Results tagged “Cancer Prevention” from Cancer

(NewsTarget) Many people have heard the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. When it comes to cancer, this couldn’t be truer. To date several billion dollars, over 30 years have been spent on finding that elusive cure for cancer. What about cancer prevention? It is estimated that a woeful fraction of that amount of money has been spent on cancer prevention. The statistics from the Nutrition Journal state that cancer can be prevented in 30-40 percent of known cases through lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight. The 30-40 percent stated as preventable by the Nutrition Journal, many in fact, be a conservative estimate, as suggested by many wellness practitioners. Cancer costs the US 107 billion annually. Finding a cure is costing us a great deal, but lack of prevention is costing us more.

There's a new list out with guidelines for how you can prevent cancer. At the top of this list, according to the American Cancer Society, is to maintain a healthy weight.

The organization says eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is critical, so is exercising at least five days a week. Doing so can't guarantee good health, but it can make you far less at risk for cancer. 

Colleen Doyle, American Cancer Society: "The good news is that a lot of people think they don't have any control over their risk of cancer, and we're here to tell people that absolutely you do have some control."

According to these new cancer guidelines, more than one third of all cancer deaths are now the result of poor nutrition and a lack of exercise.

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The risk of developing ovarian cancer is 60 percent lower among women living in areas of the world with high ultraviolet B radiation exposure than those who live in areas with less UVB, concludes a study encompassing 175 countries.

“The main reason for this advantage is that women living in sunny areas have higher circulating (vitamin D2) levels that protect them from ovarian cancer,” said lead researcher Dr. Cedric Garland, a professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of California in San Diego.

Exposure to UVB from sunlight allows skin to photosynthesize vitamin D, which enters the bloodstream and circulates throughout the body. 

A study by Oregon Health and Science University researchers found women who eat at least four servings of fruits and vegetables have a 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer than women who consume no more than two such servings each day.

They reached that conclusion after examining the diets of 378 women with breast cancer and the diets of 1,070 cancer-free women. All the women, living in Shanghai, China, filled out questionnaires that asked about their intake of 108 individual food items, fried and restaurant food, dietary changes, and the use of nutrient supplements and Chinese herbal medicines.

The study, published on-line ahead of print in the International Journal of Cancer (doi: 10.1002/ijc.22319), adds to an ever growing body of science linking omega-3 fatty acids to a wide-range of health benefits, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), good development of a baby during pregnancy, joint health, behaviour and mood, and certain cancers.

The researchers, led by Maria Hedelin from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, also found that genetics play a part in the development of the cancer, and also in the potential benefits of the fish oil.

“This study shows that there is an interaction between dietary factors and our genes, but it's always hard to say what role the genes play,” she said. “Omega-3 fatty acids can still be good for men who don't carry this gene variant in completely different ways.”

TRENTON, N.J. - State-of-the-art ventilation systems used to clear cigarette smoke from bars and restaurants don't eliminate dangerous soot and carcinogens and can even push their levels higher in nonsmoking sections than in smoking areas, researchers concluded.

Their findings from three restaurants in a little-studied field come just a week before voters in Arizona, Nevada and Ohio consider dueling smoking-related initiatives. Ballots in each state include a tough ban on smoking in public places and a more lenient proposal — with exemptions for bars and casinos — backed by industry groups.

Two of the restaurants studied were Mesa, Ariz., establishments that had claimed their ventilation systems would comply with that city's smoke-free restaurant law.

Seventy per cent of patients with lung cancer had never regarded the disease as a threat prior to learning of their condition, according to the results from a major European public and patient survey.

The survey found that close to half of lung cancer patients admitted that their diagnosis was discovered by chance during a visit to the doctor for another reason.

It also revealed that of the lung cancer patients polled, 83% of those receiving chemotherapy endured difficult side effects and a compromised quality of life from their treatments.

According to consultant medical oncologist Prof Desmond Carney, Lung Cancer Awareness Month this month offers a great opportunity to improve the general public's knowledge of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer, particularly in at-risk groups.

What's the best way to convince a teenager that smoking is a great idea? Tell him his parents want him to stop.

That's the rather disturbing suggestion of a study of teens who had watched tobacco-industry-funded television ads urging parents to talk to their children about smoking. The study shows that these teens were more likely to have smoked in the past month and more likely to say that they planned to smoke in the future.

Testicular cancer, cancer in one or both of the testicles, usually occurs in young men and will strike about 8,250 of these men this year. About 370 men will die.

A man's lifetime risk of developing this cancer -- that typically shows up in only one testicle -- is 1 in 300, securing it as one of the less common cancers in the United States. The chances of dying from testicular cancer are 1 in 5,000, making it one of the most curable forms of cancer. Yet it is still the most common form of cancer in men ages 15-34. It is also a cancer commonly characterized by denial and embarrassment. As a result, it is one of the least mentioned cancers.

NEW YORK -- Health experts claim regular mammograms are still the best way to catch breast cancer early, but there are ways to help prevent the disease in the first place.

 

According to the American Cancer Society, if every woman lived to be 85, one out of eight would develop breast cancer. There are many risk factors. Some of them you can control; others others you can't, such as genetics.

 

"One of the most well-identified risk factors for breast cancer is inheritance," said Dr. Clifford Hudis, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The Irish Cancer Society is calling on the Government to increase the price of 20 cigarettes by at least €2 in this December's budget.

The society, which makes a similar call every year, says increasing the price is the most effective way of encouraging people to quit the habit and discouraging them from starting in the first place.

However, the Government is usually reluctant to introduce massive price increases due to the effect it would have on inflation

The Cancer Society claims the number of young smokers, particularly girls, is currently increasing because the price of cigarettes has not been increased in the last two budgets.

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by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 24 Oct 2006

Approximately 3 percent of all new cancers in the United States are linked to obesity, according to the US National Cancer Institute. Stay trim to cut cancer risk, that is what the headline reads. Researchers hypothesis that fat might be preventing apoptosis -- the process in which cancer cells perform a sort of suicide. But it's all untested speculation at this point as to how fat might affect cancer development and growth.

Recently, Rutgers University researchers conducted tests on mice and found leaner mice were less susceptible to developing cancer. Cancer cells in fatter mice died much more slowly, twice as slow as their skinny counterparts. The study is published in the National Academy of Sciences.

by Kristina Collins, The Cancer Blog, 23 Oct 2006

Red wine consumption is associated with a reduced risk of various forms of cancer--leukemia, breast and prostate, in animal studies and in real life. A new study found that drinking more than three glasses of red wine a week reduced the incidence of abnormal growths and cancers of the intestinal tract by two-thirds.

Red wine has something that white wine does not have. A compound found under the skin of the grape called resveratrol. Resveratrol content is higher in red wine than white wine because the grape skins are removed early in the fermentation process for white wines. Resveratrol interferes with all three stages of cancer formation--initiation, promotion and progression.

Smokers will be denied life-changing operations unless they agree to kick the habit, it was revealed today.

Cash-strapped hospitals say patients will not be given treatments such as hip and knee replacements until they try to give up. Those who fail could be denied treatment all together.

Managers in Norfolk and Newcastle, where trusts are millions of pounds in debt, say smokers are at a greater risk of complications and the move will help save them money on further care.

by Dalene Entenmann, The Cancer Blog, 22 Oct 2006

The local chapter of the New York City American Cancer Society is asking that candy-flavored cigarettes be banned from sale because they feel it is a tobacco industry marketing ploy to appeal to teens. During a City Council meeting, the bill introduced would prohibit the sale of cigarettes with fruity flavors, like Twista Lime, and Midnight Berry; candy flavors like Warm Winter Toffee; and any cigarettes with flavors resembling chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, mint, cocoa, dessert, or an alcoholic beverage.

But is this the way to go?

FRIDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Skin cancer researchers focused on sun exposure may be on the right track: A new study finds that beachgoers accurately report their sun habits, such as use of sunscreen, protective clothing and time spent in the sun.

A team from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, studied 88 adults, average age 40, who visited a beach in Honolulu in February or March 2004. The participants answered questions about their sun habits when they arrived at the beach, and again when they left the beach.

The researchers checked the participants' arms, legs and face for sunscreen, took note of their clothing, and assessed whether they had a sunburn.

THURSDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Early detection and treatment are crucial to defeat prostate cancer, says a Johns Hopkins Health Alerts report that outlines seven key ways to treat prostate cancer and provides advice on how to prevent it.

The 7 Keys to Treating Prostate Cancer report was written by Dr. Jacek L. Mostwin of Johns Hopkins' James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute. The report is meant to help prostate cancer patients make informed decisions about their medical care.

As posted yesterday in Breast cancer screenings attacked there's a big risk of getting cancer by doing a CT scan.

Surely these risks should be mentioned to patients. Often they can also just be avoided or reduced. CT scans are sometimes superior to other imaging techniques, but in other cases, CT scans can be replaced with magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound, which do not expose patients to damaging ionizing radiation. Sometimes just a good medical history suffices. One reason for the proliferation of CT scans is the proliferation of CT scanners; once purchased, they bring in more money the more often they are used.

Reuters reports that Merck's Gardasil is on sale now.

Uptake of .. vaccines will depend crucially on government recommendations for their use and funding.

The manufacturers received a boost earlier this month when the influential Lancet medical journal called for routine vaccination of all adolescent girls in European Union countries.

This recommendation was also released earlier this month - EU should make cervical cancer vaccine mandatory for young girls.

Noticing that this vaccine "was launched in Britain and Ireland on Tuesday in the latest phase of an unusually rapid rollout for the new product", I can only hope that this vaccine won't get widely accepted and made obligatory without thourough and careful testing.

The way pharmaceutical corporations are securing their profits is amazing. Creating a vaccine, rapidly rolling it out, having respectful journals to call on massive and obligatory vaccination.
Well done. I just hope that EU goverments won't fall for this easily.

Read the article below

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 -- Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound. The unprecedented, minimally invasive technique causes melanoma cells to emit noise, and could let oncologists spot early signs of metastases -- as few as 10 cancer cells in a blood sample -- before they even settle in other organs. The results of the successful experimental tests appear in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Optics Letters, published by the Optical Society of America.

The team's method, called photoacoustic detection, combines laser techniques from optics and ultrasound techniques from acoustics, using a laser to make cells vibrate and then picking up the characteristic sound of melanoma cells. In a clinical test, doctors would take a patient's blood sample and separate the red blood cells and the plasma. In a healthy person, the remaining cells would be white blood cells, but in a melanoma patient the sample may contain cancer cells. To find out, doctors would put the sample in saline solution and expose it to rapid-fire sequences of brief but intense blue-laser pulses, each lasting just five billionths of a second.