Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect. There are no great screening tests to pick up on its presence in the body, and by the time symptoms appear, the disease has often progressed into an advanced stage. But a ray of light has recently emerged in the study of ovarian cancer -- and it could help in the prevention and early detection of this deadly disease.

Think about this, from the April 2007 issue of Woman's Day magazine:

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have identified a simple checklist of six symptoms associated with an increased risk of the disease and three of them -- if they occur at least 12 times per month and are present for less than one year -- were present 57 percent of the time in a study of women with early-stage disease.

And the three symptoms are: abdominal and pelvic pain, bloating and difficulty eating, and feeling full quickly.

If you experience these problems, especially if they are frequent or new, contact your doctor because identifying ovarian cancer quickly is key. In its early stages, the cure rate is 90 percent. But for advanced cancer, it's only 20 percent.

A liquid form of the hormonal therapy Tamoxifen is now available for women who have difficultly swallowing pills.

Soltamox, the brand name for liquid Tamoxifen, was approved by the FDA in October. Some women develop dysphagia, difficultly or painful swallowing, during or after chemotherapy and radiation treatments. These women might cut or crush up their pills in order to be able to swallow them. This can impact how the body absorbs the medication and the overall effectiveness of Tamoxifen.

Some women skip doses or avoid taking the pills all together. The new delivery method for Tamoxifen may help you if you suffer from dysphagia and your doctor recommends that you take hormonal therapy.

The medication is sugar free, clear and colorless. It tastes and smells like licorice and aniseed. Liquid and pill form Tamoxifen have the same side effects.

Heartburn has never really been considered a major health concern. It has been considered uncomfortable and annoying and troublesome -- yet still only a harmless nuisance. In recent studies, though -- summed up in the September 2006 Oprah magazine -- heartburn has been linked to a deadly form of esophageal cancer. Apparently, people who experience heartburn one time per week or more have a fivefold or greater risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus -- a cancer with incidences jumping as much as 500 percent over the past 40 years. Experts insist, however, that adenocarcinoma is still rare. One doctor states that 40 percent of Americans have heartburn once per month -- yet only 8,000 to 9,000 people develop this specific cancer each year.

For the unfortunate few who do go on to contract cancer, there is hope in a surgical procedure to remove the cancer and part or all of the esophagus and nearby lymph nodes -- which can dramatically increase the odds for survival. For most of us, a bit of heartburn does not signal an eventual cancer diagnosis. It just means we might need to self-treat the symptoms with over-the-counter remedies. And a recent review at Stanford suggests that sleeping with your head elevated can reduce reflux pain.

You should see a doctor if your heartburn results in a consistent burning sensation, difficulty swallowing, or vomiting.

While public and private groups, along with researchers and a few drug companies, have been making serious efforts to help smokers quit smoking cigarettes, the tobacco industry has been spiking the level of nicotine in cigarettes, according to a study by the Department of Public Health. Between the years 1998 to 2004, the amount of nicotine in cigarettes has risen by ten percent.

According to Lois Keithly , director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program, "We in public health have tried to spend a lot of time figuring out why people don't stop smoking."

Full withdrawal will be felt after the first day of not smoking. But symptoms from nicotine withdrawal are felt within the first 30 minutes after the last cigarette, with smokers reporting cravings within the first hour after the last cigarette. In one hour, smokers reported anger. In three hours of smoking cessation, smokers reported heightened levels of anxiety, sadness and difficulty concentrating. Nicotine is what makes cigarettes so addictive.

The Boston Globe reports when contacted, representatives of the three major tobacco makers in the US declined to comment on the study and would not answer questions about the nicotine content of their products.

Only half of prostate cancer survivors who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) said that it was an issue that concerns them, according to a survey conducted by Harvard Medical School in Boston researchers, and therefore do not speak with the doctor about sexual difficulties or ask for help with therapy that might make a difference -- like being prescribed Viagra.

In this study the researchers learned that it also depends on the type of prostate cancer treatment that influenced whether a man was bothered by ED. Over 75 percent of men who underwent radical prostatectomy asked for help the most; about 50 percent of men who were treated with brachytherapy asked for help; and less than 40 percent of men who were treated with external beam radiation spoke with the doctor about ED in expressing concern about sexual difficulties.

Researchers explained that men who undergo radical prostatectomy will experience a sudden loss of ability to achieve an erection, and then erectile function gets better. But for men who are treated with radiation therapy, the erectile dysfunction problems gradually worsen over time, and these are the men most likely not to speak about it.

According to the researchers, "Additional study is clearly warranted to clarify whether radiotherapy patients are simply more accepting of treatment-induced declines in sexual function or if their less frequent use of such assistance measures represents an important, and unmet, healthcare need."