Cancer, Cancer Treatment

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 7 — Digoxin, a drug used for many years to treat irregular heart rhythms and heart failure, may also be a cancer-fighting agent, researchers report.

Cancer cells need to create new blood vessels to survive. But many of these cells are oxygen-deprived and need to switch on genes that produce a protein called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1), which help cells survive in low-oxygen conditions.

Digoxin reduces HIF-1, causing cancer cells to die, the scientists from Johns Hopkins University found.

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A mammogram is one of the safest ways that is used to check if there is any problem with the breast of a woman. It is actually an x-ray of the breasts, as it involves in using a special and very low dose x-ray machine taking pictures of both breasts. Effective Method of Preventing Cancer
Mammogram is an effective way of breast cancer prevention, as it is the most reliable procedure to detect early stages of breast cancer. However, there are some limitations of mammogram. Many cancers may not be detected by mammograms. Such breast cancers can be detected by breast self-exam. This article will guide you in getting ready for your mammogram. What You Should Watch Out For? Firstly, you should check the place where you are going to have your mammogram, so that you get to know about any special instructions, which you must follow before you arrive there. You should make the appointment for your mammogram for at least one week after the completion of your period. This is because your breast generally hurt less during this time. You should make sure that you tell your mammography facility, if you have ever got any type of breast implants. Things to Remember Before Visiting Mammogram Facility It is better that you wear a shirt preferably with shorts, skirt or pants. This helps you to undress from the waist up, thus leaving your pants, skirt or shorts on while you are getting your mammogram. It is highly advised that do not use any sort of deodorant, lotion, powder or lotion on your breasts or under your arms on the day you are having your mammogram. Using these things may result in shadows on your mammogram, as they contain small aluminium particles. You can use cornstarch in place of talcum powder or deodorant, as it does not interfere with the x-ray image. You should not use any sort skin lotions on your breasts, as it can make them slippery. Hence, it will result in a movement during the process and a blurred image may be produced. What Actually Happens During the Diagnosis Process? After reaching the clinic, you should undress up to your waist. Try wearing clothes that can be easily removed and has loose fittings. Do not wear a bra on the day. Do not forget to take a hairbrush, so that you can tidy up at the time of redressing. After undressing, you will be asked to put on the hospital gown, opening to the front. The technician will help you in positioning yourself in front of the mammogram machine while standing. While taking the mammogram, your technician will rest each of your breasts on a metal plate, arranging maximum of the breast tissue between the top compression plate and the bottom plate. Your breasts will then be imaged and compressed for various lateral and vertical images. It is recommended that women, especially those belonging to the upper age limit of 40 years or more, have a mammogram of their breasts done every year. This helps in early detection of breast cancer in ones breast and ensures proper treatment, which can even cure cancer. To Your Health!

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THURSDAY, Nov. 6 — Cancer-screening messages targeted to minorities that take a negative approach — emphasizing, for instance, that colon cancer is a bigger threat to blacks than whites — can actually make minorities less likely to be screened, a new study found.

“There have been some other studies that have hinted at the same thing,” said study lead author Robert Nicholson, an assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

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Prostate cancer is one of the leading killers of men. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 186,320 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and 28,660 will die from it.

Although it’s one of the most common cancers suffered by men, there are ways to minimize the risk of getting it, said Dr. Ihor Sawczuk, chairman of urology and chief of urologic oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

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With October being the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many are trying to find ways to help raise money for further research into prevention and treatment methods for the deadly disease.

In that spirit, QVC, a popular shopping network in the United States, has decided to sell more than 100,000 pairs of shoes at half-price, the money being scheduled to be donated to breast cancer education and research.

Coming from approximately one hundred brands, the shoes will be sold during a program that is set to air Wednesday, October 15, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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The chances of surgically removed breast cancer relapsing is reduced by following surgery with radiation therapy. This therapy is important and should not be skipped if you dont want your cancer to reoccur. Once you are diagnosed with breast cancer, the next thing you want to do is start an immediate treatment for the cancer. You should ask your doctor for available treatment options and what is involved in each before taking it up. With proper treatment chances are your breast cancer can be treated. And that’s a very high probability because more and more women are now surviving breast cancer, than was the case in the past.
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By Karla Gale

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Freezing embryos before undergoing cancer treatment that may cause infertility is as successful for women with cancer as it is for women without cancer, new study findings indicate.

The investigators, who presented their findings this week at the 64th annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in San Francisco, recommend this means preserving fertility for cancer patients, because the ovaries are severely compromised by chemotherapy and radiation.

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The combination of estrogen plus progestin, which women stopped taking in droves following the news that it may increase their risk of breast cancer, may decrease their risk of colorectal cancer, according to a report published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Compared to women who had never taken these hormones, the use of estrogen plus progestin was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer,” said Jill R. Johnson, M.P.H., a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Treatment with cetuximab (Erbitux) was less effective for patients with advanced colorectal cancer with a certain gene mutation, a new study found. Scientists already knew that the presence of K-ras mutations explains about 30 to 40 percent of cases in which colorectal cancer patients fail to respond to Erbitux, developed by ImClone and sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck KGaA, and Vectibix, from Amgen. The latest findings added another 12 percent.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Data from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study show that higher than normal insulin levels are an independent risk factor for breast cancer.

Study investigators, led by Dr. Marc J. Gunter at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, examined the association between breast cancer and blood parameters at study entry in 835 women who later developed breast cancer and 816 who did not. All of the women were postmenopausal and none were diabetic at baseline.

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