Posts Tagged Cancer Prevention
What’s an Antioxidant?
What exactly is an antioxidant and what does it have to do with cancer?
Per the American Dietetic Association: “Antioxidants are dietary substances including some nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamins C and E and selenium, that can prevent damage to your body cells or repair damage that has been done.”
The M Word
Melanoma
A type of cancer that forms in the melanocyte cells, which are the cells that form the melanin or pigment of the skin. Melanoma is less common than other skin cancers, but is the most serious type of skin cancer. Like other skin cancers, it is often curable in the early stages. It can occur anywhere on the skin, but most likely occurs in the trunk of men and the legs of women. The face and neck are also common sites. Melanoma can spread to other parts of the body.
Risk Factors May Include:
- UV light exposure-natural and artificial and a history of severe sunburns
- Moles-excessive number of normal moles (over 50) and large number of atypical moles (dysplastic nevi)
- Fair Skin-occurs more often in people with fair skin, freckles and light hair
- Family History-10% of all people diagnosed have a family history
- Immune Suppression-a weakened immune system due to other factors
- Age-the most common cancer in people younger than 30, but more likely to occur in older populations
- Sex-Men have a higher incidence
- History of Melanoma-people who have had melanoma are at greater risk for a second diagnosis
- Xeroderma Pigmentosum-a rare inherited genetic condition that prevents the skin from repairing
For more information on risk factors see the American Cancer Society site.
Playing the Numbers
Battling Cancer isn’t just about the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It’s also about education and prevention for everyone.
Why?
Of Cancer and Colonoscopies
Recently, my good friend Amanda was inspired by her sister-in-law’s recent diagnosis with cancer diagnosis to get screened herself. Here, she shares her story:
The Link Between Cancer, Insurance and Mortality Rates Revisited
As we previously reported, health care coverage is linked to cancer survival outcomes. Since the American Cancer Society released this groundbreaking report, Battling Cancer has been following recent developments on the link between cancer, insurance and mortality rates:
Clear Correlation Between Insurance Status and Mortality
Living in a High-Risk Cancer Family
Because so many of members of my extended family have been diagnosed with cancer, I have always been keenly aware that I may have a stronger genetic predisposition for cancer than other individuals.
Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of being vigilant when it came to proper screenings and making smart lifestyle choices that could help decrease my risk of major diseases. One of my best friends, Carey Grayson, understood what I was going through. In recent years, she’s had a staggering number of family members undergo their own battles with cancer. Recently, I asked her to comment on her own thoughts about being in a high-risk cancer family. Below is her reply:
There are so many questions that people have about cancer. The problem is that it never occurs to anyone to ask them until their lives are touched somehow by the disease. I know because I have been there six times now. More →
Corporation Charges Employees $100 a Month for Smoking
Is Motorcycle Use Linked to Cancer? - Part II
Earlier this week, I talked about Randall Dale Chipkar’s awkwardly entitled book, “Are Motorcycles Killing Us With Cancers of the Prostate, Colon, Kidney, Bone, Etc?” which claims to link motorcycle use to cancer.
At the time that I wrote that post, Chipkar’s promotional website (found here) didn’t seem to have much up other than a press release and a checkout cart to buy the book. However, I found that Chipkar’s been shilling a protective motorcycle shield for those who buy into the EMF theory:
Tina Radcliffe spent ten years as a Oncology Certified R.N. working with in-patients on oncology and med-surg units. She also has a background in home health and geriatrics. Her other experiences include ... .. 
