Archive for the ‘Cancer’ Category

Mesothelioma Cancer

Posted by Canadian health care on June 23rd, 2009

The cancer is rarely found in the United States, with less than 5000 victimized people. Generally, the older generation has been found to be the most affected.

Types of Treatment Available Surgery is the first treatment that the majority of patients go through. The malignant tumor masses are easily removed during surgery. A rather dangerous treatment, sends drugs throughout the body to further reach the cancer areas. Another treatment is using radiation; x-rays in high form. Radiation kills the mesothelioma cells.

Treatment by Chemical is given as a pill to injected into a vein. It can also be injected into the muscle. It is primarily used to target the local area of the tumor. During treatment, patients experience extreme side effects: vomiting, hair loss, nausea, exhaustion, and anorexia. Side effects are harbored specifically with treatments.
Video results for anorexia
Chemotherapy can use a one-pill treatment that has success. Patients have better experiences with this type, also referred to single-agent therapy. Specific agents used are as follows: doxorubicin, carboplatin, mitomucin, cyclophosphamide, Ifosdomide and cisplatin. The response rate to these drugs range depending upon the drug.

A list of the rates follows below along with the related drug:
15% response- doxorubicin, detrorubucin, pirarubicin, and epirubicin.
10%-20%- carboplatin, mitomucin, cyclophosphamide, Ifosdomide and cisplatin.
14% — listed again is cisplatin.
36%– cisplatin, a rare case that lasted two to eight months.

The response rates are proven to be extremely low when using single-agent chemotherapy. Scientists are driven to study a number of treatment combinations for mesothelioma cancer patients. They have increased the response rates up to 44%, but still lack effectiveness. The combination treatments are not being used often enough for dramatic changes, slimming the effects on patients to single-agent therapy. A newer combination showing a 47% response rate uses a more recent agent called gemcitabine. The agent is used in combination with cisplatin. This research was performed in Australia by Australian researchers and has proven survival results with Stage III and IV patients. The research ran for 25 weeks and given a chance for survival at 41%.
Viagra super active
Given all the regimes for treating people, new research brings more treatments and the tools needed to perform. Doctors are getting many more patients and better at predicting the appropriate regime for specific patients. Patients are diagnosed based on their age and the cancer stage of mesothelioma they are in.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

Posted by Health articles on June 15th, 2009

Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that affects the pancreas. It is a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. This type of cancer is usually diagnosed in the advanced stages because the patient does not normally show any symptoms in the early stages. When the patient eventually shows the signs, the symptoms are usually varied and non-specific.

Some of the symptoms of this type of this disease include pain in the upper abdomen that is usually relieved when the patient leans forward. The other signs include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Other indicators of the disease include, weight loss and jaundice which is usually accompanied by dark urine.

Some of the risk factors of pancreatic cancer include, age especially those aged above 60. Smoking, diets low in vegetables and fruits and consuming of red meat are other factors that increase the risk of cancer of the pancreas. It is also said that the male gender is at a higher risk when it comes to this type of cancer.

Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer but normally the Whipple procedure involving the head of the pancreas is the most common treatment. This surgical procedure is only performed when the cancer is localized and the patient is likely to survive major surgery. Pancreatectomy is another surgical procedure that treats pancreatic cancer. After the surgery, chemotherapy removes any remaining cancerous tissue. It has been suggested that cancer of the pancreas may occasionally lead to diabetes. This occurs in the case where the cancer hampers the production of insulin.

Types of Thyroid Cancer

Posted by Canadian health care on May 30th, 2009

Thyroid cancer is one of the less common types of cancer to be diagnosed and, for most people who contact it, with treatment, the prospects of recovery are very good.

Many people discovering a lump in their thyroid region perhaps automatically fear that this might indicate cancer but most estimates reckon that only about 5% of all thyroid lumps are actually cancerous. Women are more at risk of thyroid cancer than men, with the highest chance of having the problem being between the ages of 30 and 55, before it decreases somewhat. The risk for men increases with age, until the age of about 75.

The four different types of thyroid cancer are papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer and the less common medullary and anaplastic tumours. Papillary cancer, the most common type, is also the one most likely to appear in people in the younger age bracket. Follicular cancer is more probable in older people. Medullary cancer can sometimes be genetically inherited so, if there is a family history of this problem, regular check ups and blood tests are a good idea. Anaplastic tumours, the rarest type of thyroid cancer, are more common in elderly patients and can develop more quickly than other types, whilst also sometimes being difficult to treat. In addition, it is possible that a person could develop a lymphoma of the thyroid, but this is even more uncommon.

There is no indication whatsoever that having an overactive or underactive thyroid can increase the risks of thyroid cancer. However, it has been estimated that approximately 1 in 5 cases of thyroid cancer do actually occur in people who, in the past, have had nodules, goitres or inflammation of the thyroid. This is particularly evident amongst people who have had nodules at a younger age.

Other possible people at more risk of thyroid cancer appear to be those who have had radiotherapy in the neck; been exposed to radiation in their work; suffer from the bowel disorder known as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis; have low iodine levels; have recently had babies or are going through the menopause.

Research studies, however, indicate that by far the largest contributory factor towards thyroid cancer appears to be an unhealthy diet. It appears that eating refined rather than unrefined carbohydrates leads to a higher risk of the problem developing. Eating good amounts of vegetables, containing Vitamins C and E, and avoiding too much butter, cheese and red meat seems to be a way of trying to avoid thyroid cancer.

Dependent upon the type of cancer you have, your age, fitness levels and general health and how far your cancer has developed, your specialist doctor will decide upon the requisite treatment for you. Predominantly, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and occasionally hormone therapy are used.

Surgery can involve either a partial or total thyroidectomy – removal of the thyroid gland. Mostly, doctors prefer the total thyroidectomy as it stops the cancer from possibly returning, although it means the patient will require thyroid hormone tablets afterwards.

The radiotherapy used in thyroid cancer treatment is a targeted radiotherapy employing a radioactive form of iodine which can specifically target and destroy the cancer cells. There are generally very few side effects to this treatment. Radiotherapy is sometimes used after surgery to help prevent the return of the cancer or to treat cancer that has returned despite previous treatment. Chemotherapy, much less commonly used, is employed to treat advanced or returning cancers.

It needs to be re-emphasised, though, that not only is thyroid cancer quite rare but also, especially with early diagnosis and treatment, the fact is that many people are successfully and completely cured of it.

Throat Cancer

Posted by Health articles on May 25th, 2009

There are 6 different types of throat cancer. They often develop around the mouth region like on the mucosal surfaces of the larynx, pharynx or mouth, thus leading to different types of the throat cancer.

Vocal Cord Cancer:

Often called as the cancer of the larynx is a type of throat cancer developed in the tissues of the larynx. The larynx is a small passage below the pharynx in the neck. The symptoms maybe like sore throats or pain while swallowing the foods or a change in the voice or a small lump in the throat. Even pain in the ears is a symptom for it. The treatments for this type of cancer are therapy like radiation therapy, chemotherapy and sometime maybe surgery to take out the cancer.

The surgery to remove this cancer is common option which involves the removing the cancer and part of the larynx.

Laryngeal Cancer:

Cancer of the larynx or the voice box is a type of cancer similar to the vocal card cancer. The symptoms of this cancer are similar to the vocal card cancer like the sore throat or pain in the larynx. These types of cancer are diagnosed with the laryngoscopy. In this method a special type of tube with lights are send down to the patient throat to examine the causes.

Thyroid Gland:

The thyroid gland cancer is a type of throat cancer in which the thyroid gland may grow abnormally leading to the formation of tumors. The thyroid is a gland that is located at the base of the throat. The main purpose of this gland is to secrete hormones that regulate many parts of the body. The main reason for the disease in the thyroid gland is either over-active or under-active nature of the thyroid gland. There are four different types of thyroid gland. They are papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancers. Each type grows at different rate so the effect of this cancer depends upon the type.
Thyroid gland images

Nasopharyngeal Cancer:

This type of cancer occurs in the region called the nasopharynx. The nasopharynx is a small area in the back of the nose towards the base of the skull. Though it is a type of throat cancer it is different from the other types. It has the highest risk factor than most of other types. Thy symptoms of this type are trouble breathing, hearing or speaking, nose bleeding etc. These types of cancer are diagnosed with the nasoscope. There are four stages of this cancer.

Hypo pharyngeal Cancer:

This is a type of cancer in which cancer cells forms in the tissues of the hypo pharynx. The bottom part of the pharynx is called as the hypo pharyngeal. The basic risk factors for this type of cancer include tobacco consumption in any form and excess alcohol. Even diet without proper nutrition may cause this cancer. These types of cancer are diagnosed with the Barium esophagogram, Esophagoscopy, Bronchoscopy and Biopsy.

Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer

Posted by Health articles on May 11th, 2009

Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer and Its Treatment

Have you recently experienced pains in the lower back , urgent and frequent need to urinate specially at night ,or if you see blood in your urine or in your semen you could be suffering from prostate cancer or prostatitis ( prostatitis is a term used for any of the disorders associated with prostate ) .

The mistake most people make is to ignore the problem until it becomes worse , it is always better to be diagnosed with a problem than to live in denial.

Once you ascertain the above conditions you should visit your physician as soon as possible because the farther you delay the less chances you have surviving .
Treatment Choices for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer : www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prostate-cancer-treatment-choices
Your physician will most probably start with PSA baseline test and check your recent medical history to start off then he will next conduct a Digital Rectal Examination to check if their is cancer present in the prostate , then Prostate Specific Antigen blood test will follow , this test is done to ascertain the level of proteins in the blood called Prostate Specific Antigen , if it being produced in excess then possibly cancer is present in the prostate.

After performing the above tests if cancer is suspected then a biopsy is performed to take a tissue sample from the prostate to find out if the tumor is cancerous or not .

If prostate cancer is found out you do not have to panic because it is very much controllable all you have to do is make lifestyle changes and remember if one man can do it everyone can . Take a leaf out of Lance Armstrong he won Tour De France after defeating cancer .

If the standard protocols are in fact dangerous to your health, what options do you have? Well fortunately, today, because of the Internet, you can find a great deal of information that had been suppressed for many years. You can now learn about the lives of many brave pioneers in the field of medicine, who explored alternatives outside the mainstream, industry funded confines, and discovered natural treatments and effective cures for cancer.

However, I must warn you that you will need to dig deep to get the real story, because many of these men, and women, have been censured and discredited because their work poses a threat to the pharmaceutical industry’s patented treatments. In fact, in deciding upon any treatment for cancer, you’ll need to sort the facts from the hype on both sides.

Some of the most effective natural cancer treatments are based on the research of Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in 1931 for his groundbreaking discovery of the role of oxygen in curing cancer. He is quoted as saying in his lectures, “All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells can live without oxygen – a rule without exception.” He also warned, “Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become cancerous.”
Cancer Cure Foundation
This breakthrough greatly expanded the field of oxygen therapy that goes back to the early nineteenth century. However, proponents of oxygen therapy face many obstacles to providing this effective treatment for cancer in the US. The biggest obstacle is the restrictive control of the medical profession, that insists on prohibitively expensive clinical trials before any therapy is approved. Of course every proposed therapy needs to be evaluated carefully. However, the costs of the currently required trials, which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, ensure that only patented pharmaceutical treatments will ever receive the necessary funding for approval.

For this reason, you need to look to countries that allow more freedom in healthcare choices to discover how oxygen therapies are being used with great success. For example, “At Hospital Santa Monica (in Mexico) we have pioneered in the administration of hydrogen peroxide to treat cancer and other conditions. Our doctors have administered over 40,000 infusions of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) intravenously and have treated thousands of patients with oral doses. Other clinics offering alternative cancer treatment are now using hydrogen peroxide routinely, and some physicians in the U.S. are experimenting with it.” (Alternatives In Cancer Therapy, by Ross Pelton, Ph.D.)

For those who must choose a cancer treatment within a restrictive regulatory environment, the good news is that some forms of oxygen therapy can be self administered at home without the need for a prescription. There are sources of information that can provide guidance and support for those who choose to explore this well documented, and time tested, natural treatment for cancer.

Finding reliable information about a natural treatment for cancer requires a lot of careful research. This is not because there are so few available, but because there are so many. Furthermore, your research efforts will be complicated by what I call the “hidden agenda” of some sources of information. I know this from first hand experience. Cancer treatment is one of the most controversial topics within the field of healthcare, and the battle lines have not shifted significantly in the last 100 years.

First of all, why would you want a natural treatment for cancer? Don’t the mainstream medical treatments work effectively? Well, that depends on whom you choose to believe. According to mainstream medical sources, cancer is a disease that is not yet fully understood, and, to date cannot be cured. It can, however, be “managed” by some combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, especially if detected early and treated promptly.

Alternative health researchers tell a much different story, however. They say that the current authorized treatments are not only ineffective, they are often dangerous. For example, Prof. Hardin Jones, Ph.D. asserts, “My studies have proved conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer than treated individuals. If one has cancer and opts to do nothing at all, he will live longer and feel better than if he undergoes radiation, chemotherapy or surgery, other than when used in immediate life-threatening situations.” (1956 Transactions of the N.Y. Academy of Medical Sciences, vol. 6.)

I told you this is a controversial subject, especially for those who face the choice of which treatment to undergo. So, here is something to consider. What treatment do you think an oncologist would choose for his or her own personal treatment? Researchers at McGill Cancer Center (Canada) surveyed 118 doctors, all experts on lung cancer, to determine the level of trust they had in the therapies that they were recommending for their patients. For the survey, the doctors were told to imagine that they themselves had been diagnosed with lung cancer. They were asked which of the six current experimental therapies they would choose.

Sixty-four of the seventy-nine doctors who returned the survey (+75%) said that they would not consent to undergo any treatment containing cis-platinum, which is one of the common chemotherapy drugs they use on their patients. Furthermore, fifty-eight of the respondents believed that all of the experimental therapies mentioned in the survey were not acceptable because of their ineffectiveness and the elevated level of toxicity of chemotherapy. (Reported by Philip Day in his book, Cancer: Why We’re Still Dying To Know The Truth, Credence Publications, 2000)

What do these doctors know that they are not telling their patients? Perhaps they have done their own research and discovered the same thing that Dr. Allen Levin learned. “The majority of the cancer patients in this country die because of chemotherapy, which does not cure breast, colon or lung cancer. This has been documented for over a decade and nevertheless doctors still utilize chemotherapy to fight these tumors.” (The Healing of Cancer by Allen Levin, MD, UCSF, Marcus Books, 1990).

Read more

One way that a family can come together for mutual support at a time like this is to build a private website. This way people with fresh information can update it so that everyone can read it. If you have a question, you can ask it there, and get an answer from anyone who knows what you are seeking. You can share positive stories, family news, happy memories, and even photos. If you have a family member in their teens or twenties, they will probably know how to create this much better than I do – and feel good about being involved. If not, you can learn to set up a website through Wordpress. Comprehensive Cancer Information

Developing a family strategy for dealing with communications can help relieve stress on all the family members who are receiving endless calls and requests for information. Taking the time to determine the best way for your family to communicate to others is certainly valuable in the process of relieving stress for everyone during this time. It’s important that people be informed, but it’s just as important that the person with cancer and immediate family have privacy and quiet time when you need it.

Cancer Issues

Posted by Canadian health care on May 5th, 2009

A cancer diagnosis can bring on many practical duties that have to be performed. One of the biggest and most tiring duties can be keeping other people informed about what’s going on. You may feel as though your phone never stops ringing and that you’re telling the same story over and over. In order to ensure that fatigue and irritation don’t take over, it’s important for the family members closest to the person who has cancer develop a game plan for communicating with other people. When everyone in the family knows how communications will be handled and who is responsible for which duties, communications become more streamlined, and, therefore, easier for everyone. In her book, Their Cancer: Your Journey, Anne Orchard discusses various strategies for handling communications with concerned friends and family members.

Once people around you know there has been a diagnosis of cancer, there will be an insatiable appetite for information, particularly amongst those who know the family well. If you live with the person who has cancer, you may find yourself endlessly answering the telephone and relating the same details to one relative after another. Book results for Advanced Cancer Treatment. If you live at a distance, you may be one of the people phoning – and possibly feeling guilty about doing so. It’s important to handle this communication issue, as it can drive the sanest person to distraction.
American Cancer Society
The most important factor is to set down some boundaries about the best ways to communicate. Is email easier, because you can choose when to reply? Do you, or the person who has cancer, like to chat on the phone – but only at certain times? Would you prefer to update one person, and have them pass the information around the family for you?
Book results for Advanced Cancer Treatment
If you are the one desperately wanting an update, but find it hard to get information, ask the person with cancer or others in the family what would work best for them.

Practice regular physical exercise – physical inactivity may be relaxing, but its consequence is disease. Practicing 30 minutes of physical activity for at least 5 days a week can reduce 30% to 40% breast cancer risk. In addition, exercise fight against the signs of aging. Not only exercise can prevent formation of new cancer cells, but it can also kill cancer cells in their genesis. Whether you are a breast cancer victim, at risk or feel concerned, exercise is beneficial for you.

Avoid alcohol and tobacco use – The risk of breast cancer is higher with consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Even moderate consumption of alcohol and second hand smoking can increase the risk of breast cancer 20% to 30%. In addition to breast cancer, tobacco is the number one cause of oral and lung cancer.

Avoid Trans fat foods – Eat less fatty foods is important to be in good health. Many clinical studies have shown that trans fatty acids in the blood increase 50% the risk of breast cancer in women. Trans fatty acids are used in the food industry such as industrial rolls and biscuits, pastries, chips, pizza. The most common of trans fatty foods include french fries (8 grams in 1 medium piece), doughnuts (5 grams in 1), pound cake (4.5 grams in 1 slice), candy bar (40 grams in 1 bar), margarine (3 grams in 1 tablespoon), potato chips (43 grams in 1 bag), cookies (30 grams in 3), etc. Reduce these foods in your diet and increase your intake of omega-3, soybean products, fruits and cruciferous vegetables.
Remy/articlesbase.com
Breast Cancer Treatment Information