ATLANTA – The American Cancer Society is urging doctors to make clearer to men that the test used to screen for prostate cancer has limits and may lead to unnecessary treatments that do more harm than good.
The cancer society has not recommended routine screening for most men since the mid-1990s, and that is not changing. But its new advice goes farther to warn of the limitations of the PSA blood test that millions of American men get now. It also says digital rectal exams should be an option rather than part of a standard screening.
The new advice is the latest pushback from routine screening to hunt for early cancers. Last year, a government task force said most women don’t need mammograms in their 40s and a doctors group said most women in their 20s don’t need annual Pap tests…. Read more…
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men and women in the U.S., and March is awareness month for this disease.
The American Cancer Society says colorectal cancer claims more lives than either breast or prostate cancer. Each year there are about 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer, and 50,000 people lose their lives to the disease.
Colorectal cancer occurs when tumors grow in the colon or rectum, which make up the large intestine. Symptoms might include blood in the stool, general fatigue or the inability to go the bathroom.
The scary thing is that colorectal cancer often shows no symptoms at all, until it`s too late.
“Screening helps you catch it early which is why recommendations start at age 50. It`s kind of a double bonus because if you catch it early, there may not be recommendations for anything beyond surgery and you can avoid chemo and radiation,” said radiation oncologist Dr. John Watkins.
Caught early enough, the small tumors, called polyps, can even be removed during a colonoscopy, but if the symptoms are ignored, or routine screenings are skipped, the results can be serious…. Read more…
A growing number of women with cancer in one breast choose to have their other, healthy breast removed in hopes it will prevent a second cancer. But new research finds that elective surgery improved survival in only a small group of women — those who are under 50 and are in the early stages of a type of breast cancer known as estrogen receptor-negative cancer…. Read more…
THURSDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) — Endometrial cancer patients at medium to high risk for cancer recurrence are more likely to survive if both the pelvic lymph nodes and para-aortic lymph nodes are removed, rather than just the pelvic lymph nodes, say Japanese researchers.
The para-aortic lymph nodes, which are located in front of the lumbar vertebral bodies near the aorta, receive drainage from the lower gastrointestinal tract and the pelvic organs, according to a news release about the study.
The study included 671 women with endometrial cancer who had pelvic lymph nodes removed or both pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes removed. Women at medium or high risk for cancer recurrence were offered additional treatment in the form of chemotherapy or radiotherapy…. Read more…
Clinical trial launched to test new treatment technique for bowel cancer
Cancer Research UK this week launches a new trial for patients with bowel cancer that has spread to the liver to see whether a newradiotherapy treatment technique is more effective than standard chemotherapy.
Researchers at trial centres across the UK and coordinated at Oxford University will test a new treatment called Radio-embolisation, a form of internal radiotherapy that uses the tumour’s blood supply to target multiple sites of disease within the liver. They will combine this new treatment with standard chemotherapy in patients recently diagnosed with bowel cancerthat has spread to the liver.
The first patient will start the treatment this week at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.
Despite major advances in treating advanced bowel cancer, the number of patients who survive beyond five years remains disappointingly low – less than 10 per cent…. Read more…
TRENTON — Katie Viger, who received her honorary nursing license from the state Feb. 12, died of brain cancer Thursday morning.
She was 23.
Viger fought cancer for six months.
She was a “vibrant young woman” who was “so full of life,” said Cathy Wakefield of Allen Park, one of Viger’s nursing instructors at Henry Ford Community College who became a friend.
Viger graduated with a nursing degree in May. Days before she was to take an exam to be certified as a registered nurse in August, doctors diagnosed her with terminal brain cancer.
She remained upbeat, despite her prognosis. One of her only regrets was not being able to complete the requirements to receive her registered nursing license.
She underwent experimental treatments, mostly to alleviate the symptoms of her illness. However, just a few weeks ago, Viger entered hospice care as her health began to decline swiftly.
It was then that Wakefield decided to find a way to get Viger an honorary nursing license. Though she encountered considerable political red tape, Wakefield found an ally in state Sen. Raymond Basham (D-Taylor).
Basham was immediately on board with the cause and pushed his fellow legislators to consider what came to be called Katie’s Bill.
Wakefield also started a group on Facebook to support the cause. Thousands of Downriver residents and others joined the cause and sent letters and e-mails to their state legislators. Many who joined had never met Viger.
With strong bipartisan support, Katie’s Bill will be introduced in the Legislature soon. It will provide the state nursing board with the authority to issue honorary licenses for those in the health care field who fall short of their dreams because of severe illness or death.
Basham presented Viger’s parents, Joe and Cathy Viger, and her brother, Mark, with the honorary license….
The Facebook page, originally called “Give Katie Viger her honorary nursing license,” was flooded with congratulations from its many members. Wakefield then changed the name of the group to “Katie Viger Gets Her Honorary Nursing License 2-12-10. … Thank You!”
“We got exactly what we were fighting for,” Wakefield said, adding that she was humbled to know how many lives Viger’s story had touched.
Viger lived to see her dream come true…. Read more…
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and cancer cells. Most commonly, the term is used to refer to cancer-killing drugs.Its Alternative names are Cancer chemotherapy; Cancer drug therapy; Cytotoxic chemotherapy… Read more…
NILES — Hundreds gathered at a Niles bowling alley Saturday to strike back at cancer. The popular “Bowl for the Cure” event raised money for the continuing fight against breast cancer.
“Anything to save someone else you do,” said Cheryl Culp, a breast cancer survivor and “Bowl for The Cure” supporter. “It’s hard to explain, but when you go through the experience yourself, it’s good to see this many people.”
Culp said breast cancer affects not only the victim, but everyone around them. For supporter Shaun Harner, that fact couldn’t be more true. His grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. She died two years later…. Read more…
Scientists and surgeons from Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania are working on a project that uses nanotechnology to assist in the identification and removal of cancer cells. Background In a new NCI-funded study, researchers will be merging nanotechnology and cancer surgery techniques with the aim of finding tumor cells present in pancreatic, lung and breast cancers. Nanoparticles are injected into the body, where they home in on tumor cells and bind with them…. Read more…
