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!
Posts with tag CDC
Posted Apr 21st 2007 11:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Politics, Daily news
On Friday, President Bush re-authorized a federal program designed to help low-income women get screening for both breast and cervical cancer.
While funding has not yet been allocated for the
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the President's support for this outreach initiative is considered by many a victory in the fight against cancer.
Bush, whose mother-in-law survived cancer, says "early detection makes treatment more effective. It gives hope to patients and it saves lives."
Currently, the government spends $202 million on this program and has reached three million women who may not have otherwise received screening. With the President's new stamp of approval, the program is authorized to spend up to $275 million.
Posted Dec 1st 2006 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Cervical Cancer, Daily news
New Hampshire state officials announced Wednesday that the state will be the first to offer girls ages 11 to 18 a vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer.
The vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV) will be provided for free through New Hampshire's Vaccine for Children program, funded by the federal government and private insurers. The program offers immunizations for a variety of diseases at no cost to children 18 years of age and younger.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV, and 6.2 million more are infected annually. The virus, that typically causes no symptoms and can go away on its own, can cause cervical cancer -- the number two cancer killer in women.
Some believe giving this vaccine to young girls promotes promiscuity since HPV is sexually transmitted. Others say it should never be considered a license for sexual activity -- because it does not protect against pregnancy or other sexually transmitted diseases.
The cervical cancer vaccine -- called Gardasil -- was approved by the FDA in June for use in girls ages 9 to 26.
Posted Jul 10th 2006 10:00PM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Lung Cancer, Prevention, All Cancers, Research, Smoking, Daily news
It is estimated that 1.25 billion men and women currently smoke cigarettes. And if this trend holds steady, tobacco will kill 1 billion people by the end of the century -- 10 times the amount of people who died from tobacco in the 20th century. Every one in five cancer deaths results from tobacco use -- worldwide, that's 1.4 million tobacco-related deaths every year. And lung cancer remains the major cancer among the 10.9 million new cases that are diagnosed annually. All this comes from the Cancer Atlas -- updated and released today along with the Tobacco Atlas and published by the
American Cancer Society with assistance from the
International Union Against Cancer, World Health Organization, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While improving nutrition and reducing infection can dramatically reduce cancer rates, reducing tobacco use would have the greatest global affect the number of cancer deaths. And if action is taken now, 2 million lives could be saved each year by 2020 and 6.5 million lives by 2040.
The brighter the fruits and veggies, the better they are at fighting cancer. It's the phytochemical compounds -- these give produce its color -- that help the immune system block cancer-causing substances from cycling through our bodies.
