Clipmarks | Cancer Clips

The debate over mammograms for elderly women

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:13:13 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: "The mammography study, published in May in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, looked at the records of more than 12,000 patients aged 80 and older who were given diagnoses of breast cancer from 1996 to 2002. It found that among those who had a mammogram every year or two before their diagnosis, 68 percent found the cancer at an early stage, compared with 33 percent of those who skipped mammograms altogether.

"Five years after the breast cancer diagnosis, 75 percent of the frequent screeners were alive, compared with only 48 percent of those who had not been screened for at least five years before their cancer was found.

"But those who had frequent mammograms were not only more likely to survive breast cancer, the study’s authors said, they were more likely to survive other illnesses as well, meaning that they may simply have been healthier to begin with."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

As with most cancers, the risk of breast cancer increases with age. Yet while doctors tell women to have annual mammograms after age 40, they often advise 85-year-olds to go two or even three years between scans.

among 80- and 90-year-olds

22 percent, underwent regular screenings for breast cancer, but that those who did were more likely to find the cancer early enough to avoid a mastectomy and survive at least five years.

Some experts dispute any suggestion that all elderly women should have annual mammograms — an idea that raises the specter of frail women being dragged from nursing home beds to be screened for cancer when they are far more likely to die of heart disease or complications from a broken hip.

“It gets back to the question: What is the goal of preventive care in the elderly?”

the focus on mammography could distract attention from more pressing problems, like high blood pressure, low mobility, depression, chronic pain, and impaired vision and hearing.

Tags: health, illness, aging, research

If you expect to die at any point in the future...

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:32:24 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: We joke about doing unhealthy things, saying "yeah, this'll knock 5 years off my life expectancy" as we dig into the giant plate of fettucine Alfredo or 24-ounce steak or hot fudge sundae. What we tend to forget is that it's not a matter of reaching a certain age, and then *click!* your time's up and you go. Instead, it's often a matter of increasing levels of illness, pain, and dependency on others.

Don't eat a healthy diet or exercise because somebody else says you "should" -- do it because you want to have as many good years as possible while you're here.

Clip Source: newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com

Dr. Joanne Lynn, a geriatrician who pulls no punches

“How many of you expect to die?” she asked.

“Would you prefer to be old when it happens?”

Then Dr. Lynn, who describes herself as an “old person in training,” offered three options to the room. Who would choose cancer as the way to go? Just a few. Chronic heart failure, or emphysema? A few more.

“So all the rest of you are up for frailty and dementia?” Dr. Lynn asked.

(Joanne Lynn/Rand Corp.)

The third option, death following extended frailty and dementia, is everyone’s worst nightmare, an interminable and humiliating series of losses for the patient, and an exhausting and potentially bankrupting ordeal for the family. Approximately 40 percent of Americans, generally past age 85, follow this course, said Dr. Lynn, and the percentage will grow with improvements in prevention and treatment of cancer, heart disease and pulmonary disease.

What all of these patients need, Dr. Lynn said, is custodial care, which can easily cost $100,000 a year

Tags: health, aging, illness

cancer

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:43:06 GMT

clipped by: katpizza

Clip Source: www.xanga.com

Can Recycling Be Used To Treat Cancer?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:56:53 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The researchers discovered a compound, STF-62247, that was selectively toxic to RCCs deficient in VHL whereas cells with normal VHL were not affected. Treatment of RCC cells lacking functional VHL induced autophagy, a cellular recycling process that cells normally use to conserve resources during times of stress. "Increasing evidence implicates a role for autophagy in cancer, but it is not well understood how cellular and environmental cues drive autophagic cells down survival or death pathways," explains Dr. Giaccia.
The researchers demonstrated that STF-62247 enhanced autophagy in VHL-deficient cells while inhibition of the autophagy pathway significantly increased the survival of VHL-deficient cells treated with STF-62247. "We have found a small molecule that selectively induces cell death in VHL-deficient cells, such as those that are found in kidney cancer. This represents a paradigm shift for targeted therapy," concludes Dr. Giaccia.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

We already know that recycling benefits our planet; and now new research suggests that the cellular version might be useful for battling cancer. Scientists at Stanford University have identified a molecule that uses this unexpected pathway to selectively kill cancer cells.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer, is nearly always caused by mutation of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene and often does not respond well to treatment.

"Since RCCs have a poor prognosis and are refractory to standard chemotherapies, there is a need to develop new therapies for kidney cancer," says senior author Dr. Amato J. Giaccia. Dr. Giaccia and colleagues used a sophisticated screening procedure to search for molecules that could selectively destroy VHL-deficient kidney cancer.

Tags: cancer, health, recycle

Stumble search for "search"

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:46:52 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: Find Latest WisdomCards by Category

Clip Source: organizedwisdom.com

Find Latest WisdomCards by Category

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Tags: stumble, search, experiment, health, wisdom

Sunscreens are inadequate

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:29:47 GMT

clipped by: katknit
clipper's remarks: This is important to know. Protect yourself vs skin cancer.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Most Sunscreens Fail to Protect

The simple rule of sunscreen - the higher the SPF and the thicker the slather, the better - has come under doubt.

Herbal remedy reduces obesity and heart disease?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:50:11 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

With unprecedented levels of obesity across the Western world, and incidence of associated heart disease, cancer and diabetes rising, there is a major drive to find new treatments. Scientists from Germany have recently discovered that extracts of a traditional herbal remedy derived from Tabebuia impetiginosa can act to delay the absorption of dietary fat in animal models.

They believe that the extract could be incorporated into a food supplement which may not only reduce obesity, but also lessen the risk of development of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Dr Nils Roos from the Max Rubner Institute will present the results on Monday 7th July at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual Meeting in Marseille.

Dr Roos and his team have shown that Tabebuia extract can reduce levels of triglycerides, a breakdown product of fat, in rats after they have been fed a fatty meal. "This result shows the extract may have a potential use in treating obesity," he observes.

Tags: health, obesity, diabetes, herbal remedy, heart disease

Top 10 Reasons to Drink Your Coffee

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:49:32 GMT

clipped by: jlm755

Clip Source: www.coffeesage.com

Top 10 Reasons to Drink Your Coffee

Here is a compiled list of “good” and “healthy” reasons to have your coffee and love it too. I do not know how accurate any of these are so I do not suggest that coffee cures anything but research has showed that the 10 things below are certainly a possibility.

Coffee treating headaches
Drinking 4 or more cups of coffee a day may help prevent gout
Coffee lowers your risk of cavities
Coffee use with lowered Parkinson’s risk
Coffee can reduce the risk of chronic liver disease
Coffee treating asthma
Coffee jump-starts short-term memory
Coffee may protect against bladder cancer
Coffee may discourage the development of colon cancer
Coffee can lower diabetes risk

DES attorney creating the precedent protecting the DES daughter

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:47:54 GMT

clipped by: odiedog
clipper's remarks: DES (diethylstilbestrol) daughters are at a higher risk for breast cancer once they hit age 40 compared with unexposed women. Learn more about the link between breast cancer and DES exposure.

Clip Source: www.aaronlevinelaw.com

DES (diethylstilbestrol) attorney creating the precedent protecting the DES daughter

IMPORTANT HEALTH ALERT - DES (diethylstilbestrol) daughters are at a higher risk for breast cancer once they hit age 40 compared with unexposed women. Learn more about the link between breast cancer and DES exposure.

Litigation help for those suffering from diethylstilbestrol exposure such as infertility is the specialty of the attorneys at Aaron M. Levine & Associates. The firm is the nationally recognized leader in DES litigation. They began their research on diethylstilbestrol effects in the early 1980s and went on to present evidence of the link in court between prenatal DES exposure and cancer, infertility and premature delivery.

Tags: des, aaron levine, daughters

trail cancer therapy

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:04:46 GMT

clipped by: jbrown01

Clip Source: www.springerlink.com

Combining proteasome inhibition with TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (Apo2L/TRAIL) for cancer therapy

The lunatic fringe: Is moonlight the miracle cure?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:57:00 GMT

clipped by: vinitjain
clipper's remarks: Deep in the Arizona desert, a bizarre machine is offering new hope to sufferers from conditions ranging from eczema to cancer. How does it work? By the light of the silvery moon

Clip Source: theunexplainedmysteries.com

The lunatic fringe: Is moonlight the miracle cure?

Deep in the Arizona desert, a bizarre machine is offering new hope to sufferers from conditions ranging from eczema to cancer. How does it work? By the light of the silvery moon

Tags: bizarre, science, health, unexplained, paranormal

RIP Punk Rock Mommy

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:50:19 GMT

clipped by: manda243
clipper's remarks: I regret that I just found this blog today. It was written by a strong, courageous woman and her husband and has a beautiful message.

Clip Source: punkrockmommy.org

I learned that all the small stuff is very small and not worth your time and attention. Gossip and resentments,worrying about things that never happen, fearing the unknown. Let it go my lovelies, breath and just be good to each other. I realized not long after my diagnosis that life is too short to spend it hurting people and holding onto the anger we have for those around us. I am no doormat, but I just let go of all that hard core resentment. God forgives us through the blood of His Son. He forgives those who hurt us as well.

Tags: cancer, blog, parenting

Make Tomatoes 170% Healthier

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:42:49 GMT

clipped by: fruit123grl

Clip Source: www.prevention.com

Bake tomatoes

For: Younger skin (and cancer protection). Compared with fresh tomatoes, cooked tomatoes (and products like pasta sauce) contain more lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Research suggests lycopene may guard the skin against damage from the sun's UV rays. Baking tomatoes makes them healthier and more versatile, adding a flavorful twist to sandwiches, salads, and pastas.

How: Wash and dry 30 cherry or grape tomatoes and place in a small baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes.

Make It a Meal: Baked Tomato, Mozzarella, and Roasted Turkey Sandwiches (2 servings) Halve a small whole wheat baguette lengthwise. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard on lower half. Layer on 2 ounces sliced roasted turkey breast, 2 ounces reduced-fat sliced mozzarella cheese, and 15 of the hot, baked cherry tomatoes. Cover with top baguette portion and slice in half.

William R. Bennett, 78, Pioneer in Gas Lasers, Dies

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:53:10 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

William R. Bennett, 78, Pioneer in Gas Lasers, Dies

William R. Bennett Jr., a physicist and inventor who helped develop a gas laser in the 1960s in technology that later revolutionized surgery and made possible compact-disc players and grocery-store scanners, died on June 29 at his home in Haverford, Pa. He was 78.

William R. Bennett Jr.

The cause was cancer of the esophagus, his family said.

In the late 1950s, while working at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., Dr. Bennett and a small scientific team assembled a gas laser, the first of its kind able to send out a continuous beam of red light.

The team, which included Donald R. Herriott and Ali Javan, trapped helium and neon in a pressurized tube and agitated the gases’ atoms with an electrical current. Internal mirrors at each end of the tube redirected the resulting particles of light to send them out in a concentrated and continuous beam.

Researchers identify cancer preventive properties in common vitamin supplement

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:00:07 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: RESVERATROL I think that I would be incorporating this into my diet straight away, if I was from a family with a history of breast cancer. If it is not what they hope, you won't be much worse off financially.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

PHILADELPHIA – Early laboratory research has shown that resveratrol, a common dietary supplement, suppresses the abnormal cell formation that leads to most types of breast cancer, suggesting a potential role for the agent in breast cancer prevention. Resveratrol is a natural substance found in red wine and red grapes. It is sold in extract form as a dietary supplement at most major drug stores.

"Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road," said Eleanor G. Rogan, Ph.D., a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Rogan was the lead author of the report that was published in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Tags: medical