Researchers at Harvard Medical School say the active component of marijuana may enhance the virus that causes a rare type of skin cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma. While most people are not at risk of developing this cancer, AIDS patients are transplant recipients are. It's the weakened immune system that puts some at risk for this disease. And these are the people who should discuss with their doctors the costs of using marijuana medicinally or recreationally.

It may take only small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the ingredient that gives marijuana users a "high" -- to cause cells to become infected and then multiply, according to a study reported in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research.

Previous studies have indicated this very same association between marijuana use and Kaposi's sarcoma. But this study shows THC itself is the driving force.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is most prevalent in South China and kills one in every three victims. The disease is thought to be linked to diets rich in preserved foods, like salted fish.

Scientists will soon test an experimental treatment for nose and throat cancer that will train the patient's own white blood cells to fight the disease. Some classes of T-cells have memory. Once these cells are taken from the patient and are exposed to invaders that they successfully fought off, they should launch the same response when they are re-introduced back into the patients own body.

One of the researchers stated "We expect the T-cells to initiate a very aggressive inflammatory reaction and during the process, not only will the T-cells attack the cancer cells, but other immune cells in the body will be called in to eradicate the cancer cells".

I keep writing about skin cancer, specifically melanoma, because I'm a little obsessed about it. I guess the seriousness of the disease is finally sinking in and making me think.

I want you to think about it too. I want you to stay out of the sun, cover up, dress yourself in sunscreen, report for annual skin cancer screenings, and arm yourself with knowledge.

If you are not convinced by my words alone, please watch this video about how melanoma spreads -- how it breaks away from its original location and metastasizes throughout the bloodstream and lymphatic system, landing in other parts of the body. Melanoma is the deadliest from of skin cancer. This video proves it.

Left-handed women under the age of 50 are more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer than those who are right-hand dominant.

What?

Yep, that's what a new study reveals.

This left-handed conclusion, published in the journal Epidemiology, comes from the study of 12,000 women in the Netherlands whose medical histories were followed for 13 years. Discounting all other factors -- lifestyle, environment, and other disease -- left-handers came up with a risk of breast cancer 1.39 times that of right-handers. For pre-menopausal women, the figure climbed to 2.41.

Keeping cancer and other diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity and more might be as simple as the choice we make in keeping toxins out of our bodies and stress out of our minds. Think about all of the money poured into medicines, which are chemicals, that only treat certain symptoms. And most of the time create other side effects that we have to take more medicines for that in turn create more side effects, and on and on. You see where I am going.

What if only a part of the millions and millions of dollars poured into research on medicines, was put to use in educating the public on the right choices of foods and nutrition to put into our bodies to keep them healthy and to learn how to relax and quit putting so many demands on ourselves. What if more funding went into organic farming instead of mass, quick produced, with fertilizers and steroids for faster turn around on the products. Personally I have had so many chemicals blasted into my body from chemo and radiation, and medicines for this and medicines for that, I am about to think that all of that is only hurting my body more. Are we brain washed to believe that we have to have a pill for everything?

My community does not have a health food store that sells fresh organic produce or meats. And the local grocery stores carry very limited amounts of those items. I did take it upon myself to talk to one of the produce managers who did start ordering some other variety of organic vegetables which I thought was nice. And it seemed to catch on with some other customers too. Maybe the trend in that store will be to start ordering more organic products.

I will be posting a series of blogs on personal research that I am doing and trying out, just because I am sick and tired, literally, of fighting cancer that reoccurs and using medicines that are ripping my body apart leaving my immune system even more at risk for infection and disease.

But the one thing that I want to emphasize in this blog right now, is to STOP EATING processed and canned foods. It may be quicker to heat up a can of food or something already processed and pre-made for us, but it is not healthier. Eating fresh organic vegetables and home made prepared foods without chemical preservatives and other additives is the way to go to start getting some of those toxins out of our bodies. If you can't find fresh in something, because seasons play a big part in our fresh vegetable selections, purchase frozen. Also purchase dried beans or other dried items and cook them instead of buying canned ones. They are healthier than canned. Eating raw vegetables or slightly steamed vegetables is more healthy because the vitamins and nutrients do not cook out of the food.

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Produce for Better Health Foundation say we should eat nine to 11 servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Taking supplements is not enough -- we need the complex interplay of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

These are the colors we should include in our diet each day:

Wouldn't it be great if we could find breast cancer long before something appears on a mammogram?

An FDA approved test called the Halo Breast Pap Test System might be able to do just that by collecting Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF). The test is designed to detect abnormal cells in the breast. The Halo system can identify benign disease as well as abnormal ductal cells that can be precursors to cancer.

Some research has suggested that ductal fluid excreted from the nipple can be used to identify a women's specific risk of breast cancer. A women with abnormal cells in the fluid has a four to five times greater risk of developing breast cancer.

Think about this:

The introduction of the HALO Breast Pap Test has been compared to the introduction of the Cervical Pap Test in the 1950s, which is widely credited with reducing cervical cancer death rates by more than 70 percent through the identification of abnormal cells in the cervix. Whether the same can be said for the breast pap test remains to be seen, but it is likely that the screen will be adopted by more OB-GYNs as oncologists push for ever earlier identification of cancer.

I've always heard the use of herbs and supplements and alternative therapies can be a potentially dangerous pursuit when combined with cancer treatment. But this may not be entirely true.

Think about this:

Using Chinese herbs alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy may help protect a breast cancer patient's bone marrow and immune system. It may also improve the overall quality of life for women, say researchers at the Chinese Cochrane Centre in Chengdu, China.

It is well known that women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer experience significant short term side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, inflammation of the gut lining, decreased numbers of red and white blood cells, and decreased numbers of blood platelets. Those is search of some relief may wish to give Chinese medicinal herbs a try.

Researchers say there is conventional evidence indicating that these medicines are safe and effective. Still, "further trials are needed before the effects of traditional Chinese medicines for people with breast cancer can be evaluated with any real confidence," says one professor involved in this area of study.

A high intake of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risks for virtually all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers as well as sex hormone related cancers like breast, prostate, cervix, and ovarian cancers. Vitamin C is your body's first and most effective line of antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects cell structures like DNA from damage and it helps the body deal with environmental pollution and toxic chemicals. Vitamin C enhances immune function, and it inhibits the formation of cancer causing compounds in the body (such as the nitrosamines, chemicals produced when the body digests processed meats containing nitrates).

Dr. Douglas Brodie states in the book, Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer, "Each one of us produces several hundred thousand cancer cells every day of our lives. Whether we develop clinical cancer or not depends upon the ability of our immune systems to destroy these cancer cells. That's because cancer thrives in the presence of a deficient immune system."

Here is a list of foods high in vitamin C. Adding these foods to your daily diet will help boost your immune system which will aid you in fighting off many diseases as well as cancer.
Fruits and vegetables are both high in Vitamin C. The highest are papaya, raw red and green peppers, oranges, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, baked potato, cabbage, green peas, kiwi fruit, and kale.

There are a few good vitamin C supplements on the market but one that I particularly am using at present to super charge my immune system is Emergen-C Super Energy Booster which has 1,000mg of vitamin C along with vitamin B and 32 mineral complexes.

The most healthy thing that I have added to my daily menu to fight cancer right now is this simple drink that helps give me energy and gives me antioxidants and vitamins. It helps boost the immune system. It detoxifies and cleanses the body. It gives a quota of daily veggies. It has a high alkalinity that helps balance acid PH levels in the body. It is simple and it tastes good too.

Vicki's Twice Daily Wheat Grass Cocktail
4 ounces of organic tangerine juice
4 ounces of organic carrot juice
1 organic banana
1 8 grams packet of Organic Wheat Grass (I prefer Amazing Grass brand)

Mix together well in a blender until smooth and pour into a large glass.

You can find Wheat Grass in your local health food store.

There's a new vaccine out there that stimulates the immune system to find and destroy breast cancer cells. In early experiments, the vaccine held off or stopped the growth of tumors in all of the mice studied. Some mice were even cured.

Think about this:

Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research reveals this vaccine is different from most under development that help kick-start the immune systems of sick patients. In this case, the vaccine tells the immune system to recognize breast cancer cells and to attack and kill them on the spot.

One researcher says breast cancer cells usually fly under the radar of the immune system. To combat this problem, the injectable vaccine uses a bacteria-type substance that is altered to contain the gene HER2/neu and also antibodies that rev up the immune system. This makes the body react and wipe out cells containing HER2/neu.

If continued studies prove promising, the vaccine would work for the 15 to 25 percent of women whose breast cancers overexpress HER2/neu.

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.

This is a big question for those in the field of cancer immunotherapy, treatment based upon the concept of adjusting the immune system to reject and destroy tumors.

The National Cancer Institute along with a company called NewLink Genetics are looking to get FDA approval to start clinical trials of a drug that restricts a natural mechanism for immune suppression.

This enzyme named IDO, has been shown to help the fetus avoid rejection by the mother's immune system. This discovery led scientists to suspect and later prove that tumors express IDO.

Will suppressing IDO in humans help the immune system to seek out and kill cancer cells? This is what these scientists want to find out.

Doctor Mellor, a pediatric oncologist, says "What (cancers) do, we think, is make a protective cocoon so the immune system does not attack the tumor, so that gives you the therapeutic opportunity. If you stop IDO from blocking the response, you should allow the response, so now the specificity of the immune system is brought to bear directly on tumor cells"

Interesting stuff!

When Dr. Jian-Wei Gu went to Mississippi to study the cardiovascular system and the process of blood vessel growth, he had no idea he'd make national headlines about his research into the world of cancer.

Gu, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says his discovery of the mechanism by which alcohol consumption causes tumor growth was purely accidental.

And extremely significant.

Scientists have known for a hundred years about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. A study from Paris in 1910 showed that 80 percent of patients with cancer of the esophagus or gastric track were alcoholics. More recently, scientists have found correlations between alcohol consumption and cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, large bowel, and even the breasts. Yet lab experiments have always failed to show the effects in animals that investigators knew to be true in humans.

Until now.

It seems past studies used too much alcohol -- in concentrations of 20 percent -- and the animals just wasted away while showing no tumor growth. But when Gu used concentrations of one percent -- about one to two drinks per day in humans -- to study blood vessel growth, he detected stimulated tumor growth in both chick embryos and mice. Thus, his cancer discovery was born.

Gu has further concluded that melanoma cancers in mice grew significantly faster and larger in the mice who consumed the equivalent of one or two alcoholic drinks a day than the mice receiving no alcohol.

Gu's findings, now confirmed by other scientists, are evidence of what many have long suspected -- alcohol, even in moderation, increases cancer risk.

I'm a bit skeptical just reading the article titled A Laugh a Day Might Keep Death Further Away. In a recent Norwegian study, adults who have a sense of humor showed to outlive those who don't find life funny. I don't know about this -- I can think of a lot of miserable people who lived very long lives!

I love to laugh. Watching comedians is one of my favorite things to do, however I don't think that is going to make me live any longer than other breast cancer survivors.

The study said that the survival edge is particularly large for those with cancer. In this study the researcher claims that a great sense of humor cut someones chances of death by about seventy percent compared with adults with a poor sense of humor.

Sven Svebak, of the medical school at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, says that past studies have shown that humor helps people cope with stress and keep a healthy immune system during stressful times. He believes that could promote survival.

William Breibart, psychiatry chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York city, is skeptical also. Breibart says that in the twenty two years of treating cancer patients he met a lot of funny people who died of cancer pretty quickly. He says that stage of disease and aggressiveness of tumor matter far more than a person's sense of humor.

He did add that someone who can see humor in bad side effects of chemotherapy might stick it out more for treatment and that can be a way humor affects survival.

This sounds too much like -- you need to have a positive attitude -- cancer survivors are not particularly fond of hearing that our cancer came back because we didn't have a positive attitude or we didn't have a great sense of humor -- but laughter does make life more enjoyable!