News and Articles on Health. Medical research topics.

It is the diagnosis that nobody wants to hear. Despite all the advancements the field of medical science has made especially in the treatment and cure of cancer, cancer as a diagnosis is dreaded by all people alike. Cancers are of many kinds and they affect many parts of the body. Some cancers are found predominantly in women while others like prostate cancer are exclusively found in men.

Cancer can be extremely stress inducing. Stress is a state of physical or mental unrest. Stress is the condition when you find things not going your way and worrying and anxiously pondering over the situation again and again adds to the tension. Any illness can lead to stress and also stress can lead to many other illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and even cancer.

Cancer has become very much treatable today and there are many individuals who have survived the once fatal disease. Having cancer can cause people to become depressed due to the thoughts of death and mortality which become very active in their subconscious.

Depression if not checked can lead to further stress. Another stressful thought caused by cancer is the thought of the mounting medical bills. Chemotherapy and radiation sessions are not inexpensive. Add this to the hospital, medication and doctor’s costs and you have a huge medical bill in front of you. Your medical insurance many not cover all of these expenses and it could all lead to a drain on your finances. Worrying about depleting finances can lead to stress and other negative conditions.

It is important to keep a check on stress because untreated stress can lead to many other health complications. There are ways to tackle the stress which an illness brings on. It is important to stay in a positive frame of mind and in a cheerful demeanor. It is definitely not easy when one is undergoing treatment for a possibly fatal disease but at least that effort should be made. The treatment of cancer or any other life threatening condition becomes faster and quicker when a positive attitude is maintained.

In order to stay in a positive mind frame one can join a cancer group where patients with cancer or cancer survivors meet and speak about their battles or victories. These real life stories can be inspiring and can give one the determination and courage to go through the treatment. Another way to beat the stress is to read awe inspiring books about people who have beat the odds and come out victorious.

Taking the effort to make those little lifestyle changes while undergoing treatment for cancer can make the recovery faster and smoother. You can change your diet and increase the intake of fresh fruits, leafy green vegetables, and mineral and protein rich foods and anti oxidants rich foods like green tea for instance. The body becomes strongest and gains immunity which in turn is good for the treatment of cancer.

No matter what kind of cancer one has acquired, treatment and cure are not impossible if every sincere effort is taken along with constant prayers to God.

Cutaneous lymphoma is a type of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma involving the lymphocytes within the skin, specifically T-cells and B-Cells. This is a rare type of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma where the tumor growths are seen mostly as numerous lumps beneath the skin’s surface and not in just a lymph node.

The lumps formed beneath the skin cutaneous lymphoma are due to a collection of the malignant cells in the skin. In an attempt to purge the system of the mutated cells, the body pushes the clustered malignant cells towards the surface of the skin. The most common type of cutaneous lymphoma is the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The disease manifests itself in several stages:

• Pre-tumor stage – the skin is presented with raised, red patches that appear on the breasts or buttocks and somewhat mimics the appearance of other skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. ?>
• Plaque stage – the patches are now irregularly shaped and can appear anywhere in the body. Hair loss in the affected skin area is also noted, and can be permanent if the condition is not treated.
• Tumor stage – the incidence of people progressing to this stag is quite small. The plaques can now form lumps and even ulcerate. Lymph nodes are also affected. The liver, lungs, and spleen is also at risk of being affected by the cutaneous lymphoma, but the cases are quite rare.
• Sezary syndrome – this is when the malignancy has spread and covers a large skin area. The malignant cells have also metastasized in the blood stream. Some patients have no plaques or tumors, but the entire integumentary system may be swollen, red and sore (l’homme rouge). The skin can also manifest desquamation or peeling off of skin.

Cutaneous lymphoma of T-cell origin is treated through a specific or a combination of treatment modalities that can range from topical or local to systemic. PUVA treatment is a combination of psoralen and UVA. After taking psoralen, the patient enters an enclosed room where rays of UVA is applied on the skin. However, extra care must be given for it is known that exposure to UV rays can predispose a person to skin cancer. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy is also done to help cure cutaneous lymphoma.

Cutaneous lymphoma can be hard to deal with for it can cause some severe changes in your appearance. A support group can help you combat the disease both in its physical and psychological aspects. Talk to your friends and family during hard times, and ask your doctor to refer you to a cancer support group to help you understand and cope with the effects of cutaneous lymphoma.

Cancer is, as we know, a life changing experience for the cancer sufferer, their friends and families. Cancer and cancer treatment both have instead drastic psychological and physiologic effectuates on the diseased person. Knowing of these effectuates earlier treatment may give you a head start and a adventure to mentally prepare yourself, just a little, for what is to come. This info may also helper you weigh up the odds, on whether you prefer to go through with treatment or not.

Physiological Effects of Cancer

• Sexual Dysfunction: a few cancer patients and sub sisters may know a level of sexual dysfunction. This can occur to both male person and female person and there are ways around them.
• Chronic Pain: The cancer patient may experience consistent, chronic pain later prolonged cancer treatment.
• Infertility: Both male and female patients and survivors may experience infertility.
• Constant Fatigue: Patients and sub sisters may feel like they’re constantly tired and don’t have the motivation or energy to total easy, daily tasks.
• Numbness: Numbness is caused by a condition called Neuropathy. The numbness is common in the patient’s hands and feet.
• Osteoporosis: Is a condition which causes your bones to get really fragile and weak.
• Incontinence: Uncontrollable urination is effectuating a few patients may know.
• Multiple Cancers: it’s possible to get a 2nd cancer, other than the one diagnosed for. It’s better to find this out through with your doctor, as soon as possible.
• Hair Loss: Hair loss is basic during the treatment of cancer. Whenever this is a problem, consult with your doctor on ways to deal with the hair loss.
• Ostomies: An Ostomy is a surgical opening, with a pipe linking to a bag on the outside of the body.

Psychological Effects of Cancer

• Stress: A high ranking of stress is often attributed to cancer and can be common fallout.
• Low Confidence: Due to the physical and mental changes cancer and cancer treatment can have on the patients it can often result in down self esteem and self confidence.
• Depression: Depression is generally found in cancer patients and sub sisters. This could be attributed to the physical effects of the cancer treatment.

Whenever you see these side effects in either yourself or a dearest, later operation, please alert your doctor so that they can give advice on what steps to take next. If you’ve found out that you’ve cancer, or someone you know is named with cancer, try to help them understand fully what they’re up against before they’ve start the treatment. Get your doctor to explain everything in particular, the pros and cons and everything middle so that you can be mentally prepared for what is ahead.

Fear getting cancer? You are not lonely. The fear of cancer is one of the biggest long run anxieties plaguing modern man. A United Kingdom nonprofit survey has newly demonstrated that more than 15% of United Kingdom citizens consider the fear of cancer to be their biggest fear. In several persons, this fear can result in such that debilitating panic that it interferes with normal life. Has not cancer caused sufficiency pain already, to those who have it and their grieving friends and relatives? It’s a real tragedy that, in addition to the devastating effects of the disease itself, cancer must cause this second order anxiety among people who do not even have it.

Cancer Anxiety Can Hurt Your Life

several of those who live their lives dreading this fearful disease are embarrassed about their fearful state. These victims of phobia headache that their anxieties are not legitimate even though they cause them important pain, After all, what’s to be afraid of? Does not their imaginary suffering do ill service to real victims of the disease?

However, cancer phobia is a critical problem in one’s own right. This sort of terror can seriously interfere with a sufferer’s medical health. Those who fear cancer routinely reject to see medical health care provider or clinics, out of irrational dread of catching the disease or because they dread the prospect of being diagnosed.

Prostate cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the prostate. This cancer type only affects men and it is the most common cancer in older men. Although it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men but most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die of it. Cancer is mostly a very slow growing disease and usually people are unable to feel its presence in early ages. This disease is curable if detected early before it has spread to other organs of the body. As the age grows, risk of prostate increases.

Mostly men having age of 65 or more suffer from this disease. But in Asian countries its greater ratio is in men having age of 50 or more. This cancer type can be very serious and life threatening if it is large, advanced, or appears at a younger age.

There are usually no specific symptoms of prostate cancer during the early stages. Most men at this stage do not observe any symptom at all. When symptoms do exist, they may be excessive urination, hard to start urinating, painful urinating, blood in the urine, leg weakness, etc. No one knows exactly the reason but cancer is very common in African-American and Latino men especially those who eat a high-fat diet. Native American and Asian men have the lowest chances of getting prostate cancer.

• Prevention

There is no sure way to avoid this cancer type. However, regular exercise and having a low-fat diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish can reduce the risk of this disease. The digital rectal exams and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test may be used to screen men who do not have any symptoms of prostate cancer. However, many experts are uncertain whether routine digital rectal exams or PSA tests are appropriate for all men.

• Home Treatment

The treatment of prostate cancer is different for each individual. You should work together with your health care professional to ensure the long-term benefit from treatment. You should have knowledge about all possible treatment so that you and your doctor can pick the option best suited to you. Your age, family history, ethnic background, weight, overall health and other medical situation, and the characteristics of the disease are all important factors to consider in making treatment decisions.

• When to Call a Health Professional

1. If you have symptoms like excessive urination, hard to start urinating, painful urinating, blood in the urine, leg weakness, etc.
2. If you feel severe bone pain.

There are four characteristics with every person who is diagnosed with cancer and they are:

• weak immune system
• lack of oxygen in the cells
• excessive toxins
• acidity

The food we eat everyday causes three of these characteristics.

The food we choose to eat is closely related to cancer, no matter where it appears in the body,  is singularly the most important factor in the development of all cancers. While there have been huge advancements in surgery, there have been many new drugs and the ability to detect cancer early has improved vastly. But unfortunately the only progress they haven’t made is the survival rate of someone diagnosed with cancer.

The reason being they are only addressing the cancer symptoms which is the growths and not the reason why it first grew and that doesn’t help a patient overcome the problem long term. Our three mainstream treatments are toxic and all damage the immune system. What the body is really crying out for is to be healed with good nutrition and the correct choice of food will do that. A healthy body can overcome cancer, even advanced cancer.

The most efficient healer we have is a correctly functioning natural immune system and the only way to achieve that is to use our natural food as medicine. The human body has a remarkable disposition to overcome cancer through our built in immune system. The food we eat everyday does make a lot of sense but unfortunately it doesn’t make a lot of dollars. That’s why we won’t be informed about any natural treatments using food because our mainstream treatments today are all money orientated.

The natural food for human beings is freshly grown fruit and vegetables, most have cancer fighting properties. Recent research has found food such as onions, tomatoes, green and orange vegetables and many fruits including berries in their natural state have an amazing ability to strengthen the body enabling it to overcome cancer and other diseases. The food we are eating today doesn’t have these cancer fighting properties as we are mainly eating food that’s been processed.

Using our natural food as medicine is applying common sense to the cancer problem. That is addressing the reasons why it first grew. Our diets today play a big part why there is so much cancer and it make sense that by correcting the diet which will build up our immunity and will allow the body to fight the cancer to overcome the disease.

It’s important to realize that cancer is a disease of the whole body, not just where the growth appeared. That’s why it just reappears again after someone has undergone any of the orthodox treatments. Cancer first appears because of a condition within the body so by just removing growths, that doesn’t remove the condition that first caused these growths to appear. What is needed is healing of the whole body and good nutrition will do this.

Treating cancer is a billion dollar a year business, where as there’s no huge profit in using food as your medicine. The most powerful weapon against cancer is the food we choose to eat everyday.

People in the past have always eaten mostly raw, natural and organic food which is an entirely different dietary concept than we have today. Most of the food we buy these days has been processed and in the course of processing many of the nutrients that keep us healthy, have been lost due to processing. One such nutrient is the phytonutrients, also called phytochemicals only recently discovered in the early 90s and found to be beneficial in keeping us both cancer free and even reversing cancer.

Once we thought that vitamins and minerals were all the nutrients necessary to keep us healthy but we now know there are other nutrients, essential for optimal health and they are phytonutrients. It is these powerful nutrients that give fruit and vegetables their many colors and also provide us with Mother Nature’s medicine.

These chemical compounds occur naturally in plants, their role is to protect them from diseases, injury and damage from insects. They form part of the plants immune system. It’s these same phytonutrients that have been found to have cancer fighting properties which help us not only to stay cancer free but to help us overcome cancer as well.

The different color phytonutrients are;

• Red: tomatoes, red grapes, red onions, red apples, beetroot.
• Yellow – Orange: apricots, peaches, sweet potatoes, melons, carrots, pumpkins citrus fruits.
• Green: cruciferous vegetables which are broccoli, spinach, cabbage.
• White: garlic, onions, leeks, potatoes.
• Blue – Purple: blueberries, aubergines, boysenberries,

As you can see these phytonutrients are concentrations manly on the skin of fruit and vegetables and are responsible for the color, hue, scent and flavors. While there are many phytonutrients that have been identified, there are probably thousands more that remain to be discovered.

Clinical trials are now revealing that phytonutrients can enhance and strengthen the immune system and play an important role in keeping us cancer free. It has also revealed that phytonutrients can even slow the aging process, prevent and reverse conditions such as heart disease. Using food, especially vegetables to treat serious health challenges like cancer are a far smarter choice than using drugs.

Unfortunately we spend billions of dollars in treating cancer today yet we spend little promoting the consumption of apples, oranges, cruciferous vegetables and other healthy food that medicine well knows are helpful in preventing and overcoming diseases such as cancer. Thanks to our mainstream medicine today the public has remained virtually illiterate on nutrition for several decades.

The most powerful weapon when fighting cancer is the food you choose to eat everyday.

Cancer is a dreaded disease, which is a major cause of death of human in the modern world. It is characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication  and growth of cells. It may develop in any part of the body in all types of living organisms.

Cancer is not a contagious disease. Cancer results from the breakdown of regulatory mechanism, which controls the normal cell behaviour. Cancerous cells are called malignant neoplasm. They directly affects the normal activities of other cells. They compete with normal cells for nutritional factors and finally destroy them. The cancerous cells may group together in masses to form tumors.

It is very difficult to say the exact cause of cancer in human beings. It is assumed that it is caused by the interaction of many factors and it may be the result of a chain of events. We have not been able to find the complete chain of events. We know some agents causes cancer. The agents which can cause cancers are called as carcinogens. Important carcinogens are:

• Chemicals and radioactive rays

They cause alteration in the genetic materia l(DNA) resulting in the oncogenic transformations that lead to cancer. A number of chemicals that are known to make cancer. They include certain polycyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic amines, byproduct of combustion of fossil fuels, alkaloids like nicotine, caffeine, some steroid etc. Expoure to UV rays , X rays and various radioactive elements may produce cancer.

• Tumour promoters

Some cells which had undergone genetic alternations are responsible for oncogenic transformations. These substances that promote the proliferation of this type of cells are called tumour promoters. Some growth factors and hormones are tumour promoters.

• Smoking and tobacco chewing

Heavy smoking is the major cause of lung cancer.

• Virus

It is supposed  some viruses such as DNA and RNA viruses induces cancers in human beings. These viruses are called oncogenic viruses.

Normally cells grow under the control of some regulatory genes. Changes in these genes causes oncogenic transformations.

• Spreading of cancers

Cancerous growth starts at one location where cells proliferate to give rise to a mass of cells forming the tumour. Sometimes they may be detached and carried by the blood to the other parts of the body and spread in the new locations.

• Diagnosis

Cancer occurs at all ages in human. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment is essential for controlling this diseases. A painless lump or thickening in any part of the body , a sudden change in the size and colour of the wart,  persistent cough,  persistent digestive problems, excessive bleeding in women, sudden weight of body weight etc are some suspected features of cancers.

Various methods employed for diagnosis of cancer are..

1. It can be done by studying the characteristic histological features of malignant cells.
2. Blood test for abnormal WBC and bone marrow biopsy can be used.
3. X rays, CT scan and MRI scan can be used to detect cancers of internal organs like kidney, pancreas etc..

Treatment of cancer

Since cancer is not a single diseases and can caused by different ways an absolute single cure is not possible. Nowadays cancer treatment can be done in four different ways.

Surgery

When the cancer is concentrated  at a particular location, the part is removed by surgery. It is an easiest method. After surgery it cannot be ensure that all the cancer cells have been removed. Some tumours cannot be accessible for surgerical removal.

Radiation therapy.

In this method by focusing radioactive rays in the cancerous region, the cancerous cells can be destroyed. However this approach cause tremendous damage to the nearby tissues.

Chemotherapy

In this method several chemotherapeutic drugs are used to kill tumour cells. But it has many side effects

These are some treatments against cancer. Hope that we will remove this disease from our world shortly.

There are four characteristics with every person who is diagnosed with cancer and they are:

• a weak immune system
• a lack of oxygen in the cells
• excessive toxins
• acidity

The food we eat everyday causes three of these characteristics.

The food we choose to eat is closely related to cancer, no matter where it appears in the body, faulty nutrition is singularly the most important factor in the development of all cancers. While there have been huge advancements in surgery, there have been many new drugs and the ability to detect cancer early has improved vastly. But unfortunately the only progress they haven’t made is the survival rate of someone diagnosed with cancer.

The reason being they are only addressing the cancer symptoms which is the growths and not the reason why it first grew and that doesn’t help a patient overcome the problem long term. Our three mainstream treatments are toxic and all damage the immune system. What the body is really crying out for is to be healed with good nutrition and the correct choice of food will do that. A healthy body can overcome cancer, even advanced cancer.

The most efficient healer we have is a correctly functioning natural immune system and the only way to achieve that is to use our natural food as medicine. The human body has a remarkable disposition to overcome cancer through our built in immune system. The food we eat everyday does make a lot of sense but unfortunately it doesn’t make a lot of dollars. That’s why we won’t be informed about any natural treatments using food because our mainstream treatments today are all money orientated.

The natural food for human beings is freshly grown fruit and vegetables, most have cancer fighting properties. Recent research has found food such as onions, tomatoes, green and orange vegetables and many fruits including berries in their natural state have an amazing ability to strengthen the body enabling it to overcome cancer and other diseases. The food we are eating today doesn’t have these cancer fighting properties as we are mainly eating food that’s been processed.

Using our natural food as medicine is applying common sense to the cancer problem. That is addressing the reasons why it first grew. Our diets today play a big part why there is so much cancer and it make sense that by correcting the diet which will build up our immunity and will allow the body to fight the cancer to overcome the disease.

It’s important to realize that cancer is a disease of the whole body, not just where the growth appeared. That’s why it just reappears again after someone has undergone any of the orthodox treatments. Cancer first appears because of a condition within the body so by just removing growths, that doesn’t remove the condition that first caused these growths to appear. What is needed is healing of the whole body and good nutrition will do this.

Treating cancer is a billion dollar a year business, where as there’s no huge profit in using food as your medicine. The most powerful weapon against cancer is the food we choose to eat everyday

The men of any age may develop breast cancer, but is usually detected in men between 45 and 65 years of age. Breast cancer found in men is less than 1% of all cases of breast cancer. Although rare, the inflammatory breast cancer found in males is a very aggressive cancer that grows quickly. It’s called inflammatory because cancer cells block the lymph vessels and this is manifested in the skin, which becomes thick and hollowed, the appearance is similar to that of an orange peel.

You may find the following types of breast cancer in males:

• Infiltrating ductal carcinoma: Cancer that has spread beyond the cells lining the breast ducts. This is the kind suffered by the majority of men with breast cancer.
• Ductal carcinoma in situ: Abnormal cells found in the lining of a duct, also called intraductal carcinoma.
• Inflammatory breast cancer: A type of cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen and feels warm.
• Paget’s disease of the nipple: the surface of an underlying tumor ducts underneath the nipple.

Inflammatory breast cancer can spread in just a few weeks, is often mistaken for other things like a rash or infection. The symptoms are:

• Redness, swelling and warmth in the breast
• Red skin, purple or bruised
• Skin with bumps and / or marks as an orange
• Burning, pain and tenderness
• Increased breast size and an inverted nipple

Because usually this cancer does not form like a regular ball of tissue, but it spreadsthroughout the breast tissue right a way. This is why it is very difficult to detect with a mammogram alone, and the magnetic resonance imaging and biopsies can not usually diagnose it accurately either. However, surgical biopsy and positron emission tomography (PET) can be used effectively to detect it. In the near future, PET may be the most important diagnostic test for the inflammatory breast cancer. Although still under evaluation, Doctors have found that PET is able to see more inflammatory breast cancer, including lymph nodes removed from the breast, which will determine the presence of metastases at diagnosis better than other test.

Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options. 
The prognosis and treatment options depend on the following aspects:

• The stage of cancer (if located in the breast only or has spread to other parts in the body).
• The type of breast cancer.
• The concentration of estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors in tumor tissue.
• If cancer is also found in the other breast also.
• The age and general health of the patient.

I hope that you find this informayion helpful.

Breast cancer can spread to any part of your body through the blood and lymphatic system. The metastasis of breast cancer cells is what makes the disease very dangerous. Metastasis means the cancer cells have traveled from the place of origin, i.e. the breast, to other parts of the body.

When the cancer cells travel from the breast to the underarm lymph nodes, it is still considered to be early stages of breast cancer and it has a high potential to be completely cured. With surgery and treatment there is a very high chance that all the disease can be completely eradicated from the body.

When the cancer cells travel beyond the lymph nodes to other distant parts of the body, the patient is said to have distant metastasis. The bones, lungs and liver are the most commonly affected places in the body that breast cancer cells spread to. Though treatment is available for breast cancer and for metastasic breast cancer, once the cancer has traveled beyond the breast and underarm lymph nodules, it can no longer be totally cured.

Scientists have recently discovered a molecule that could be the main reason behind the spreading of breast cancer cells to different parts of the body. The molecule known as Brk is found in almost 60% of breast cancers and they accelerate the growth of the tumor cells, encouraging metastasis to other parts of the body.

The study was conducted on breast cancer patients who had extremely poor responses to the treatments. The Brk molecule was found in very high concentration in these patients, which means that not only does it cause the cancer to grow more aggressively; it also encourages its rapid spread to other parts of the body.

The study also came out with another crucial finding. The tumor cells died when the Brk molecule was inhibited, but the cancer cells re-emerged when the molecule was introduced again. This points to a significant level of involvement that the Brk molecule has in encouraging the breast cancer cells to survive, grow and spread.

Scientists are currently studying how exactly the Brk molecule promotes the growth of breast cancer cells so that they can develop ways to prevent that from happening. The findings are quote encouraging and shed new light on the age old battle of mankind against cancer.

Practices on this cancer prevention are only for women with moderate to high breast cancer risk. There are still no guidelines for the prevention for women with average risk.

However, how can we identify the group of women at known risk in general population? Thus, it is important for us to know whether we are in risk of breast cancer by knowing the risk factors and do the early detection steps frequently.

In General
Generally, we can do some prevention steps in our daily life no matter we are in risk or not. Leading a healthy lifestyle is an essential prevention step for all the cancer.

1. It is advised that women need to maintain a healthy body weight throughout their daily life without consuming high fat food.

2. Women have to do some regular physical activities such as jogging, swimming and so on.

3. Breastfeeding is a good practice to prevent the breast cancer.

4. Consume diets that rich in grains, fruits and vegetables. Less meat in diet will be too good to be practiced.

5. Moderate use of alcoholic beverages. It is too good not to consume the alcoholic beverages at all.

6. Minimize yourself from the exposure to exogenous hormones.

7. Reduce the sugars in the diet.

Women with Moderate to High Risk
There are several ways for the prevention of this kind of cancer in women at significantly increased risk.

Who are those with moderate to high risk in breast cancer?

• Women who are the carriers of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation.
• Women with multiple affected relative cancer presenting at early age.
• Women with family history of this kind of cancer and so on.

There are many options for the women in risk to prevent from breast cancer. Most of the strategies are to remove the tissue which may become cancerous and decrease the endogenous hormone exposure. The most common is bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.

In conclusion, it is important for us to recognize the group of women with high risk or moderate risk who will ultimately develop this type of cancers. There are many risk assessment can be done through the cancer research. This will reduce the need for many women to unnecessarily undergo aggressive surgery.