Note: The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional care. For medical emergencies, dial 911!
Once the number one cancer killer of women, cervical cancer is the only cancer known to be caused by a common virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 4,000 women in America die of cervical cancer every year; and, an estimated 12,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. annually.
Most women become infected with HPV in their teens, 20s or 30s; but, it can take nearly two more decades for cancer to develop. During that time, regular Pap tests can detect HPV-related cell changes before they become cancerous.
In November, the ACOG released new recommendations for how often women in their 20s need to Pap smears. In the past, they were recommend annually. Now, it's believed that testing every two years will catch slow-growing cervical cancer.
At age 30, women can reduced how often the get Pap smears, getting them every two or three years if they have had three normal tests in a row. Cervical cytology screening is still recommended for women every two years beginning at age 21.
The HPV vaccine, which will prevent many strains of HPV, is recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls. The goal, according to the CDC, is to make sure girls get the vaccine before they become sexually active. Girls and women who are younger than 26 can receive the vaccine if they have not been vaccinated or completed the vaccine series.
It's something that many women would cheer about -- the use of oral contraceptives actually lowers overall cancer risk as a side effect.
A 12 percent decrease in cancer risk was the conclusion of a very large study that looked at the correlation between oral contraceptives and cancer, as over 46,000 women were tracked over four decades since oral contraceptives began to be widely used in the late 1960s.
However, an increase in cervical cancer risk was found in women who had taken birth control pills for eight years or longer.
Want to prevent lung cancer? That's great -- just don't rely on vitamins and supplements to get the job done, and lessen those CT scans as well. Those do, after all, use radiation.
Members of the American College of Chest Physicians made both statements in the latest edition of the "Guide to Lung Cancer Prevention" -- and the suggestions go towards smokers and non-smokers alike.
The kicker is the knockout stat mentioned here: lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., with more dying from it that from colon, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer combined. Wow.
But the biggest lung cancer prevention tip? Don't smoke, be near smokers and watch that smog intake if at all possible.
Talk about cancer news that sounds like it comes from the future. In new research, using high-speed liquid injectors to get light-activated cancer-fighting drugs into the body without the need for needles.
Many patients would probably hooray something like this, and without using the limitations of needles -- some of which don't penetrate tumors effectively -- the targeting increased such a system would have sounds rather intriguing.
Of, and if you don't like needles, that goes away as well. I wonder if this will make it to market anytime soon?
Novozymes is launching Acrylaway, an enzyme called asparaginase, that can reduce acrylamide in food products by up to 90%. Acrylamide is formed when starchy foods are baked, fried or toasted at high temperatures.
According to Peder Holk Nielsen of Novozymes, many food manufacturers have shown interest in the product. In late 2006, Novozymes received a consent letter from the US FDA regarding the "generally recognized as safe status" of Acrylaway. This sounds like a great product and it will be interesting to see if it gains widespread use in the future.
I'm a fan of journaling and over the years, I've done lots of it. I've mostly journaled my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, though. I'm thinking I need to start journaling my symptoms.
I'm always at a loss when I finally talk to a doctor about symptoms. "How long have you felt like this?" my doctor might say. "Oh, I don't know, maybe a few days," would be a typical response."
Once I've been sick for a few days, the timing and longevity of my symptoms just blur into one another. But they really are important and tracking them in writing can help chart the course for diagnosis, especially when it comes to disease. Take ovarian cancer. Symptoms can include bloating, pressure, even pelvic and abdominal pain, all of which may seem pretty benign if temporary. But jot them down -- be sure to include dates of occurrence -- and you may see that trends begin to surface.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially aspirin, may decrease the risk of bladder cancer according to a new study led by Dr. Margaret Karagas of Dartmouth Medical School.
The findings point to a decrease in risk for bladder cancer, especially advanced, high-grade tumors that contain alternations in the tumor suppressor protein TP53, with NSAID use. There was no correlation between the use of acetaminophen and risk of bladder cancer.
The study also showed an increased risk of cancer among users of phenacetin-containing analgesics, which were withdrawn in the 1980s.
David L. Katz, MD, responds to a reader in the September 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine about the merits of eating soy in relation to preventing cancer. His response causes me to pause even more about jumping on any diet bandwagon.
Katz says we should eat soy foods -- just not too much because the evidence linking soy to breast cancer, for example, is mixed.
In comparing soy-eating Japanese women with American women who eat very little soy, researchers find lower rates of breast cancer in the Japanese women. But in a test tube, soy's plant estrogens can speed cancer cell growth. Maybe soy behaves differently in the body than it does in a tube. Or maybe soy has both negative and positive effects on breast cancer. Perhaps it's not soy at all. It could be that the populations eating soy are benefiting from not eating something else, like meat -- the saturated fat found in red meat has been linked to higher cancer rates. Replacing steak with something else may be the protective key.
Some dentists are giving patients blood tests before and after the treatment of gum disease and these tests can help screen for more than 20 conditions, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report via the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report.
Bacteria that cause gum disease can release by-products into the blood, which can increase blood sugar, cholesterol and C-reactive protein. If the treatment of the gum disease by the dentist does not lead to a lowering of these levels, it may indicate an underlying disease such as diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic heartburn. Such testing costs about $150 but is generally not covered by insurance according to Ronald Schefdore, a dentist who gives such blood tests.
According to Ivan Valcarenghi, another dentist profiled in the story, "If every dentist practiced this way, we could improve the health of the world overnight."
Might be something worth asking about at your next cleaning.
Wouldn't it be great if we could receive full-body scans every year to check for early signs of cancer and other disease? Even if possible and affordable -- right now, scans cost about $900 -- it still wouldn't be such a great idea.
Full-body scans often result in false alarms. People with harmless abnormalities may end up facing more tests, more risks, and more worry in order to rule out illness. The scan itself can present health hazards too. It exposes patients to more radiation than a chest X-ray and could slightly increase the risk of cancer, especially for those scanned every year.
How do we know, then, if something has gone awry in our bodies? Well, we can do our self-exams -- breast exams, testicular exams, skin exams -- and we can report for annual check-ups. We can respond to symptoms we experience -- if headaches are bothersome and persistent, your doctor may prescribe a head scan -- and we can pursue tests and screening that we really need for cancer prevention and early detection. Here are just a few:
Just recently, European researchers announced that MRI scans offer a new way to detect breast cancer in its earliest form. They can even prevent cancer among high-risk women.
Better than standard mammograms, MRI can detect a nonmalignant tumor called ductal carcinoma in-situ, or DCIS. Once found, the lesion can be surgically removed before it becomes cancerous.
Think about this: It is believed that almost all breast cancer starts out as DCIS. And this: if MRI were the gold standard breast cancer screening tool, we might be able to prevent a lot more breast cancer cases than we do now. It seems researchers agree.
If you're in the mood for upping your antioxidant levels -- antioxidants can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals, thus lowering the risk of cancer -- here's one quick and easy tip for you: keep your watermelons warm.
Research shows that watermelons stored at room temperatures have much higher levels of antioxidants (beta-carotene and lycopene) than those kept chilled in the fridge. Warm watermelons are even better than fresh-picked melons.
One caution: once cut, watermelons must refrigerated. So try to enjoy your watermelons as soon as you slice and dice them. Then keep your leftovers cool.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a recent ACS study that showed that many Americans believe scientifically unsubstantiated claims about cancer. Such beliefs include claims that cell phones, underwire bras, shampoo and deodorant can increase cancer risk. Richard Day Gore responded with a compelling question in his comment on the piece:
My questions are: where is all this mis- and dis-information coming from, and why do Americans so readily believe it? Are we misinformed or uninformed?
I believe that the biggest problem is that we are uninformed about the nature of cancer and risk factors. This creates an information vacuum that allows misinformation to seep in. This effect was seen in the study, as males were more likely to be misinformed than women as they tend to research health issues less. People with lower levels of education were also more likely to be misinformed.
Also, many of these unsubstantiated claims at one point or another had some traction in the media. Perhaps people latch onto these types of beliefs as they offer hope that cancer can be easily understood, and easily eliminated?
What do you think? Are we misinformed about the risk factors for cancer, or uninformed?
Are breast cancer rates declining? If so, it may not be due to a decrease in mammography screening. Sounds logical, right? How about a drop in postmenopausal hormone use as a possible contributor?
That's the conclusion of a recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This, to me, is an interesting development if true. I'm not sure what other factors were looked at in the study, however. Was this correlation backed by valid statistical data? I may have to go further with this one, with a possible update later.
The study mentions that postmenopausal hormone treatments have declined in use since 2002 -- and that the risk of breast cancer has dropped along with it in the U.S. Hmm, hot flashes or an increased risk of breast cancer. Weird choice there.
Researchers now report that surgery plus either preoperative chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma does show a survival benefit.
Preoperative chemoradiotherapy resulted in a 19% reduction in mortality risk, with a greater survival benefit in patients with adenocarcinoma rather than SCC. Preoperative chemotherapy resulted in a 10% reduction in mortality risk, with this benefit seen only in patients with adenocarcinoma. These results come from a large meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Previous studies had shown that preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy did not show a survival benefit. However, many of these studies were small. Most oncologists no longer treat esophageal cancer with only surgery, due to recent trials. This study strengthens that conclusion.
This study was published in Lancet Oncology in March 2007.
It's something that many women would cheer about -- the use of oral contraceptives actually lowers overall cancer risk as a side effect.
Want to prevent lung cancer? That's great -- just don't rely on vitamins and supplements to get the job done, and lessen those CT scans as well. Those do, after all, use radiation.
Talk about cancer news that sounds like it comes from the future. In new research, using 
Novozymes is launching 
I'm a fan of journaling and over the years, I've done lots of it. I've mostly journaled my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, though. I'm thinking I need to start journaling my symptoms.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially aspirin, may decrease the risk of bladder cancer according to a new 
David L. Katz, MD, responds to a reader in the September 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine about the merits of eating soy in relation to preventing cancer. His response causes me to pause even more about jumping on any diet bandwagon.
Some dentists are giving patients blood tests before and after the treatment of gum disease and these tests can help screen for more than 20 conditions, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report via the 
Wouldn't it be great if we could receive full-body scans every year to check for early signs of cancer and other disease? Even if possible and affordable -- right now, scans cost about $900 -- it still wouldn't be such a great idea.
Just recently, European researchers announced that MRI scans offer a new way to detect breast cancer in its earliest form. They can even prevent cancer among high-risk women.
If you're in the mood for upping your antioxidant levels -- antioxidants can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals, thus lowering the risk of cancer -- here's one quick and easy tip for you: keep your watermelons warm.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a 
Researchers now 
