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!
In the last decade, we've seen studies that try to link mobile phone use to all kinds of cancer, the most common type being brain cancer. The thinking is that the radiation output from these devices affects the brain when those phones are held close to the head for extended periods.
Well, here's one to shoot this theory down, I guess. In Australia, authorities there have said that mobile phone use does not cause cancer, and talking on a phone in the car is no more dangerous than having a passenger aboard. Wow-- those are heavy hitters.
For many of us, those ultra low-power Bluetooth headsets are the solution for not holding that cellphone near your head for along periods of time. You?
It's never a good thing when a drugmaker sends letters to doctors saying that a drug they are prescribing has resulted in confirmed deaths.
But that is what Cephalon did this week, as it admitted its cancer drug -- Fentora - has been linked to some patient deaths. Fentora, used to treat acute cancer pain, are sometimes prescribed for other pain-related ailments.
Cephalon took issue with the apparent claim that it markets Fentora for uses other than cancer pain, even though some doctors use it "off label" in normal practice.
According to an article in CANCER, mental illness and emotional distress in patients with advanced cancer is often overlooked by oncologists, but proper management can improve a patient's quality of life.
The review article was written by Dr. Michael Miovic and Dr. Susan Block from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Miovic and Block found that 50 percent or more of patients with advanced or terminal cancer suffer from at least one of three major disorders: adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. Medical management of cancer has improved in the last decade, but management of mental health issues has lagged, according to the authors. Studies show that depressive symptoms can even impact patients' lives even more than pain.
The authors recommend listening as the most important screening tool in the oncologist's toolkit.
Lung cancer screening by using CT scans may not be the best thing to do, according to a recent report by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).
That group stated that, outside of research studies, studying lung cancer using CT technology is not worth the risk since it rarely (if at all) leads to reduced lung cancer deaths.
The reason? Sounds to easy, but with CT tests only looking at lung cancer detection, actual survival rates were not looked at in many cases (and weren't affected anyway).
The Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation's mission is to grant wishes, including memory-making events, for metastatic breast cancer patients, while continuing to support, educate and increase resource awareness.
One of the Making Memories fundraisers is Brides Against Breast Cancer. It can give brides-to-be, an opportunity to find the wedding gown of their dreams (at an incredible savings) while making wishes and dreams come true. Click here if you wish to donate your gown.
The Drexelbrook Wedding and Banquet Facility is hosting Nationwide Tour of Gowns on October 10th and 11th. If you live near Drexel Hill, PA you can attend this event and browse over 40 racks of exquisite, named brand and designer wedding gowns costing from $89 to $799.
Event Details:
Drexelbrook Wedding & Banquet Facility. Drexelbrook Drive & Valley road
You should think about protecting your pets from secondhand smoke. According to researchers at Oklahoma State University, secondhand smoke has been determined cancer-causing for household pets, such as dogs, cats, and birds
"There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets," says Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, an Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service veterinarian. "Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds."
The news about smoking just keeps getting worse and worse. When we will get the hint?
The profile on her blog reads: Living in London. Working in ads. Currently undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer. And that about sums it up for this woman whose life has become hijacked by cancer. That's the way it goes. Cancer strikes and life revolves around it for so much longer than we'd like.
The 30-something Anne-Marie Weeden writes in a recent blog post:
I was genuinely confident at the beginning of this process that the whole chemo thing should not affect life too much. And in the first three treatments it didn't really. But the last three have just escalated in terms of the challenges they have thrown my way. They said it would be cumulative but I didn't realise it would accumulate on such a scale. I'd say the last two treatment cycles have been at least ten times as hard as the first one.
A new study finds that many people with cancer, over sixty-five percent according to this particular study, said they would be interested in attending a support group. However, only a small minority actually join one.
Study participants said that they wanted practical medical information promptly after diagnosis and about twice as many wanted medical information over emotional support. Eight-two percent wanted groups to include discussion of spiritual issues, however, Allen Sherman, Ph.D, the lead author from the University of Arkansas, said that this may be influenced by the fact that the participants mostly came from the Bible Belt.
The study also found that people prefer drop-in groups as needed and do not mind if the group contains people with different types of cancer.
Recent studies suggest that support groups do not increase survival time, but they do improve coping skills and mood. As always, with any sort of support or counselling, it is wise to use your gut. If you're getting something out of it, that is great. If not, it's best to move on and find the support you need elsewhere.
Meg Wolff survived cancer -- twice. First she had bone cancer and lost her leg to the disease. Then she had breast cancer and was given little hope from doctors who thought traditional treatment could not save her. Maybe it couldn't. But Wolff found something that did save her -- a macrobiotic diet.
Life is all about balance, says Wolff who authors a website rich in content about the connection between diet and a healthy lifestyle. She offers up-to-date information on her blog, links to recipes and resources, a calendar of events, and a look at her very own book, titled, Becoming Whole, The Story of My Complete Recovery from Breast Cancer.
Wolff says that by changing her diet, she has changed her destiny. She is alive and well and thriving. Give her a visit and see for yourself.
It's quite a revelation to hear that cervical cancer could largely be prevented by newer technology, but that is what a medical pro from the National Cancer Institute said recently.
If we're better at understanding what causes cervical cancer (and other cancers), medical technology sure is not showing it yet, as cervical cancer is still the second most common cancer afflicting women worldwide. I truly hope there is a breakthrough on the horizon, though.
But the difference here is that most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus, not a genetic predisposition or a combination of environmental factors.
Jennifer Willey is a pretty 28-year old with a twinkle in her eye and a love of shopping and dancing. She's a much-loved daughter, friend and mum to an adorable potbellied pig named Willa. She's also embedded in a battle with Hodgkin's disease -- a battle she's been fighting since she was diagnosed in 2005. I found Jennifer's website through Alese Coco's Fight 2 Win site, and though Alese has tragically lost her battle, Jennifer is still fighting just as valiantly, and is just as determined that she will conquer cancer. I've never met her in person, but Jennifer has truly inspired me with her graciousness and her spirit. She is a survivor.
Unfortunately, Jennifer was not able to compile her thoughts for the Survivor Spotlight feature, as she's recently been admitted to the hospital. The answers below are snippets from her website:
On finding out she had cancer:
The year of 2004 came and went by so quickly. I was working full-time in human resources, was planning my wedding, and around two hours a day was spent commuting back and forth to work. I was running on adrenaline. I was tired most days, but figured it was from all the stress. My big day was October 9, 2004. It was a gorgeous day, everything turned out perfect. Soon after I noticed I was itching quite frequently, mainly on my legs. I also started having sweats. It was just about winter time, and each night I would wake up soaked. Chris thought I was losing my mind. I began to question it myself ...
How are children surviving cancer today? Better than ever before. Some childhood cancer patients, now in their young adult years, are expecting to reach milestones in their lives others before them never would have reached.
Today, 1 in 1,000 young adults in the United States is a childhood cancer survivor. In the 1970s, the chance a child would outlive leukemia or lymphoma was 25 percent. Today, it's 80 percent. That's better than most adult recovery rates.
As recovery rates rise, a new frontier is on the horizon -- follow-up for these young people as they age. You see, the very treatments that saved these individuals may cause them complications later in life. It's not yet clear what happens when kids live 20 to 30 years beyond diagnosis. But teams at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, plan to find out as they launch one of the most ambitious follow-up programs to date. Contacting 5,000 patients who have survived for more than 10 years, doctors hope they will recruit a group to receive free check-ups for life. They'll also receive blood tests, MRI scans, even fertility counseling. Their medical histories will serve as rich textbooks for medical professionals and future patients -- so the war on childhood cancer can continue.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and recently hospitalized with a fever, died at his native Modena home on Thursday. With him were his wife Nicoletta, four daughters, and his sister. He was 71.
Friends and family had hoped for a miracle for Pavarotti. Sadly, this was not possible. Though to have survived pancreatic cancer for more than one year is quite amazing. The disease is deadly in most cases and most survive for only months.
Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before he was set to resume a farewell tour in July 2006. Instead, he headed for surgery. He never again performed publicly.
Despite her recent breast cancer diagnosis, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts is already speaking out about the cancer cause. In fact, she just recently spoke to a group of cancer survivors and activists at a fundraiser in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Roberts is also speaking about the relief she feels now that her diagnosis has been made public -- "It was like the weight of the world was lifted," she said.
Talking about cancer invites support. Roberts, 46, got some comforting words of support from Elizabeth Edwards just after her announcement. Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, is also fighting breast cancer.
The Internet continues to be a first source of health information, including information about cancer, according to a new National Cancer Institute report.
The study included a telephone survey, and was last conducted in 2003. Since that time, the use of the Internet for cancer information remained unchanged, however there was an increase in people using the Internet to e-mail their physicians. However, people's trust in what they find on their Internet searches has declined slightly according to the report.
Women were more likely to search for cancer information from all sources than men.
In the last decade, we've seen studies that try to link mobile phone use to all kinds of cancer, the most common type being brain cancer. The thinking is that the radiation output from these devices affects the brain when those phones are held close to the head for extended periods.
It's never a good thing when a drugmaker sends letters to doctors saying that a drug they are prescribing has resulted in confirmed deaths.
According to an 
Lung cancer screening by using CT scans may not be the best thing to do, according to a recent report by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).
The Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation
You should think about protecting your pets from secondhand smoke. According to researchers at Oklahoma State University, secondhand smoke has been determined cancer-causing for household pets, such as dogs, cats, and birds
The profile on her 
A new 
Meg Wolff survived cancer -- twice. First she had bone cancer and lost her leg to the disease. Then she had breast cancer and was given little hope from doctors who thought traditional treatment could not save her. Maybe it couldn't. But Wolff found something that did save her -- a macrobiotic diet.
It's quite a revelation to hear that cervical cancer could largely be prevented by newer technology, but that is what a medical pro from the National Cancer Institute said recently.
Jennifer Willey is a pretty 28-year old with a twinkle in her eye and a love of shopping and dancing. She's a much-loved daughter, friend and mum to an adorable potbellied pig named Willa. She's also embedded in a battle with Hodgkin's disease -- a battle she's been fighting since she was diagnosed in 2005. I found 
How are children surviving cancer today? Better than ever before. Some childhood cancer patients, now in their young adult years, are expecting to reach milestones in their lives others before them never would have reached.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and recently hospitalized with a fever, died at his native Modena home on Thursday. With him were his wife Nicoletta, four daughters, and his sister. He was 71.
Despite her recent breast cancer diagnosis, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts is already speaking out about the cancer cause. In fact, she just recently spoke to a group of cancer survivors and activists at a fundraiser in Biloxi, Mississippi. 
The Internet continues to be a first source of health information, including information about cancer, according to a new National Cancer Institute 
