Posts Tagged ‘Understanding’

Understanding Your Breasts: Making an Informed Decision

A woman’s breast is a gland that produces milk in late pregnancy and after childbirth. Each breast is made of lobes which are groups of milk glands called lobules. Lobules are arranged around thin tubes called ducts which carry the milk to the nipple. These lobules and ducts make up what is referred to as the glandular tissue.

As with any gland or organ within the human body, some imperfections are likely to occur. Perhaps you feel that your breasts are too small, poorly shaped, or maybe you have lost a breast to a disease like cancer.

Despite a decade of controversy over their safety, breast implants are more popular than ever among women who want to build upon what nature gave them or who want to restore what disease has taken away. Whatever the reason, opting for breast implants is a personal decision that should be made only after a woman fully understands and accepts the potential risks of the devices and the importance of follow-up evaluations with her physician.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), there were nearly 255,000 breast enhancement implant procedures performed in 2003, nearly twice the number done in 1998. An additional 68,000 women received breast implants for reconstructive purposes following mastectomy due to cancer or other disease.

Breast implants are designed for augmentation, a cosmetic procedure; reconstruction; and replacement of existing implants, called revision. There are two primary types of implants: saline-filled and silicone gel-filled.

Depending on the type of implant, the shell is either pre-filled with a fixed volume of solution or filled through a valve during the surgery to the desired size. Breast implants vary in shape, size and shell texture.

Some medical care providers say that using breast implants to rebuild the breast (reconstruction), or change its size and shape (augmentation), significantly improves the quality of life for many women. Advocates of breast implants also say that a woman’s consent to the surgery should be considered valid as long as she carefully weighs the risks and benefits of the procedure.

While every surgical procedure has potential risks, such as infection, bleeding, and scarring, there a some risks that are specific to breast implants–leakage from the implant, actual rupture of the implant, and nerve damage which causes some women a loss of sensation in their nipples and breast tissue. Learning about these specific risks is key to truly understanding the procedure.

If you need additional information about any issue concerning your breasts–whether it be a breast-feeding question or concerns about breast cancer– search the Internet to find hundreds of websites dealing with all issues pertaining to the human breast.

$7.5 Million Grant To Perfect Treatment Of Breast Cancer By Understanding The Power Of The Estrogen Receptor

$7.5 Million Grant To Perfect Treatment Of Breast Cancer By Understanding The Power Of The Estrogen Receptor
Scientists at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) were awarded a five-year $7.5 million grant to tease apart – in the most comprehensive way ever devised – the role of a single protein receptor in breast cells in cancer development and treatment. This protein determines which women will develop the most common kind of breast cancer and how she …

Read more on Medical News Today

Understanding and treating breast pain

Understanding and treating breast pain
A radiologist at The Rose writes about some of the common causes for breast pain and a few simple steps to help alleviate the pain.

Read more on Galveston County Daily News

Understanding Colon Cancer

After skin cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer, Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer type occurring in women across the globe. There are many types of colon cancer: Carcinoid Tumors, Lymphoma, Melanoma and Sarcomas. However, the most common of all the colon cancers is Colon Carcinoma.

A colon in the human body is a long, coiled tube shaped organ, which helps in removing water from the digested food. It is also called the large intestine or the large bowel having four sections: Ascending Colon, Transverse Colon, Descending Colon and Sigmoid Colon. Colon cancer is a type of cancer, which forms in the colon tissues. It is often referred to as colorectal cancer. Colon cancers usually are adenocarcinomas, which mean that they begin in cells releasing mucus and other type of fluids.

Who Are At Risk Of Having Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer is responsible for most of the deaths elated to cancer, but doctors say that an early diagnosis can reduce the risk. Immediate action can also lead to full cure of a patient. The risk of having colon cancer increases, if you:

1-Have cancer elsewhere in your body

2-Have a personal history of breast cancer

3-Have a family history of colon cancer

4-Have colorectal polyps, crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

Apart from the above stated reasons, the risk of having colon cancer also depends on your diet. Doctors say that chances of colon cancer may increase, if you are having red meat and a high fat with low fibre diet. Some genetic syndromes may be also responsible in developing colon cancer.

Symptoms of Colon Cancer

There are several symptoms indicating the presence of colon cancer in your body. Some of them include blood in your stool, narrow stools, tenderness & pain in the lower abdomen, unexplained anaemia, sudden weight loss, constipation, diarrhoea, intestinal obstruction and changes in bowel habits.

Take Immediate Action against the Menace

If you feel that you are having any of the symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. There are many physical exams, which needs to be done on your belly area. There are also imaging tests that are extremely helpful in diagnosing colon cancers. Again, tests similar to sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy confirm the presence of colon cancer.

One more test of detecting colon cancer is the fecal occult blood test (FEBT). After detection of colon cancer, additional tests known as staging is done to check the exact area in which the colon cancer has spread.

Treatment of Colon Cancer

The treatment of colon cancer is mainly dependent on the stage in which it has been detected. The most common treatments for colon cancer are chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy medicines kill the colon cancer cells, radiation therapy destroys the cancerous tissue present and surgery may be done to remove the cancer cells.

If treated at an early stage, nearly 90% of patients suffering from colon cancer may survive for minimum of five years after diagnosis. And in cases where the colon cancer does not recur within a period of five years, the patient is considered to be fully cured.

Understanding the Causes of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases for women and is in fact the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. The figure of those who have died from breast cancer has reached half a million for 2008 alone. What is even more dreadful about breast cancer is that the disease usually indicates the presence of other serious ailments that further compound the situation.

The Common Causes of Breast Cancer

Because of the enormity of the problem that a woman affected with breast cancer faces, it is very important to learn the risk factors and the causes of the cancer to ensure correct treatment for the disease. In understanding breast cancer, the following causes are the most common:

* Family History. The possibility of a woman contracting breast cancer is magnified if there is a prior family history with a mother, sister, and other close relatives. As such, when a previous family member contracted the disease, it may be wise for one to be on the watch out for the symptoms of the disease. In instances where the ancestor contracted the disease before reaching the age of 40, the possibility of other women in the family contracting the disease is even greater because it indicates that the origin of the disease is genetic in nature.

* Personal History. Here, it means that if a woman contracted the disease in one breast, there is the strong possibility that the disease will affect the other breast. The time it will take for the disease to spread to the other disease may take a long time, depending on the medication and intervention made, but it is nonetheless wise to remain alert for signs of the disease spreading to the other breast as well.

* Race. Although this may be questionable in some circles, statistics reveal that women of Caucasian origin are more likely to contract the disease than women from other regions.

* High Processed Meat Products Consumption. This is due to the presence of sodium and nitrates in processed meat products that may irritate body cells and cause changes in the DNA. The mentioned factors normally lead to breast cancer. Grilling these processed meat products generates carcinogens that can increase the possibility of contracting breast cancer.

* Products Containing Aluminum Salts. Believe it or not, deodorants and antiperspirants are linked to breast cancer. This is due to findings of aluminum deposits on the outer tissues of patients affected by the cancer. Because aluminum is not naturally present in the body, its presence could only come from deodorants and antiperspirants. It is thought that the aluminum in these products is absorbed by the body. Experts suggest to use alternatives and products that do not contain aluminum salts.

* Absence or Lack of Physical Activity. This is because lack of physical activity contributes to obesity and weight gain, both of which contribute to acquiring breast cancer resulting from living a sedentary lifestyle.