Weekly Health Care

ovarian cancer is highly curable if diagnosed early, 75% of cases worldwide are detected in advanced stages.

This is because ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose and often goes unnoticed for most physicians who are not oncologists.

Ovarian cancer is not detectable by physical examination in the gynecology clinic routine, as it grows up into the abdominal cavity. On the other hand, does not cause pain or other symptoms prior to suspect the disease when the tumor is small, there is no tumor marker for diagnosis.

Currently there are some techniques such as CT image diagnosis, MRI, or PET, with which early diagnosis could be made, but very expensive.

However, countries like Britain, are conducting studies that seek to detect early ovarian cancer by ultrasound and tumor markers in blood are analyzed.

Ovarian cancer affects mainly women between 45 and 75 years of age but can also affect younger women. Generally, in the early stages of the disease, tumor location is in a single ovary and the likelihood of cure is higher (90%).

Vitamin D is effective in killing cancer cells, breast cancer, colon and prostate cancer in lab tests on mice and achieved by the team of researcher Joellen Welch, the State University New York at Albany, who was interviewed by Good Morning America.

Part of her work involves subjecting cells of breast cancer and treated with a potent form of vitamin D.

Within days, half of cancer cells shrink and die. Vitamin D enters the cell and triggers a process of death of the latter. “It’s similar to what we see when we treat cells with tamoxifen, a drug used to treat breast cancer,” said Welch.

The research team also tested the effectiveness of vitamin D to destroy cancer tumors in mice. Within weeks, the tumors decreased by 50% on average. Some disappeared. Similar results have been achieved for tumors of the colon cancer and prostate cancer.

Day 3 Rare Diseases, held on February 28, aims to educate the public about these diseases that affect nearly one in 20 people, 3 million French and 30 million Europeans. There are 8,000 rare diseases in the world, because so-called orphan diseases neglected by medical research.

This day is an initiative coordinated by EURORDIS European Organization for Rare Diseases, which represents more than 400 patient organizations in 42 countries. Rare Diseases Day 2010 theme “building bridges between patients and researchers”, a theme that stresses the importance of research and the role of patient organizations.

Rare diseases affect each few people from the general population. In Europe, the threshold is reached a person on 2000, is for France more than 30,000 people with the same disease. Several of these diseases, however, affect a hundred people. 80% of these diseases are genetic in origin and most of them involving children. They are often severe, chronic, and involve life-threatening. Due to the low prevalence of these diseases, medical doctors are few, the knowledge is poor, the provision of inadequate care, the inadequate research. There are very few treatments.

A symposium organized by the European EURORDIS 1 March in Brussels, in cooperation with E-RARE and in partnership with the European Commission Orphanet and EUROPLAN, will advocate the inclusion of research on rare diseases in public funding schemes .

In France, associations want a second Plan for Rare Diseases, whose final version will be available in April at the stake.

Laurence Tiennot-Herment, president of the French Association against Myopathies (AFM) indicates that the association should support 43 trials within two years. Considerable resources are required for clinical development that can only be carried by public donations through the Telethon, “she pleads. It calls for public / private partnerships, noting that research on these diseases allows therapeutic innovation for common diseases.

A review of many thousands of studies on diet, physical activity and body weight, led by the Global Fund against Cancer Research (FMRC) has demonstrated the benefits of a diet based primarily on foods of vegetable origin. Foods such as broccoli, berries and garlic would be strongly linked to cancer prevention. Beside that, don’t forget the whole grain is good to avoid cancer too.

The next time you go to a restaurant, remember this: the stale white bread can not compete with a generous meal complete in terms of taste and nutrition. Nutritionists recommend that half of our grain consumption (rice, cereal or chips) are from whole grains. Even sugary cereals to children and frozen pizzas are now loaded into ingredients for whole grain.

Whole grains provide great fiber, but that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, scientists are not sure yet how food components such as fiber and certain types of materials fat affect the risk of colorectal cancer.

Still, that whole grains contain other substances that may fight cancer (such as lignans, which act as antioxidants and saponins, which may prevent cancer cells from multiplying). Buy the “wheat bread 100% complete” rather than bread labeled “wheat bread”, the latter may contain processed grains. For more lignans, choose a whole wheat bread sprinkled with flax seeds or sesame seeds.

Perhaps you’ve heard that lutein, an antioxidant, is good for your eyes. It would also play a role in cancer prevention, but this has not yet been confirmed by a large study. Spinach is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids which remove free radicals (unstable molecules) from your body before it’s damaging. These carotenoids are found in spinach and other leafy vegetables, dark green, and studies show they may protect cancer of the mouth, esophagus and stomach.

A study of more than 490,000 people found that people who eat more spinach have less risk of developing cancer of the esophagus. Studies also suggest that the carotenoids in spinach and other foods also reduce the risk of cancers of the ovary, endometrium, lung and colorectal cancers.

Add to that the folate and fiber (researchers believe they could reduce the risk of some cancers) and you understand why the leafy dark green cocktails are super nutritious. Folate helps your body produce new cells and repair DNA, and is especially important for women of child bearing age because it may prevent neural tube defects in a developing fetus.

You enjoy the best benefits of lutein contained in spinach if eaten raw or lightly cooked. Enjoy them in salads, steamed, sauteed in garlic with olive oil, or mixed with soup. To change, replace them with kale, cabbage riders, chard or romaine lettuce. Spinach is still the star in this category and is in fact the leaf vegetable most nutrient-dense.

People love meat, double cheeseburgers, fried chicken, bacon, everything in fact. We love meat, but most of us do not know they have a dubious reputation.

Previous studies have shown that eating plenty of meat may increase the risk of heart disease and colon cancer. And a new study now suggests that meat and fish, increasing the risk of inflammatory bowel disease.

In a study published in the journal “American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers showed that women who consumed the most animal protein (meat and fish in this study, no dairy products or eggs) were 3 times more risk of suffering from an inflammatory disease of the intestine.

Of the 67,000 women followed over a period of 10 years, only 77 women were diagnosed with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, but 90% of participants consumed a daily amount of animal protein than recommended by nutritionists.

Researchers say that meat increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease because the digestion of animal proteins produce toxic end products such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.

The scientists therefore recommend that women reduce their consumption of food from animals, especially since the study showed that women eating too much meat.

Inflammatory bowel disease can lead to major problems such as Crohn’s disease (chronic inflammation of the entire digestive tract, suspected to be due to an overactive immune system against substances and tissues that are normally present in the body.) ulcerative colitis (ulcerative colitis or) and an increased risk of colon cancer (which develops from the lining of the “large intestine” or colon).

A few weeks ago we played in OtraMedicina the subject of massage in relation to cancer. This therapy is experiencing an increase in their application in many U.S. medical centers to treat people with cancer. Evidence documenting continues to massage as an effective treatment against the effects of cancer.

The University of Colorado has implemented a program of massage therapy for cancer patients, who suffered significant levels of mood deterioration and severe pain that the disease became unbearable.

After having gone through the phase of massage treatment applied by the professionals involved in the study, 380 patients who participated in the experiment said they had noticed a considerable improvement in their mood and a significant reduction in pain.

For cancer patients this can mean much. Consider that nearly one third of patients report suffering severe pain, and between 15% to 25% report feeling depressed and angry. Read the rest of this entry »

A new analysis of five minutes could be reduced by more than 40% the number of deaths from colorectal cancer, say scientists.

The test is performed with a flexible sigmoid scope to detect and remove any polyps in the colon.
Colorectal tumors are the second leading cause of cancer death in the world, after lung, and about half of the people who develop them die because they are often detected late.

The test, known Flexi-Scope, is performed with a flexible sigmoid scope (a thin tube with a camera) inserted into the rectum to examine the lower intestine and remove any abnormal growths (polyps) that can become cancerous if not question.

According to researchers at Imperial College London, the analysis, which takes place in people between 55 and 64 years, has succeeded in reducing the incidence of colorectal cancer in 35% and mortality by 43%. Read the rest of this entry »

Colorectal cancer

Remove Heidelberg (AP) – Anyone who regularly undergoes a colonoscopy, while pre-cancerous lesions can be recognized, falls ill after a study of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), rarely in colon cancer.

The Heidelberg researchers had the benefit of colonoscopy according to indications from Monday at around 3300 Saarlanders asked. Previously, only the data had been available from clinical trials.
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The breasts are composed of fat, connective and glandular. In this tissue are the milk producing glands which are born 15 or 20 mammary ducts, to carry milk to the nipple, surrounded by the areola. These lobules and ducts are located in the stroma, adipose tissue, which are also blood vessels and lymphatics. The breast tissues are connected also with a group of lymph nodes, located in the armpit. These nodes are key to the diagnosis of breast cancer, since cancer cells spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system. When speaking of sentinel node refers precisely to the node nearest to the place where cancer is located.

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After the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, tests are done to determine the degree of spreading blood cancer and bone marrow. Staging is the process used to determine the extent of cancer spread. It is important to know the stage of the disease to plan the best treatment. The following tests may be used in the staging process:

- Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration: The removal of a small section of bone and marrow by inserting a needle into the hipbone or breastbone. A pathologist examines the sample to the microscope for abnormal cells.

- Ray: An x-ray of the organs and bones inside the chest. It is a type of energy beam that passes through the body and onto film, thereby generating a picture of areas inside the body, such as the lymph nodes.

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