| NICE Issues Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment of Advanced Breast
For patients who are receiving treatment with trastuzumab for advanced breast cancer, discontinue treatment with trastuzumab at the time of disease progression outside the central nervous system. Do not discontinue trastuzumab if disease progression is within the central nervous system alone.
� A breast cancer multidisciplinary team should assess all patients presenting with uncontrolled local disease and discuss the therapeutic options for controlling the disease and relieving symptoms.
� Consider offering bisphosphonates to patients newly diagnosed with bone metastases, to prevent skeletal-related events and reduce pain.
� Offer surgery followed by whole brain radiotherapy to patients who have a single or small number of brain metastases that could potentially be removed by surgery, a good performance status, and who have no or well-controlled other metastatic disease.
Lung cancer leading cause of cancer death in US women
What's the leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States? The answer might surprise you, because it is lung cancer, not breast cancer. According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer accounts for almost twice as many deaths as breast cancer. And while smokers are more likely to develop the disease, one in every five people with lung cancer has never touched a cigarette.
Blount Memorial thoracic services coordinator Michelle McPherson says there are a couple of key reasons why lung cancer doesn't receive wide media attention. "Lung cancer doesn't have a powerful advocacy group like breast cancer. In addition, lung cancer research is unfunded because the survival rate is typically short, and people who get lung cancer are often times blamed for it being their own fault."
McPherson encourages all women -- both smokers and non-smokers -- to learn about lung cancer risk factors, symptoms and screenings.
Women’s Health Awareness Tip Sheet
Stroke kills twice as many women than breast cancer. What's more, many women still think stroke is a man's disease. But more women than men will die from stroke each year, and women are less likely to report classic stroke symptoms than men. Jan Flewelling, Stroke Outreach Program Coordinator with the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston, says it's vital that women be more vigilant about their health, and education and awareness are keys to helping reduce the incidence of stroke in women. Atypical stroke symptoms in women include fainting, seizures, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations. While these atypical symptoms are well documented, most stroke patients of both sexes experience traditional symptoms, such as sudden weakness/numbness on one side of the body or slurred speech.
Surrender Monkey Friday: Nationalized Health Care Is Killer, Man!
The Government's rationing body said two drugs for advanced breast cancer and a rare form of stomach cancer were too expensive for the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is expected to confirm guidance in the next few weeks that will effectively ban their use. Well, we see how it is done in Great Britain. It's just too darn expensive to be humane to people who are suffering. But, on the bright side, we will all be waiting in long lines, allowing our symptoms to become worse, like in Britain, Canada, and France, among others, if nationalized health care is imposed. Not to mention having our 4th Amendment Rights violated constantly. » Filed Under 4th Amendment, Anti-Capitalism, Barack Obama, Communism, Dems In Charge: Now What?, Europe, Government ethics/corruption, Healthcare, News, Socialism, Surrender Monkey Friday, U.S.
Austin women navigate the maze of menopause
Santos thinks the same estrogen pill that made her feel normal was also responsible for something very abnormal - breast cancer. Fortunately it was found early, she had a mastectomy and she has been cancer free for more than 7 years. Shortly after her diagnosis, Santos found out about a landmark study linking long-term hormone replacement with an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Now she encourages her friends to stay away from hormone replacement. Before the 2002 study, hormone replacement was the most popular treatment for women suffering through the symptoms of menopause. Now, most doctors take a more individualized approach to patients going through the change of life. If hormone replacement is prescribed, it's normally at a much lower dose for just a few years. There are some risk free, common sense ways that help some women cope with menopause.
Friendly Competition Among Area Dental Schools To Educate About
Mention cancer and most people think breast, lung, or prostate. But the less talked about oral cancer kills nearly half of all people diagnosed with the disease in five years, largely because patients do not recognize the symptoms.
That statistic got Courtney Brady, a second-year dental student at Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BUGSDM), and first-year student Dee Gulis thinking about what they could do to get the word out about oral cancer, and they think they found the answer.
Brady and Gulis are leading a team BUGSDM students, faculty, staff, and friends to walk Relay for Life, a 12-hour walk/run event at Boston University Track and Tennis Center from 6 p.m. April 18 to 6 a.m. April 19.
"Too often, oral cancer is pushed off to the side when people talk about cancer," Brady says.
Healthy Living: Get active, stay active to avoid deep vein thrombosis
Together, DVT/PE kills more Americans each year than breast cancer, AIDS and automobile accidents combined. Prevention is the key. With up to half of all DVT/PEs not having symptoms with possible lethal consequences, it's imperative to prevent them from occurring. Know risk factors The best way to prevent the condition from occurring is to know your risk factors and speak to your doctor about them. The majority of DVTs occur either during a hospitalization or within a few weeks after one, therefore, discussing this issue with your medical team when you are admitted to the hospital is of great importance. Do you or family members have a previous history of thrombosis? Do you smoke or take birth control pills? Will you be undergoing any surgical procedures? Will you be confined to the hospital bed? Do you have heart failure or respiratory failure? These questions will help your doctor to determine what, if any, preventative measures need to be taken to protect you from developing a DVT/PE.
Screening Tests:
The BRCA1 and 2 mutations are known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers. Other mutations have been tied to colon cancer.
You've already had cancer. One bout slightly increases your odds of developing another, unrelated cancer.
Think Twice Before Getting Screened If ... You have another serious illness. Having heart disease or suffering a stroke increases the odds that you'll die before an undetected cancer could cause symptoms.
You're under 50 or over 70. There's less evidence to support getting screened in your 40s, when cancer risk is low. After 70, the possible benefit from early treatment should be weighed against the chance that it will make life less enjoyable or more painful.
You're frail. If you can't withstand treatment, it may not be useful to undergo a screening test.
The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) RV Tour Takes
Complications from DVT kill more Americans than breast cancer and AIDS combined(4). Building awareness through activities like the Driving to Reduce the Risks of DVT tour is crucial to improving patient safety. "In the last five years, the Coalition has made great strides in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of DVT on both a national and grassroots level," said Melanie Bloom, National Patient Spokesperson for the Coalition, whose husband, NBC correspondent David Bloom, died from complications of DVT while covering the war in Iraq. "This year, it is time to harness that awareness and turn it into action by encouraging people to assess their risks of developing DVT." Since its inception more than six years ago, the Coalition to Prevent DVT has worked to establish DVT as a national health priority through grassroots campaigns and partnerships with public policy leaders.
Battling a silent killer
There are genetic links between breast and ovarian cancer. "If several members of your immediate family have ovarian cancer there is an increased risk," says McCafferty, "but only 5% of ovarian cancers are genetic."It is more common among higher social classes because they have fewer children, while breast-feeding and being on the pill for five years or more are also thought to help reduce the risks.Western women are most susceptible to ovarian cancer. A study found that Japanese women were at a much lower risk, but after just a generation living in the US they were found to be as likely as their American counterparts to contract the disease.Symptoms can include any of the following: loss of appetite; indigestion, nausea, excessive wind and a bloated, full feeling; unexplained weight gain or loss; swelling in the abdomen; pain in the lower abdomen; changes in bowel or bladder habits, such as constipation, diarrhoea or needing to pass urine more often; lower back pain; pain during sex.
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