reported at the opening of a four-day meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology that is expected to draw 25,000 participants.

The Canadian smoking study involved 215 patients with small-cell lung cancer who received chemotherapy and radiation to the chest in London, Ontario. This type of cancer is nearly always caused by smoking.

In reviewing the patients' medical records, Dr. Videtic and Larry Stitt of the London Regional Cancer Center found information about the smoking history of 186. Of these, 107 had quit before beginning treatment and 79 continued to smoke during treatment. The records did not say how much the patients smoked.

Two years after therapy, 28 percent of nonsmokers were alive compared with 16 percent of smokers. After five years, 9 percent of nonsmokers were alive compared with 4 percent of smokers.

Smokers and nonsmokers were just as likely to stop therapy because of side effects. But a smoker who had to stop therapy to recover from side effects had a poorer chance of survival than a nonsmoker.

Precisely why stopping smoking during treatment can be beneficial is not known, said Dr. Videtic, who now works at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Because smoking constricts blood vessels, he theorized in an interview that smoking reduced the amount of oxygen that reached cells in the body and might also reduce the amount of drugs that reached the cancer cells.

Dr. Videtic said that in advising lung cancer patients to stop smoking, he cited similar benefits shown in an earlier study involving head and neck cancers.

''It's a very difficult topic to broach with most patients because they feel guilty,'' Dr. Videtic said.

When smoking is discussed, Dr. Videtic said, he offers patients a variety of ways to stop, like gum, patches, acupuncture and programs like Smoke Enders.

''A lot of patients tend to stop cold turkey,'' Dr. Videtic said, when they learn that smoking might interfere with their treatment.

While stopping smoking reduces the chance of developing lung cancer, people who quit still remain at high risk of the disease for many years. About half of all lung cancers occur in people who have stopped smoking for at least a year, said Dr. Jonathan Kurie of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

In the search for ways to prevent lung cancer, Dr. Kurie's team studied two vitamin A derivatives: 9-cis retinoic acid and 13-cis retinoic acid combined with alpha-tocopherol (a synthetic form of vitamin E). The 13-cis form has been shown to have an effect on head and neck cancers.

To grow, cells lining the lungs need retinoic acid to produce a protein, retinoic acid receptor-beta. But heavy smoking leads to precancerous changes that lower amounts of the protein.

Dr. Kurie's study involved 226 patients who had stopped smoking for at least one year and who agreed to have small pieces of lung tissue removed before and after retinoic acid therapy.

The researchers found that after three months, 9-cis retinoic acid had increased the amount of the protein while the 13-cis retinoic acid therapy had not. Side effects like headache, skin rashes and fatigue were more common in the 9-cis retinoic acid group. But neither form of retinoic acid reduced the number of precancerous cells.

''We do not have clear evidence yet that 9-cis retinoic acid reverses precancer or that it can prevent cancer,'' Dr. Kurie said. ''What we have seen is reversal of a gene abnormality. We need much stronger evidence that this drug can prevent precancer or prevent cancer before it can be advanced into full prevention trials.''

Dr. Mark G. Kris of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan reported that Iressa (also known as ZD1839) from a new class of drugs showed promise for lung cancer patients who had failed other therapies in 30 hospitals.

The lung cancers shrank by 50 percent or more in 10 percent of participants. Cancer symptoms like shortness of breath and poor appetite improved in 36 percent, often within 10 days of taking the drug. The study was aimed at determining the effects of different doses of the drug, not survival from lung cancer.

The tumors shrank because Iressa, which is made by AstraZeneca, blocks an important enzyme, tyrosine kinase. Iressa activates a protein that promotes the growth and replication of cancer cells.

In a new study involving 795 patients with advanced colo-rectal cancer at 146 hospitals in the United States and Canada, an old drug, oxaliplatin, in combination with two other drugs, helped delay tumor progression and extended lives, a team led by Dr. Richard M. Goldberg of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., reported.

Oxaliplatin was developed about 20 years ago in France and is marketed in many countries but not the United States.

New Therapies Aim at Lung Tumors, Case by Case

2008-08-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and worldwide.

New targeted therapies like Avastin and Tarceva block key pathways involved in lung cancer growth and extend survival in some patients with advanced disease.

Public financing for lung cancer research is low compared with other public health threats, potentially slowing the rate of progress in fighting the disease.

The numbers are terrifying: lung cancer kills more people in the United States and across the world than any other cancer. Fewer than half of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients live beyond a year. And only 16 percent survive for five years, only a few percentage points higher than when President Richard Nixon declared a “war on cancer” back in 1971.

Despite the grim statistics, many oncologists feel that the outlook for patients with lung cancer is better now than even a few years ago, when those figures were released. Research into the biochemical pathways and genetics of the disease has at last translated into effective new treatments and a better understanding of the behavior of individual tumors.

“We’re really in a watershed or transition phase in lung cancer, where for the first time people are convinced there is something to this molecular biology stuff,” said Dr. Vincent Miller, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

A key advance has been the development of so-called targeted therapies that zero in on particular cells and cell processes closely tied to the growth or spread of tumors. For some, these treatments may have more tolerable side effects than traditional chemotherapy, which attacks both healthy and cancerous cells, and a more potent impact.

An example is Avastin, a genetically engineered antibody designed to block the formation of new blood vessels that nourish tumors. The drug lengthened the lives of patients with advanced lung cancer when added to chemotherapy, and the Food and Drug Administration approved it for this use. But like many of the new cancer drugs, Avastin is very costly and can have serious, even fatal, side effects.

Another drug, Tarceva, entered the lung cancer arsenal in the past few years after studies showed it lengthened survival among lung cancer patients who didn’t respond to other treatments. In about 10 percent of patients, often Asians or women or people who never smoked, its benefits may be especially striking. Tarceva and related drugs, like Iressa, slow the runaway multiplication of cancer cells by blocking a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor, or E.G.F.R. In some people, “they make the tumors implode,” said Dr. Philip Bonomi, director of the hematology/oncology division at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

At a handful of medical centers, oncologists now routinely test cancerous lung cells for a mutation in the E.G.F.R. gene to determine whether they might be especially susceptible to Tarceva. If tumors test positive, the doctors now offer the drug as a first-line therapy rather than waiting to see if other treatments fail, the standard approach. The advantages of this alternate protocol have yet to be thoroughly documented, but Dr. Miller said, “We at Memorial are convinced.”

Unfortunately, most tumors ultimately develop resistance to these promising new drugs, causing patients to relapse. Researchers have discovered the culprit, additional DNA mutations that render tumor cells less responsive to the therapies, and are now using this information to design better treatments. “The beauty of the targeted therapies is they allow you to tackle the cancer in a logical, understandable way,” Dr. Miller said.

The development of new drugs tailored to specific gene mutations represents both progress and a challenge. Carcinogens in tobacco smoke, the No. 1 cause of lung cancer, for example, are thought to alter many aspects of DNA. Driving down the disease’s death toll will require not only an array of new treatments aimed at these complex changes, but also integrated efforts to improve lung cancer prevention and early screening methods that detect dangerous lesions before they spread and become less curable. And all of these will take increased investment for a form of cancer whose current level of financing the National Cancer Institute has described as “far out of proportion to its massive public health impact.”

Ultimately, the cure for lung cancer, when it comes, will most likely be many different cures. “I don’t think there’s going to be one drug that’s going to be a home run,” said Dr. Bonomi of Rush University. “Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease. The hope is that there will be six or seven basic patterns, and one group gets one cocktail, another group gets another. Or there may not be subsets; we may need to look at every patient as an individual.”

Spinal Cord Cancer

2008-08-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

Primary tumors (non-metastatic) of the spinal column are very rare. Primary tumors tend to occur in younger adults. If the tumor causes a fracture in the spine or leads to neurological problems, surgery is usually needed to stabilize the spine. If the tumor causes back pain only, and is sensitive to radiation, radiation therapy can often diminish the pain without surgery.

Following are the potential spinal cancer symptoms :

* Most spinal column tumors have spread from another area of the body (metastatic), with the majority originally coming from tumors in the breast, prostate, kidney, lung or thyroid. The tumors are usually associated with other symptoms such as loss of appetite, unplanned weight loss, nausea and vomiting, or fever/chills/shakes. This type of tumor tends to occur in older adults. Often, the patient already has a known primary tumor in another part of the body.
* The most common symptom of a spinal cord or spine tumor is pain. Pain symptoms that may suggest that a tumor or a cancer is responsible for the pain include pain that continues to get worse despite treatment, and that may be associated with other symptoms such as fatigue or weight loss. The pain may be worse at night. The pain can be located near the level of the tumor or it may radiate around the side, down the arm or down the leg. There is also loss of strength and sensory loss as in loss of sensitivity to pain and temperature below the tumor. Gradual pressure on the spinal cord can cause spasticity. Loss of bowel and or bladder control are important signs of pressure on the spinal cord or the lower spinal nerves.
* Other symptoms of spinal cord cancer may include pain or numbness and motor problems. Pain is worse when you cough or sneeze. You are finding it difficult to pass urine or have a bowel movement
* The patient may also exparience lumps, moles on the skin, and any other findings that might suggest that you have a tumor somewhere else in your body.
* Headache, muscle weakness and loss of sensation due to spinal and cranial nerve impairments.
* Other spinal cord cancer symptoms include changes in behavior confusion, listlessness, impaired memory and judgment, and frequent mood changes. Seizures may also occur.
* A common symptom of spinal cancer is excess water in the brain due to blockage of spinal fluid pathways.

Because symptoms produced by a central nervous system tumor often resemble the symptoms of other diseases, careful evaluation and diagnosis are critical to determine the cause of these symptoms. Primary tumors (non-metastatic) of the spinal column are very rare. Primary tumors tend to occur in younger adults. If the tumor causes a fracture in the spine or leads to neurological problems, surgery is usually needed to stabilize the spine. If the tumor causes back pain only, and is sensitive to radiation, radiation therapy can often diminish the pain without surgery.

Lymphatic Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

Lymph node cancer is also called as lymphatic cancer or lymphoma. The symptoms of lymphatic cancer vary from person to person and may easily be confused with noncancerous conditions.

Folowing are the potential lymph node cancer symptoms :

* The most common sign of cancer cells in the lymph nodes is that one or more of the lymph nodes becomes large or feels hard. However, if there are only a small number of cells in the lymph nodes, they may feel quite normal and it is only possible to tell that a cancer is present by removing part, or all, of the lymph node and examining the cells in a laboratory. It is important to remember that lymph nodes can be enlarged for other reasons, such as infections.
* In most cases, the first sign of lymphoma is a painless swelling in the neck, armpit or groin, caused by enlarged lymph glands. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the swelling may arise in the abdomen. Some lymphoma patients complain of persistent or recurrent fever, night sweats, fatigue and weight loss. Sometimes, itching of the skin (pruritus) marks the early stages of Hodgkin's disease and other lymphomas.
* Hodgkin's Lymphoma is one of several types of cancers of the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are structures in the body that carry white blood cells and fight infections and disease. Lymphomas can occur anywhere in the body because there are lymph nodes all over the body. Most people think there are only lymph nodes in the neck, armpits and groin. Hodgkin's Lymphoma differs from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in that the latter occurs almost exclusively in people over 40 and the cure rate is signifigantly less, although the symptoms are very similar.
* There is a persistant cough and/or chest pain. The lymph nodes in the neck and/or armpits become swollen. Weight loss, night sweats, fever, weakness and fatigue are common symptoms.
* Other lymph cancer symptoms may include fatigue, night sweats, fever, weight loss and swelling of lymph nodes in the chest, neck, armpits and groin.
* If lymphoma involves the lymphatic tissue of the thymus, the gland located in front of the heart, it may cause chest pain. In addition, an enlarged thymus may press on nearby structures such as the trachea (windpipe) or superior vena cava (SVC), the large vein that carries blood from the head and arms back to the heart.
* Pressure on the trachea can lead to coughing, fatigue, shortness of breath, and other respiratory difficulties.
* As lymphomas progress and cancerous lymphocytes spread beyond the lymphatic system, the body loses its ability to fight infections. The generalized symptoms that develop may be confused with influenza, other infections, such as infectious mononucleosis, tuberculosis, or other cancers.

Although all of these symptoms can be present in other illnesses, they may suggest lymphoma, particularly when lymph-node swelling lasts more than six weeks and does not respond to antibiotics. Still, the only sure way to determine whether lymphoma is present is by examination of lymph tissue surgically removed by biopsy.

Sinus Cancer

2008-08-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sinuses are air pockets in the bones of the face. Sinus cancers typically affect the mucosa tissue which is the lining of the sinus. Unfortunately, the symptoms of sinus cancer may be very subtle. The symptoms that present themselves are mostly harmless so as not to alarm the patient.

Following are the potential sinus cancer symptoms or paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer :

* Common symptoms of sinus cancer are nosebleeds, tooth pain and a persistently stuffy nose.
* The cancer can affect other parts of the face indirectly if it presses against them. Cheek numbness (or pain) may be a result of the cancer pressing on the nerve. Excessive tearing may occur in case the cancer presses on the tear duct. Blurry vision and double vision result from pressure on eye muscles. There may also be hearing loss due to the cancer pressing on the eustachian tube.
* Sometimes, if the cancer has grown large, there may be an asymmetric bulge of the cheek or nose. Sinus cancer can also lead to loosening of the upper teeth or change in the alignment of the teeth.
* If the cancer metastasizes to one of the lymph nodes in the neck, a lump may form in the patient's neck.
* Other sinus cancer symptoms may include swelling around the eyes, headaches, blocked sinuses and pain behind the nose or in the upper jaw.

These symptoms may occur due to conditions other than cancer, and most people with these symptoms will not have paranasal sinus cancer. However, like most cancers, paranasal sinus cancer is most likely to be cured when diagnosed at an early stage. Therefore any of the above symptoms which do not improve over a few days should be reported to your family doctor (GP).

Lip Cancer

2008-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

The symptoms of lip cancer develop slowly. Lip cancer symptoms sometimes resemble those of other conditions or problems, so it is important to see a physician to get an accurate diagnosis. Often lip and oral cavity cancers are found by dentists during routine examinations.

Following are the potential oral cancer symptoms :

* Often in the initial stages there is an initial weakening of the line between the red vermilion of the lip and the white skin below the lip.
* As this weakening progresses, small scaling areas may form, and dysphasia may occur which is a premalignancy where there are scale-like areas on the lip.
* Other lip cancer symptoms may include a sore in the lip or in the mouth that does not heal, lump on the lip or in the mouth or throat.
* There also may be unusual bleeding, pain or numbness in the mouth along with a white or red patch on the gums, tongue, or lining of the mouth.
* Patients may experience pain or difficulty in swallowing or chewing. There may also be change of voice.

The doctor will also feel the throat for lumps. If necessary, the patient may be placed under a general anesthetic so that the doctor can do a very thorough examination of areas of the head and neck.

Kidney Cancer Symptoms : Renal Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

What are the symptoms of kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer rarely causes signs or symptoms in its early stages. In the later stages, the most common sign of both renal cell and transitional cell cancers is blood in the urine (hematuria). Kidney cancer symptoms often do not become apparent until the disease has progressed beyond the initial stages. As the disease progresses, some kidney cancer symptoms may begin to become apparent.

Following are the potential kidney cancer or renal cell carcinoma symptoms :

* The most obvious of the kidney cancer symptoms to recognize is blood in your urine. Other kidney cancer symptoms may include weight loss and fatigue. If you feel that you are at risk for kidney cancer or if you are experiencing any of these kidney cancer symptoms please make it a priority to visit a doctor.
* A mass in the area of your kidneys discovered during an examination can be a one of the kidney cancer symptoms.
* The patient may experience persistent pain in te lower back just below your ribs.
* Fever that is not due to cold or flu is also a symptom of renal cancer. The patient may also experience swelling in the ankles and legs.
* Other than these symptoms, other renal cancer symptoms may include chronic fatigue, weight loss and intermittent fever and hypertension (high blood pressure). There may be pain in other parts of your body if the cancer has metastasized.

Although in many cases, these possible kidney cancer symptoms can be attributed to other ailments, it is important to see your doctor. They can help you determine if your kidney cancer symptoms are the result of kidney cancer.

Esophageal Cancer

2008-08-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Early detection of cancer of the esophagus is very difficult. The symptoms of eshophageal cancer are very subtle and may go unnoticed until the cancer is advanced. Early esophageal cancer may not cause any symptoms. As the cancer progresses, it usually causes one or more of the following symptoms:

* The most common symptom of esophageal cancer is difficulty swallowing. Swallowing problems may occur occasionally at first, and patients often react by eating more slowly and chewing their food more carefully and, as the tumor grows, switching to soft foods or a liquid diet. Without treatment, the tumor will eventually prevent even liquid from passing into the stomach. This is usually a progressive problem which begins initially when large pieces of poorly chewed food are swallowed, but can worsen to the point that thin liquids won't go down easily.

Patients with early esophageal cancer may be hoarse and have hiccups or elevated calcium levels, but symptoms characteristic of the disease generally don't appear until the tumor has grown so large that the patient cannot be cured.
* Esophageal cancer may also cause weight loss, regurgitation of undigested food, and bleeding manifested by vomiting blood or passing old blood with bowel movements.
* There may be pressure, burning, and a feeling of food being stuck. These early symptoms may occur so irregularly that they are attributed to something else.

These symptoms may be caused by esophageal cancer or by other conditions. It is important to check with a doctor.

Thyroid Cancer

2008-08-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Thyroid cancer is a disease that affects the thyroid. The thyroid is a gland located in the front part of the neck. Early stages of thyroid cancer usually has no symptoms, it is just a small lump in the thyroid. As the cancer grows, it may produce the following symptoms: Neck Mass, Hoarseness, Neck Pain, Swallowing Difficulty, Breathing Difficulty, and Swollen Glands.

Potential thyroid cacner symptoms include :

* a lump in the neck that gradually increases in size, with or without pain. The patient may experience difficulty swallowing or breathing. A lump that can be felt in the neck is the most frequent thyroid cancer symptom. Thyroid nodules are common, and in most cases they are benign.
* The patient may experience hoarseness in his voice with difficulty speaking. He may also feel pain in the throat or neck.
* Swelling of lymph nodes is also a thyroid cancer symptom.
* A persistent cough that is not from a cold may also be a symptom of thyroid cancer.

Commonly, these signs and symptoms will indicate problems other than cancer. However, people who notice any symptoms should see their doctor.

Tongue Cancer

2008-08-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

If you are seeing your doctor and dentist on a regular basis they should be checking for tongue cancer symptoms. Because tongue cancer is related to other oral cancers, tongue cancer symptoms are also related. Typically tongue cancer symptoms will not appear in people under the age of forty-five years old, but some younger people do experience tongue cancer symptoms.

Following are the potential tongue cancer symptoms :

A white or red thick patch on the tongue, gums, or lining of the mouth may be a key tongue cancer symptom. Over time this patch turns into an ulcer that has a firm, raised rim and a delicate center that bleeds easily. If the tumor is not treated, it can spread to the gums, lower jaw, lymph nodes, neck, and floor of the mouth, eroding healthy tissues in these areas. The tongue becomes rigid and immobile if the tumor grows large enough. Eventually, the tumor may block the throat, making swallowing and breathing difficult.
Untreated, there may be bad breath and difficulty with saliva.
The patient may also experience pain in the ear, change in the voice, and unusual bleeding, pain, or numbness in the mouth.
There may be bleeding from the tongue (that is, not caused by known injury). Numbness or difficulty moving the tongue Change in speech (due to inability to move the tongue over the teeth when speaking)

Please keep in mind that these may be tongue cancer symptoms. These tongue cancer symptoms may also be caused by another unrelated health problem. It is important to see your doctor if you have tongue cancer symptoms so he can run some tests.

Mouth Cancer

2008-08-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

Changes in the way the soft tissues of your mouth usually look or feel can be early mouth cancer symptoms. You won't always be able to spot the earliest warning signs of oral cancer, which is why regular check-ups with both your dentist and physician are so important. Your dentist is trained to detect early warning signs of oral cancer. However, in addition to check-ups, you should see your dentist if you do notice any of the following potential mouth cancer symptoms:

* Changes in the way the soft tissues of your mouth usually look or feel can be early mouth cancer symptoms. These mouth cancer symptoms can include mouth sores that do not heal, persistent mouth pain, thickening of the cheek, and loss of teeth.
* A sore or ulcer in the mouth that does not heal and discomfort or pain in the mouth that does not go away may be symptoms of oral cancer.
* Other mouth cancer symptoms may include white (leukoplakia) or red (erythroplakia) patches anywhere in your mouth. White or red patches can be signs of pre-malignancy. Pre-malignant cells are abnormal, but they are not yet cancer. If left untreated, pre-malignancy can go on to develop into cancer. But if you get the condition treated, you can prevent a cancer from developing.
* A lump on the lip, tongue or in the mouth or throat and unusual bleeding or numbness in the mouth.
* The patient may experience pain while chewing or swallowing. There may also be a feeling that there is something in your throat.
* Loss of teeth and a change in the voice, speech problems, unexplained bleeding or numbness in your mouth also are oral cancer symptoms.
* Other mouth/oral cancer symptoms may include weight loss, a lump in the neck.

These symptoms may be caused by cancer or by other, less serious problems. It is important to see a dentist or doctor about any symptoms like these, so that the problem can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Bladder Cancer

2008-08-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

Bladder cancer symptoms are not specific. Some other non fatal diseases also have symptoms similar to bladder cancer symptoms. Diseases such as inflamatory conditions involving the bladder and the kidney may have symptoms along similar lines to bladder cancer symptoms.

Given below are potential bladder cancer symptoms.

* Some of the more prevalent bladder cancer symptoms include difficulty in urinating, blood in the urine (hematuria), and frequent urge for urination(dysuria) even when the bladder is empty. These bladder cancer symptoms may also be the result of a mere infection or a bladder stone. It is always advised to consult a physician before drawing any conclusions. Sometimes blood clots may form and cause pain or obstruction to the flow of urine.
* A cancerous tumor is made up of abnormal cells along with abnormal blood vessels. These abnormal cells and microscopic amounts of blood are often passed into the urine. This may come and go and is often painless. Blood in the urine is not usually visible to the naked eye. It is called microscopic hematuria. It can be detected through urine tests. Though microscopic hematuria is a very common bladder cancer symptom, it is not necessary always that a person with microscopic hematuria has bladder cancer.
* In some cases, blood is in the urine changes the urine color. The urine may have a slightly pink or orange hue, or it may be bright red with or without clots. If this bladder cancer symptom is encountered, one must immediately consult a your GP for screening tests.
* The presence of a tumor along the lining of the bladder can result in increased sensitivity of the bladder.Some less common symptoms such as frequent urination and urgency occur because the bladder often is more irritated.

Some of these symptoms though associated with bladder cancer, may be the result of less fatal disorders such as bladder stone. Proper tests must be conducted for to arrive at any conclusions.

Liver Cancer

2008-08-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

A very early cancer will have little or no symptoms. It will have little or no symptoms because it is too small to cause any. As the cancer enlarges, it will have symptoms. Not all of these liver cancer symptoms are present in all people, and for many people, no recognizable liver cancer symptoms are present until the final stages of the disease. If you believe that you are experiencing liver cancer symptoms, it is important that you visit a doctor. Only a doctor can accurately determine if your liver cancer symptoms are the result of cancer. Liver cancer symptoms (hepatocellular carcinoma) most commonly develop in people who have underlying liver disease.

Following are the potential liver cancer symptoms :

* In patients with liver cancer symptoms, common complaints are weight loss, abdominal pain, abdominal fullness, ascites, and jaundice. In a small minority of patients, blood may develop in the abdominal cavity (hemoperitoneum).
* Pain in the right upper abdominal area caused by stretching of the liver's capsule, which is rich in nerves. The liver may then extend below the righ costal margin and be painful on probing.
* If liver cancer metastasizes(which it very rarely does), it most commonly metastasizes to the lungs. In these patients symptoms such as shortness of breath and cough may develop.
* If the abdomen swells, it may be due the liver failing to produce the protein required to hold the blood's fluid in the blood vessels. The fluid has no choice but to migrate out to fill the abdomen, scrotum and limbs.
* Weight Loss and loss of appetite. This may be due to the disruption of the general working of the liver.
* Breast swelling in men is a symptom of liver cancer. This may be a result of the failure of the liver breaking down estrogen. Red palms are also a liver cancer symptom.
* The skin may develop bruises and there may be intestinal bleeding due to inefficiency in blood clotting. The liver cannot utilize the Vitamin K needed for production of prothrombin, needed to form blood clots.
* Increased ammonia in the body can cause fatigue and sometimes even coma.
* Indirect liver cancer symptoms include elevated blood calcium, low blood sugar, anemias, precocious puberty in children, intense flushing, and other metabolicdisturbances. These syndromes often will be alleviated with cancer shrinkage.
* Jaundice along with itchy skin (pruritis). Stools may become loose and smelly. This may be due to the poor breakdown of fats in the digestive tract.
* If the cancer spreads liver cancer symptoms may include bone pain, neurological symptoms from brain involvement, and intestinal blockage.

Although in many cases, these possible liver cancer symptoms can be attributed to other ailments, it is important to see your doctor. They can help you determine if your liver cancer symptoms are the result of liver cancer.

Bone Cancer

2008-08-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

Bone cancer weakens the bone by creating holes within them. Often, a metal pin or a plate can be fitted into the affected bone to strengthen it. It depends on the situation whether such an operation is possible. Following are the bone cancer symptoms:

* The calcium level in the blood goes up than normal. As a result, the person may feel sick, drowsy, or constipated. These symptoms should be reported to one's GP as soon as possible.
* Bone cancer symptoms will vary from person to person depending on the size and location of the bone cancer. Some generalized bone cancer symptoms to look for include pain/ swelling in the bone or unexpected bone fractures.
* Other secondary bone cancer symptoms may be present depending on the bone affected. If the spine, leg or hip bones are affected, there would be a walking difficulty accompanied with pain. In case the cancer has affected a minor portion of the bone, the symptoms may not be as apparent.
* The most common symptom of bone cancer is pain, which is caused either by the spread of the tumor or by the breaking of bone that is weakened by a tumor. Stiffness or tenderness in the bone may also occur. Sometimes there are other symptoms, such as fatigue, fever, swelling, and stumbling. But these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions. Only a doctor can tell for sure whether or not a patient has bone cancer.

Regular chckups are the key to early detection of bone cancer. Thus, it as advised to consult one's GP if any of the above mentioned bone cancer symptoms are encountered.

Stomach Cancer

2008-08-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Stomach cancer can be very difficult to diagnose because in the early stages, the symptoms can be absent or very mild. The symptoms of stomach cancer may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis. The following are the most common symptoms of stomach cancer. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Potential stomach cancer symptoms may include:

* Stomach cancer symptoms (gastric cancer) commonly are characterized by abdominal pain and difficulty eating. Patients often suffer from anaemia due to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with stomach cancer symptoms develop a sense of fullness in their stomach even when they have not eaten much.
* Stomach cancer symptoms can include a dull or gnawing pain in the middle of the abdomen (epigastrium).
* Difficulty swallowing because of a tumor involving the upper part of your stomach, near the esophagus.
* Other stomach cancer symptoms include an abdominal mass, abdominal swelling, pain and fullness in the right upper abdomen.
* Stomach cancer symptoms can also include fatigue, weight loss, or dark stools. Patients with a history of gastritis or a stomach ulcer (gastric ulcer) may be at a risk.

If you experience any of the above stomach cancer symptoms it is advised that you see your healthcare provider for a more thorough check so the proper diagnose and treatment can be apply.

Skin Cancer

2008-08-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Most people are alerted to the possibility that they have skin cancer because they notice a difference in the appearance of their skin. Such an occurrence may take the form of a spot, sore, or mole with a changeable size, shape, color, or 'feel'.

Following are the potential skin cancer symptoms :

* There are a variety of different skin cancer symptoms that you should be aware of. Those skin cancer symptoms include sores or changes in the skin that do not heal, ulcers in the skin, discoloring in parts of the skin, and changes in existing moles.
* The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change on the skin, especially a new growth or a sore that doesn't heal. Skin cancers don't all look the same. The cancer may start as a small, smooth, shiny, pale, or waxy lump. Or it can appear as a firm red lump. Sometimes, the lump bleeds or develops a crust. Skin cancer can also start as a sore or rough red spot that becomes scaly or crusty. Actinic keratosis, which appears as rough, red or brown scaly patches on the skin, is known as a precancerous condition because it sometimes develops into squamous cell cancer. Like skin cancer, it usually appears on sun-exposed areas but can be found elsewhere.
* The majority of melanomas occur on the head, neck, arms and back – ie the skin exposed most to sunlight. Most of them are very dark or black, but they can sometimes be lighter brown or even speckled. The surface is usually raised and sometimes rough. They are not normally circular in shape, but some can be quite close to a circle. In their early stages, they often look like a mole, but with a ragged outline or different shades of colour in it. Sometimes, they appear to be a mole that is bleeding, oozing or crusty. However, the most important thing is that melanomas usually change shape or colour as they grow. Any spot that changes colour or shape should be reported to your doctor.
* Ordinary moles typically appear as evenly colored (brown, black, tan), round spots on the skin. They can be present at birth, or they may appear at any time during a person's life, often after periods of sun exposure. Most are small (less than 6 millimeters in diameter), and they do not change in size or shape, although they may fade somewhat in older individuals. By contrast, melanoma - a much more serious form of skin cancer -usually begins as an abnormal mole.

Changes in the skin are not sure signs of cancer; however, it is important to see a doctor if any symptom lasts longer than 2 weeks. Don't wait for the area to hurt. Skin cancers seldom cause pain.

Throat Cancer

2008-08-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible symptoms of throat cancer. The alternative names for throat cancer are: vocal cord cancer, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the glottis, or cancer of the pharynx. The risks of developing throat cancer increased if you are a frequent user of alcohol, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco. Cancer of the throat involves tumors on the tonsils, vocal cords, voice box (larynx) and at the base of the tongue.

Following are the potential throat cancer symptoms / larynx cancer symptoms:

* The symptoms of cancer of the larynx (laryngeal cancer symptoms) depend mainly on the size and location of the tumor. Most cancers of the larynx begin on the vocal cords. These tumors are seldom painful, but they almost always cause hoarseness or other changes in the voice. Tumors in the area above the vocal cords may cause a lump on the neck, a sore throat, or an earache. Tumors that begin in the area below the vocal cords are rare. They can make it hard to breathe, and breathing may be noisy.
* A sore throat that does not go away after four weeksor pain or difficulty swallowing that persists for four weeks or more may be a symptom of throat cancer. A cough that doesn't go away or the feeling of a lump in the throat may also be warning signs of cancer of the larynx. As the tumor grows, it may cause pain, weight loss, bad breath, and frequent choking on food. In some cases, a tumor in the larynx can make it hard to swallow.
* A lump on the lip, in the mouth, or in the throat or sore on the lip or inside the mouth that does not heal for weeks is a potential laryngeal cancer symptom.

If you experience any of the above throat cancer symptoms it is advised that you see your healthcare provider for a more thorough check so the proper diagnose and treatment can be apply. The earlier throat cancer is diagnosed, the better the prospect of recovery. The symptoms of throat cancer are often confused with less serious conditions.

Prostate Cancer

2008-08-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

Often, early stages of prostate cancer do not cause symptoms. Early prostate cancer often does not cause symptoms. That is why a yearly Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal exam (DRE) are important for men 50 and older (45 for those at higher risk of prostate cancer.) Following are the possible prostate cancer symptoms.

* As a man ages, his prostate may grow. An enlarged prostate, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), can block the flow of urine or interfere with sexual function. BPH is not prostate cancer, but can cause many of the same symptoms as prostate cancer symptoms.
* Other prostate cancer symptoms include a need to urinate frequently, especially at night, difficulty starting urination or holding back urine, inability to urinate, weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination.
* Usually, men with prostate cancer can have difficulty in having an erection and painful ejaculation. Although these may not be due to prostate cancer, it is always advised to consult a qualified doctor.
* Blood in urine or semen frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.

You should speak with your doctor immediately if you have experienced any of the above symptoms or if you are a man over 50 who has not had a recent prostate cancer screening. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, or are an African-American male, you should consider screening at age 45.

A man with prostate cancer may or may not have symptoms. And the common symptoms of prostate cancer don’t always mean the presence of the disease. However, a man who experiences one or more of the following symptoms, particularly if he is at higher risk for prostate cancer, should see his doctor.

Ovarian Cancer

2008-08-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ovarian cancer symptoms are usually silent in nature i.e. they are very subtle at the onset and present themselves only at the advanced stages. Women should be aware of the below mentioned ovarian cancer symptoms and take immediate medical action if one or more of these symptoms arise. Regular pelvic exams are the key to early detection of ovarian cancer.

* Indigestion, nausea, or changes in bowel movements are the most common signs of ovarian cancer. Women who have ovarian cancer may or may not experience pelvic pain. Though these "silent" symptoms may sometimes indicate the presence of ovarian cancer, they may also indicate benign (non-cancerous) ovarian conditions or other conditions.
* Unusual vaginal bleeding—a rare sign of ovarian cancer. More likely, vaginal bleeding is a sign of another type of abnormality. Bleeding may occur between menstrual periods. Heavier than normal menstrual bleeding, and menstrual bleeding that lasts longer than normal are considered unusual signs.
* Unfortunately, there are often no symptoms in the early stages of ovarian cancer. As the cancer grows, women may experience lower abdominal discomfort or swelling. However, symptoms do not always present themselves until the cancer has spread past the ovaries. Since several symptoms of ovarian cancer are associated with a variety of other conditions, many harmless, they are sometimes ignored even when they are present.
* Other ovarian cancer symptoms include pain in the legs or back, pain during intercourse, bloating. weight gain or loss.

Despite an increased awareness of ovarian cancer in the news and other media, the ability to detect this disease is poor, and many women are not diagnosed until the disease is advanced. Ovarian cancer ordinarily produces no distinctive symptoms, and most tumors metastasize, or spread, to other abdominal organs before being diagnosed. Metastasis can give rise to ascites, a build-up of fluid in the abdomen that usually causes abdominal swelling. Such swelling may be the only indication that something is wrong, and it is the most common reason most patient visit their doctor.

Symptoms are often associated with the location of the tumor and its impact on the surrounding organs. They tend to be non-specific and can mimic non-gynecologic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, etc. Many of us experience these symptoms from time to time - do not be alarmed! But if they persist and are unusual for you, then seek a professional opinion.

Women who are consistently experiencing one or more of the symptoms for ovarian cancer should talk to their physician about being tested for ovarian cancer. Additionally, all women over 18 years of age should have an annual physician performed pelvic examination. If ovarian cancer is suspected, physicians may order several tests for verification.

Breast Cancer

2008-08-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

Brest cancers are potentially life-threatening malignant tumors that develop in one or both breast. There are sections in a woman's breast which is mostly made of fatty and fibrous connective tissues. They are further divided into lobes and lobes into lobules. These lobules contain small milk-producing glands. Milk is carried though these small ducts through the breast and collects in a chamber located below the nipple. Most cancers begin in the ducts, some in the lobules and the rest in other tissues.

Breast cancer in the early stages does not cause any pain thus there may not be many apparent breast cancer symptoms in the early stages. But as the cancer grows, they show certain traits which could be treated as potential breast cancer symptoms.

Some tumors may be visible on a mammogram before the first sign of symptoms appears. It is important for all women to be familiar with the appearance, feeling, shape, and texture of their breast in order to detect changes as soon as they occur.

* When the results of the mammogram show some abnormal area or a lump. Most breast cancer is discovered before symptoms are present, either by finding an abnormality on mammography or feeling a breast lump. These changes can often be due to less serious problems. The precise reason behind these breast cancer symptoms should be carefully analysed, taking into consideration the family history and her personal medical history.
* You may also notice a persistent lump under your arm or above your collarbone. Other possible symptoms are breast discharge, nipple inversion, or changes in the skin of the breast. Most breast lumps are not cancerous. All breast lumps, however, need to be examined by a doctor.
* Breast disscharge is rarely a breast cancer symptom. A factor of worry would be when the discharge is from only one of the two breasts or when there is blood oozing out of the breasts.
* Nipple inversion that is a new development can be a cause for concern. Otherwise, it is a common variant of normal nipples.
* Other breast cancer symptoms include change in the skin overlying the breast, for instance redness, change in texture, and puckering. Note that these conditions are usually caused by skin ailments but can also be considered as breast cancer symptoms.

A woman should see her doctor if she notices any of these changes. Most often, they are not cancer, but only a doctor can tell for sure.

Eye Cancer

2008-08-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

Eye cancers are subtle and may not present themselves early. Regular eye tests are the key to early detection and cure.

Following are the potential eye cancer symptoms :

* The symptoms of this type of cancer usually begin with blurred vision and tenderness of the eye. Advanced symptoms may include loss of vision. If these symptoms persist a person should make an appointment with their ophthalmologist.
* The most common symptom is painless loss of vision. Unlike choroidal and ciliary body melanoma, iris melanoma can sometimes be seen because it looks like dark spots in the eye.
* Other eye cancer symptoms may include blurred vision, losing part of the field of vision, seeing flashes of light or having a dark spot on the iris.
* Patients may also experience white pupils, poorly aligned eyes, red and painful eye, poor vision, inflammation of surrounding eye tissue, an enlarged pupil, different colored irises.
* Eye cancer can also cause sensitivity to light, swelling and pain around the eye, difficulty in moving the eye or involuntary oscillatory movements of the eye.

People affected by intraocular melanoma often have no symptoms. Many times an ophthalmologist finds the melanoma during a routine eye exam. The most common symptom is painless loss of vision. Unlike choroidal and ciliary body melanoma, iris melanoma can sometimes be seen because it looks like dark spots in the eye.

Lung Cancer

2008-08-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

When lung cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. But as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that people should watch for. One fourth of all people with lung cancer have no symptoms when the cancer is diagnosed. These cancers are usually identified incidentally when a chest x-ray is performed for another reason. The other three fourths of people develop some symptoms. The symptoms are due to direct effects of the primary tumor; to effects of metastatic tumors in other parts of the body; or to malignant disturbances of hormones, blood, or other systems. Lung cancer most often spreads to the liver, the adrenal glands, the bones, and the brain.

Following are the potential lung cancer symptoms:

* Having a cough most of the time or a change in the cough you have had for a long time is a common lung cancer symptom. A new cough in a smoker or a former smoker should raise concern for lung cancer. A cough that does not go away or gets worse over time should be evaluated by a health care provider. Coughing up blood (hemoptysis) occurs in a significant number of people who have lung cancer. Any amount of coughed-up blood should cause alarm.
* Wheezing, or hoarseness of voice can be the symptoms of lung cancer. Wheezing or hoarseness may signal blockage or inflammation in the lungs that may go along with cancer.
* Swelling of the face caused by a blockage of a main blood vessel from the head (SVCO). SVCO stands for superior vena cava obstruction. If the the vena cava, a large vein that carries blood from the brain and head back to the heart, is blocked, there is a build up behind the blockage causing fluid to seep out from the bloodstream and collect in the tissues of the face, causing swelling.
* Constant chest pain. Chest pain is a lung cancer symptom in about one fourth of people with lung cancer. The pain is dull, aching, and persistent and may involve other structures surrounding the lung.
* Being short of breath. Shortness of breath usually results from a blockage in part of the lung, collection of fluid around the lung (pleural effusion), or the spread of tumor through the lungs.
* Repeated respiratory infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia(inflammation of the lungs), can be a sign of lung cancer.
* Metastatic lung cancer in the liver and in the adrenal glands usually does not cause any symptoms, at least at the time of diagnosis. Metastasis to the bones is most common with small cell type cancers but also occurs with other lung cancer types. Lung cancer that has metastasized to the bone causes bone pain, usually in the backbone (vertebrae), the thighbones, and the ribs.
* Lung cancer that spreads to the brain can cause difficulties with vision, weakness on one side of the body, and/or seizures. Paraneoplastic syndromes are the remote, indirect effects of cancer not related to direct invasion. Such lung cacner symptoms include the following:
o Depositing of extra tissue under the nails.
o New bone formation Along the lower legs or arms.
o Anemiam, muscle weakness, skin rashes, and degeneration of the brain.
o Weight loss, Fatigue, Low sodium levels.

These symptoms may be caused by lung cancer or by other conditions. It is important to check with a doctor if you have lung cancer symptoms because only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Don't wait to feel pain. Early cancer usually doesn't cause pain.

Uterine Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

Uterine cancer is also referred to as endometrial cancer. Uterine cancer is the cancer of the inside lining of the uterus. It is common knowledge that menstrual periods are caused by the monthly crumbling of the skin of this endometrium. Women post-menopause are at a high risk of being affected by uterine cancer but few younger women also have been diagnosed of uterine cancer. Uterine cancer symptoms develop most commonly in association with unopposed estrogen, meaning estrogen without progesterone. Women who have not had children are also at a risk. Following are the potential uterine cancer symptoms.

* Post menopausal vaginal bleeding is an important uterine cancer symptom and should be immediately verified by a qualified doctor. Bleeding may start as a watery, blood-streaked flow that gradually contains more blood. Although detection of uterine cancer usually occurs after menopause, it sometimes occurs around the time that menopause begins. These uterine cancer symptoms also can occur with hyperplasia and some other noncancerous conditions but it is important to have immediate medical evaluation of irregular bleeding.
* In premenopausal women, the diagnosis of endometrial cancer requires some suspicion. Patients may develop prolonged or heavy menstrual periods or bleeding between periods. Proper evaluation of such endometrial cancer symptoms is advised.
* Unusual vaginal discharge may also a uterine cancer symptom. Discharge may be bloody or white. Though this may be due to less harmful disorders, it is advised to get it verified.
* Other uterine cancer symptoms include discomfort and painful urination, pain during intercourse. Some late uterine cancer symptoms may be pelvic pain and weight loss. Delay in seeking advise can be detrimental to the successful treatment of the disease.

The chances of successful treatment of endometrial cancer or uterine cancer are good when detected early. The proper and timely evaluation of the mentioned uterine cancer symptoms can be help successfully cure the disease.

Blood Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

The symptoms of blood cancer or leukaemia vary greatly, depending on the exact type of disease and how advanced it is. Few or no symptoms may occur in the early stages, especially in people with chronic leukaemia. Many symptoms are vague, such as fever, headaches, weight loss and night sweats. The different types of leukaemia develop in different ways. Acute leukaemias progress rapidly, whereas in chronic leukaemia, symptoms take longer to develop and the decline is far less swift.

The different types of leukaemia develop in different ways. Acute leukaemias progress rapidly, whereas in chronic leukaemia, symptoms take longer to develop and the decline is far less swift. Some of the symptoms of lymphomas can be very similar to those of leukaemia. Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's patients also often suffer night sweats, unexplained fevers, fatigue and weight loss. There can also be itchy skin or red patches.

Following are the potential blood cancer symptoms :

* If you have a lot of infections, you may find they are difficult to shake off because you do not have enough healthy white blood cells to fight the bacteria or viruses that have caused the infection. Pain and swelling in the bones, joints or lymph glands is caused by too many abnormal white blood cells collecting there.
* The extra white blood cells can clog up the lymph nodes and spleen, causing them to swell. The spleen is an organ on the left of your body, just under your ribs. If it becomes enlarged, it can be uncomfortable or painful. Your doctor may be able to feel it. If you have an enlarged spleen, you may feel full more quickly than usual because the spleen is squashing your stomach. You may then eat less and lose weight.
* Due to the extra white blood cells using up space in the bone marrow, blood platelets are cramped for space. These normally help to clot the blood, this may cause nosebleeds, bruising or heavy periods.
* The lack of red blood cells which carry oxygen causes anaemia, breathlessness and fatigue.
* The extra white blood cells in the bone marrow increase the pressure inside the bones and can cause bone pain.
* Other symptoms of chronic leukaemia are headaches and eye problems in some people.

If you have any of these symptoms you must have them checked by your GP. Such blood cancer symptoms may be a result of other, less harmful diseases. Most people with these symptoms will not have chronic leukaemia.

Testicular Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

Testicular cancer does not always produce symptoms. A mass or lump in the testicle is usually the first sign of the disease. The mass may or may not be painful. Other symptoms include testicular swelling, hardness, and a feeling of heaviness or aching in the scrotum or lower abdomen. Dramatic medical advances along with increased awareness of testicular cancer symptoms in the last two decades have helped to increase survival rates remarkably. Now, testicular cancer often is completely curable, especially if found and treated early.

Following are the testicular cancer symptoms:

* The most common symptom of testicular cancer is a lump, irregularity or swelling in one testicle.
* Testicular cancer symptoms occur most commonly in young men. Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in men 25-35 years old. Patients often develop testicular cancer symptoms of a painless enlargement of the testicle. Many men will have a mass with associated pain. Some testicular cancer symptoms include the presence of a hydrocele, back pain, inguinal swelling, nausea, weight loss and constipation.
* Some types of testicular cancer (e.g., choriocarcinoma, Leydig cell tumors, Sertoli cell tumors) produce high levels of hormones (e.g., human chorionic gonadotropin [HCG], estrogen, testosterone). Increased levels of HCG may cause breast tenderness and abnormal growth of breast tissue (gynecomastia). Increased levels of estrogen may cause a loss of sexual desire (libido) and increased levels of testosterone may cause premature growth of facial and body hair in boys.
* A testicular cancer symptom indicating that it has spread to other organs (metastasized) may be low back pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, and cough.
* Testicular cancer has been associated with cryptochordism and Kleinfelter’s syndrome. Testicular cancer symptoms are more likely to occur in men with a personal history of a previous testicular cancer or with a family history of testicular cancer.

It is important to see a doctor, preferably a urologist, if any of these testicular cancer symptoms occur. Early diagnosis of testicular cancer is especially important because the sooner cancer is found and treated, the better a man's chance for complete recovery and the easier the treatment procedure.

Penis Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

Penile cancer is a rare form of cancer. Patients experiencing the below mentioned symptoms should arrange an urgent appointment with a specialist in diseases affecting the penis (called a urologist) to see any man who comes with an ulcerated or sore area on their penis.

Following are the potential penile cancer symptoms :

* Penile cancer typically begins as a raised lump or lesion on the penis. It can begin more as an area of unexplained change in the color of the skin.
* The most common symptom of penile cancer is a tender spot, an open sore, or a wart-like lump that originates at the tip of the penis. The tender spot spreads slowly across the skin, and invades deeper layers of tissue.
* There may also be a discharge or bleeding. These symptoms may occur with conditions other than cancer. Like most cancers, cancer of the penis is easiest to treat if it is diagnosed early, so if you have any worries it is best to go to your doctor straight away.
* Other penile cacner symptoms may include genital lesions on the penis. Penis pain and bleeding from the penis may occur with advanced disease.
* Watch out for other penis cancer symptoms such as a new growth or sore that does not heal in four weeks, a spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab, erode or bleed and persistent skin ulcers.

Symptoms of penile cancer are visible on the skin. It is useful to be aware of what is normal, and to recognise any changes. Commonly, these symptoms will indicate problems other than cancer. However, people who notice any symptoms should see their doctor as soon as possible. Penile cancer is easier to treat the earlier it is detected.

Summary of penile cancer symptoms :

* A tender spot, an open sore, or a wart-like lump that originates at the tip of the penis.
* A new growth or sore that does not heal in four weeks.
* A spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab, erode or bleed.
* Unexplained and persistent skin ulcers.

Neck Cancer Symptoms : Head And Neck Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

Cancers of the head and neck are some of the few cancers for which a particular cause can often be identified. When examined, patients who report the symptoms described below commonly admit to being smokers and/or frequent consumers of substantial quantities of alcohol. Most head and neck cancers produce early symptoms. You should know the possible warning signs so you can alert your doctor to your symptoms as soon as possible. Remember - successful treatment of head and neck cancer can depend on early detection. Knowing and recognizing the signs of head and neck cancer can save your life.

Following are the potential head and neck cancer symptoms :

* A lump in the neck. Cancers that begin in the head or neck usually spread to lymph nodes in the neck before they spread elsewhere. Such lumps are generally painless and continue to enlarge steadily. Of course, not all lumps are cancer.
* Neck cancer symptoms might include persistent pain in the throat, pain or difficulty with swallowing, persistent hoarseness or a change in voice, pain in the ear and bleeding in the mouth or throat.
* Most neck cancers originate in the oral cavity, sores or lesions in the mouth can be warning signs. Two types of lesions that could be precursors to cancer are white or red lesions.
* Patients may experience a change in the voice and hoarseness.
* Swallowing problems may be neck cancer symptoms. Cancer of the throat or esophagus (swallowing tube) may make swallowing solid foods difficult. Patients may feel food sticking in their throat and sometimes the food might come up again.
* Constant pain in or around the ear when you swallow can be a sign of infection or tumor growth in the throat. This is particularly serious if it is associated with difficulty in swallowing, hoarseness or a lump in the neck. These symptoms are best evaluated by an otolaryngologist.

Cancers of the head and neck are some of the few cancers for which a particular cause can often be identified. When examined, patients who report the such head and neck cancer symptoms commonly admit to being smokers and/or frequent consumers of substantial quantities of alcohol.

Summary of Neck cancer symptoms :

* A lump in the neck.
* Change in the voice.
* Persistent pain in the throat.
* Coughing up blood.
* Pain or difficulty with swallowing and chewing.
* A sore throat that does not go away.
* A growth in the mouth.
* A change or hoarseness in the voice.
* Changes in the skin.
* Pain in the ear.
* Bleeding in the mouth or throat.
* Persistent Earache.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

Pancreatic cancer symptoms often can be very non-specific, which is why pancreatic cancer is commonly not diagnosed until it has progressed to an advanced stage. Pancreatic cancer symptoms often do not appear until the tumor grows large enough to interfere with the function of the stomach, liver, or other nearby organs.

Following are potential pancreatic cancer symptoms :

* Jaundice, which causes yellowing of the skin, is a common pancreatic cancer symptom at the time of diagnosis and may be associated with less-advanced disease. Hepatitis and gallstones, however, can also obstruct the common bile duct and are much more common causes of jaundice. So called painless jaundice is a classic complaint of patients who are subsequently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
* The patient may experience pain in the abdomen and back. Sometimes, excess insulin produced by the pancreas cause symptoms as dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, chills, or muscle spasms. Other pancreatic cancer symptoms include weight loss, fatigue, discomfort in the abdomen, loss of appetite, and glucose intolerance.
* Nausea, loss of appetite, unintended weight loss, pain in the upper or middle abdomen, and jaundice may be caused by other problems that are far less serious than pancreatic cancer. The appearance of any of these signs, however, warrants a medical examination.
* Other pancreatic cancer symptoms may include pain, weight loss and wasting, fatigue, and depression. The pain of pancreatic cancer may be constant or intermittent, and can be caused by the spread of tumors to the network of nerves surrounding the pancreas.
* Weight loss can result when cancer interferes with the basic food-processing functions of the pancreas. Patients may have problems digesting fatty foods in particular. Exocrine cancers can sometimes cause problems with sugar metabolism that can be recognized by blood tests, and in rare cases can be a cause of diabetes.
* An odd pancreatic cancer symptom can be that it sometimes causes people to itch all over their bodies. The reasons of such itching may not be known.
* Fatigue and depression are common symptoms for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Many of these pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of a less serious ailment. However, only a doctor can accurately diagnosis whether or not your pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of cancer. Many of these pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of a less serious ailment. However, only a doctor can accurately diagnosis whether or not your pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of cancer.

Summary of pancreatic cancer symptoms :

* Pain (sometimes severe pain in the upper abdomen that can penetrate to the back).
* Jaundice (a yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, often with general itchiness).
* Nausea, loss of appetite.
* Weight loss.
* Pain in the upper or middle abdomen.
* Itching.
* Dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, chills, or muscle spasms.
* Fatigue, and depression.

Anal Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Anal cancer is a disease that affects the anus, the opening of the rectum to the outside of the body. It is an uncommon cancer, in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the anus.

Following are the anal cancer symptoms which when encountered must immediately be verified from your GP.

* Bleeding and from the rectum along with pain or pressure in the area around the anus, itching or discharge mucous from the anus.
* Some people develop small firm lumps which may be similar to those formed during piles.
* There may be a reduction in one's ability to control bowel function, a change in bowel habits, change in stool dimensions with swollen lymph nodes in the groin area.
* Occasionally anal cancer can appear as an ulcerated area and may spread to the skin of the buttocks.

Generally, anal cancer symptoms resemble those in other less fatal disorders, like pain, itching and bleeding around the anus. Sometimes there are hardly any anal cancer symptoms visible. At such instances, the cancer is only identified during routine checkups.

Colon Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

In most cases colon cancer symptoms, bowel cancer symptoms, colorectal cancer symptoms and rectal cancer symptoms refer to the same. There is now a lot of evidence suggesting a link between diet and the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

The duration of survival after developing colon or rectal cancer is determined predominantly by two factors, the stage (how advanced it is) of the disease and the treatment given. Early tumours confined to the bowel are cured by surgery in about 90% of cases. Tumours that have spread to the liver are seldom curable.

Colorectal cancers usually do not cause any apparent symptoms in the early stages. Thus, regular checkups are the key to early detection and cure. Colon cancer symptoms may appear after the cancer has damaged the bowel wall or spread to the lymph nodes. It is important to note that it is still curable. Following are the potential colon / bowel cancer symptoms:

* The earliest colon cancer symptom is often bleeding from the back passage.
* Later changes include loss of the normal form of bowel motions sometimes followed by diarrhoea. Constipation can also occur.
* If the cancer partially blocks the bowel then periodic lower abdominal pains may result which last for a few minutes each. In case of full blockage, there is severe abdominal pain along with vomiting. This is followed by constipation. This is a serious condition and the patient must be immediately admitted to the hospital as prolonged condition may cause the body tissue to rot.
* Bowel/Colon cancers cause blood in the stools or from the back passage is a cause for concern. However, most bleeding of this sort is from piles. Cancers of the rectum typically cause rectal bleeding, which can easily be mistaken for bleeding haemorrhoids (piles). Other symptoms include the feeling that you haven't fully emptied your bowel accompanied by a need to frequently empty the bowel. Loss of appetite and weight loss tend to be late features in bowel cancer.
* Anaemia - the loss of blood through the bowel can cause anaemia. This in turn can cause tiredness and shortness of breath.
* Other bowel cancer symptoms may include abdominal pain and weight loss.

A person who has any of these colorectal cancer symptoms, particularly if they are over the age of 45, should seek medical advice.

Summary of Colon Cancer Symptoms:

* Bleeding from the back passage. Blood in the stool.
* Abdominal mass or hardness in the abdomen.
* Change in bowel habits. Need to frequently empty the bowel.
* Pain in the lower abdominal area due to blockage of the bowel and vomiting.
* Constipation.
* Loss of apetite, weight loss.
* Anaemia, tiredness, breathlessness.
* Diarrhea lasting more than several days
* Appendix pain
* Blood in the stool.
* Abdomen infection with pain and swelling which may indicate bowel perforation.

Nose Cancer Symptoms

2008-08-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

Cancers of the nose may develop either in the skin covering the nose or in the lining of the nose itself or in the passage way at the back of the nose, called the nasopharynx, which joins the nose to the throat. It generally starts on the surface of of the nasal cavity (the “mucosa”) and gradually penetrates deeper. Normally, nose cancers are more common in men than in women. An early cancer will have little or no symptoms and likely to go undetected. Nasal cancer symptoms appear in the local area and eventually in distant areas as it spreads. early nasal cancer symptoms may often be ignored as sinus infections. Some of the symptoms of nose cancer may be as follows.

* Early nasal cavity cancer can produce symptoms that are very similar to less serious nasal diseases such as swelling of the sinuses, headache, chronic infections, and/or blurred vision. Nevertheless, it is important not to neglect these potential nasal cancer symptoms, particularly if you have been exposed to agents known to increase risk.
* The main symptoms of a cancer of the nose or nasopharynx are a blockage or congestion in the nose, often with nose bleeds or a lump in the neck. Deafness and weakness of one or more of the muscles in the face, tongue or throat (which is caused by damage from the tumour to a group of nerves called the cranial nerves) may also develop with nasopharyngeal cancers. Other symptoms include nasal discharge, smell loss, and sinus congestion.
* Breathing problems, frequent headaches, a lump in the nose or neck, pain or ringing in the ear, speech difficulty, or trouble hearing. Swallowing and eating may be mechanically obstructed as the cancer grows down into the throat.
* If lymph nodes get affected, there may be swelling in the neck or face. Neck lymph nodes can also swell up from non-cancerous conditions such as infection, so swelling alone does not prove cancer.
* Blockage of the nose on one side, particularly if it is producing pus, a lump in the neck that has been there for more than three weeks, weakness in any of the muscles of the face, tongue or throat which could be caused by damage to one of the cranial nerves.
* Local pain is possible as the tumor enlarges, especially if it invades nerves. The nose shares nerves with the ear, mouth and throat, so some deep nasal cancers cause pain in these areas ('referred pain') Interestingly, the further back in the nose the cancer, the deeper in the ear the pain appears.
* Nerve Problems in the eyes, face and neck occur as the cancer invades into the cavernous sinus or into lymph glands that press against the nerves exiting the base of the skull
* In advanced stages, nasal cancer causes anemia, infection, malnutrition, dehydration and general debility.

These symptoms can have other causes apart from cancer but the important thing is that if you develop any of these problems you should see your GP who can discuss them with you and, if they think it is necessary, arrange an appointment with a specialist to be on the safe side.

Summary of nasal cancer symptoms :

* Nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, smell loss, and sinus congestion.
* Bleeding.
* Frequent headaches, difficulty in breathing.
* Lump in the nose or neck.
* Pain or ringing in the ear, speech difficulty, or trouble hearing.
* Obstruction while swallowing and eating.
* Local pain in areas around the ear, mouth and throat.
* Swelling in the neck or face, usually firm and painless.
* Nerve Problems in the eyes, face and neck.
* Double vision, deviation of the eyes, weakness of the muscles of the face, difficulty turning the head, or lifting a shoulder.

keywords: Nose Cancer Symptoms, nasal cancer, skin cancer on the nose

Killing the Killer Cancer

2008-07-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

The number of people who die from cancer each year is more than the addition of HIV/AIDS malaria and tuberculosis combined together.The human body inhibits various forms of grwoth.The benign forms do not have the ability to spread to distant organs is not referred to as cancer. A typical example is the fibroid or uterine fibroma. However the growth of cells that have acquired the property of multiplying and spreading by various means of blood vessels or lymphatic channels to other organs like the lungs or bones are named as malignant cancers. The other human induced causes of cancer include smoking which is associated with lung cancer, Radiation to sarcomas and leukemia and other various viruses. Cancer often implicates a genetic element in the body during its development.

The Oxford Medical dictionary says that in half of all the cancerous developments a gene named as P53 is deleted or impaired which prevents the uncontrolled division of cells in the body, thus disabling the bodies fight against spread of cancer. The p54 is a gene which in the event of mutilation would form a gene called ontogeny which is capable of both initiation and continuation of malignant transformation of normal cells. It probably produces proteins which are growth factors regulating cell division that, under certain conditions become uncontrolled and may transform a normal cell to a malignant cell. Recent trials of gene therapy that involved replacing the ontogeny with the normal version of the gene have had limited success.

A cancer treatment often depends on the type of the tumor, the location of primary tumor and the extent of its spread. Some experts cite the early detection of the disease is the only cure for this disease. Here the cure defiles itself as the state of inability of the abnormal cells to grow and spread in the body.Those remains in the body in a state of suspended animation until death. There have been occasions where an absolute cure can be achieved by the removal of the cancer from the body by surgery. Here the grade of the malignancy can be determined due to the act of defining the stage, type or degree of cellular division. If the cancer is in early stages then it is hoped that almost all of it has been cut or excised and adequate radio therapy to the area where the tumor is can further assure the patient of satisfactory results of the surgery.

Specialized drugs though toxic to the cells provide useful adjuvant chemotherapy to the patients. Due to the toxic nature their selection has to be careful so that the patient can avail of their full treatment to get cured. Since inappropriate dosages can end up being toxic to 'good cells' of the blood and the gastro-intestinal tract. Specialized counters have been made for the the supply and distribution of these drugs, not a ordinary pharmaceutical medicine you find at any medical store.

The best ways of curing cancer include early detection of it through surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. They have been bringing a hope to all patients suffering from cancer. Cancer management is a tedious tasks often a multidisciplinary approach involving surgeons, physicians, medical and radiological oncologists, pathologists, nursing care as well as palliative doctors. Management of cancer from the earliest time of discovery must be regarded as a palliative procedure even if a cure is envisioned. Continuous counseling and maintenance of life style, including adequate dieting, is extremely important in the patients' continued well being. Support and motivation are always a vital part of any treatment. All these with a small magical thing called as hope can often help fight the worst cases of cancer on this planet. Take Lance Armstrong as an example. How did he do it?

The Author is an Expert Legal advisory on Legal issues regarding Mesothelioma, medicine lawsuits. He is also an active Blogger and is an expert writer. He can be contacted here http://www.findmesotheliomaattorney.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashwin_Iyer

The Miracle Cure - Does Red Rice Cure Cancer?

2008-07-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

THE BACKGROUND

It has been widely reported in the press that a possible "miracle cure" for cancer has been discovered in Chinese food. Not only that, there are also claims that the chemical concerned can help cure heart disease.

THE FACTS TO DATE

The miracle component is an extract of red yeast rice and is that which gives dishes such as Peking Duck its distinctive red colour. Scientists have claimed that if their findings are correct, it could CUT CANCER DEATHS BY A STAGGERING TWO-THIRDS and HEART DISEASE BY A THIRD.

In terms of heart disease, scientists feel that the extract has the potential to play an important part in improving heart health as initial findings indicate that it's performance is better than statins, the traditional drugs prescribed routinely for the treatment of high cholesterol.

When given to patients who had already suffered from at least one heart attack, the chances of a repeat attack were reduced by an amazing 45%.

No individual results are available for the types of cancers which were treated in the study group. However, scientists claimed to be "confident" that the initial findings are significant.

A leading doctor, David Capuzzi gave the following warning though.

"It is important to recognize that we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works...the capsules used in the study were carefully prepared for the research and are not the same as the red yeast supplements available in health food stores"

He and other doctors have strongly warned against buying over the counter supplements to self-medicate saying that these would not have the same effect. In addition, doctors have confirmed that consuming huge quantities of red rice would not be beneficial. Indeed either of these two practices could be dangerous.

We can only await further findings with great interest. I, for one, will be keeping a very close eye on developments.

ALTERNATIVE CANCER TREATMENTS

Although I am very much an advocate of alternative therapies and treatments, personally I would never recommend omitting standard medical and surgical treatments for cancer. However, I do feel that alternative complementary therapies can work very well alongside traditional treatments and a book I have discovered recently exemplifies this perfectly.

The book is called THE ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT-OVER 350 CANCER TREATMENTS THAT WORK.

In addition, the price includes 3 further ebooks completely free of charge.

Here is the total package:

NATURAL CANCER TREATMENTS - The most comprehensive book of its kind anywhere in the world. Over 350 treatments and 400 fully-indexed pages with a comprehensive table of contents enabling you to quickly locate information.

I BEAT CANCER- A directory of over 2000 cases including people telling their own stories of how they beat cancer using natural and alternative treatments. All cancer types are covered.

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE CONVENTIONAL CANCER TREATMENTS - An inside look at the scientific basis for conventional cancer treatments. The observations and studies from experts will startle and unsettle you but will help you on your own quest for answers and additional knowledge to help you beat your cancer.

WHO CAN HELP ME WHEN I HAVE CANCER - This report will immediately put you in touch with people who care and can offer effective help to assist you beat your cancer.

The information is both comprehensive and mindblowing at the same time. The testimonials are quite amazing.
Bill Henderson, the author of Cancer Free and Cancer Free Newsletter says "The best reference books on alternative cancer treatments. What a treasure for cancer patients and caregivers!"

"Everything you ever wanted to know about alternative cancer treatment is contained in this unique guide" Karen Beattie, Author of Natural Cancer Treatments That Work

At such a difficult and sensitive time, it is essential to have all the means to hand to combat this condition and these books provide comprehensive and workable remedies and, it is claimed, strategies for curing cancer.

BE ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES TO GAIN ACCESS TO THESE LITTLE-KNOWN TREATMENTS THAT THOUSANDS HAVE USED TO BEAT THEIR CANCER.

Clicking on the link below will take you to detailed information about the books which will enable you to read more about the author and his treatments.

http://www.squidoo.com/alternativecancercures

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victoria_Hopkins

Lung Cancer - Symptoms You Should Look Out For!

2008-07-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

The implications of lung cancer are fatal and hence its seriousness cannot be undermined. Though steps cannot always be taken to prevent the disease, its symptoms can be understood and the paranoia reduced. A basic awareness of lung cancer symptoms can help us combat the disease.

The following are the frequently reported symptoms of lung cancer:

* The shortness of breath, which is more commonly known as dyspnea, is a symptom. Though excessive physical activity warrants dyspnea, it is also a lung cancer symptom.
* The coughing up of blood, which is medically known as hemoptysis, is an indication. It should not be confused with hematemesis, which denotes blood vomiting.
* An ache while coughing could be a warning. When there is an uncommon change in the pattern of coughing, lung cancer should be suspected.
* Weight loss, extreme exhaustion and a lack of desire for food, also called cachexia, can also be considered a symptom.
* Chest pain, which again is associated with heart disease and other medial causes, is a sign of lung cancer.

The following are the less common symptoms of lung cancer:

* Hoarseness in voice, medically termed as cachexia, is an indication the disease.
* A complication in swallowing, also known as dysphagia, is yet another sign. Though painful swallowing could also be classified under odynophagia, dysphagia should not be ruled out.
* Swelling of the face and the neck could be a sign of lung cancer. Where swelling in the neck arises due to bloated lymph nodes, the main blood vessel blockage from the head is the reason for facial swelling.
* Deformity in fingers and fingernails, also known as finger clubbing could be an uncommon lung cancer symptom.
* Apart from dyspnea, the shortness of breath could also be caused by pleural effusion. Pleural effusion is uncommon and denotes fluid around the lungs.
* Cancer that spreads itself at the upper lung is called pancoast tumor. This tumor could lead to a shoulder pain, pain in the bones, muscle weakness, weakening eyelids and a decrease in the sweating on a side of the face.

There are certain lung cancer symptoms, which are considered odd. These odd symptoms occur due to the unwelcome hormones brought about by lung cancer. These are:

* Protrusion of the eyes
* Numbness in the fingers, hands or legs
* Manifestation of lumps in the skin
* Changing sugar levels and an excruciating pain in the abdomen
* Swelling of breasts in men
* Manifestation of a lump in the tonsil or a salivary gland

It is important to look out for the common, uncommon as well as the rare symptoms of lung cancer. The doctors should be notified immediately so that they perform a diagnosis and clarify the underlying cause. Establishment of the cause, whether lung cancer or not, could hasten the treatment and lead to the betterment of the patients.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mini_K

Beating the Lack of Energy Due to Chemotherapy

2008-07-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

A cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy suffers from side-effects like hair loss, vomiting tendency, loss of appetite and mouth sores. When they suffer this pain they take it as a package deal with the treatment and bear the pain throughout the treatment session. They feel that all the patients who undergo chemotherapy have to bear this traumatic condition which not only weakens the body but also affects the mental state of the person and snatches away the desire to live.

The patient feels lethargic and losses all energy. He feels tired and weak even if he does a light work; this is because chemotherapy treatment adversely affects the healthy red and white blood corpuscles and destroys them. The body takes its own time to repair the damage. During that period the patient feels as though his body has been drained of all energy and this makes him weak which also develops the lethargic feeling.

All the adverse effects of chemotherapy can be warded off by taking herbal drugs made by combining many herbs which have the potentiality to rejuvenate the healthy cells and bring them up to their normal level. It has two fold effects, the person is saved from the agony of the dangerous side-effects and the healthy white cells, that is the bodies armed force fights against the cancerous cells and helps in the process of eliminating them.

The natural herbs work efficiently as they are combined together which increases their potentiality. Nearly 15 natural herbs having the potential to fight cancer are combined to form the drug. The effect of the combination is more on the body which helps the body to recover rapidly and overcome the adverse effects of chemotherapy. If these herbs are taken individually they might not prove to be as effective as a single herb does not contain all the anti-oxidant properties.

These herbal drugs can be taken prior to the commencement of the chemotherapy and can be continued during the treatment and also after the completion of the chemotherapy treatment. The herbal drug can be taken without the fear of facing any side effect as it has been scientifically proved that herbs do not have any adverse effect on the body. A patient can take the advantage of both the medical and the herbal treatment and relieve his body from a terminating disease to lead a healthy life.

You can learn more about chemotherapy, its use as cancer medicine and treatment on this site. Also learn about chemotherapy side effects like hair loss, lack of energy etc., and how to take care of them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Savage

Check it Out - Cancer Related Studies

2008-07-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Cancer is a kind of disease whose traits mark the presence of diverse cancerous cells incorporated in the body that displays an uncontrolled growth. Its invasion is targeted at the individual tissues and aims at their eradication. The mode of their spread is commonly the lymph or the blood. It has quite a lot of sub categorizes which may be prevalent in sections of both sexes.

The foremost determinant of this disease is believed to be biological and inherent, more commonly the later. Apart from that another main cause for its origination is also attributed to viral infections which are a common occurrence and contribute around fifteen percent to all genres of human cancers. Mainly it attacks regardless of age but its presence has been noted more often in the elderly.

Its main indications include the presence of unusual lumps which were absent earlier. Escort by these lumps is a lot of sweating that is consorted by weakness and at times Anemia. Dependence on pain as a chief indicator should be discarded as it may not become apparent till the disease has progressed to its later stages. But if most of these symptoms are suspected, consulting your pathologist at the earliest would be a good idea. A biopsy would prove beneficial in showing the whole picture.

After its identification, the mode of treatment meted to the patient depends on both the kind and the level of progression of this disease. The generic mode of treatment embraces surgery that is employed for the complete removal of this deadly disease. Radiation therapy is used for addressing the remaining cancerous cells that might have been left in the body even after surgery. Other than that chemotherapy is also opted for by several.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarfaraz_Ali

Chemotherapy and Reflexology

2008-07-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Reflexology is a zonal therapy and a science in which skillful manipulation is applied to the individually identified points on the body for stimulation of each functional system or parts of the body. These stimulation areas are basically located on the feet and the hands. It can help alleviating many problems in natural way. Reflexes are generated due to the manipulation of the response focal points on the body for each functional system for the resultant response. These response focal points have been effectively used in getting relief from a wide range of ailments with no chance of adverse side effects, otherwise, inevitable in case of chemotherapy. It has proved beneficial in rendering stress, pain, anxiety and nausea.

The first evidence of efficacy of the reflexology lies in innumerable corroborations by the patients endorsing easy relaxation followed by the quick and soothing feeling. Besides this, there are endorsements from the patients of great relief with positive results in treatment of cancer with no chances of any kind of side effect. There have been stories and claims that since reflexology eliminate toxins of the body, chemotherapy ceases to be effective.

It is reported that the patients at the large get the ability to cope up with chemotherapy and the related side effects. The oncology units of Charring Cross Hospital, Lister Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital and Harley Street Clinic are a few among many who have adopted using reflexology as a complementary therapy. As an endorsement to the efficacy and god results, many Macmillan cancer relief hospices and day care centers have inducted the technique in their treatment routine.

The technique has one good seriously helping the patients of lymphoedma (swelling of limbs) patients, after surgical removal of lymph glands by improving the circulation and the flow of lymph. Certain cases of lymphodeoma are quite painful due to accumulation of the fluids. In such cases reflexology techniques have proved to be good supportive action to induce flow or lymphatic drainage. It has been also found improve circulation, cause relaxation and better breathing.
Apart from effects in cases of lymphatic problems, there have been reports where other health related issues were addressed by the reflexology. There are reports of tackling weight loss, improving circulations, prostrates problems, hyperthyroidism, and several minor diseases.

It is important that the patients must voice their problems openly, and accept or endorse good effects of a treatment freely, just not confining to there the experience only with close ones for a larger benefit.

Learn more about what is chemotherapy and how it can be used for the treatment of cancer. Also see the chemotherapy side effects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Savage

A Child's Questions When a Parent Has Cancer

2008-07-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

When a child finds out that one of his parents has cancer, they will have many questions on their mind, many that they will not ask. When appropriate, it may be better to answer some questions before they are asked. It may be hard for them to talk about or ask questions of their peers or family members so a support group for children who have a parent with cancer may be helpful. Some questions they may have are:

Why did my mom or dad get cancer?
Did I do something that made them get cancer?
Who did my mom "catch" cancer from?
Since Dad got cancer will Mom get sick too?
Will I catch cancer too?
Will Mom or Dad's hair come out?
Will my mom and dad still be able to take care of me?
Will we lose our home since Dad can't work anymore?
Will we have food to eat since Mom is not able to cook?
Will my friends at school know about Mom or Dad's cancer?
Should I talk to my friends about it?
Will people treat me differently?
Will I still be able to do things I want to do?
Will Mom or Dad still do fun things with me?
Who will take care of Mom or Dad?
When will the medicine from the doctor make Mom or Dad's cancer go away?
Will my mom or dad die from cancer?
Who will take care of me if they die?

Children can feel very isolated when a parent is sick and may think that no one else has the same feelings and worries. They may be angry and act out because they are so confused. They may think that cancer is like a cold and they may catch it too. They may wonder why the medicine isn't making mommy better like it always does them. They may be afraid their parent will die and wonder who will take care of them.

It may be helpful for the child to join a support group of children who have a family member with cancer. The support group should be lead by a professional therapist who is knowledgeable about cancer and the issues it raises for families. They may feel more comfortable asking questions and may be reassured by the other children's experiences; they will not feel so alone in their worries and fears.

Children often get pushed to the side so they will be protected from the worry of seeing their parent sick. This often worries the child more because he or she doesn't know what is going on. Children often tell us what they are feeling by how they act. A quiet child may become more silent and withdrawn; an active child may become extremely hyperactive. They may become afraid to be away from a parent and have trouble sleeping. Teenagers may sleep a lot, have trouble in school and seem more distant than usual. Some children express emotional stress with physical symptoms like headaches and stomachaches. They may seem tired or sad a lot of the time.

Any change in your child's behavior may be a red flag that they need some attention and reassurance. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. It is hard to fight a serious illness like cancer and be able to take care of your child's emotional needs as well. Though it is difficult, try to be as honest and straightforward about your illness as your child's age and emotional maturity allows. Most children are resilient and capable of living with the difficulties in life if they are offered the chance to help and they are able to express their feelings without the fear of being criticized or made fun of.

A great resource for those whose lives are affected by cancer
http://www.cancerwarriors.com

Denise Michael

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_C_Michael

Alkalizing Test Measures Tissue Acidity As a Marker For Cancer

2008-07-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

A new MRI technique using sodium bicarbonate could detect a cancerous condition before tumor formation or tissue degeneration. This experimental alkalizing test measures tissue acidity and could gauge if medical or natural treatments are actually working.

A new imaging technique that relies on naturally occurring baking soda or sodium bicarbonate in the body could help pinpoint a cancerous condition earlier and quickly gauge if treatments are working, British researchers said on Wednesday.

The non-invasive method uses magnetic resonance imaging to measure changes in alkaline pH -- or acidity --in tissue that is often the hallmark of a cancerous condition and other conditions such as heart dis-ease and strokes, said Kevin Brindle of the University of Cambridge, who led the study.

Currently there are no safe ways to measure tissue pH levels in humans but doing so is important because tumors, for example, are far more acidic than surrounding tissue.

The urine pH is a simple and an inexpensive way to determine the acid/alkaline pH of the body tissues. When the morning urine pH is below 7.2 this indicates tissue acidosis and a potential for a cancerous condition in the body tissues.

"You are imaging not just tissue structure but tissue function," said Brindle, whose study is published in the journal Nature. "We wanted to measure tissue pH, which is a surrogate for dis-ease."

Disease is the expression of an over-acidic body and the causative factor in all symptoms.

"The researchers injected mice with a tagged form of sodium bicarbonate -- an alkali more commonly seen in baking soda -- that occurs naturally in the body and balances acidity of the body," Brindle said.

They used MRI to see how much of the tagged sodium bicarbonate was converted into carbon dioxide within the tumor. In more acidic tumors, more bicarbonate is converted into carbon dioxide.

The body tissues use sodium bicarbonate as a primary buffer to maintain the natural alkaline design of the tissues and to prevent degeneration of that specific tissue.

The researchers measured pH levels using an emerging technique called dynamic nuclear polarization that boosts MRI sensitivity more than 10,000 times.

The method developed by GE's GE Healthcare unit involves cooling down molecules to near absolute zero and then warming them up quickly -- a process that keeps them polarized and easier to detect as an image.

"MRI can pick up on the abnormal acidic pH levels found in cancerous tissues and it is possible that this could be used to pinpoint where the disease is present and when it is responding to treatment," Brindle said.

The next step is testing the technique in humans in early stage clinical trials expected to start in 2009, he added in a telephone interview.

Hyper-alkalization of the body tissues with sodium bicarbonate is the safest and most effective and natural way of reversing ANY cancerous condition.

Dr. Robert O. Young - Research Scientist - Author - Avocado and Grapefruit Farmer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Robert_Young