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!
Results of two studies, sponsored by the Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials Collaborative Group, conclude that adding chemotherapy to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen improves survival for those with early-stage breast cancer. The same studies reveal preventing the secretion of estrogen from the ovaries does not offer much benefit for most women.
Researchers studied 1991 patients, ages 28 to 81. All had received five years worth of treatment with tamoxifen therapy with or without standard chemotherapy. Some premenopausal women were also treated with ovarian removal (ablation) or suppression, a technique used to stop the glands from secreting hormones.
While early results, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, fell short of statistical significance, chemotherapy still reduced the overall risk of death by 17 percent, mostly for women younger than 50 and especially for premenopausal women not treated with ovarian ablation or suppression.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl missed his team's match-up against the Lakers Tuesday night so he could spend some quality time with his son, Coby, who had surgery for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes on Monday.
Coby Karl, 23, spent seven hours in surgery. It was his second surgery in 13 months -- he had his thyroid removed last year after he was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer called papillary carcinoma. Chemotherapy followed the first surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells.
All reports indicate both Karls are doing fine and Coach Karl, who has been surviving prostate cancer since 2005, was back to his coaching duties last night. His team took on the Sacramento Kings -- and won.
Coby Karl is taking it easy for now. He just recently finished his final season with Boise State University where he led the Broncos with 14.8 points per game. He's still a great athlete, but right now, his health comes first.
"He's a young kid, he's a promising basketball player," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "The most important thing is his health."
Surgeons will normally remove the lymph nodes during surgery when a patient has Stage II or Stage III colon cancer. These stages refer to colon cancer that has penetrated the colon and entered the abdominal cavity. There may be spread of the cancer to local lymph nodes that need to be removed and biopsied.
An article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute says that patients have improved survival when a greater number of lymph nodes are removed during surgery. Patients have anywhere from six to forty lymph nodes removed and evaluated. The question is -- What is the optimal number of lymph nodes to remove and evaluate?
A clinical study was conducted that involved nearly 62,000 patients. The researchers concluded that patients with Stage II or III colon cancer had significantly improved survival when more lymph nodes were removed.
The author of the study stated "These results support consideration of the number of lymph nodes evaluated as a measure of quality of colon care."
One in 18 men and women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer during their lifetimes -- that translates into more than 150,000 people diagnosed and more than 52,000 colorectal cancer deaths each year, securing the disease as the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Fortunately, mortality rates for this disease have been declining due to earlier screenings, awareness of symptoms, removal of polyps, and improved treatments through advances in research discoveries -- like today's genetic breakthroughs.
In a recent study, researchers identified a cell pathway critical in the development of colon cancer and also lung and stomach cancers.
STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) is the newest discovery and is a target regulated by PRPRT (receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase T), already identified to be mutated in these cancers.
"The role of protein tyrosine phosphatase in cancer is still an under-explored area," says Zhenghe John Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Our study shows that receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase T regulates an important signaling pathway that is critical in cancer development. This identification will allow new approaches to pharmacological designs and facilitate alternative approaches for cancer treatment."
This study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS Online Edition Feb. 20-23, 2007), provides new hope for the development of drugs that will target this potentially deadly disease.
An analysis of data from SEER, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, shows that a common staging procedure given to patients diagnosed with Stage I non-clear cell ovarian cancer will live longer than those not going through the same procedure.
The procedure is called lymphadenectomy, meaning the removal of the lymph nodes during surgery to remove the cancer. Standard therapy is supposed to include lymph node removal but many of the women diagnosed with early stage disease fail to undergo a complete staging procedure.
Information on 6,686 records of women with Stage I invasive ovarian cancer diagnosed between 1988 and 2001 was analyzed. Overall, five year survival was 92.6 percent for those who underwent removal of lymph nodes versus 87 percent for those who did not have the nodes removed during surgery.
After breast cancer surgery to remove lymph nodes under the armpit, women have a risk of developing lymphedema. This is a serious disorder that we want to avoid. Shaving under the arm where the surgery was performed can be challenging. Many women might be afraid to shave to avoid cutting themselves and developing an infection, which can lead to lymphedema.
The other day my husband came home with this amazing razor. Its called Fusion and it is made by Gillette. I was already using the Mach 3 by Gillette but this new razor is so fantastic. It actually feels like silk going across your skin. It has five blades and causes less irritation and is much more comfortable to use than any razor I have ever tried.
I did not want a hairy armpit so after my breast cancer surgery and I was healed I would very carefully shave that area. I advise to also look in the mirror since the scar tissue can make the underarm area not as smooth as it once had been. I recommend avoiding disposable razors entirely since you are much more likely to cut your skin.
The razor is a bit pricy and so are the refills but I would definitely recommend this as a way to avoid any cuts while shaving.
In the not-too-distant future, dermatologists will be able to diagnose skin cancer without ever cutting the skin.
Right now, doctors cut out all suspicious lesions in order to examine them, to determine if they are cancerous or not. But with the development of a new microscope, cells can be examined right on the body -- without cutting.
Moles matter, reported Matt Lauer on Thursday's TODAY show during an interview with a skin cancer expert. Moles are highly associated with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. So it is critical that each mole is investigated. With this new high resolution technology -- essentially a video biopsy -- a camera will allow doctors to view cells, zero in on the area of concern, and pinpoint the exact cells that make up a mole. If the cells are similar in shape and size and have equal distribution, the mole is normal. If the individual cells are irregular and have no uniform pattern, the mole is abnormal and probably cancerous.
While cutting for biopsy purposes will one day be a thing of the past, cutting will still be necessary if a mole is characterized by cancerous cells. If it's cancer, it must come out. But the video biopsy can be used to map the border and boundaries and will allow for precise removal of the mole.
This technology is still developing -- but one day, perhaps eight to 10 years from now -- doctors will be able to more consistently detect cancer without removal of skin. For now, they must take a piece of the mole and put it under a microscope.
There are definite warning signs of skin cancer. Any mole that is asymmetrical with irregular borders and varied, dark colors should be reported to a physician. Also, any mole that changes in color, shape, or size and is bigger than a pencil eraser is cause for concern.
Numbness is wearing off, and I am beginning to feel twinges of pain surrounding the area where my port was once located. I can't see what was done to me today -- because the area is carefully bandaged -- but I know from what I feel that my skin has been cut and sewn back together. I feel the skin tightening, stretching, pulsing and while it's not terribly comfortable, it's pretty minor compared to the pain of so many other cancer procedures -- like my lumpectomy, my chemotherapy, my nausea, my neutropenia, my allergic reactions to various medications.
So I am fine, following my port removal that was predicted to last a few hours but somehow took most of the day. The actual procedure took just one hour, and the twilight drug that kept me in a peaceful funk allowed me to relax while the port that was tunneled into the tissue underneath my skin was precisely taken from my body. It was an uneventful experience -- except for a few tears that dripped from my eyes during the final moments before my surgery. I think it may have been the power of the moment -- the moment signaling the end of my active cancer journey. Or it may have been the power of support offered by my sister and my three-year-old son who accompanied me today. Or it may have been the power of the response I gave a nurse who had just seen my little guy and asked me if I planned to have more children. My response -- probably not, because of cancer -- seemed a little too final, a little too sad.
It may have been the combination of everything, all adding up over the past two years, that brought tears to my eyes today. But for now, the tears are gone. And the port is gone. For now, my cancer is gone.
On January 14, 2005, my sister drove me to the hospital for my port placement -- a minor surgical procedure to implant an Infuse-a-Port® underneath the skin on my collarbone. My port -- used steadily ever since that January day for the infusion of breast cancer chemotherapy drugs -- is about to be removed.
Tomorrow -- September 15, 2006 -- my sister will drive me to the same hospital where another minor surgery will result in the removal of this same port and its accompanying parts. I will come home with a scar that will mark the spot symbolic of my cancer travels. Along with my healed lumpectomy incisions and my head full of new hair, this scar will remind me of where I've been and will not ever let me lose sight of where I'm going -- full steam ahead into a life I am blessed to have in front of me. A life that was never promised to me for any specific amount of time. A life I am going to wrap my arms around -- for every second, every minute, every breath I am lucky enough to take.
I will be honest. After a double mastectomy left my chest mutilated and scarred, I worried if I would be physically attractive to a man after breast cancer surgery. It's not that I think men are shallow, it had more to do with all that cancer was taking away in my life, and I was not sure how much I would pay in the final cost of losses.
Worse yet, I wondered if simply being someone who had been diagnosed with cancer would make people run the other way. If the private conversations I have had with other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are a true indication, these are secret fears most of us share.
We each find our own inspiration back to feeling accepted and attractive in reclaiming the every day challenges and joys of relationships and life. For me, one of the ways I found that gave me hope was watching other breast cancer survivors enter new relationships or get married. As in -- obviously it doesn't seem to matter when it comes to love how imperfect you might be physically -- cancer surgery scars and all -- or that you were someone who had cancer.
I even find inspiration in Kylie Minogue being voted the number one desired traveling companion of men in a poll conducted by British Airways. She beat out Rachel Stevens and actress Angelina Jolie for the top spot. Not bad.
Yes, I know, few of us have the attractive quality of fame, fortune and international celebrity status to carry us along, but that does not matter. The fact that Minogue was voted by men as the number one person they would most like to be seated next to on a flight just reaffirms one more time the hope factor for me.
Seriously, I am okay now, it's been a few years but I remember when this private fear hurt my heart and I wondered if cancer had stolen more from me than was obvious at the time of diagnosis. If you are newly-diagnosed and reading this, and worry and wonder privately what life will be like down the road, it only gets better and the fears and worry about sex appeal will be have been for naught. Few will run the other way.
As if the horrors of breast cancer are not enough -- surgery and recovery, chemotherapy and recovery, radiation and recovery, additional treatments and recovery -- weight gain often comes along and rounds out the full breast cancer package. It is most common for women who have chemotherapy -- the curse is not often seen for women who have surgery alone or surgery followed by radiation -- and while it may seem the lesser of all evils for some women, others may be plagued by an additional battle with weight. In addition to the self esteem blow that breast cancer delivers -- complete with scars and removal of breasts and reconstruction and hair loss -- weight gain in this body-image obsessed era can take its toll. There are also health concerns related to weight gain -- and an excess of weight is reported to sometimes influence a return of breast cancer and can be a risk factor for other cancers too.
The American Cancer Society reports that the average weight gain is five to eight pounds over a year's time -- but that gaining 25 pounds is not uncommon either. This phenomenon is somewhat of a mystery, although there are some theories about why women are at risk for this not-so-pleasant side effect of breast cancer. Some women get nauseated during chemotherapy and don't eat much -- but others have intense food cravings and tend to eat more. Body composition may also change and research shows that chemotherapy possibly diminishes lean body mass and increases fatty tissue. Menopause may also be to blame -- natural and chemically-induced menopause operate the same and both slow metabolism. So it takes more physical activity to burn what less activity accomplished prior to chemotherapy. Women experiencing treatment also tend to exercise less which can contribute to weight gain. And some women fault the Tamoxifen they take following chemotherapy -- although research does not support a strong link between the two. There are many possibilities. Yet none of them are definite. There is one definite, though -- a healthy menu, a healthy exercise routine, and a healthy support team can help women ward off this unfair consequence of an unfair disease.
This is surprising -- and not good news -- for women. For women who carry one of two specific gene mutations, BRCA1 or BRCA2, linked to an increase in breast and ovarian cancer risk, even if the ovaries and fallopian tubes are surgically removed, they are still at risk for developing a form of ovarian cancer called peritoneal cancer.
According to Dr. Steven Narod, a leading researcher in the field of inherited breast and ovarian cancers, women with the gene mutations still have a cancer risk nine times higher than women without the inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
"Is it bad news? Well, one would like to think you have your organs removed and the disease is not going to come," said Dr. Narod. The average Canadian woman has about a 1.4 percent lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. The risks for women with the BRCA1 gene mutation is 60 percent and with the BRCA2 gene mutation is 25 percent.
Researchers call the surgical removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes a method of risk-reduction but that it will not completely prevent ovarian cancer. The Hereditary Ovarian Cancer Clinical Study Group have reported the study results in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
What would you do if you tested positive for a gene that caused the death of many of your family members? The descendants of Golda Bradfield, who died of gastric cancer and from whom the defective gene was inherited, made a radical decision based on knowing they had inherited the gene that killed their grandmother. Eleven cousins in all had their stomachs removed to avoid the certain fate of dying from gastric cancer. Some of the cousins had already watched their parents, aunts and uncles, die from gastric cancer. It is a decision they do not regret. After the stomachs were surgically removed and sent to the lab for analysis, the stomach tissue had already begun to develop cancerous growths. Without surgical removal of the stomach, this would not have been discovered in time as there are no tests to detect early stage gastric cancer.
According to experts, in the near future, doctors may do routine DNA tests to detect disease risks that can be lowered. "We do not yet have a general DNA test that fits into that category, but we're headed for it at a pretty good clip," said Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
The CDH1 gene mutation, first discovered about eight years ago in a New Zealand family with a history of stomach cancer, is extremely rare. It is estimated only 100 families worldwide carry the flawed gene that leads to hereditary gastric cancer.
Having a dog or cat or any other pet diagnosed with cancer is just as hard as having a friend or family member diagnosed. We have to determine the treatments and procedures since they can't speak up. A common cancer in dogs and cats is bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is the most common long bone tumor in dogs and cats. Often it is mistaken for arthritis or pulled muscles or stiffness in its early stages and so is not diagnosed sometimes until drastic measures have to take place. Cats and dogs differ in the way bone cancer matures and how treatment should be administered. Because of the rapid nature of osteosarcoma, treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The only trouble is that the most common sign -- lameness and pain -- usually happens when it is already taken firm hold.
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania researchers report the results of a study to determine if progressive weight training increases the risk of developing lymphedema -- a buildup of lymphatic fluid under the skin that causes arm swelling for some breast cancer survivors after lymph node removal -- and found that weight-bearing exercise did not cause a higher incidence of this painful condition.
Because many women who undergo initial breast cancer diagnosis have lymph nodes removed to determine if the cancer has spread beyond the original tumor site, lymphedema is a real concern. Lymphedema can occur soon after lymph node removal, or years later. Breast cancer survivors are advised to alter some activities and to avoid undue physical strain when using the affected arm.
However, from the results of this small study, breast cancer survivors are assured that slow, light weight lifting is not a cause for concern. Personally, I use small five pound hand weights as part of my exercise routine, and like the researchers, would advise breast cancer survivors to avoid lifting weights heavier than five pounds until a study spanning several years is conducted.
Results of two studies, sponsored by the Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials Collaborative Group, conclude that adding chemotherapy to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen improves survival for those with early-stage breast cancer. The same studies reveal preventing the secretion of estrogen from the ovaries does not offer much benefit for most women.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl missed his team's match-up against the Lakers Tuesday night so he could spend some quality time with his son, Coby, who had surgery for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes on Monday.
Surgeons will normally remove the lymph nodes during surgery when a patient has Stage II or Stage III colon cancer. These stages refer to colon cancer that has penetrated the colon and entered the abdominal cavity. There may be spread of the cancer to local lymph nodes that need to be removed and biopsied.
One in 18 men and women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer during their lifetimes -- that translates into more than 150,000 people diagnosed and more than 52,000 colorectal cancer deaths each year, securing the disease as the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
An analysis of data from SEER, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, shows that a common staging procedure given to patients diagnosed with Stage I non-clear cell ovarian cancer will live longer than those not going through the same procedure.
After breast cancer surgery to remove lymph nodes under the armpit, women have a risk of developing 
In the not-too-distant future, dermatologists will be able to diagnose skin cancer without ever cutting the skin. 
Numbness is wearing off, and I am beginning to feel twinges of pain surrounding the area where my port was once located. I can't see what was done to me today -- because the area is carefully bandaged -- but I know from what I feel that my skin has been cut and sewn back together. I feel the skin tightening, stretching, pulsing and while it's not terribly comfortable, it's pretty minor compared to the pain of so many other cancer procedures -- like my lumpectomy, my chemotherapy, my nausea, my neutropenia, my allergic reactions to various medications.
On January 14, 2005, my sister drove me to the hospital for my port placement -- a minor surgical procedure to implant an 
I will be honest. After a double mastectomy left my chest mutilated and scarred, I worried if I would be physically attractive to a man after breast cancer surgery. It's not that I think men are shallow, it had more to do with all that cancer was taking away in my life, and I was not sure how much I would pay in the final cost of losses.
As if the horrors of breast cancer are not enough -- surgery and recovery, chemotherapy and recovery, radiation and recovery, additional treatments and recovery -- weight gain often comes along and rounds out the full breast cancer package. It is most common for women who have chemotherapy -- the curse is not often seen for women who have surgery alone or surgery followed by radiation -- and while it may seem the lesser of all evils for some women, others may be plagued by an additional battle with weight. In addition to the self esteem blow that breast cancer delivers -- complete with scars and removal of breasts and reconstruction and hair loss -- weight gain in this body-image obsessed era can take its toll. There are also health concerns related to weight gain -- and an excess of weight is reported to sometimes influence a return of breast cancer and can be a risk factor for other cancers too.
This is surprising -- and not good news -- for women. For women who carry one of two specific gene mutations, BRCA1 or BRCA2, linked to an increase in breast and ovarian cancer risk, even if the ovaries and fallopian tubes are surgically removed, they are still at risk for developing a form of 
What would you do if you tested positive for a gene that caused the death of many of your family members? The descendants of Golda Bradfield, who died of gastric cancer and from whom the defective gene was inherited, made a radical decision based on knowing they had inherited the gene that killed their grandmother. Eleven cousins in all had their 
Having a dog or cat or any other pet diagnosed with cancer is just as hard as having a friend or family member diagnosed. We have to determine the treatments and procedures since they can't speak up. A common cancer in dogs and cats is bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is the most common long bone tumor in dogs and cats. Often it is mistaken for arthritis or pulled muscles or stiffness in its early stages and so is not diagnosed sometimes until drastic measures have to take place. Cats and dogs differ in the way bone cancer matures and how treatment should be administered. Because of the rapid nature of osteosarcoma, treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The only trouble is that the most common sign -- lameness and pain -- usually happens when it is already taken firm hold.
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania researchers report the results of a study to determine if progressive weight training increases the risk of developing 
