Battling Cancer

Ovaries are the small almond shaped glands that attach to the uterus via the fallopian tubes. They produce eggs and hormones.

According to the American Cancer Society, a woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer in her lifetime is 1 in 71. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2008 there will be 21,250 new cases diagnosed and 15,520 deaths.

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Male Breast Cancer comprises 1% of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer.

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Hodgkin’s Disease (HD) or Hodgkin Lymphoma is a type of lymphoma, not to be confused with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Lymphoma is a cancer that begins at the cellular level of the immune system. For more information on lymphoma in general see the excellent article in our archives.

Hodgkin’s Disease is identified by the presence of the Reed-Sternberg cell.

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He can be any man.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men after lung cancer, affecting one in six men in the U.S.

He is rarely under the age of 40, usually over 50 and in fact two-thirds of all cases are diagnosed in men over 65.

60 to 61% of the time he is an African American male.

He is twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer if he has/had a father or brother with the disease. There is also an inherited gene for prostate cancer, affecting 5 to 10 % of all diagnosed cases. While research into genetic testing is promising, it is not yet available.

For more information on who is prostate cancer see the Prostate Cancer Foundation site.

The Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada offers a risk assessment quiz on their website.

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According to the American Cancer Society, the chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman’s death is about 1 in 33 or 3%. Overall, about 1 in 12 women may contract breast cancer at some age, with the odds higher later in life. But thanks to modern medicine, many breast cancers can be successfully treated with only minor impact. However, the success of that treatment depends critically on early detection, and the earlier the better. One simple way to up the odds of discovery is to perform a regular breast self examination.

* The Goal Is To Detect Changes Which Might Signal Conditions Worth Investigating

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By Kent Walls

As you may know, cancer is second only to heart disease in mortality. An amazing one-third of Americans will eventually die due to some form of cancer (although the information I will share with you literally has the power to change that statistic.)

Ironically, many cancers can be prevented by maintaining a good diet, avoiding carcinogens and reinforcing the immune system.

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By Michael Russell

Inflammatory breast cancer has no lump or mass that can be felt. It is a very rare and dangerous type of breast cancer. It cannot be detected by self breast examination and mammogram. In inflammatory breast cancer there is infiltration of the skin and lymph vessels of the breast by cancer cells. The symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are a swollen, red and warm breast which is brought on by the lymph vessels becoming blocked by the breast cancer cells. The breast has a typical appearance of an individual with cellulite. Other symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include, on the affected side, enlarged lymph nodes present under the arm or it may be above the collar bone.

Since it cannot be diagnosed by self breast examination, mammogram, core biopsy, ultrasound scan or even an MRI it is diagnosed by a biopsy, that is, a surgical biopsy or a skin biopsy. Since inflammatory breast cancer is a rapid growing cancer it requires equally aggressive treatment, which includes local treatment and systemic or total body treatment.

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By Marcus Stout

Each year more and more research is conducted on how to reduce your risk of developing cancer. For some forms of cancer, it’s fairly simple to understand how to reduce risk.

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By Michael Russell

Obviously, the topmost layers of the skin are the first to be affected; the three major types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (rodent ulcer), squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, all develop in the upper layer of the skin known as the epidermis. Basal cell carcinoma, the most frequent of the three, causes local erosions of tissue if neglected, while squamous cell carcinoma may spread if untreated. Fortunately, both these types can be successfully treated in nearly all cases. Squamous cell carcinoma sometimes occurs on the vulva in women after menopause and may be more difficult to deal with.

Melanoma, the least common of the three, occurs more frequently in sunny countries. Although a certain amount of sun on the skin is beneficial because it forms vitamin D, too much is dangerous. The danger has increased now that high levels of ultraviolet A radiation are reaching the earth’s surface from the sun due to depletion of the ozone layer by flurocarbon chemicals from widespread use of spray cans. Melanomas are the most serious of the three skin cancers, once it starts to grow, it can spread rapidly. If detected and treated early enough, melanomas may be cured in about 75 per cent of cases.

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