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:

There are many things we tend to write off as normal signs of getting older. The aches and pain, the slow-but-steady weight gain, feeling cold all the time, getting the occasional sniffles. Sometimes I wonder if these are things I should pay more attention to, but I tend to cast that thought out of my mind because going to the doctor is inconvenient. And usually, ignoring symptoms is ok, but there are some that, according to the Mayo Clinic, you should never ignore, including:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Persistent fever
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained changes in bowel habits
• Mental status changes
  
• Severe headaches
• Loss of vision, movement or speaking control, even if it's short-term
• Flashes of light
• Feeling full after eating little
• Hot, red or swollen joints

I definitely agree that these should be cause for alarm. My dad started to exhibit several of these symptoms a few months before he passed away, but explain them away as normal aging. Don't make the same mistake.

Andy Thomas, of Watford, Hertfordshire, UK, who is a kidney cancer survivor, has created a new website called KidneyCancerResource.com. The site contains information on kidney cancer and other urological cancers . Thomas has created this site along with a fellow kidney/bladder cancer survivor, Greg.

KidneyCancerResource.com is a wiki site where multiple authors can collaborate on creating and maintaining content. Thomas intends on building a 'living, organic site' where patients, caregivers and medical professionals can contribute and share information.

Thomas was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year and underwent a successful radical nephrectomy. You can read his story, from a patient's perspective,here. Since then, Thomas' s prognosis is considered good. Thomas has returned to work and has also made a commitment to remaining as fit as possible.

Symptoms of kidney cancer include blood in the urine, pain in the side that does not go away, a lump or mass in the side or the abdomen and weight loss, tiredness or fever. These symptoms do not mean that cancer is definitely present, but anyone with such symptoms should see a doctor as soon as possible.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with kidney cancer and you are looking for more information, here is a compilation of sites from KidneyCancerResource, for both the UK and the US and around the world.

Our bodies are good at telling us when something is wrong most of the time. It is important to listen to those messages and seek medical attention when specific symptoms arise. The June issue of the Mayo Health Letter covers symptoms that should not be ignored.

Seven symptoms not to ignore:

• Unexplained weight loss: This could be a symptom of such conditions as an overactive thyroid, depression, liver disease, cancer or other noncancerous disorders that interfere with how well your body absorbs nutrients.
• Fever: A fever can point to underlying infections. A fever accompanied by chills or one that is greater than 103 degrees should be evaluated immediately.
• Shortness of breath: Gasping for air or wheezing are medical emergencies. Shortness of breath can be caused by asthma, heart problems, anxiety, panic attacks, or a blood clot in the lungs.
• Severe headaches: A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizure, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain when chewing are medical emergencies. Causes vary for headaches and may include stroke, blood vessel inflammation, meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain. Most headaches, are just that, headaches but it is important to know the warning signs for more serious underlying conditions.

The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 16,600 new cases of myeloma are diagnosed each year in the United States. Bone pain is the most common early symptom of myeloma. Most patients feel pain in their back or ribs, but it can occur in any bone. The pain is usually made worse by movement.

Patients fatigue more easily and often feel weak. They may also have a pale complexion from anemia which is a common medical problem for patients with myeloma and may contribute to the fatigue. If the disease progresses, the concentration of normal cells in the blood may also decrease. Headaches, bruising, nose bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and tingling or numbness in extremities are all symptoms of myeloma.

Patients may have repeated infections because antibodies to invading viruses, bacteria or other disease agents are not made efficiently of in adequate amounts. Urinary tract, bronchial, lung, skin, or other sites of infection may be the first sign of the disease. In addition, recurrent infections may complicate the course of the disease.

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.

I've read stories about women whose breast cancer diagnoses were delayed because they explained away certain symptoms. One woman, an athlete, was told by her husband one day that her nipple looked different from the other. "It's probably just the jog bra I've been wearing all day," she assured him. They both moved on.

Some time later, this woman learned that her different nipple was a sign of breast cancer. And she had it. She just didn't know it. And so her diagnosis came late. Eight years later, this young mother of two small children died from a disease she explained away.

This is normal -- the art of explaining away all the odd messages our bodies give us. Perhaps it's the stigma of whining about every little ache and pain that keeps us from pursuing immediate medical attention. It could be the likelihood that our complaints are pretty normal, so we refrain from rushing to judgment.

I'm practicing this well-established art right now. It's odd for me because I've already had breast cancer, and I am usually ultra-sensitive to every twinge of pain I feel. So when I woke this morning, with a tight and aching feeling in my chest, one would have thought I'd be racing out the door, headed for the nearest emergency room. I considered the fact that perhaps I need to be seen, that a chest X-ray might be in order, but I took no action -- because I explained the feeling away. It went something like this:

It must be the way I slept. I slept in a different bed, with one child and one dog, and I don't think I moved an inch all night.

The feeling gets less intense with time. At this moment, I can only feel something -- and it's very mild -- if I inhale deeply.

If I have the same feeling tomorrow morning, I will pursue it -- no, I won't pursue it just yet because I wont' be sleeping in my own bed for a few more nights. I'll wait until I get back to my own bed and see what happens. Maybe this bed is not good for me.

This goes on and on. For me, I think it happens because I suspect nothing really is wrong with me. Perhaps I am dismissing something serious but mostly, I'm chalking this behavior to progress. Because there was a day when I ran to the dentist for a bump on the roof of my mouth -- it was nothing -- and I cried to get myself a next-day mammogram for some lumpy tissue I was convinced was cancer -- it wasn't -- and now, I am happy to feel more like a normal person. I am happy to have perfected my new art, which incidentally I will abandon in an instant if the discomfort persists.

My husband says he's had this feeling before when getting out of bed. I think I'm going to be OK.

WOW, what a book -- a perfect guide for those just embarking on a medical journey and a valuable resource for people like me -- already surviving a major illness -- who wish to better manage their health care for all of time.

Author Laura Nathanson, MD, wrote What You Don't Know Can Kill You: A Physician's Radical Guide to Conquering the Obstacles to Excellent Medical Care in honor of the husband she lost after a series of misdiagnoses and for everyone wishing to prevent such tragedy in their own lives.

Nathanson offers readers techniques for identifying signs of misdiagnosis and misleading analysis of symptoms. She shares tips for preventing medical miscommunication, keeping safe in the hospital, and choosing health care plans without falling into the uncovered services trap.

The allure of this book is the easy, non-medical approach Nathanson uses as she urges everyone facing the medical world to take charge of an often inpenetrable system. For the patient who is no stranger to this world, Nathanson's words will ring abundantly true.

"When I look back on that long period of delayed diagnosis and how we were then and later bounced around from one medical specialist to another, the image that pops into my head is that of a slightly mad, grotesque volleyball game -- with the patient as the ball," she writes.

For the patient new to medical confusion, Nathanson's words will impart volumes of truth.

"Here's what I've learned, and what you must learn if you wish yourself and your loved ones to survive a bout with serious illness," she reports. "No matter who you are, physician or not, lucky or not; no matter how rich, famous, successful, good-looking, innocent, kindly or powerful; no matter how close and trusting the relationship you have with those providing your medical care -- you cannot rely on today's medical system to keep you healthy, safe and alive."

Amen.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has had many routine medical follow-ups since her 2004 breast cancer diagnosis. And all of them -- until just a few days ago -- resulted in what is generally termed a clean bill of health.

The term doesn't always come with a sense of relief for those of us surviving breast cancer -- or any cancer for that matter -- because it only really defines what our bodies are telling us at one specific moment. There are no magic blood tests, no special body scans, no conclusive ways of determining whether or not cancerous cells have gone astray and will one day surface again.

I asked my oncologist after my first six-month follow-up how he would know if my cancer returns. He told me it's really up to me to determine whether it comes back. It's up to me to get mammograms and ultrasounds and MRIs. It's up to me to report any symptoms and suspicions. It's up to me to track my general well-being so that it will be clear when something feels not-so-right. If I have a persistent cough or headaches that won't subside, my doctor will take action with X-rays and scans and tests. But as long as I feel fine and nothing troubling presents itself, then I remain in the clean-bill-of-health club.

Edwards no longer has a clean bill of health. But she is determined to use her newest diagnosis -- stage four metastatic cancer of the bones, considered treatable but not curable -- to work toward the best health she can acquire for as long as she can hold onto it. And that is about as good as any of us can do.

More than 47 percent of people view their pets as family members, according to a 2002 American Veterinary Medical Association survey. It makes sense then that people are routinely treating their pets for ailments that might strike a family member -- like arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, obesity, and yes, cancer.

New studies show that Americans are stuffing their pets with more drugs than ever before. They are medicating their dogs, cats, and sometimes other pets as much as they medicate themselves -- and they are doing it with many of the same human drugs they use for themselves, like steroids for inflammation, antibiotics for infection, anti-depressants for anxiety, and even new slendering drugs for obesity.

It's a big market -- pharmaceuticals for pets -- and for those who love their pets so much they can't let go, going to extremes is worth every penny.

Think about this:

• For dogs and cats alone, Americans spent $2.9 billion on pet drugs in 2005. While this is equal to only one percent of human drug sales, the market has grown by half since 2000.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved more than 40 new pet drugs in the past five years.

• A single three-month course of pet chemotherapy can cost $3,000 -- and chemotherapy doesn't typically extend the life of an animal as much as it soothes symptoms of the disease.

• Health insurance for pets was nearly invisible in 2002 but has gained popularity over the past few years. Premiums can cost $30 per month, and the total market is expected to climb to $500 million in the next five years.

• Some human drugs leave pets with unexpected, sometimes deadly, side effects. The drug Rimadyl, made by Pfizer and used as a treatment for dogs with arthritis, has been shown to cause kidney and liver damage in some animals. More than 3,000 pet deaths have been attributed to this drug.

• Some question the priorities of a society that allows for medically treating pets like they are humans. Dianne Dunning, an ethicist at N.C. State's vet school is concerned that millions of animals are lost, unwanted, and euthanized while millions are spent on pet medicines. David Rothman, an expert in medicine's role in society from Columbia University, says, "If you can't get malaria drugs in some Third World countries, what are we doing with chemotherapy for cats?"

• Others don't flinch at the expense it requires to keep their pets alive. One man, whose dog was expected to die of lymphoma within weeks, still enjoys the company of his pet some two years later. Chemotherapy saved the dog's life and when asked if he thinks the drugs are too expensive, this man says NO -- because his dog is still here.
  

A little bit of education goes a long way, especially in the war against cancer. Armed with facts and figures and know-how, we can help advance prevention and early detection of this deadly disease.

So in the spirit of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, here are seven truths that serve to broaden your horizons about the third most common cancer found in men and women in this country.

As you read these truths, be aware that the death rate from colorectal cancer has been on a downward climb for the past 15 years due to better screening, fewer diagnosed cases, early detection, and more advanced treatment. Keep in mind that you can help keep this trend going by raising your own awareness and by taking action on behalf of yourself and your loved ones.

• Colorectal cancer refers to cancer that starts in the colon or rectum. These cancers begin in the digestive system where food is processed to create energy and rid the body of solid waste matter.

• Colorectal cancers develop slowly over a period of years and mostly begin in the form of polyps -- growths of tissue that start in the lining and grow into the center of the colon or rectum. Removing polyps early may prevent them from becoming cancerous. More than 95 percent of colon and rectal cancers are called adenocarcinomas.

• For people of average risk, screening is recommended beginning at age 50. Those whose risk is higher than average should talk with a physician about appropriate screening.

• Screening is used to detect disease in people who do not have any symptoms. In many cases, screening tests find colorectal cancers at an early stage and greatly improve the chances of successful treatment. Screening tests can prevent some cancers by allowing doctors to find and remove polyps that might become cancer. There are several tests used to look for colorectal cancer. Ask your doctor what test is best for you.

• Treatment for colorectal cancer includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and newer targeted therapies.

• The American Cancer Society predicts there will be 112,340 new cases of colon cancer and 41,420 new cases of rectal cancer in 2007 in the United States. Combined, the diseases will cause about 52,180 deaths.

• The Colorectal Cancer Coalition -- or C3 -- is a national organization whose mission is to eliminate suffering and death due to colon and rectal cancer through advocacy. Visit here for more information.

The material shared in this post was gathered from the websites of the American Cancer Society and the Colorectal Cancer Coalition.

It's March. And that means it's the national month for Brain Injury Awareness, Endometriosis Awareness, Nutrition Awareness, Eye Health and Safety Awareness, Multiple Sclerosis Awareness, Sleep Awareness, Problem Gambling Awareness and my favorite, for the purposes of The Cancer Blog -- Colorectal Cancer Awareness.

Colorectal cancer -- cancer of the colon or rectum -- is a disease that affects both men and women and is preventable nearly 90 percent of the time.

Starting at age 50, men at women at average risk for the disease should get screened. Those with increased risk, like African-Americans who typically develop colorectal cancer at younger ages, should be screened even earlier.

Screening -- by way of fecal occult blood test (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy -- is critical because colorectal cancer often occurs with no symptoms. Symptoms do sometimes present themselves in the later stages of the disease and include rectal bleeding, bright red blood in or on the stool, change in bowel habits, stools that are narrower than usual, general stomach discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, frequent gas pains, unexplained weight loss, constant fatigue, and vomiting. Persistence of any of these symptoms for more than two weeks warrant an immediate visit with a health professional.

Treatment for this disease, which strikes about 153,000 people and causes about 52,000 deaths each year, includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

In the spirit of this National Colorectal Awareness Month, experts recommend remembering these important points:

• Colorectal cancer can be prevented.
• Screening for the disease can identify polyps -- grape-sized growths in the colon and/or rectum -- that can be removed to prevent cancer from developing.
• The magic age for screening is 50 -- unless you have an increased risk for the disease.
• Colorectal cancer is treatable.
• Regardless of your age, know the risk factors, know the symptoms, and know your family history.
• Talk with your health professional about colorectal cancer and your own risk for the disease.

The U.S. government's Institute of Medicine reported that asbestos, which is accepted as a cause of a number of respiratory ailments including lung cancer, may also be a source for laryngeal cancer. The larynx produces the sound of your voice. Each year in the United States, more than 10,000 people learn they have larynx cancer. Men are four times more likely than women to get cancer of the larynx. Occupational related issues are certainly a factor with mechanics, construction, and other jobs that handle asbestos.

A series of studies have found that certain cancers of the throat and lungs are similar, so the U.S. Senate asked the institute to investigate a potential link between asbestos and other upper-body cancers. Asbestos is also linked to mesothelioma which is a rare cancer that attacks the lining of the chest.

Smokers and smokers that drink alcohol are even more at risk to develop cancer of the larynx. Symptoms of larynx cancer are hoarseness or other voice changes,lump in the neck, a sore throat or feeling that something is stuck in your throat, a cough that does not go away, breathing problems, bad breath, earaches, and weight loss.