At first I thought marijuana was just for nausea caused by her chemo, but then I found a study in the journal Cancer Research (July 1, 2006). It showed that cannabinoids specifically fight pancreatic tumor cells.

I changed her diet and started her on a regimen, and she is now cancer-free.

The regimen is being studied at the University of Wisconsin. I hope others can benefit from medical marijuana.

A. For years, marijuana research was suspected of being a way to rationalize people getting high. But as a recent article in Science News points out, scientists are now starting to take it seriously (June 19, 2010). The article you cite demonstrates that compounds from marijuana make pancreatic tumor cells commit suicide.

Other cancer researchers have followed up with studies on its effectiveness against a range of tumors in test tubes, including breast, colon, glioblastoma brain tumors and lymphoma, a blood cancer. None is yet in a clinical trial, but this will be an interesting field to watch. We are delighted your wife had such a good response to such a difficult-to-treat cancer.

Q. I tried the soap-under-the-sheet remedy for leg cramps. It was successful, but it didn’t last. Then my doctor prescribed Qualaquin 325 mg capsules, and they work like a charm.

This medication has quinine and is usually used for the treatment of malaria. Now I take one every other night, with excellent results.

A. The Food and Drug Administration has only approved Qualaquin (quinine) for the treatment of malaria. Any other use is considered “off label” and inappropriate. On July 8, 2010, the FDA issued the following warning: “Qualaquin should not be used for night time leg cramps.”

The agency has received reports of serious blood reactions and kidney damage. In some cases, people have died from quinine toxicity.

We are sending you our Guide to Leg Pain with suggestions for other ways to calm leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $2 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (61 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. RLS-5, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Some readers have suggested that replacing the soap after several weeks might improve its effectiveness.

Q.What is the story about the toxic effects of zinc in denture creams?

A. Too much zinc, whether from dental adhesives or taken as a supplement, can lead to a copper deficiency. The possible consequences are anemia and neurological problems.

Lisa Sanders, M.D., described a case in the New York Times Magazine (Sept. 6, 2009) in which a 64-year-old woman overused denture cream. Her balance was affected, along with the strength in her legs. She was almost unable to walk.

Her doctors were puzzled, but when they discovered that she had superhigh levels of zinc and almost no copper in her bloodstream, they tracked the problem to the adhesive she used to keep her ill-fitting dentures in place.

GSK, maker of Super PoliGrip, has reformulated its denture adhesive cream. The company urges consumers to look for the zinc-free product. The FDA is working with other manufacturers to reduce the risk that consumers might be exposed to excessive levels of zinc in their denture creams.

tags:cancer,cancer news,marijuana cancer,cancer treatment,cancer symptoms

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If you smoke, you know you’re putting yourself at increased risk of lung cancer. But if you boost the variety of fruits and vegetables that you eat, you may be able to lower those odds a bit.

Scientists in Europe report in the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal that smokers who consumed the greatest variety of fruits and vegetables lowered their risk of developing lung cancer by 23% over the study’s nearly nine year follow up. With every different type of fruit and vegetable they ate, they dropped their cancer risk by another 4%. Previous studies have linked the quantity of these foods to a lower risk of cancer, but this reduction was independent of how much fruits and greens the 452,000 study subjects ate. Among the vegetables on their plates—leafy greens, root vegetables, cabbages, mushrooms, stalk vegetables, and onion and garlic, among others, while the fruit category included fresh, dried and canned varieties.

The authors, led by cancer experts based in the Netherlands, speculate that the variety, as opposed the quantity of these foods is important in cancer prevention. That’s because these foods contain important compounds that scientists still haven’t identified as beneficial in thwarting cancer growth, so the greater the variety of these fruits and vegetables in our diet, the greater the chance that we will absorb enough of whatever cancer-fighting agents they may harbor. This variety, they say, is particularly beneficial in lowering risk of squamous cell carcinoma, which accounts for 90% of cancers in the head and neck and is caused by tobacco or alcohol.

The findings shouldn’t however, give smokers free reign to light up after eating a salad. The study only identified a strong association between fruit and vegetable consumption and lung cancer risk, and isn’t proof that eating a certain diet can ward off cancer. The only proven way to avoid the disease, says the study’s authors, is to stop smoking.

tags:Lung cancer,cancer,cancer news,vegetables & cancer,lung cancer stage,small cell cancer,lung cancer treatment,lung cancer survival,Lung cancer signs

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2010) — Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are on to something that should bring joy to sunbathers everywhere. Studies show that certain plant substances, administered in combinations, have the ability to suppress skin cancer development in susceptible mice.

“On the basis of our research, supplements and creams or sunscreens may be developed, tested in humans and then used to prevent skin cancer,” said Zbigniew Walaszek, Ph.D., research associate professor of pharmacology at the Health Science Center.

Natural agents, susceptible mice

The plant substances are being tested in SENCAR mice, which because of genetic manipulation are sensitive to skin cancer initiation and promotion/progression. The natural agents include resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes, and grape seed extract. Others are calcium D-glucarate, a salt of D-glucaric acid, present in many fruits and vegetables and also the bloodstream, and ellagic acid, found in a host of berries and in walnuts.

Because each of these compounds has a unique mechanism of action, giving them in combinations has proven to be the most protective. The scientists also are combining treatments, administering the agents both topically and in the diet.

Study method

In one study, the team induced skin cancer by shaving the backs of rodents and applying a chemical that produces a genetic mutation. This was done twice a week for four weeks. At the same time, researchers applied topical resveratrol and fed the mice diets supplemented with various combinations of the plant substances.

The team evaluated several outcomes, including epidermal thickness. An increase in thickness is an indicator of pre-cancerous proliferation of cells in the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin. The researchers also monitored mutations in Ha-ras, an oncogene that is a biomarker of cancer initiation, and inflammation, which is important in tumor promotion.

Promising results

Even low doses of the plant agent combinations produced protective effects, while the plant substances given individually produced markedly less benefit.

“Both the combined agents and the combined treatments work better than single agents or treatments in prevention of skin cancer,” Dr. Walaszek said.

Preventing cell transformation

His colleague and wife, Margaret Hanausek, Ph.D., research associate professor of pharmacology, said the findings hold great potential for those most at risk for skin cancer and other cancers involving epithelial cells, including lung cancer.

“The combined inhibitory effects of different plant chemicals are expected to be particularly beneficial to, for example, smokers, former smokers or individuals whose skin is heavily tanned, who carry thousands of cells already initiated for malignant transformation,” Dr. Hanausek said.

“Described combinations may be very useful in the prevention of skin cancer and other epithelial cancers in humans, achieving a high efficacy and potency with reduced side effects,” agreed Magdalena Kowalczyk, Ph.D., research scientist.

Further directions

The team continues to look for the best combinations of the natural agents in suppressing different events during skin cancer development, she said.

The researchers acknowledge that not all information, including effects on organs such as the lungs, can be gleaned from a skin cancer model. But it is an exciting start.

“The team’s next step is to go to an ultraviolet B light model of skin cancer initiation and confirm the results,” Dr. Walaszek said.

Mouse model developer

The team leader, Thomas Slaga, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology at the Health Science Center, developed the SENCAR mouse model of skin cancer. It is used by scientists worldwide.

The ongoing work is supported by two grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Tags:skin care,health care,skin care news

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The intestines have to work properly if we are to benefit from the food we eat. Digestive juices must be secreted, the food broken down into smaller components and then transported through the gut wall and onwards to muscles and organs. The lining of the gut is coated in epithelial cells, a specialised layer that produces mucous and hormones while keeping dangerous bacteria and toxins at bay. Close contact with pathogenic microbes and toxins means that the epithelial cells may mutate to form cancer. The small intestine therefore secretes the entire epithelial layer in the course of two to five days, while the large intestine takes three weeks to perform the same process.

Gene provides cell ID

A triggered CDX2 gene tells a cell that it is located in the epithelial tissue of the intestine and thus enables the cell to do its job correctly. Associate Professor Jesper Troelsen and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen made this discovery several years ago: CDX2 may thus be regarded as an identity gene.

Cancer cells deactivate important gene

Using advanced equipment for DNA sequestration at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine the research group has now revealed that CDX2 controls more than 600 other genes governing the way the cells of the intestinal epithelial tissue work, ensuring that the intestine functions properly. The discovery has now been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

“Among the 600 genes we have found five that you can call anti-cancer genes”, Associate Professor Troelsen says. “We have also studied early stages of colon cancer. We observed that before the colonic cancer cells began to invade the tissue outside the colon, they deactivated the CDX2 gene, removing their “ID”.

“We are now applying for funds to study the properties of CDX2 that enable it to suppress colon cancer and to find a way of reactivating the CDX2 gene to allow us to halt the progression of colon cancer”.

Tags:cancer,cancer research,anti-cancer gene,cancer treatment,cancer news

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Menopause is defined as the state of an absence of menstrual periods for 12 months. The menopausal transition starts with varying menstrual cycle length and ends with the final menstrual period. Perimenopause means “the time around menopause” and is often used to refer to the menopausal transitional period. It is not officially a medical term, but is sometimes used to explain certain aspects of the menopause transition in lay terms. Postmenopause is the entire period of time that comes after the last menstrual period.

Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when the function of the ovaries ceases. The ovary (female gonad), is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) and female hormones such as estrogen. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a Fallopian tube to the uterus.

The ovaries are the main source of female hormones, which control the development of female body characteristics such as the breasts, body shape, and body hair. The hormones also regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Estrogens also protect the bone. Therefore, a woman can develop osteoporosis (thinning of bone) later in life when her ovaries do not produce adequate estrogen.

Perimenopause is different for each woman. Scientists are still trying to identify all the factors that initiate and influence this transition period.

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The structure is a highly organized network of grooves in heart muscle membrane called T-tubules. This network is essential for transmitting electrical signals to the cell’s interior where they are translated into contractions that make the heart beat.

It was previously known that T-tubules become very disorganized during heart failure. The new study, published in the Aug. 20 issue of the journal Circulation Research, shows that this disorganization starts well before heart failure occurs during a stage known as compensated hypertrophy, when the heart muscle is enlarged but still able to pump a normal amount of blood around the body.

“Although heart function appears normal during compensated hypertrophy, we found that there already is structural damage,” said Long-Sheng Song, M.D., senior author of this paper and UI assistant professor of internal medicine. “Our study suggests that things are going wrong very early in the process, and if we could prevent or slow this damage, we might be able to delay the onset of heart failure.”

The researchers used a state-of-the-art imaging technique called laser scanning confocal microscope to visualize these structural changes in an animal model of heart failure. The study compared T-tubule structure and heart function at different stages of heart disease and found that the more disorganized the T-tubule network becomes, the worse the heart functions.

Moreover, the researchers found that T-tubule disorganization was also accompanied by a reduction in levels of a molecule called junctophilin-2, which is thought to be involved in formation of T-tubule networks. In cell experiments, loss of this molecule led to reduced T-tubule integrity.

Although the new findings are not ready to be applied in a clinical setting, understanding how T-tubule disruption occurs may lead to new ways to diagnose or treat heart failure.

In addition to Song, UI researchers involved in the study included Sheng Wei; Ang Guo; Biyi Chen; William Kutschke; Yu-Ping Xie; Kathy Zimmerman, Robert Weiss; and Mark Anderson. The team also included Heping Cheng from Peking University, Beijing, China.

The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and Chinese Scholarship Council. In addition, gifts from the Albaghdadi family of Clinton, Iowa, contributed to the purchase of the laser scanning confocal microscope used in the study.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Care Media Relations, 200 Hawkins Drive, Room W319 GH, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1009

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Men’s skin care has come a long way from the days when your father would wash his face with a withered bar of soap and cover up shaving nicks with bits of toilet paper. Today, there are an overwhelming amount of products specially formulated to meet the needs of the stubborn (and stubbly) male epidermis.

But navigating your way through the glut of grooming goods out there doesn’t have to be intimidating, and it shouldn’t be fussy either; a winning skin care regimen should be swift and simple to ensure that you’ll actually follow it. You can check your 12-step program at the bathroom door, because achieving better skin takes just five tips.

Cleanse

If you do nothing else, cleansing is the single most important thing you can do for your face. It should be the basis of your skin care regimen, but that doesn’t mean reaching for a simple bar of soap; which can overcompensate and leave your skin dryer than a desert. Men’s’ skin typically has large pores and very active sebaceous glands. While these glands are critical for keeping the skin naturally moist, they can often produce too much sebum, leaving your skin feeling greasier than an oil slick. Neglecting to wash away the excess oil and dirt can clog pores, which leaves the skin prone to breakouts. A basic gel works just fine, but not all facial cleansers are created equal. Look for one that is strong enough to cut through the grease and yet gentle and affordable enough to be used at least once a day

Exfoliate

Sometimes cleaning the skin with a simple face wash just isn’t enough. A cleanser washes away oil and dirt on the surface, but what about all that nasty stuff deep down in your pores? Even religious use of a face wash will still leave the most men’s skin feeling like a bumpy mess. That’s where exfoliation should make an appearance in your skin routine (just two to three times a week). It helps dislodge debris that normal washing can’t touch. A good scrub should have granules to help smooth the skin and eliminate the dullness that results from normal pore clogging and dirt build-up. Exfoliation also softens hair follicles for a closer, less-irritating shave and allows the skin to better absorb moisturizers.

Moisturize

Skin care for most men starts and stops with a basic bar of soap or cleanser. But washing is the absolute least you can do to prevent your face from turning into a big blackhead. Even if you happen to live in a sauna, skin can get dry after showering and, over time, that godforsaken process known as aging makes it lose elasticity. Add all that to the horror of placing a sharp blade next to your face every day to appease rigid HR standards for clean-cut wholesomeness, and you have a recipe for irritated skin that’s parched and taut. Showering and shaving open up pores and allow precious water to escape, but a light moisturizer can fix everything. It replenishes the skin’s moisture content and prevents razor burn. A moisturizer with SPF will also provide a critical shield against the sun. Harsh UVB rays cause the skin to burn, but it’s the UVA rays that lead to long-term damage like deep lines and skin cancer. A moisturizer with multispectrum defense takes care of it all.

Protect Your Eyes

There is one place on the face that men almost never touch—the eyes. But the skin around the eyes is the only area that actually deserves special attention, because men don’t age the same way that women do. Instead of a slow progression of fine lines and wrinkles, men’s aging occurs in quantum leaps, and one of the first visible signs of aging comes from the skin around the eyes. The soft, thin layer of skin that surrounds the eye is especially prone to developing creases and crinkles long before other parts of the body begin to show their age. All of this can be prevented with regular use of an eye cream. It smooths and protects the skin, but requires serious commitment and proper usage. Applying eye cream once in a blue moon does nothing, and against all common sense, it shouldn’t be put on the soft skin underneath the eye. Instead, eye cream needs to be dabbed gently on the edge of the bone around the eye to maximize effectiveness and prevent irritation. It will slowly absorb and spread to the fragile areas that need it most.

Protect Your Lips

A close second in fickleness to the skin around the eyes are the lips. The skin here is incredibly thin and prone to severe dryness, cracking, bleeding, and burning from exposure to the elements. That’s because the lips lack both oil glands to keep them naturally moist and melanin to provide protection against harmful UV rays. A little dryness and flaking every now and then sounds like no big deal, but over time the combination of sun exposure, stress and a small cut can lead to nasty cold sores. Herpes simplex, anyone? Forget first base. You can’t even leave the dugout with contagious crap like that on your face. Regular application of lip balm with a hint of SPF once a day can help you avoid a life of being benched.

Men’s Skin Care 101

Great skin care for men doesn’t have to be wrought with expensive lotions and potions. And thankfully, taking care of your skin no longer carries the embarrassing stigma of metrosexuality. It’s just normal — even if your skin isn’t.

Tags:health care,,men,s skin,eyes care,lips care,Mositurize,Exfoliate

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http://www.SubliminalScience.com This is an interview with Stephanie about her use of hypnosis through all stages of surgery and a demonstration of how hypnosis can promote healing.

Tags:cancer,cancer treatment,cancer news, post-surgery, surgical,hypnotherapy,Hypnotherapy Post-Surgery

The test was developed at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, England. Researchers say the test will be able to determine which patients will likely benefit from anthracycline chemotherapy – a standard treatment for a significant number of the 46,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK annually.

The researchers examined RAD 51, one of the key proteins involved in DNA repair. The study, involving 68 patients, all of them with breast cancer, found that in some cases RAD51 did not work in cancer cells. They report that anthracycline is much more likely to have a beneficial effect in cases where RAD51 did not work on cancer cells.

A significant percentage of patients responded well, with their tumor completely disappearing from the breast. If the DNA repair process was working in the tumour, they would probably not respond to the treatment, with complete response being unlikely.

Dr Nicholas Turner, team leader, the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the ICR, said:

This test may reduce the time taken to discover if a breast cancer patient is not going to have a good response to a chemotherapy from three months to just 24 hours. It would make a big difference to patients, who could be moved onto other treatment options sooner ” and spared unnecessary side effects.

This test is at an early stage of development and now needs to be confirmed in larger studies to see if it can be effective.”

Patients who are likely to respond to PARP inhibitors could also be identified, Turner added. According to recent research, up to 30% of patients could be treated effectively with PARP inhibitors. PARP inhibitors are not yet licensed for use; they are still in clinical trials. This test could help speed up the development of PARP inhibitors and similar cancer medications.

Professor Alan Ashworth, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the ICR, said:

We want to see all breast cancer patients get the right treatment at the earliest possible stage. This test is a step towards that aim and we now want to develop it so that it can be used routinely in the clinic. It is also exciting because it suggests a way of finding patients that might respond to PARP inhibitors.

Finding out in 24 hours, rather than the current 12 weeks to determine whether a woman has responded to chemotherapy, which typically is a combination of two or three drugs, will spare patients who will not respond nearly three months of wasted time and needless side effects, the researchers say. In a presentation yesterday, Dr. Turner said:

We’ve developed a test that can work out within 24 hours after the first lot of chemotherapy, whether the patient is likely to do well or not on the chemotherapy.

We think that the main benefit from this type of research is to identify patients who are going to respond or not to chemo much earlier. The patients who are not going to respond, potentially they could then be switched to different kinds of chemotherapies or hormone therapy. The very significant advantage of that is we can then spare unnecessary treatment and unnecessary side effects.

We have looked at a protein called RAD51 in the biopsies taken from the breast cancer, only 23 hours after the first chemo. RAD51 is one of the key proteins involved in DNA repair, and by looking at RAD51 we’ve been able to work out whether the cancer is sensitive to chemotherapy or not, very early and much earlier than we would do normally.

By using this test, we potentially are also able to predict whether patients are able to respond to a very exciting new class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors. PARP inhibitors are only involved in clinical trials at the moment, but there is a lot of excitement that they may be particularly good drugs for certain types of breast cancer..This new test on RAD 51 may also predict which patients are likely to benefit from PARP inhibitors.

“A marker of homologous recombination predicts pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in primary breast cancer”
Monika Karla Graeser, Afshan McCarthy, Christopher J Lor, Kay Savage, Margaret Hills, Janine Salter, Nick Orr, Marina Parton, Ian E Smith, Jorge Reis-Filho, Mitchell Dowsett, Alan Ashworth, and Nicholas Turner
Clinical Cancer Research Published OnlineFirst August 27, 2010; doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-10-1027

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today

Tags:breast cancer,Chemotherapy,cancer,cancer news,breast cancer sympotms,breast cancer treatment,Breast Lumps,breast cancer stage

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