Note: The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional care. For medical emergencies, dial 911!
It's interesting when a drug is re-purposed into something aimed at fighting cancer, but that is what has happened to Evista, a prescription drug made by Eli Lilly which was originally for osteoporosis patients.
The FDA has officially approved Evista for use in breast cancer patients as of late this week, although the drug will now come with a box warning advising patients of a heightened risk for stroke by taking the drug.
I'm not sure -- are some drugs worth the possible benefits when certain side effects can be just as bad as what is trying to be treated?
Experience Project is launching a new online cancer support network , The Cancer Support Project, on October 1st, 2007.
Experience Project is built around dynamic groups of users who come onto the platform, share narratives and personal stories about their life experiences, and then connect with others who are going through the same experiences. Experience Project will never ask for your name; you can keep your identity completely private while meeting new friends who can understand you.
The central goal of The Cancer Support Project is to provide a hub for emotional and psychological support for all experiences involving cancer, including experiences as a survivor or a caregiver, something that is not currently widely addressed as many sites focus on sharing information regarding therapies. The Experience Project will also be launching a Facebook application within The Cancer Support Project to enable people to show their support and raise cancer awareness via Facebook, MySpace, blogs and web pages.
The Cancer Support Projectwill be launching on October 1st, but you can check it out now. I know I will be checking it out for sure!The Cancer Support Project is located here.
In the last decade, we've seen studies that try to link mobile phone use to all kinds of cancer, the most common type being brain cancer. The thinking is that the radiation output from these devices affects the brain when those phones are held close to the head for extended periods.
Well, here's one to shoot this theory down, I guess. In Australia, authorities there have said that mobile phone use does not cause cancer, and talking on a phone in the car is no more dangerous than having a passenger aboard. Wow-- those are heavy hitters.
For many of us, those ultra low-power Bluetooth headsets are the solution for not holding that cellphone near your head for along periods of time. You?
It's never a good thing when a drugmaker sends letters to doctors saying that a drug they are prescribing has resulted in confirmed deaths.
But that is what Cephalon did this week, as it admitted its cancer drug -- Fentora - has been linked to some patient deaths. Fentora, used to treat acute cancer pain, are sometimes prescribed for other pain-related ailments.
Cephalon took issue with the apparent claim that it markets Fentora for uses other than cancer pain, even though some doctors use it "off label" in normal practice.
It'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 women who had taken birth control pills for eight years or longer.
It 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 pronounced for longer periods of time. No wonder depression is often a side effect of traditional cancer treatment.
The Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical giant Merck have agreed on a "special protocol assessment" that will determine if the cancer drug oral deforolimus for patients with cancer of the body's connective tissue(s).
Merck and partner Ariad will begin patient enrollment for deforolimus later in September, with progression-free survival being the endpoint of the Phase III trial. The second endpoint? How about overall patient survival?
Since there are currently very few effective treatments for sarcoma cancers, my bet is that this new drug will be on the market the date the Phase III trial officially concludes.
The Internet continues to be a first source of health information, including information about cancer, according to a new National Cancer Institute report.
The study included a telephone survey, and was last conducted in 2003. Since that time, the use of the Internet for cancer information remained unchanged, however there was an increase in people using the Internet to e-mail their physicians. However, people's trust in what they find on their Internet searches has declined slightly according to the report.
Women were more likely to search for cancer information from all sources than men.
Although Vitamin C is a great thing to have in your system at regular daily intervals, it can be used to actually promote the formation of cancer-causing chemicals when there is too much fat in the stomach, according to a recent article in the journal Gut.
The interaction of vitamins and minerals in the body (synergy) can have a strong impact on the effectiveness of many of them, but this seems like an odd one to me. Nevertheless, lipid and ascorbic acid interaction was studied in terms of possible cancer contributions to the upper stomach area (which is sensitive to cancerous issues and tumor development).
The problems revolved around nitrites, which could be converted into cancer-causing compounds called nitrosamines if there was too much fat in the gut when ascorbic acid was present. The term "nitrite" may be familiar to you -- it's what makes processed meats look red when they're really "dead."
David L. Katz, MD, responds to a reader in the September 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine about the merits of eating soy in relation to preventing cancer. His response causes me to pause even more about jumping on any diet bandwagon.
Katz says we should eat soy foods -- just not too much because the evidence linking soy to breast cancer, for example, is mixed.
In comparing soy-eating Japanese women with American women who eat very little soy, researchers find lower rates of breast cancer in the Japanese women. But in a test tube, soy's plant estrogens can speed cancer cell growth. Maybe soy behaves differently in the body than it does in a tube. Or maybe soy has both negative and positive effects on breast cancer. Perhaps it's not soy at all. It could be that the populations eating soy are benefiting from not eating something else, like meat -- the saturated fat found in red meat has been linked to higher cancer rates. Replacing steak with something else may be the protective key.
With next year's presidential election still over a year away, candidate hopefuls are cranking up the heat on health issues and the stances being taken. Seeing as cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., it is sure to take front stage quite a bit between now and late next year.
In the latest edition, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have joined Senator John Edwards in stating publicly that they intend to fight cancer with increased funding and research.
One of the largest and most viewable aspects of cancer topics -- cigarette smoking -- has these men taking different opinions on what steps should be taken to curb smoking. Huckabee supports a nationwide smoking ban, while Brownback supports control by local communities. Which is better in your opinion?
As time flies by, more and more progress is made in the fight against cancer. Over the years, new and better screening methods have emerged, cutting-edge technologies have surfaced, successful treatments have saved lives that may have otherwise been lost, and awareness has been raised about all sorts of cancer-related issues. It's amazing really, because in so many areas, we are not making progress.
According to research published in the March/April 2007 issue of WebMD: the Magazine, the per capita consumption of corn sweeteners in 2004 was 78.1 pounds in the United States -- up from 35.3 pounds in 1980. In 2005, the per capita consumption of candy by Americans was 25.7 pounds. We are pumping our bodies full of junk -- our rates of obesity in this country prove it.
When I think about our trend of over-eating and over-indulging, I gain a better appreciation of how far we've come medically. Not only have researchers, scientists, and medical experts made strides in the prevention and treatment of disease, they've done it against the odds. Just think how much more progress we'd make if we all did a little better at living healthy lives. Why not start now?
Lance Armstrong says his immediate goal in launching the LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum is to make sure whatever candidates we have now and then the two who ultimately fight for the presidency discuss the number one killer in this country. Just like they'd talk about war and terror and taxes, Armstrong says they should address the issue of cancer.
Armstrong has an army people behind him -- 65 million to be exact -- who say they care about this topic. Take a small percentage of those people, he says, and you've got a movement.
The movement begins on Monday, August 27 when the Democratic presidential candidates answer the cancer question from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM on MSNBC. On Tuesday, August 28, Republican candidates will tackle the cancer question at the same time, in the same place.
Do you have high-voltage power lines within eyesight of your home or office building? Some have surmised -- for decades now -- that living in close proximity of these power transmission lines can lead to cancer. The reasoning deals with the radiation output of these lines affecting nearby human tissue -- although the radiation output is fairly minimal.
In a recent Australian study, though, residents there who lives within 300 meters of a high-voltage power line had a 300 percent increase in cancer risk, and that living near these power transmission lines early in life (and then, anytime) could possibly increase one's risk of developing leukemia and lymphoma.
Although this study contradicts several more than state living near power lines is safe, what do you think? Do you have these power transmission lines near you, and do you feel safe?
Ahh, the feeling of the sun's rays on the skin can be so refreshing. Well, as long as you keep that exposure to a certain level and don't overdo it during the bright afternoon hours. A nice side benefit? Sunlight helps your body naturally produce its own Vitamin D.
But did you know that getting the proper amount of daily vitamin D may help you ward of cancer as well? In a recent spate of research, scientists found that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented every year around the world by having those affected with these cancers increase their vitamin D intake. Specifically, vitamin D3.
It's quite a statement to say that 600,000 cancer cases per year could be eliminated by increasing vitamin D intake, but that's the conclusion here. Pardon me while I walk outside and get some sunlight for 10 minutes.
It's interesting when a drug is re-purposed into something aimed at fighting cancer, but that is what has happened to Evista, a prescription drug made by Eli Lilly which was originally for osteoporosis patients.
Experience Project is launching a new online cancer support network , The Cancer Support Project, on October 1st, 2007.
In the last decade, we've seen studies that try to link mobile phone use to all kinds of cancer, the most common type being brain cancer. The thinking is that the radiation output from these devices affects the brain when those phones are held close to the head for extended periods.
It's never a good thing when a drugmaker sends letters to doctors saying that a drug they are prescribing has resulted in confirmed deaths.
It's something that many women would cheer about -- the use of oral contraceptives actually lowers overall cancer risk as a side effect.
It what seems like an obvious result, a recent U.S. study found that breast cancer survivors who received both chemotherapy and radiotherapy were the 
The Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical giant Merck have agreed on a "special protocol assessment" that will determine if the cancer drug oral deforolimus for 
The Internet continues to be a first source of health information, including information about cancer, according to a new National Cancer Institute 
Although Vitamin C is a great thing to have in your system at regular daily intervals, it can be used to actually promote the formation of cancer-causing chemicals when there is too much fat in the stomach, according to a recent article in the journal Gut.
David L. Katz, MD, responds to a reader in the September 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine about the merits of eating soy in relation to preventing cancer. His response causes me to pause even more about jumping on any diet bandwagon.
With next year's presidential election still over a year away, candidate hopefuls are cranking up the heat on health issues and the stances being taken. Seeing as cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., it is sure to take front stage quite a bit between now and late next year.
As time flies by, more and more progress is made in the fight against cancer. Over the years, new and better screening methods have emerged, cutting-edge technologies have surfaced, successful treatments have saved lives that may have otherwise been lost, and awareness has been raised about all sorts of cancer-related issues. It's amazing really, because in so many areas, we are not making progress.
Lance Armstrong says his immediate goal in launching the 
Do you have high-voltage power lines within eyesight of your home or office building? Some have surmised -- for decades now -- that living in close proximity of these power transmission lines can lead to cancer. The reasoning deals with the radiation output of these lines affecting nearby human tissue -- although the radiation output is fairly minimal.
