Cancer Research Blog

TheWorkofBK asked:

www.TheWork.com and www.ByronKatie.com

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James S. Pendergraft asked:


Reports say that after lung cancer, breast cancer is the second most deadly and common type of cancer, which accounts for 1% of all deaths and 7% of all cancer deaths. Breast cancer is considered to the fifth common cause responsible for cancer deaths.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

As a woman, you should be well aware of breast cancer, its symptoms and treatment. According to doctors, the subjective and first symptom of breast cancer is a development of a typical lump in your breast. This lump is quite different from the breast tissue surrounding it and you can notice it by careful examination.

But, breast cancer is not only determined by the lump, which appears in your breast. Studies reveal that if you are having lumps located in the lymph nodes in your collar bone or armpits, you are more likely to have breast cancer. It is the mammogram, which is done by doctors in the region of the detected lump to confirm the case of breast cancer.

But all women don’t develop the same symptoms of breast cancer. Other indications of breast cancer apart from a lump include nipple inversion, skin dimpling, spontaneous single nipple discharge or change in the shape and size of the breast. If you are having pain in your breast, don’t take it as breast cancer as it is an unreliable tool for confirming the menace.
After the invasion of the breast cancer cells in the region of dermal lymphatics, you are more likely to get skin inflammation in your breast. This phenomenon is often termed as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Women, having inflammatory breast cancer, may develop several symptoms, which include an orange peel appearance of the skin in the breast of region, redness and warmth in the breast with extreme pain and swelling. Other symptoms indicating the presence of breast cancer in your body is increased sensitivity, burning, itching and tingling of the breast region.

Look For Immediate Attention from Your Doctor

Women developing the above symptoms of breast cancer should immediately contact their doctor. Cases of breast cancer can be diagnosed with proper examination of surgically removed tissue from the breast. Procedures of removing tissues include local surgical excision, core needle biopsy, ductal cleavage, fine needle aspiration and nipple aspirates. After this, some imaging tests such as bone scan, chest X-ray, PET scanning and MRI are conducted to confirm breast cancer.

Therapies for Treating Breast Cancer

With the advancement of medical studies, women may not worry any more, if they are having breast cancer. Surgery is the mainstay of the treatment of breast cancer, where the tumour in the breast is localised followed by adjuvant hormonal therapies in that region. Some other popular treatment methods of breast cancer are chemotherapy, immune therapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy.

One more innovative and modern method of treating breast cancer is Interstitial Laser Thermotherapy (ILT). It is a minimal invasive process and there is absolutely no need for surgical removal of the breast tissue. Doctors also recommend this treatment, as no side effects are noticed in this process and the patient remains healthy.



Posted by Nikhil Gupta

julia asked:


India’s health care services for nasal cavity cancer treatment is poised to become a major driver of economic growth as first-world patients, driven out of their own systems by high costs and crowded conditions, look for cheaper places for medical care. For India, new terms such as health tourism, health care outsourcing and medical back office support are suddenly gaining currency. The health care sector has witnessed an enormous growth in infrastructure in the private and voluntary sector. The private sector which was very modest in the early stages has now become a flourishing industry equipped with the most modern state-of-the-art technology at its disposal. It is estimated that 75-80% of health care services and investments in India are now provided by the private sector. In the past 30 years, the costs of health care have soared in developed countries, especially in the United States. Due to rapidly escalating health care costs, Americans, Europeans, Canadians and Australians in ever increasing numbers began to search for alternatives that could reduce their personal out of pocket medical expenses. In the last few years, millions of people from developed nations have chosen to come to India for nasal cavity cancer treatment.

 

 What is nasal cavity cancer or paranasal sinus cancer?

 

 Cancer of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the paranasal sinuses or nasal cavity. The paranasal sinuses are small hollow spaces around the nose. The sinuses are lined with cells that make mucus, which keeps the nose from drying out; the sinuses are also a space through which the voice can echo to make sounds when a person talks or sings. The nasal cavity is the passageway just behind the nose through which air passes on the way to the throat during breathing. The area inside the nose is called the nasal vestibule.

 

 Procedure of nasal cavity cancer surgery

 

 In recent years, progress has been made in treating nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Surgery has improved, and more is known about the best way to combine drugs to treat different types of cancer. After the disease is found and staged, the cancer care team will recommend a treatment plan. Although this is an important decision, it is also important to take time and think about all of the choices. In choosing a treatment plan, factors to consider include the patient’s overall physical health, the nature of the disease, and anything else that makes that person unique. It is often a good idea to seek a second opinion. A second opinion can provide more information and help the patient feel good about the treatment plan that is chosen. It is important to remember that these are uncommon cancers and not all hospitals and doctors have enough experience in treating them. Some insurance companies require a second opinion before they will agree to pay for treatments.
 

 Uninsured and underinsured American patients are seeking affordable medical treatments along with an opportunity to explore mystic Asia and near by tourist locations. Here, health care is comparable too much that is available in the United States, and at a far lower cost. Unlike many of its competitors in medical tourism, along with world-renowned consultants and surgeons, India also has the technological sophistication and infrastructure to maintain its market niche and pharmaceuticals meet the stringent requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.A growing number of uninsured andunderinsured Americans seeking lowcost quality medical care and surgery are boarding plane to India. It hasthe top-notch centers for open heart surgery, pediatric heart surgery, hipand knee replacement, eye surgery,dentistry, bone marrow transplants and cancer therapy and virtually all of India’s clinics are equipped with the latest electronic and medical diagnostic equipment. Medical procedures like nasal cavity cancer treatment in India cost approximately 20% to 30% compare to the ones in U.S.

 

 To know more about nasal cavity cancer treatment in India:

 

 http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com

 

 Submit your case details at:

 

 enquiry@forerunnershealthcare.com



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Groshan Fabiola asked:


Scientists have been trying to find a cure for advanced prostate cancer or at least a solution for delaying the disease’s effects. So, they have created a vaccine that seems to improve the immune response to fight prostate cancer. The vaccine is still under clinical trials to test its complete efficiency, to adjust doses and to see if it works on less advanced prostate cancer.

Eric J. Small, MD, UCSF professor of medicine and urology, along with other 19 US institutions conducted the study which was funded by the Dendreon Corporation (the developer of the vaccine) based in Seattle, Washington. They tested 31 patients who were suffering of asymptomatic metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and had only one year left to live. The study was designed for observing if the disease progression will be delayed and patients will survive longer. In July1, 2006 the Journal of Clinical Oncology published the first conclusions of this research.

After two months of treatment with Provenge, 20 of the patients developed a responsive immunity against a protein situated on the surface of prostate cells (prostatic acid phosphatase). In these patients, the disease progressed after 34 weeks, but in the case of the other 11 patients the disease progressed after 13 weeks.

The vaccine was well tolerated by patients and the side effects were mild: fever and chills. Five of the subjects declared they had mild urinary problems. This is good news because chemotherapy gives a lot of unbearable side effects.

The vaccine has been made out of a genetically engineered protein and a dendritic cell provided from the patient’s bloodstream.

T.J. Koerner, PhD, scientific program director for the American Cancer Society (ACS)said that the vaccine needs to be still under trials because doses need to be adjusted and drug combination must be tried. Also, the scientists want to see if this vaccine will work on less advanced prostate cancer. Until now the researchers do not know what the consequences of a long term treatment with this vaccine are upon the patients.

In US, prostate cancer is quite common and more than 200,000 new cases are discovered every year. Most of the patients can follow a treatment based on surgery, radiation and hormone therapy, but asymptomatic metastatic HRPC is known to be resistant to hormone therapy and every year more than 30,000 men die because and no other treatment is effective against the disease, this is why a treatment is urgently required.

For more information about early symptoms prostate cancer and about prostate cancer symptoms please review this web site http://www.prostate-cancer-center.com



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Groshan Fabiola asked:


In US, prostate cancer is quite common and more than 200,000 new cases are discovered every year. Asymptomatic metastatic HRPC is known to be resistant to hormone therapy used in early detected prostate cancers and no other treatment is effective against it.

A new study has been made in California in order to see if the prostate vaccine against cancer is really useful. In July1, 2006 the Journal of Clinical Oncology published the first conclusions of this research. Scientists said that the rate of survival increased by four and a half months in those who were administered the cancer vaccine compared with those who got the placebo.

The study was made on patients with asymptomatic metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and was designed for observing if the disease progression will be delayed and patients will survive longer.

The vaccine was well tolerated by patients and the side effects were mild: fever and chills.

Eric J. Small, MD, UCSF professor of medicine and urology, along with other 19 US institutions conducted the study which was funded by the Dendreon Corporation (the developer of the vaccine) based in Seattle, Washington.

Small declared that this trial is an important one because it will open the way to other treatments regarding prostate cancer.

The vaccine, called Sipuleucel-T was created to stimulate T-cell immunity to prostatic acid phosphatase.

127 patients were included in the study. Every two weeks they were meant to receive three transfusions of sipuleucel-T or placebo. The conclusions were that 115 patients of this group had progressive disease at the time of data analysis and all patients were followed for survival for 3 years.

For those treated with sipuleucel-T the median rate of survival was 25.9 months. For those who got a placebo treatment, the overall of survival was 21.4 months.

Small declared that: “We found that the time to disease progression for sipuleucel-T was 11.7 weeks compared to 10.0 weeks for placebo”, showing that there are difficulties in using the disease progression as an intermediate marker for median survival of the affected people treated with immunotherapy.

The conclusions were that sipuleucel-T gives a survival advantage to patients with asymptomatic metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). These were the results for phase III trial.

The study for Phase I and II were also taken by Eric J. Small to be conducted at UCSF and everybody is anxious to hear the conclusions.

For more information about prostate cancer symptoms and about early symptoms prostate cancer please review this web site http://www.prostate-cancer-center.com



Posted by Nikhil Gupta

peterhutch asked:


le with kidney cancer want to take an active part in making decisions about their medical care. They want to learn all they can about their disease and their treatment choices. However, shock and stress after the diagnosis can make it hard to think of everything they want to ask the doctor. It often helps to make a list of questions before an appointment. To help remember what the doctor says, people may take notes or ask whether they may use a tape recorder.

In adults, the most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the small tubes within your kidneys. Children are more likely to develop a kind of kidney cancer called Wilms’ tumor. The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 51,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year. The incidence of kidney cancer seems to be increasing, though it isn’t clear why. Many kidney cancers are detected during procedures for other diseases or conditions.

Causes

Your kidneys are part of the urinary system, which removes waste and excess fluid and electrolytes from your blood, controls the production of red blood cells, and regulates your blood pressure. Inside each kidney are more than a million small filtering units called nephrons. As blood circulates through your kidneys, the nephrons filter out waste products as well as unneeded minerals and water. This liquid waste — urine — flows through two narrow tubes (ureters) into your bladder, where it’s stored until it’s eliminated from your body through another tube, the urethra.

Symptoms

Keep in mind that these symptoms are also the signs for many other illnesses. Please see a health care professional if you are experiencing anything abnormal for further diagnosis.

Kidney cancer includes renal cell carcinoma (cancer that forms in the lining of very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products) and renal pelvis carcinoma (cancer that forms in the center of the kidney where urine collects). It also includes Wilms tumor, which is a type of kidney cancer that usually develops in children under the age of 5.

Symptoms may result from metastatic renal cell cancer in the bones, lungs, or elsewhere. If the disease attacks the bones, for example, it can cause bone pain, which is deep and achy.

Treatment

To plan the best treatment, the doctor needs to know the stage (extent) of the disease. The stage is based on the size of the tumor, whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to what parts of the body. Staging may involve imaging tests such as an ultrasound or a CT scan. The doctor also may use an MRI. For this test, a powerful magnet linked to a computer makes detailed pictures of organs and blood vessels.

Biological therapy (immunotherapy) uses your body’s immune system to fight cancer. Drugs in this category include interferon and interleukin-2, which are synthetic versions of chemicals made in your body. These biological therapy drugs have serious side effects, including chills, fever, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Biological therapy drugs are sometimes used alone, in combination or after surgery.



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souljen asked:

Breast cancer is something women think they know all about: Look for lumps; have mammograms; see our doctors.

But none of that will save you from one silent breast cancer killer that women know virtually nothing about.

It’s called “inflammatory breast cancer,” and it’s something every woman must know about.

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Andri Irawan asked:


Are you a man age 50 or over? If so there are specific prostate cancer questions and answers you need to know. Without this knowledge you could find yourself in trouble and facing the possibility of a premature death. However, with the proper information you may discover how to avoid the possibility of a premature death. This article will provide some of the prostate cancer information you need to know.

This article is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. As always with a physical illness you should consult your personal physician right away. Please read on for more information.

1. What is the prostate and where is it located?

Answer: The prostate is a male sex gland about the size of a walnut. Its purpose is to create fluids that mix with the seaman to protect the sperm. You will find the prostate gland located around the bottom of your bladder and it surrounds the urethra tube, through which you pass urine and sperm fro your body.

2. What are the odds of a man over 50 being diagnosed with a malingnacy of the prostate?



Answer: In the United State if you are 50 or older you stand a 1 in 6 chance of being diagnosed with a malignant tumor or tumors of the prostate. However if you are of African American and Hispanic heritage you stand an increased chance of prostate cancer of 1 in 4.

3.  What kind of symptoms normally show up in a prostate malignancy?

Answer: Unfortunately symptoms may not show up for many years. The reason for this is because this type of cancer is so slow growing. However, when the symptoms do show up, they also may be caused by another medical problem and just not prostate cancer. The following is just a partial list of the symptoms:

a. Pain in the hips, lower back, pelvic region or even the upper thighs.

b. Difficulty urinating.

c. Difficulty in getting and maintaining an erection.

d. Passing blood in the urine or seamen

e. These are just a few of the symptoms there are others.

It is important if you demonstrating any of these symptoms you should contact your Doctor immediately.

4. Is it possible to detect a prostate malignancy early?

Answer: This question can be answered with a resounding YES. Currently there are two primary tests, one of which is a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE). This test is performed by having the man bending over or laying on his side and Doctor inserts a finger up through the rectum to the prostate. The doctor then can determine if the prostate has hardened and increased in size.

Normally if your doctor detects a hardening or increase in size of the prostate he will order the second test. This test is often referred to as a PSA blood test. The purpose of the PSA is to detect if you have an increased level of prostate-specific antigen in your blood. The normal count is around four and with a count of 6 or higher your doctor may order more test to determine if cancer is present in your body.

Thanks to the widespread use of these two test in men over 50 and earlier for the African American man, more than ninety percent of prostate cancer is detected early. This early detection is responsible for a 98% survival rate of over 5 years for men with this type of malignancy.

These four prostate cancer and answers is just the tip of the iceberg that you should know. Once again it is strongly recommended that you contact your attending physician and other medical professionals for specific answers to your questions.



Posted by Nikhil Gupta

Jay Siva asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 Medical-Tourism-Guide.com

Blue collar workers account for an increasing percentage of people outsourcing their medical needs to the medical tourism industry. Uninsured and underinsured laborers are tired of the rising medical costs and the astronomical costs of insurance coverage in developed countries.

Case after case is being shared about blue collar workers seeking alternatives to the out of control healthcare costs at home. A typical scenario is that of a laborer who suddenly finds himself in need of heart surgery or a knee replacement. The choice for many of these workers is to either do without the surgery, empty out the lifetime savings account, use the retirement account or sell their home. Like millions of others in need of a costly medical procedure, they simply cannot afford it.

In some instances, wait time is also a factor. In countries such as Canada, for those with needs that some of us might perceive to be a priority, there is a waiting list up to a year long. Reportedly, it is the bureaucratic red tape that is often the sole hindrance to timely medical care. A person can literally die waiting for approval for a life saving surgical procedure in a developed country, yet the same procedure can be obtained at a medical tourism destination with little effort.

Medical tourism offers hope to blue collar workers and others who are in need of medical procedures but cannot afford them, cannot wait for them, or do not want to use their retirement accounts to pay for the procedure.

In some instances, it is not the worker who is making the decision to have the procedure done overseas. Medical tourism facilities have started heavy marketing campaigns to Western employers, particularly those who employ the blue collar labor force. More and more, it is the employer who suggests (and in some instances, mandates) having the surgery done in another country.

The bottom line is that the worker in need of a heart bypass can obtain one in another country for $10,000 vs. $70,000 in the US. He can get a knee replacement for $6,000 vs. $50,000! It can be scheduled within a couple of weeks in another country, rather than wait a year or more in the US or Canada.

Ten years ago, the concept of medical tourism was new and received bad media coverage in developed countries. It was misunderstood and given bad press. Today, that trend has not only reversed, but medical tourism is being embraced as a viable option for people in need of affordable medical care.

Case studies and statistics verify that medical tourism offers top quality medical care in accredited facilities. A growing number of facilities that offer medical tourism are accredited by the IOS (International Organization of Standardization) and the JCI (Joint Commission International).

Many of the doctors who work in these medical tourism facilities have studied in the developed countries and then have returned to work in their home countries. A person in need of having a medical procedure done can rest assured that he will be cared for by highly qualified staff, with proficient translators standing by!

India has a goal of becoming the choice destination for medical tourists, and they are marketing to the blue collar workers who are need of both medical services and a long overdue vacation. Making the choice to obtain medical services in India means that the average laborer could travel with a companion to a state of the art facility in India, have the procedure done, and recover in a five star resort setting, for about 1/8 of the cost of having the procedure done at home.

If India is not appealing, there are multiple other options. Destinations such as Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, Singapore and Panama are also exotic choices for the medical tourist. In many instances, post-surgical recovery can be done in a beach front resort. Once the patient has sufficiently recovered from surgery, there are plenty of shopping and activity options available to the medical tourist.

The concept of going to a third world country to obtain a package of services that supercedes what is available at home is becoming more widely understood and accepted. Just as the economy has become a global economy, so it is with the medical field. It is becoming commonplace practice for a person to travel abroad for all types of medical procedures. We are seeing, in the 21st Century, that we are truly living in a world with no medical borders!

As insurance costs rise at home, and wait time lengthens in the midst of government red tape, blue collar workers are taking advantage of an industry that once belonged to the elite white collar workers. Medical tourism is a viable option for obtaining timely and quality medical services in a vacation paradise, for a fraction of the cost of the same medical procedure in the home country.



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Paul McIndoe asked:


One of the ways that sufferers of cancer and their friends and family can help to understand the condition is by obtaining as much information about the condition as possible. Discovering and understanding what is happening to your body and why, is a very important part of getting through cancer.

Today, we are lucky, in that information is so much more readily available than in previous decades. Cancer charities and government run initiatives mean that there are now many channels of information available to us. For starters there is face to face support, where sufferers can go and talk in total confidence to a specialist in a one-on-one environment. You will also be able to take home leaflets, booklets and brochures allowing you to read up on the subject at a later date.

However, it may not always be feasible for you to travel to meet with someone in person; perhaps you don’t drive, are immobile, or live in an area that is not well served by public transport. Luckily, there are mobile cancer information centres that tour the country, visiting places that may not have a cancer centre already. Such cancer centres offer free, confidential information and support to people in their communities, and appointments are not generally necessary. These centres are open to anyone, whether they have a cancer diagnosis, are visiting on behalf of a friend or relative, or are just worried about cancer.

To those who would prefer to get support or information about cancer from the comfort of their own home, there are many free cancer support phone lines that cater for cancer sufferers and their families. There are even phone lines that are aimed at specific language groups so help is just a phone call away no matter where you are from in the world.

And for those who have internet access at home, the web is now a massively useful source of information and support. The rise of social media on the web has led to hundreds of specialist cancer support mailing lists, newsgroups, chat rooms, forums and other informational sites. Here, users can not only read about the various forms of cancer, but can also participate in discussions with other cancer sufferers, and thereby give and get advice and support, and even become part of a community to help others who are going through the same experiences as you.

With so many sources of cancer available, it’s easy to get help and support. Whether it’s online, on the phone or in person, so whatever the time of day, or day of the week, there will be someone you can turn to for cancer support.



Posted by Nikhil Gupta