Medical News

This is the question to all including great doctors and perfect health care takers. Are you taking enough precautions to keep you away from the side effects of any major operation? Immediately these side effects never show their instincts. You almost celebrate the success of the major operation. But there after comes the true killer, with out medication to restrict it.

I know you are not understanding it clearly. Here I am explaining the case of a patient suffering from a disease came to him as the side effect of cancer treatment. He got rid of cancer with CHEMO therapy by using laser rays to remove cancer cells. But in the process the laser rays also destroyed the important ingredients called lymphocytes of our body. The consequence is horrible. The body could not regenerate them as the loss is in bulk way. This causes the swelling of the affected area. It never ends with swelling but causes severe pain like hell punishment. This disease is named as LYMPHEDEMA.

As I always believe in prevention is better than cure, I am asking you, how will you prevent these incurable disease where even the patient cannot move his affected part? You know how many cancer patients are there in this world. most of them are taking CEMO therapy to remove cancer inflicted cells, at the same time kill lymph also and there by causing lymphedema, the incurable disease. The patient who got this is asking for mercy killing as the pains are unbearable. Affected people are feeling shame to come out of their houses as the swelling parts are looking ugly. It’s the time to think about the scientific advantages and disadvantages. We need to renew our methods of treatment which causes damage to the harmony of our body.

Statistics shows that there is one American dies every 65 minutes and an estimate of 60,000 people worldwide dies annually due to skin cancer. The figure is rapidly increasing for everyone is prone to skin cancer. Even Though, this is treatable but people awareness of the disease is low.

This is caused by too much exposure to the sun which emits ultraviolet radiation. It commonly develops on areas such as scalp, head, shoulders and arms which are sun-exposed. But, it can also grow anywhere even on not ordinarily expose to the sun area of the skin. Light skin toned people have higher risk of acquiring skin cancer but in some cases dark-skinned people are also likely to acquire it.

Fortunately, even on early stages, this is highly detectable. One can have a preliminary self check-up on his skin and detect suspicious lesions or moles. Once, an unusual mole or lesion is detected, the health provider can confirm on the earlier stage and place early treatment as well. With this, there is about 100% rate of curability.

It is also important to know on what stage the cancer is to plan its treatment well. Generally, it is done through biopsy. Biopsy is done by taking a sample tissue to the cancerous area. The sample is then examined through the aid of microscope by a pathologist.

There are several types of skin cancer. One is basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer and looks like a sore or a waxy, red bump on the skin as showed on the picture. Though, it grows slowly, but it can spread and affect other tissues.

Another form of skin cancer is Squamous cell carcinoma. It looks like a red patch or lumps on the skin and also grows slowly.

Both of these types have the size of about 1 centimeter diameter or smaller on its first stage. If the diameter reaches 2 centimeters, the cancer cells are on its stage 2 and about to affect other organs, bones and ligaments. So, it is best to treat it before it reaches the next stage.

Melanoma is the most fatal type of skin cancer for it rapidly affects the other organs and travels through the lymph system. It is oftentimes mistaken as a mole. But unlike moles, it is changing, multicolored and has irregular shape. It has a thickness of 2 millimeters on its first stage.

The thickness of melanoma continually grows. In the picture, the thickness of the melanoma is between 2 and 4 millimeters and is now on stage II. On this stage, the cancer cells are still confined in the skin but anytime will spread beyond the skin.

We can alter and define statistics through early treatment and awareness is our best weapon in winning the battle against this disease.

The American Cancer Society states that the Global Perspective has found that 30-40 percent of cancers can be linked to diet. Some people avoid eating a cancer preventing diet by using the excuse? Everything we eat causes cancer? That really isn’t a true statement. There are many foods that can be included in the diet that will help prevent cancer. Having a varied diet that plant-based will help prevent cancer. Plant based foods include the following:

Grains, Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes Of course diet alone will not prevent cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly will also help prevent some cancers. How does eating Italian fit into a diet designed to prevent cancer? Italian food has many plant-based dishes and the sauces are full of plant-based ingredients. One example is Italian tomato sauce (aka spaghetti sauce) that is used for a base for many Italian dishes.

Tomato sauces not only have tomatoes, but may also have spinach, peppers, and onions. There are many herbs in an Italian tomato sauce to give the sauce flavor. Italian tomato sauce is often served over pasta, which is made from grain so it also fits into a cancer preventing diet. Some of the Italian dishes that are plant based and can be included in a cancer prevention diets: Lasagna , Egg Plant parmesan , Manicotti , Ravioli , Antipasto, Stuffed shells.

Many Italian sauces and Italian dishes that include meat can be made without meat (vegetarian) to be a healthier meal choice. Extra vegetable can be added to any Italian sauce to add variety and add more cancer preventing ingredients. Also, though it will change the taste, tofu can be used instead of ricotta cheese. Another variation to make Italian food even healthier is to use pastas that are made with whole grains. Homemade Italian food will not need preservatives and chemicals, so it will be a healthy addition to any diet. Not everyone has the time or skills to prepare and cook Italian food, so they will need to find a good Italian restaurant near their home. For those who live in the Miami or Davis, Florida area, Italian food can be enjoyed at Mama Jennie?s Italian Restaurant. It can be eaten in their Italian restaurant or ordered as take out to eat at home.

Cervical cancer is one of the more insidious types of cancer because there may seem to be no symptoms of the disease or the symptoms may appear only once the disease has become well-established in the woman’s body. This makes regular health checks all the more important and a Pap smear test on an annual basis essential for all women. Safety first is an excellent motto.

And another of the nasty aspects of cancer is that symptoms for other problems such as ovulation or pre-menstrual pains are common for many women. These pains may mask the symptoms of cervical cancer.

But while there may not be obvious symptoms, there are signs which suggest the disease is present. These signs include one or more of the following:

• Heavy or light vaginal bleeding during the month is a possible symptom of cervical cancer

• Pelvic pain which is not a part of the normal menstrual cycle pain. The pain can range from short, sharp suffering to a prolonged dull ache. The suffering can range in intensity from mild to severe.

• Pain when urinating. This in patients often means the cancer has spread to the bladder hence the distress when urinating.

• Abnormal vaginal discharge which take the form of a watery substance, mucus, which may be thick and/or smell foul. The type of discharge can vary widely because every woman and every cervical cancer is different.

• Bleeding at times in-between regular menstrual bleeding. This may occur after sexual intercourse, from douching or from a pelvic examination. A cervix which has cancer will be irritated by certain things such as those mentioned and will often bleed as a consequence of this activity.

It is important that any of the above symptoms are also found with other problems and do not mean that the woman concerned does in fact have cervical cancer. However, the point cannot be made strongly enough that there is a vital need to see a doctor as soon as possible should these symptoms appear. It is not unusual for a woman to experience a change in color of her urine, to find herself seriously fatigued seemingly without reason and to experience pain after sexual intercourse. While such symptoms are common for those diagnosed with cervical cancer, it is possible these symptoms are the result of non-cancerous problems.

Many women will talk about ‘knowing their bodies’. They believe they have an innate sense of when something is wrong. Some women diagnosed with cervical cancer believe they felt something was wrong even before they were given the medical diagnosis.

So it is true there are many symptoms suggesting a woman has cervical cancer. But unfortunately it is possible to contract the disease and not have any obvious symptoms at all for some time. The best advice is to report to your doctor as soon as possible any abnormal pain, discharge or bleeding and to have a Pap test on a regular basis.

Breast cancer is a serious disorder that attacks women. It is a disease that women dread about. In medical terms, this disease can be defined as a formation of malignant or cancer cells in the breast tissues.

The disease has been termed as heterogeneous. This means that it is a different disease that appears and forms differently in different women of different age groups. Younger women are said to be more vulnerable to this disease.

A lump in the breast or the swelling of the lymph nodes under the arm can mean the onset of breast cancer. But please note at this stage that 9 out of 10 lumps in the breast are usually benign which means they are harmless, and in most cases they turn out to be cysts. (But if you have a lump please get it checked out quickly)

Early breast cancer has practically no symptoms – it can only be conformed by the palpation of breast lump by self examination of the breast. A lump can be present slightly above the collar bone or it can be also in the armpit if. If you are suspecting a breast lump do consult your physician:

• discharge from the breast;
• changes in the nipple;
• changes in the breast skin;

The risk of carcinoma also increases with age. This is also one of the factors which a person can not control. If some gene changes are running in a family, that means if the breast cancer is hereditary, the chance of getting affected automatically increases without any control of it. If a woman is having cancer in one breast the chance of getting it in another breast or in another part of the same breast increases. White women are at a higher risk of breast cancer than Asian women. If a women started menstruating in an early age or went through menopause in later age both of these conditions increase the risk of breast cancer.

It is a difficult task to have sex after the regular side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, such as vaginal dryness. This is due to premature menopause which causes pain during sex. Usually it takes a longer time to get aroused and the touch of your partner is not as pleasurable as before.

The steps of treatment of breast cancer like radiotherapy and chemotherapy makes the breast more sensitive to touch and if a women has gotten a mastectomy it is great shock for the patient as well as for her partner.

Sometimes lumps in the breast can be nothing by a type of cyst, which is just a type of sac that is filled with fluid. That is simple to take care of and can be done quickly and painlessly by just inserting a needle into it and removing the fluid that is accumulating in it. If there is no fluid to be found then they can still use that needle to take a small tissue sample to be tested for cancer, which is called a biopsy.

According to the National Cancer Society, prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the prostate. Since the disease affects only men, and usually those who are older in age, the disease can cause trouble urinating, back and hip pain, blood in the urine and sexual malfunctions as well, like pain when releasing sperm. There are treatments for prostate cancer, however, and they’re not all as invasive as chemotherapy.

Surgery is a common option for treatment, as it can remove either the pelvic lymph nodes, which can hold cancerous tissue, or the entire prostate and the cancerous tissue that surrounds it. If there are cancer cells in the tissue of the lymph nodes, then there’s no need to remove the entire prostate, but treatment is still needed to eradicate the cancer cells completely.

Radiation is another form of prostate cancer treatment, using x-rays and other forms of radiation to kill off the cancer cells to keep them from growing and coming back. Whether used internally or externally, radiation therapy can cause urination and sexual problems in men receiving this form of treatment. This option is only viable if the tumor is still inside the lymph nodes or prostate altogether, and isn’t necessary if the tumor has spread its way out of the prostate. For that type of prostate cancer, hormone therapy can be used to slow down or stop the production of male hormones, which are mainly found in the testicles. The testicles, either one or both, may also be removed during hormone therapy to rid the body of the androgens that create the male hormone.

For older men in the early stages of prostate cancer, watchful waiting might also be used. This entails watching the tumor’s growth and rapidity to monitor whether treatment will be necessary. Some cancerous prostate tumors grow slowly, which means the risks of cancer treatment might not be beneficial at the end-of-life stage, when a man might be more susceptible to the side effects of treatment. New therapies are being developed, such as cryotherapy, to freeze the cancer cells and destroy them. In the end, the treatment chosen is what’s right for each individual.

Breast cancer tests for diagnosis and staging

• Once a mammogram, ultrasound, or MRI locates a potential tumor, the doctor may order additional tests to see if the cancer has spread:
• Blood tests can assess kidney and liver function and may also reveal tumor markers, although these are not very reliable for breast cancer.
• A biopsy of the tumor will be used to assess certain characteristics that can tell the doctor how aggressive the cancer is. Typically, lymph nodes are biopsied as well.
• Chest X-rays can show if the cancer has spread to the lungs.
• Bone scans can reveal whether there’s cancer in the bones.
• CT scans are used to look at the chest and abdomen to see if the cancer has spread to other organs.
• Sometimes PET scans are used to check for cancer in the lymph nodes or to scan the whole body for cancer.
• The doctor may ask for an MRI if she’s concerned about whether cancer has spread to the brain.
• The doctor will ask about the patient’s family history and may recommend a new test called Oncotype DX, which is used to predict the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence. It can be a useful tool for women with early-stage cancer who are trying to decide whether chemotherapy is necessary.

How breast cancer is diagnosed and staged

Oncologists use a complex system of letters and numerals to determine the status or stage of breast cancer. Knowing these numbers is very important, because it will help the patient understand the prognosis. If your friend or relative wants you to accompany her to doctor visits, you can help her understand what you both hear there. You’ll also want to know as much as possible in order to research and understand treatment options and explore clinical trials.

The letter T is used to designate the tumor size and spread, the word N indicates whether there’s cancer present in the lymph nodes, and the letter M stands for metastasis. So T2, N0 (zero), M0 means a 2-centimeter tumor that has not spread to the lymph nodes or any other areas.

The medical team then combines this information into a stage. There are four stages of invasive breast cancer, and some stages are broken down still further:

Stage 1

The tumor is smaller than 2 centimeters and no lymph nodes are involved.

Stage IIA

• There are three possibilities at this stage:
• The tumor measures less than 2 centimeters but has spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
• No tumor is found in the breast itself, but cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes under the arm.
• The tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters across but there’s no lymph node involvement.

Stage IIB

• There are two possibilities at this stage:
• The tumor is 2 to 5 centimeters across and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
• The tumor is bigger than 5 centimeters but hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes.

Stage IIIA

• There are two possibilities at this stage:
• The tumor has spread to the axillary lymph nodes and the nodes are clumped together or sticking to other structures.
• No tumor is found in the breast, but cancer is in the lymph nodes, which are clumping together or sticking to other structures, or it is present in lymph nodes near the breastbone.

Stage IIIB

• There are two possibilities at this stage:
• A tumor of any size has spread to the chest wall or skin of the breast; it also may have spread to axillary lymph nodes or those near the breastbone.
• All inflammatory breast cancer, which is considered Stage IIIB or higher when diagnosed.

Stage IV

The cancer has spread to other organs of the body, usually the lungs, brain, or liver; or the bones. Sometimes the doctor will say the cancer is metastatic at presentation, which means it had already spread to other parts of the body before the original tumor was discovered.

Oncologists and other cancer specialists look at whether breast cancer cells have certain characteristics that can predict aggressive growth. Pathology results from the biopsy will determine:

Whether the cancer has receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. You’ll hear the doctor use the terms ER-positive or ER-negative, which means the tumor tested positive or negative for an abundance of estrogen receptors.

The amount of a protein called HER-2 produced by cancer cells. A HER-2 positive tumor is considered to be more aggressive, but it also means your family member can take Herceptin, a new drug that treats HER-2 positive tumors with excellent success.

Information about hormonal receptor status and HER-2 status can help the doctor recommend an individualized treatment plan that will offer the best chance of curing or controlling the cancer.

Once the medical team has assembled all the information possible to determine staging, it will offer a prognosis. This can be a tricky business, as there are many variables that affect a woman’s health and response to breast cancer treatment.

Sometimes doctors will discuss prognosis in terms of statistical “cure rates,” “recurrence rates,” or “survival rates.” This can sound very impersonal, but it’s the medical profession’s way of offering its best guess in terms of what you can expect.

One measure commonly used is the 5-year survival rate, which means the percentage of those who live at least five years after being diagnosed. Keep in mind that many of these patients live considerably longer than five more years, but they may be tracked for only five years.

Another term is 5-year relative survival rate, which takes into account the fact that some patients with cancer will die from other causes. Many organizations are adopting this number, as it’s considered more accurate.

Assuming you’re invited to your family member’s doctor visits, pay close attention when her doctor gives her this information, and ask as many questions as you need to in order to understand the information. A person who’s still reeling from a cancer diagnosis may have trouble taking in what she hears.

For example, the doctor may tell her that among all people with breast cancer, five-year relative survival is 100 percent for stage I, 86 percent for stage II, 57 percent for stage III, and 20 percent for stage IV. But these are very general numbers — her doctor can use information about tumor characteristics and general health to offer her a better sense of her own breast cancer and put these statistics in perspective.

American Cancer Society

If you’re caring for someone who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s helpful for you to get grounded in the basics of the disease. Breast cancer usually starts with a cancerous, or malignant, tumor located in the breast tissue. Most breast cancers are located in the area around the nipple. For women, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths, following only lung cancer. Although men can get breast cancer, it’s rare (only one half of 1 percent of all breast cancers are in men).

Most breast cancers are found when a woman feels a lump or hard area within her breast or when a suspicious area turns up on a mammogram. Not all tumors are malignant; doctors determine whether one is by taking a biopsy of the tumor tissue. Then they can examine whether cells are growing in the out-of-control fashion that indicates cancer.

The majority of  breast tumors are described as being either lobular or ductal. These terms refer to the location of the tumor: whether it’s located in a lobule, or milk-producing gland, or in a duct, one of the tubes connecting the lobules with the nipple.

In situ and invasive breast cancer

One of the first things doctors try to establish is whether a breast tumor is contained within its original location or has spread to surrounding tissue. To determine this, doctors use two terms:

In situ. This means the malignant cells are contained within the original area — that is, within the duct or lobule. Women with very early-stage breast cancer will be told they have ductal carcinoma in situ or lobular carcinoma in situ. These are also sometimes called stage 0 because they aren’t invasive.

Invasive (or infiltrating). This means the cancerous cells have broken through the wall of the duct or lobule and are expanding into other areas. The most common type of breast cancer is invasive (or infiltrating) ductal carcinoma (IDC), which means cancer that started within a milk duct has now spread into the fatty tissue of the breast. Eight in ten of all breast cancers are IDC. Invasive lobular carcinoma, or ILC, is much less common, accounting for only one in ten invasive breast tumors.

The rarest type: Inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer, a form of invasive breast cancer, accounts for only 1 to 3 percent of all breast cancers. This type of cancer doesn’t start with a lump or tumor. Instead, it begins by blocking lymph vessels in the skin. Women with inflammatory breast cancer may notice their breasts are red, swollen, and painful, and the skin may have a thick, pitted appearance that’s often described as resembling orange peel. Unfortunately, inflammatory breast cancer is often mistaken for mastitis, or infection of the milk ducts around the nipple.

The lymphatic system carries fluid that fights infection, and the lymph nodes and vessels near the breast and under the arm are one of the first places breast cancer typically spreads. Once in the lymph nodes and vessels, cancerous cells can be carried to other areas of the body.

Doctors biopsy lymph nodes to assess if breast cancer has spread. You’ll hear the term lymph node involvement as a marker for whether a cancer is contained within the breast or is metastatic, which means it’s spreading to other areas. The term sentinel node refers to the lymph node that doctors determine is the first node into which a tumor might drain; this node is usually biopsied.