Cancer, Cancer Treatment

Did you know that radon gas is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer in non-smokers? Nearly 50 people a day will die from indoor exposure to radon - that’s equal to about 20,000 people each year.

The good news? It’s simple and affordable to reduce radon risks in the home. As part of National Radon Action Month in January, EPA is releasing a series of public service announcements (PSAs) reminding families that a radon-resistant home is a greener and healthier home. EPA estimates that one in 15 homes will have elevated radon levels. If your home tests high, a qualified radon professional can install a mitigation system to lower the radon level.

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who underestimate the risks of smoking — or overestimate the social value — are substantially more likely than their peers to take up the habit, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 395 high school students they followed for two years, those who thought the health risks of smoking were fairly low, or the social benefits fairly high, were about three times more likely than their peers to start smoking.

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Breast cancer research for cure, cause and prevention is an on-going struggle for scientists, for the benefit of humanity. Recent Dutch studies and analyses have shown that a young woman who receives radiation for cancer in one breast might develop cancer in the other breast, because of the same radiation. The risk of a woman developing breast cancer in her unaffected breast increases dramatically if said woman has a history of breast cancer in her family.

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By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A long-term analysis of people who took the arthritis drug Vioxx confirms it doubles the risk of strokes and heart attacks, researchers said on Monday, but this risk goes away a year after people stop taking it.

And other drugs in the same class of painkillers known as Cox-2 inhibitors may cause similar harm, they said.

“The good news is the data suggests that the risk doesn’t persist forever. The risk goes back toward normal after a year of follow up,” said Dr. Robert Bresalier of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, whose study appears in the journal Lancet.

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