The Cancer BlogThe Cancer BlogOncologists critical in managing psychiatric disorders- September 13, 2007 Filed under: Stress Reduction, Cancer Caregivers, Cancer Survivors, Cancer Pre-vivorsAccording to an article in CANCER, mental illness and emotional distress in patients with advanced cancer is often overlooked by oncologists, but proper management can improve a patient's quality of life. The review article was written by Dr. Michael Miovic and Dr. Susan Block from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Miovic and Block found that 50 percent or more of...http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/13/oncologists-critical-in-managing-psychiatric-disor... More men need prostate cancer testing- September 13, 2007 Filed under: Prostate CancerIn Canada, health officials are wanting more men in the high-risk group (most likely, middle aged) to get screened for prostate cancer. Why Well, only two in every five men in that country from within that group apparently have tested for prostate cancer in the past year. That's just too low.An astounding 39 percent (only) of men over the age of 45 have taken blood tests to measure the prostate specific antigen levels, with only 33 percent having undergone a digital..http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/13/more-men-need-prostate-cancer-testing/ Heart failure rare in leukemia patients on Gleevec- September 13, 2007 Filed under: LeukemiaAccording to researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, congestive heart failure rarely occurs among leukemia patients who take Gleevec (imatinib). The study was led by Dr. Jorge Cortes who said that there is no need for routine cardio-specific monitoring of all patients taking imatinib, although those with cardiac history should be close monitored. In a separate paper lasat year, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported that imatinib..http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/13/heart-failure-rare-in-leukemia-patients-on-gleevec... Routine lung cancer screening gets thumbs down- September 13, 2007 Filed under: Lung CancerLung cancer screening by using CT scans may not be the best thing to do, according to a recent report by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).That group stated that, outside of research studies, studying lung cancer using CT technology is not worth the risk since it rarely (if at all) leads to reduced lung cancer deaths.The reason Sounds to easy, but with CT tests only looking at lung cancer detection, actual survival rates were not looked at in many cases...http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/13/routine-lung-cancer-screening-gets-thumbs-down/ Two or more drinks a day in postmenopausal women doubles risk of endometrial cancer- September 13, 2007 Filed under: Endometrial CancerPostmenopausal women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day may double their risk of endometrial cancer, according to a new study published by Veronica Wendy Setiawan and colleagues at the University of Southern California. Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system and accounts for six percent of all cancers in women, according to the NCI.According to Setiawan, previous studies have shown that alcohol consumption has...http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/13/two-or-more-drinks-a-day-in-postmenopausal-women-d... Yoga benefits breast cancer survivors from ethnically diverse populations- September 12, 2007 Filed under: Breast CancerA new study from researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine shows that yoga can benefit ethnic minority breast cancer survivors, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as those from under-served communities. During the 12 week study, researchers compared quality of life measures between two groups of women with early stage breast cancer; one group took a weekly yoga class and the other group didn't. More women in the non-yoga group...http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/12/yoga-benefits-breast-cancer-survivors-from-ethnica... Oral birth control pills shown to lower cancer risk- September 12, 2007 Filed under: Prevention, All CancersIt's something that many women would cheer about -- the use of oral contraceptives actually lowers overall cancer risk as a side effect.A 12 percent decrease in cancer risk was the conclusion of a very large study that looked at the correlation between oral contraceptives and cancer, as over 46,000 women were tracked over four decades since oral contraceptives began to be widely used in the late 1960s.However, an increase in cervical cancer risk was found in..http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/12/oral-birth-control-pills-shown-to-lower-cancer-ris... Fatigue still around long after cancer battle starts- September 12, 2007 Filed under: All CancersIt what seems like an obvious result, a recent U.S. study found that breast cancer survivors who received both chemotherapy and radiotherapy were the most apt to have severe fatigue. In addition, that fatigue lasted for prolonged periods of time.Over 221 women in the early stages of breast cancer were looked at in this study, with the expectation of the greatest amount of fatigue just after initial treatment. But, when chemo was combined with radiotherapy, fatigue was...http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/12/fatigue-still-around-long-after-cancer-battle-star... A mutation in BRAF can predict likelihood of recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer after treatment- September 12, 2007 Filed under: Thyroid CancerA mutation in the BRAF oncogene, BRAF V600E, has been linked to the most common type of tyroid cancer, conventional papillary thyroid cancer or PTC. A new study shows that this mutation is also significantly associated with cancer recurrence after treatment, according to Dr. Electron Kebebew at UCSF. Most patients diagnosed wtih PTC have small, localized PTC, but may receive aggressive treatments becasue their risk of recurrence cannot be predicted before surgery....http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/12/a-mutation-in-braf-can-predict-likelihood-of-recur... September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month- September 12, 2007 Filed under: Ovarian CancerSeptember is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Advocates and researchers at the University of Michigan hope that increased awareness about ovarian cancer can save lives.Here is what they want you to know.1. Symptoms do exist. Bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating, feeling full quickly, and frequent or urgent urinating are have been shown to be related to a possible case of ovarian cancer and if they persist you should see your doctor.2. There is no early.http://www.thecancerblog.com/2007/09/12/september-is-national-ovarian-cancer-awareness-mon... |