Archive for July 18th, 2010

Exercise and diet: The keys to lowering your risk of cancer

Ok, so we know that with increased exercise and fat loss comes a much healthier lifestyle and a potentially lower risk of such health ailments such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, but did you know that exercise may also help to fight off cancer? In addition, we have all heard of the importance of a healthy diet to help maintain a lower weight and overall body function, but what you eat can play a huge role in staving off cancer as well.

Current estimates are that as many as 3 to 4 million cancer deaths could be prevented each year simply by maintaining a healthy diet and a consistent exercise regimen. The American Cancer Society actually recommends we eat 5 to 10 portions of fruits and vegetables EVERY DAY to help reduce our risks of many types of cancers. These foods contain what is known as PHYTOCHEMICALS which have been shown to interfere with the development of certain types of cancers in numerous laboratory tests. In addition, because eating a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables helps maintain a healthy weight, this practice can help stave off obesity related cancers as well. The list of cancers that can be prevented or greatly lessened by a vegetarian based diet is extensive and includes cancers of the larynx, esophagus, stomach, lung, breast, colon and bladder. Because a diet that is high in animal fats and red meat slows down the breakdown of food, this can result in high cases of colorectal cancer as well.

Aside from just paying attention to what you eat, exercise has been shown to prevent incidences of cancer in many research studies. The link here is not as clear as it is for fruits and vegetables, but scientists theorize that because exercise helps to remove toxins from our bodies, the absence of these toxins lessens the chances for cell mutations to occur which can lead to cancer. In addition, someone who exercises regularly has a much more robust immune system which can greatly help fight cancer in its early stages and help to reduce the risk of it spreading altogether. If you DO get cancer, the stronger and healthier your body is, the better it will respond to the treatments and the healthier you will be throughout the process which in turn greatly increases the effectiveness of the treatment itself.

With all of this evidence before us why do so many people still become obese and still get cancer? The answers here are not so simple. People choose to do and NOT to do things for a variety of reasons. The point is simply this: If you want to make a proactive stand against getting cancer yourself, pay attention to the research that has been done and make sure you are involved in a consistent exercise regimen that places both fat loss and weight maintenance as its goals. In addition, choose a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and give your body the nutrients and ammunition it needs to fight off this deadly disease.

‘Mixologist’ to return to Rail

‘Mixologist’ to return to Rail
Tony Abou-Ganim remembers the first drink Helen David taught him to make was a B&B.

Read more on Times Herald

Don?t Listen to the New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

Second to lung cancer, breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any other disease. In fact, before 2009 ends, an estimated 40,000 people will die from this disease and another 192,000 will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Although men can also get breast cancer, it affects a majority of women.

A woman’s risk of dying from breast cancer is an estimated 1 in 35, and this death risk increases with age. The earlier that you diagnose breast cancer, the greater the survival rate is. If you catch this cancer in stage 2, you have a 5 year relative survival rate of 86 percent. It’s 100 percent with stage 1 cancer. Sadly, if you wait too late, at stage 4, these breast cancer patients only have a 20 percent survival rate.

With these staggering statistics, it is very important to detect cancer early. Mammograms, self breast exams, and clinical breast exams can be used to detect cancer in its earliest stages.

Mammograms are low dose x-rays that show the inside of your breasts can often detect breast cancer before the onset of any symptoms. That’s why the American Cancer Society, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and other healthcare professionals are standing firm in their stance that women get regular screening tests starting at age 40.

These major groups disagree with the new U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation that regular mammograms start at age 50. As of November 2009, this federally funded task force also argues against self-breast exams.

Since one of the major signs of breast cancer is a painless lump that develops in your breast, not doing a self-breast exam on a regular basis can make delay your diagnosis.

In 2009, the American Cancer Society estimates that over 18,000 people who are younger than 45 years old will have invasive breast cancers, and close to 3,000 of people under 45 will die from this disease.

If you wait to detect cancer, it is possible that people in the earliest stages of cancer will miss their symptoms and when they finally have a mammogram exam at age 50, their breast cancer has already metastasized (spread to other parts of their body, including their brain and vital organs). In this advanced stages, their survival rate is quite low as these cancers are hard to treat.

Although the choice of healthcare is up to each and every individual person and woman, this is an issue that will continue to be debated in the future. When is early detection a bad thing?

Because the USPSTF is a federally funded entity, one must wonder if they are making these recommendations based on economic reasons. Many major healthcare organizations, including the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, as well as the American Cancer Society and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology are sticking by the old guidelines of starting screening at age 40.

Tularosa family faces cancer

Tularosa family faces cancer
This is the second of a series of stories about the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium and the possible effects the Trinity Site test may have had on residents of the area developing cancer.

Read more on Alamogordo Daily News

Traditional And Natural Cancer Treatment Options

While there’s a whole gamut of cancer treatment options available; which is the best one to use depends upon the type of cancer as well the stage that the cancer has reached. Though the prevailing trend is to resort to more traditional cancer treatment options, cancer patients are not restricted to them. There are a variety of alternative and natural options (some new, some old) for treating cancer.

Traditional Cancer Treatment Options

Traditional cancer treatment options are often referred to as cut, poison and burn (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation).

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, which involves the use of chemical agents or drugs to destroy cancerous cells, forms the core treatment of malignancies. These drugs work by targeting fast-growing cells and the type and combination of drugs depends upon the type of cancer. Though chemotherapy has been proven to be effective, it can give rise to a host of side-effects including hair loss, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, anemia or low red blood cell count, neutropenia or low white blood cell count, mouth sores and shortness of breath.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy ionizing radiation from varied sources including x-rays, gamma rays, protons and neutrons to shrink tumors and kill cancerous cells. It is used almost half of all cancer patients; either by itself or in combination with other cancer treatments. External-beam radiation therapy, which involves using radiation that is emitted from a machine outside the body is more common than internal radiation therapy, in which a radioactive material is implanted in the body near the tumor or cancer cells.

Surgery

Surgery often entails a biopsy, which is done for diagnostic purposes. Surgery that is done to remove the cancerous tissues is often followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which reduces the risk of the cancer recurring and also to destroy any cancer cells that may be left behind in the affected part of the body.

The kind of surgery depends on which part of the body has been affected by cancer as well as the extent of the cancer. In breast cancer patients the options could include lumpectomy, in which only the lump is removed; segmentectomy, in which part of the breast is removed or mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed.

Alternative Cancer Treatment Options

Traditional cancer treatment options form only art of the story. An increasing number of health professionals are now exploring alternative cancer treatment options that encompass the whole individual.

Nutrition Therapy

Maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes foods rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, is the best way to provide your body with the nourishment it needs to fight cancer. Proper nutrition helps minimize nausea and fatigue that are the main side-effects of traditional cancer treatments and are a critical component of the healing process.

Buah Merah or Red fruit, found primarily in the Indonesian island of Papua, has very high levels of anti-oxidants, beta-carotene and tocopherol and offers hope to all cancer patients. Beta-carotene and tocopherol have strong anti-carcinogenic properties and help by boosting the immune system and retarding the growth of cancer-causing cells. Buah Merah also contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 as well as linolenat, oleat, dekanoat and linoleat acids; all of which act as active medicinal compounds and also help in the prevention of diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

Naturopathy

Naturopathy is a system of treatment that focuses exclusively on using the healing powers of nature such as sunlight, water and air. It is supplemented with therapies such as massage as well as a wholesome diet. Naturopathy is by and large a holistic kind of treatment and includes homoeopathy, ayurveda, therapeutic nutrition, hydrotherapy or botanical medicine. It is based on the belief that the body is self-healing and will recover and repair by itself spontaneously if it is given a healthy, conducive environment.

Pain Control

Though, to a certain extent medication can be used to manage pain, Acupuncture is gaining popularity as a means to control the pain experienced by cancer sufferers. The pain could be brought on by the cancer itself or as a side-effect to the cancer treatment. Prevalence and severity of pain depend on the extent, location and type of cancer as well as pain threshold of the person afflicted by cancer.

Mammograms and Breast Cancer: A Research Documentary V. 1

Hello, my name is Doctor Calvin Ross and I am a certified X-ray technician and I am very concerned about women continuing to receive annual Mammograms for breast cancer screening. This is video 1 of 3

Katz promises $100M will go towards arena

Katz promises $100M will go towards arena
The owner of the Edmonton Oilers, Daryl Katz, is telling Edmonton city council he will fulfil his original committment to put $100 million towards the cost of a new downtown arena.

Read more on CBC Edmonton

Building begins for cancer treatment center

Building begins for cancer treatment center
Phase I of the cancer treatment center at Sidney Health Center officially began Monday morning with a groundbreaking ceremony. Excavating began between the Sidney Health Center clinic and Extended Care to prepare for construction.

Read more on Sidney Herald

Rep. Kilpatrick brings breast caner awareness to Wayne State

Rep. Kilpatrick brings breast caner awareness to Wayne State
A mix of campaigning and breast cancer awareness took center stage at Scott Hall July 12 on Wayne State’s campus.

Read more on The South End

Prospects Uncertain For Calif. Breast, Cervical; Cancer Screening Program

Prospects Uncertain For Calif. Breast, Cervical; Cancer Screening Program
California’s ongoing budget crisis is raising doubts about the viability of the state’s Every Woman Counts breast and cervical cancer screening program for low-income women, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Theriault, San Jose Mercury News, 7/10). The state stopped paying for the screenings July 1, when the new fiscal year began, because the state budget had not been enacted, according to the …

Read more on Medical News Today