Women Cancer Health Treatment

If you have ever known anyone that has been diagnosed with cancer, you know that it is a horrific disease. To watch someone that you love literally lose every essence of their life as they go through chemotherapy and other, powerful, medicines is something that nobody should experience.

Alternative cancer healing treatments began in the year 1840 with a horse farmer by the name of John Hoxsey. Finding a tumor on his prized stallion, Hoxsey was devastated, but he could not bear to shoot the animal. Instead, he decided to let the animal graze out its days in the pasture until it peacefully passed away. Interestingly, rather than dying the horse grew stronger through munching on plants and herbs that it seemed to be drawn to. Read more!

University of Arkansas surgeon has developed a new procedure to prevent swelling of the arm associated with breast cancer. This is a new procedure to prevent one of the most common side effects associated with breast cancer treatment – lymphedema or swelling of the arms due to faulty drainage of the lymph nodes.
V. Suzanne Klimberg, MD, director of the UAMS breast cancer program, led a study funded by the Tenenbaum Breast Cancer Research Foundation of breast cancer patients at risk for developing lymphedema. Her findings were published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, and she will present the study March 17 at the Society of Surgical Oncology 60th Annual Cancer Symposium in Washington, DC.

“The removal and analysis of the lymph nodes under the arm remains the most important factor in determining the severity of disease in breast cancer patients,” Klimberg said. Read more!

A new technique has been developed at Singapore’s National University Hospital to detect cancer in its earliest stages by a new non-invasive method, the Channel NewsAsia reported on Friday. The hospital is conducting a trial involving 58 patients, 12 of whom are receiving treatment after the ‘optical biopsy’ diagnosed them with early-stage cervical cancer. The technique detects pre-cancers or collections of a few hundred malignant cells among millions of healthy cells. Using the near-infrared fluorescence imaging, doctors may soon spot cancer risks before any physical signs, causing cancer cells to emit fluorescence.

In announcing the new technique, a researcher told Channel News Asia, “Since we use the near-infrared red light, there’s much better penetration into the tissue. Near-infrared red is a biologically transparent light so it is quite safe for human cells and tissues. Read more!

Skin Cancer is one of the most common cancers. Approximately one in six people will develop skin cancer. Medical experts unanimously agree that overexposure to sunlight is the main culprit. Other factors include sunburn with blistering especially during childhood, skin creams that contain tar if used over a prolonged period, repeated X-rays, exposure to coal and arsenic, radiation, chemotherapy and family history. Freckles with fair skin that doesn’t tan very easily can also put one at risk.

Most skin cancers grow slowly. It is imperative you inspect your body on a regular basis for anything unusual. Stand in front of a full length mirror and with a hand held mirror check out every inch of your skin. Have someone check the top of your head as well. Read more!

Women who take Herceptin, the advanced breast cancer “wonder drug”, could suffer heart problems as a result, research has indicated. The researchers say that 28% of women receiving the novel breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) suffered cardiac problems as a result. The affected women had to stop taking the cancer drug temporarily while their heart problems were treated.
The drug Herceptin is thought to reduce the chance of relapse in women with certain types of early stage breast cancer. But at a cost of up to $70,000 per year, it is out of reach for some patients. Previous evidence from clinical trials found that between 10% and 26% of patients experienced cardiac problems, depending on its combination with other drugs. One frequently cited US study found that 18.6% of women had to stop taking the drug because of cardiac problems. Read more!

SCIENTISTS have discovered a new breast cancer gene which doubles a woman’s chance of developing the disease, a finding that may lead to better treatment of the disease. Carrying a damaged version of the gene called ATM means the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 70 increases from one in 12 for the general population to one in six, the researchers said.

Researchers screened 433 patients who had a family history of cancer and a control group of 521 women. A certain damaged gene, carried by about 2 percent of all families, more than doubled the risk for breast cancer by age 70, the scientists said in today’s issue of Nature Genetics. Read more!

There is compelling research that shows daily use of sunscreen not only helps protect against sunburn, premature aging and skin cancer, it can help reduce future skin pre-cancers from appearing as well. Although people enjoy the sunshine, they need to be aware that too much exposure can cause skin cancer. Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, but if detected early, it can usually be treated.

The a new study released by the Skin Cancer Foundation also found that sunscreen may make existing pre-cancers disappear altogether. The level of sun protection used in the study was SPF 15, one of the lower grades of sun protection.
“Skin cancer can affect anyone,” a radiation oncologist, Dennis, said. “However, those at greatest risk are people who have fair or freckled skin that burns easily, light eyes and blond or red hair. Those with a history of skin cancer should definitely pay close attention to the changes in their skin.” Read more!

Osteosarcoma is a cancer of bone that strikes about 900 people in the US each year. he discovery of a gene called MET may explain the development of osteosarcoma, a bone cancer found mainly in adolescents, according to a team of Italian scientists. Most of these are adolescents. Although patients are potentially curable with surgery, they need additional treatment with chemotherapy to ensure the best outcome. The gene will also provide a target for researchers looking for treatments or a cure for this disease.

In the first part of the study the researchers grew normal bone cells, called osteoblasts, in test tube cultures. After around 40-60 days, they took away cells that looked cancerous and put them in mice to see whether they would form cancers. Then they tried to reverse these changes by blocking the MET-produced receptor. Read more!

About one third of all cancer deaths are related to diet. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) dietary choices, together with exercise and a healthy weight, could prevent 3 to 4 million cancer cases worldwide each year. The top 3 causes of cancer are genetics, diet and environment. If individuals work to minimize the factors linked with the risks, as high as 60-70 percent of cancers can be prevented.

Following a Plant Based Diet
The best type of diet to prevent cancer is one that is based mostly on a variety of plant foods. Scientific evidence shows that vegetables and fruits protect against many different types of cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends 5 to 10 fruits and vegetables a day, which can reduce incidences of cancer by as much as 40 percent. Read more!

Laughter helped Kylie Minogue beat cancer, sister Danii has revealed. The brunette Minogue has revealed how she and her sibling often dressed in silly clothes and watched British comedy ‘Little Britain’ to keep up Kylie’s spirits during her battle with the deadly illness.
She told Cosmopolitan magazine: “We’d love to do what we call “daggy dancing”- just really stupid dancing to anything I had on my iPod. And we played name that tune. Kylie is really good at it.” Read more!

Mammography has been known as the gold standard in early detection of breast cancer. Mammograms are X-rays of the breasts to look for suspicious masses or breast tissue changes before they can be seen or felt.
But mammography is not perfect. Accuracy depends on the quality of film, the technique used and the skill of the radiologist examining the films. Dense breast tissue can make abnormalities difficult to see on a mammogram.

The Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource issue examines other imaging technology in use or that’s being studied to help doctors detect and diagnose breast cancer. Read more!

As the American Academy of Dermatology warns, there is an unrecognized epidemic of skin cancer underway in the United States. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and a person’s risk of the disease doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns, according to a report in the April issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Mayo Clinic researchers found that the percentage of women under 40 with the more common type, basal cell, tripled between 1976 and 2003, while the rate of squamous cell cancers increased four-fold. Basal and squamous cell carcinomas, the most common and treatable types of skin cancers, had long been considered a problem only for people over 50, according to the report. Read more!

Women who have had surgery for breast cancer can lift weights to improve quality of life and gain a better sense of well-being, according to researchers here.
In a study of 86 women who were between four and 36 months past their primary treatment, those who were assigned to twice-weekly weight-training sessions had significantly better quality-of-life score and global psychological scores compared with controls, reported Kathryn H. Schmitz, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues at the University of Minnesota.

Previous studies have shown that aerobic exercise improves quality of life for breast cancer survivors, but whether weight training would offer a similar benefit in women who have recently undergone breast cancer therapy was unclear, the investigators wrote. Read more!

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection– transmitted during sex, is the most important risk factor for cervical cancer. Women sexual life risk factors include having sex at an early age, multiple sexual partners, and sex with uncircumcised males. You must be infected with HPV to get cervical cancer, but most women don’t get the disease.

Researchers from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine found that risk of cervical cancer in Holland is higher during sunny months. Women were twice as likely to be infected with HPV during sunny August than in the darker months of winter. Researchers looked for seasonal differences in HPV infections appearing in nearly one million Pap smears collected from 1983 to 1998. Read more!

California is famous for sunshine, beautiful beaches, a superstar governor, and people with tanned, healthy- looking bodies. The younger generation will be less tanned if some members of the legislature have their way. The State Assembly voted 42-26 to ban teenagers from visiting artificial tanning booths.

The California Society of Dermatology Surgery backs the bill. They blame tanning booths for many of the one million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year and 7,400 deaths from melanoma (a deadly form cancer of skin cancer). Read more!