Cancer Information

Pleural mesothelioma is one of the most common types of lung cancer and is usually brought on by exposure to asbestos. When asbestos is inhaled, the micro fibers pass down the airways and become embedded in the pleura ( the thin outer lining of the lungs). This induces serious scarring and chronic inflammatory lesions on this delicate tissue. Over a period of time these lesions and scars slowly develop into pleural mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer for which there is no definative cure. These asbestos micro fibers sometimes also settle in the abdomen, leading to the development of peritoneal mesothelioma. This type of cancer, although less common, is just as deadly.

Just like asbestosis, pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma usually have a long period of dormancy after exposure before clinical signs start to show. In fact some patients do not show symptoms for 40 years after exposure.

The common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are:

Coughing up small amounts of blood
Stomach / belly pain
Shortness of breath/ wheezing
Chronic cough
Chronic fatigue
Weight loss
Chest pain

Unfortunately mesothelioma (both pleural or peritoneal) is in most cases fatal. Sadly most patients die within two to three years of diagnosis. However, recently researchers have made great steps in finding useful treatments for the disease.

Available Mesothelioma Treatments are:

Palliative drainage of fluid from the chest (pleural cavity)
Surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiation
Gene therapy
Photodynamic therapy
Immunotherapy

If you have been diagnosed with asbestosis, mesothelioma, or asbestos exposure-related lung cancer, you could be entitled to compensation, depending on when you were exposed, where you were exposed, and where the companies you believe to be responsible currently reside.

David Barnet writes about personal law issues because he believes people have a right to know all the facts before making a claim. If you are unsure of how to find a lawyer to help you with your claim, then look no further. Use our free information today to help you get on the right road to making a successful claim. freemesotheliomainfo.com Visit our free mesothelioma news and information website today

It is not yet fully understood what the hormonal risk factors are, but there have been some interesting clues. It is known that it has something to do with age and the menstrual cycle: the younger the woman is at her first period and the older she is when she goes to menopause, the more likely she is to get breast cancer. It seems that the longer a woman has reproductive levels of hormones, the more susceptible she is to breast cancer. If she menstruates at more than 40 years of age, she seems to have a particularly high risk. If the ovaries are removed early and no hormone replacement is given, the risk of getting breast cancer is greatly reduced. It is not exactly an all-cure, sadly, since it would also heighten the danger of osteoporosis. If a woman has had a hysterectomy (removal of the ovaries), it may or may not influence her vulnerability to breast cancer, depending upon whether the ovaries, as well as the uterus, are removed. If a woman still has her ovaries, her body is still going through hormonal cycles, even though there aren’t any more periods.

Pregnancy also seems to affects breast cancer risk. Women who have never been pregnant appear to be more at risk than women who have had children before the age of 30 and women who have their first pregnancies after 30 have a greater risk than women who have never been pregnant at all. The hormones of pregnancy carried to term will mature the breast tissue in a young woman. The same hormones after 30 may actually stimulate breast tissue that has already been mutated. Several studies indicate that a pregnancy that ends in miscarriage or abortion slightly increases breast cancer risk.

The key seems to be the amount of time between the first period and the first pregnancy. There is a lot of speculation as to why this is so. One possible explanation is that between menarche and the first pregnancy the breast tissue is especially sensitive to carcinogens (cancer promoting agents). This seems to be true. Several factors such as diet, alcohol consumption and radiation exposure all seem to have a greater effect on a woman’s breasts between her first period and her first pregnancy than they do later. Thus, the developing breast is more susceptible to carcinogens than the breast that has gone through its complete hormonal development. The increased vulnerability may relate to the cells’ capability of mutating up until the first pregnancy. There seems to be something about the first pregnancy of a woman that halts the cells from being able to sustain a mutation, the greater the chance that they’ll mutate in response to a carcinogen and in a way that develops into breast cancer.

A factor relating to the number of menstrual cycles is breast-feeding. Recent findings have shown that women who breast-feed for a long period of time, more than 6 consecutive years, have a decreased risk of breast cancer. In addition, women who have had early pregnancies and have breast-fed have a diminished risk of subsequent breast cancer. This is most likely related to fewer ovulatory cycles at a crucial moment in the reproductive life.

It is now obvious that most studies on hormonal risk factors of breast cancer are still very much at the theorizing stage: as yet, it is not known why there is this vulnerable time in a woman’s life and why or how internal hormones affect breast cancer.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

Chemotherapy drugs are used to halt the division and reproduction of cancer cells, but can also damage some of the more sensitive normal cells, such as bone marrow, linings in the mouth and digestive system, and hair follicles (which accounts for the classic hair loss). The cancer cells cannot survive after attack by chemotherapy drugs, but the affected healthy cells can. Most of the cellular damage recovers once the chemotherapy regimen is complete.

Each chemotherapy drugs has a unique mode of halting and killing the cancer cells. Many times various drugs are used in combination to attack the cancer cells from more than one way. There are over 200 chemotherapy drugs used in as many as 50 combinations. Certain cancers, prostate cancer, for instance, develop resistance to a single chemotherapy agent and so, for that situation, a combination treatment may be more successful.

Typically, chemotherapy is administered intravenously or through a port. The actual time at the hospital or clinic is around 2 hours for administration. Some newer drugs actually come in pill form. Treatments are given in a series, usually once every two or three weeks. This allows a ‘rest period’ for the patient, recovering from side effects. Directly after chemotherapy, an anti-sickness medication is given to lessen the unpleasant side effects. The rest period also gives the sensitive healthy cells a chance to recover, as more and more cancer cells are destroyed.

Chemotherapy has the potential to completely cure the disease by destroying all of the cancer cells. Sometimes a course of treatment is extended, even when there is no more evidence of cancer. This is to eliminate possible cancer cells that are too small for detection. In advanced stages of cancer, chemotherapy may be administered more for quality of life - to reduce the tumor, which would ease pain and prolong life.

Strategies for Chemotherapy use

Chemotherapy is used pre-operatively to shrink the tumor, making it easier to remove and surgery less invasive. In a post-operative treatment plan, chemotherapy is almost used as a preventive, to kill any cells which are too small for detection and removal during surgery. Some cancers may not be able to be completely removed during surgery, because of the risk to the patient. In this case, chemotherapy is used, not as a cure, but to reduce the tumor, and thus, the symptoms.

In cooperation with radiation, chemotherapy works together to more quickly eradicate cancer cells.

Bone marrow transplants are indicated when using high-dose chemotherapy. This is for certain cancers that may be very aggressive in growth and spread. A major side effect of the high-dose therapy is the destruction of bone marrow. Stem cells are used to replace the bone marrow. These cells may originate from the patient or a matching donor. Again, this is a specific treatment for only a very few types of cancer.

Mechanisms of Cancer Cell Destruction

As stated earlier, chemotherapy drugs were on unique areas of the cancer cell. Some of the older drugs are not as specific and cause more of the unpleasant side effects. New drugs have been developed which may target the outer cell wall of the cancer cell, the reproductive mechanism on the inside of the cell, and a ‘death receptor’ on the cancer cell, which can cause cell death.

Most often, chemotherapy drugs are used in combination with each other, surgery, radiation, hormone replacement therapy, and biological therapy. Since each person and cancer is unique, the treatment must be, as well.

To learn more about

For many men prostate problems represent nothing more than a mere inconvenience and just another one of those things that we all have to put up with as we get older. To others however they represent a truly life threatening condition.

Prostate problems fall into two broad categories – a benign enlarged prostate and prostate cancer and, for many men, the real problem is that one often hides the other.

An enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) is a very common condition indeed that will affect the majority of men as they pass through their 50s and 60s and beyond. A benign condition that is confined to the prostate gland, an enlarged prostate will cause a variety of problem with urination but these are often quite mild and many men simply choose to live with them. If symptoms do become troublesome then often medication will do the trick and, if all else fails, there is a range of minimally invasive procedures with few risks or complications that can be brought into play to solve the problem.

Prostate cancer on the other hand is a very different kettle of fish. In its early stages prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland and can be very effectively treated. However, as the disease progresses cancer spreads into the surrounding tissue, organs and bone of the abdominal region and can then be carried through the lymphatic system to just about any and all areas of the body. Once prostate cancer starts to spread treatment becomes increasingly difficult and it is often a case of simply trying to arrest or slow the spread of prostate cancer rather than trying to eradicate it.

Prostate cancer kills thousands of men every year despite the fact that it can be very effectively treated if caught in its early stages. So just why is it such a killer?

Unfortunately because so many men suffer from an enlarged prostate, and know that it is a benign condition which they are often half expecting, they don’t worry when the symptoms first appear and simply soldier on, not thinking to bother their doctor. After all they reason, the doctor will only tell them what they already know and advise them to live with it and come back again if the symptoms become so bad that they feel that they need treatment.

In some cases however the problem creating the symptoms may well be an enlarged prostate but, alongside this, prostate cancer could well be developing. Waiting until an enlarged prostate requires treatment may well mean that it is too late to easily treat an often now quite advanced case of prostate cancer.

The answer of course is simple. If you start to develop the symptoms of an enlarged prostate then pop along and see your doctor. He’ll run a few tests and may tell you that you indeed have an enlarged prostate and not to worry. But, if you are developing prostate cancer he’ll tell you that too and, more importantly, he’ll be able to offer you treatment now when it will do you some good.

Prostate problems are more often than not nothing to worry about, but why take the risk.

Please visit ProstateCancerExplained.com for further information on prostatecancerexplained.com/prostate-symptoms.html” target=”_blank prostate problems and to learn more about prostate cancer and finding a prostatecancerexplained.com” target=”_blank prostate cancer cure

Epithelial carcinoma of the ovary or Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecologic diseases. It is serious and has a very high mortality rate. It is the fifth most frequent cause of cancer death in women. It is most common in women above fifty years of age. The cancer can appear in younger women too. It is seen that women having genetic predisposition are at greater risk. Clinical statistics also show less cases of this malignancy in women using contraceptive medication. Women who have had early pregnancy or have more children also seem to be at a lower risk factor.

Prognostic factors are used to predict the likely course of ovarian cancer. Stage is the only unanimously acknowledged prognostic factor for patients with ovarian cancer. In case of advanced stage patients, volume of residual disease is considered as a diagnostic factor. To begin a prognosis and establish treatment, the physician needs to know the cell type, stage, and grade of the disease. Other factors that may be important include the patient?s age, histopathologic grade, DNA ploidy, Peritoneal fluid cytology and CA125.

The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), has created standards for the staging of gynecological cancers. Both surgical and pathological findings are taken into account, hence it is called surgicopathologic.

Most ovarian cancer symptoms are seen only in the late stages of the disease. Ovarian cancer is treated with surgery to remove the cancerous cells. This is followed by chemotherapy. It is recommended that people experiencing vaginal bleeding, uncharacteristic period cycles, or intestinal problems should see a physician right away, so that such cases can be detected at the earliest.

Unfortunately, like most of the cancers, the exact cause of ovarian cancer is not known. It is also difficult to find precise information due to contradictory studies.

e-OvarianCancer.com Ovarian Cancer provides detailed information on Ovarian Cancer, Ovarian Cancer Symptoms, Ovarian Cancer Treatments, Ovarian Cancer Stages and more. Ovarian Cancer is affiliated with e-mesotherapy.com Mesotherapy Before And After.

All of the different “types” of cancer can be deadly, that’s a given. Even though survival rates tend to be much higher nowadays than they were perhaps twenty years ago, the fact is that a diagnosis of cancer can still be a death sentence and this is especially so when it affects the most vital components of the body.

One such type of cancer that falls into this category is cancer of the blood, more commonly known as leukemia. Many people may not think of it this way, but, in simple terms, blood is the most important tissue of the body.

It is effectively the conduit that connects all the other organs and tissues of the body together, carrying and supplying oxygen and other vital elements to even the remotest parts of the body. Bloods importance to the body cannot be over estimated.

So, the most dangerous feature of leukemia is that is attacks the blood which then has access to all of the bodies other organs, including the all brain, heart, kidneys and liver. Thus, the cancerous cells are spread throughout the body by the very blood that is normally the key to good health, in a leukemia sufferer.

To take this analogy one stage further, blood cancer specifically targets the leukocytes or the “white blood corpuscles” of the blood, which are the very ones that usually protect the body from external infections. Thus, the body’s immunity from, or resistance to, external infections is dramatically reduced in a leukemia sufferer. Such blood cancer causes the body to produce infected and abnormal cells that hinder the function of blood (i.e. the transport of oxygen around the body) rather than helping it.

It is common for a leukemia sufferer to become anemic, and to lose weight, because the cancerous cells are unable to adequately the hemoglobin, the body’s chief source of iron.

As a consequence, the blood cancer patient tends to lose all vitality and energy, and becomes especially vulnerable, because the infected blood tends to cause the brain to start to malfunction to some extent.

Exposure to raised levels of radiation is a prime proven cause of leukemia. Likewise, children born with Downs Syndrome have a raised probability of suffering blood cancer, and benzene (an industrial hydro-carbon) is also cited as a cause.

However, the slightly better news is that the abnormal cells are easily detected under the microscope, and a timely bone marrow examination should confirm these microscopic tests.

Chemotherapy, whilst it can be extremely painful, is nevertheless still the most effective method of killing the cancerous cells, although any patient undergoing such treatment should be prepared to have to ingest an unholy alliance of chemicals that he (or she) needs to take.

Similarly, radiotherapy can be effective also, with various unpleasant side effects, such as hair loss and poor skin quality whilst undergoing treatment.

Although it is undoubtedly one of the most deadly forms of cancer, leukemia is nevertheless treatable and indeed curable, and extensive research into more effective treatment is a constantly ongoing fact.

Methods like a bone marrow transplant, which may be required at a later stage, are also effective in treating the patient.

Steve Cowan is an Asia based businessman and writer. Get two free reports dealing with Self Help and Natural Treatments Cancer at webbiz99.com/cancer/free_report.html webbiz99.com/cancer/free_report.html

Usually, most of the cysts don’t show any symptoms, they are small and benign. Problems can appear if you have larger cysts. Your periods may change, becoming irregular, lighter or heavier than usually, you may feel discomfort low down in your abdomen, or even pain. Sometimes, this pain becomes stronger after you have sex.

The cyst may put pressure on the bladder or bowels, determining you to go to the toilet more often, or sometimes it can cause the production of abnormal quantities of hormones to start. Of course, other symptoms can appear too, especially if you have polycystic ovarian syndrome or endometriosis.

Cysts can cause other problems too. A cyst may burst, having as a result the apparition of a great pain in the lower abdomen. The intensity of the pain depends on a few factors like whether the cyst is infected, or whether there is any bleeding, and it also depends on what the cyst contained. If this problem occurs, you will have to go immediately to the hospital for treatment. Another problem that may appear is when the cyst is growing on a stem from an ovary. In that case, the stem can become twisted, and that will cause a deep pain in the lower abdomen, because the blood supply to the cyst will be stopped.

A functional ovarian cyst appears more often. The follicular cyst appears when, after releasing the egg, the follicle doesn’t shed its fluid, or, if the follicle does not release an egg. Continuing to fill with fluid, the follicle becomes a cyst. This is the most common cyst, it can reach five or six centimeters wide, and usually it disappears in a few weeks without any treatment.

Another type, that is not as common as the follicular cyst is the corpus luteum cyst. It appears when the corpus luteum fills with blood or fluid. This kind of cysts can grow up to six centimeters wide and usually disappear in a few months. Although, the cyst can split, and that will cause pain and internal bleeding.

Another type that can appear is the dermoid cyst. It develops from cells that produce eggs in the ovaries, and can contain tissues like skin, hair or teeth. This cyst usually appears in younger woman, and it might be necessary its surgical removal.

Cystadenomas are cysts that also need to be removed, although they are not usually cancerous. They can grow very large, and are often attached to an ovary. Some of them are filled with a mucous substance, and others with a watery liquid.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is provoking the apparition of small benign cysts, which will develop if the hormones produced by the ovaries are not proper balanced. Endometriosis can also determine the apparition of ovarian cysts.

Usually, an ovary cyst is found by chance, during a medical examination. That happens because a lot of ovarian cysts show no symptoms. If the doctor suspects that you have an ovarian cyst, he will send you to the gynaecologist. The gynaecologist will perform a vaginal examination, to see if there is any swelling, and usually you will have an ultrasound scan too. Another method the doctor might follow is to put a small rounded tube in your vagina, to scan the ovaries. After having the ultrasound scan, the doctor will know whether the cyst is functional or not, will have information about how dense it is, but it is possible that you will need to have additional CT or MRI scans also. A blood test is another method to see if there is a tumour. The doctor is looking after the CA-125 protein’s level, because a high level can be the sign of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cysts are very common, and it rarely means they will turn into ovarian cancer. About 95% of the ovarian cysts are non cancerous.

For more info about

Ovarian cancer is a gynecologic sarcoma, which is second most frequently diagnosed. In the United States, females have a 1.4 % to 2.5 % chance of developing ovarian cancer. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), has standardized the staging of gynecological cancers. It is the most frequently used prognostic tool. Both surgical and pathological findings are taken into account. The cancer is staged according to whether it is still in the ovary or spread beyond.

Staging is generally done at the time of surgery. Samples of tissues are taken from various parts of the pelvis and abdomen and studied under intense observation. Staging is very important because the prognosis or the course of action to be taken varies at different stages in case of any cancer. It is important that the staging is accurate. It is possible to miss the spread of the ovarian cancer outside the ovary if it is not staged properly.

Stage IV is the last category of the stages of ovarian cancer. Patients in this stage typically exhibit parenchymal liver metastases and extra-abdominal metastases. Thirteen percent of patients alive are in stage IV. The most common areas where the cancer spreads are generally the liver and lungs. One-third of all ovarian cancer patients have pleural effusions and most of them contain malignant cells. The spleen also gets affected may require splenectomy. Only 0.1% of patients show metastases of the brain.

If the tumor is widespread, treatment begins with surgery, which may include total hysterectomy, followed by chemotherapy. If some tumor remnant is left after chemotherapy, further forms of chemotherapy may be needed. It is important for a patient to find out about the staging procedure and the stage. In this way the patient will and can take part in making vital decisions about the required treatment.

e-OvarianCancer.com Ovarian Cancer provides detailed information on Ovarian Cancer, Ovarian Cancer Symptoms, Ovarian Cancer Treatments, Ovarian Cancer Stages and more. Ovarian Cancer is affiliated with e-mesotherapy.com Mesotherapy Before And After.

Apart from the physical scars, most of the discomfort and physical changes from the treatment are only temporary. Once the cancer patient has worked hand in hand with her physician to come up with an effective treatment plan, the physician can provide assessments of the potential side effects and recovery time that the she will likely experience in relation to specific social responsibilities and future career.

The standard surgery for local control of breast cancer involves the removal of cancerous breast tissue. The underlying thorax muscles (pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), are left unresected. This advancement in breast cancer surgery has significantly reduced postoperative pain and recovery time, but, more importantly, patients are spared the long term disability of having muscles resected. If you underwent a lumpectomy (surgical removal of a small tumor or lump, which may or may not be benign or malignant) without lymph node dissection (a surgical procedure in which the lymph nodes are removed and examined to see whether they contain cancer), you will most likely have surgery and be discharged on the same day. Recovery from surgery will take much longer if the axillary lymph nodes are also removed. With the removal of the axillary lymph nodes, lymph flow of the breast is partially interrupted and a soft rubber tube is placed in the wound, which will serve as a temporary lymph fluid drainage. The length of hospital stay for lumpectomy and lymph node dissection or breast resection with lymph node removal is usually one to two days.

The temporary drain from the lymph node empties into an expandable container about the size of a softball. The container is usually emptied daily and the amount of fluid disposed is recorded. Several days postoperatively, the amount of fluid rapidly decreases, at which time the surgeon removes the drain. In the presence of dissected lymph nodes, most surgeons would advise immobilization of the affected arm, as much as possible, for a couple of days after the surgery to allow for quick wound healing and to keep lymphatic flow as minimal as possible. Once the drain is out with the surgical wound visibly healing, it is beneficial to begin gentle and progressive exercises of the arm to prevent limitation of joint motion from scarring and contracture. Some surgeons advise their patients to do active exercises, while others refer them for physical therapy, especially those patients who have undergone lymphadenectomy (surgical removal of the lymph nodes). It is usual for the cancer patient to discuss with her surgeon what the best option would be for her.

After the lymph node resection, most patients will experience numbness in the armpit area due to the cutting of the nerves around the armpit region. Sensory function will often return after several months postoperatively when the nerves have grown back and regenerated. On the other hand, some patients will have permanent numbness and sensory impairment here. For those who experience this disappearance of sensation, one must be extra careful particularly in shaving underarm hair. It would be wise to use an electric razor when doing this.

With lymphadenectomy, a small percentage of patients develop an obstructed vein along the inner side of the affected upper arm that feels like a thin cord and will likely restrict arm movement. If this happens, thermotherapy, specifically heat therapy and stretching exercises should be done to achieve the full range of arm movement again.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

Men, how long are you going to live with or without prostate cancer? If you’re being honest, you really don’t know. We all have a life expectancy based upon general statistical probabilities but none of us know how or when we’re going to die.

No matter what the illness or disease that may inflict us including prostate cancer, we still can’t be certain when we’re going to die. We know at some point our own mortality will become evident. Just because you may have prostate cancer however, doesn’t mean you’ve been given a death sentence.

Here are some facts about prostate cancer

1. Prostate cancer is generally considered a slow growing carcinoma. This means you may have many high quality of life years ahead of you… that is if you’re not hit by a truck on the way to work on the freeway.

2. Prostate cancer typically advances through four major stages. At what stage you’re diagnosed with prostate cancer, will determine your probable chances of dying due to complications of the cancer.

3. As you get older, your risk of contracting prostate cancer rises. Men have a lifetime risk or chance of contracting a prostate malignancy of about one in 10 that increases as we get older. Good news! You’ve survived into your 70s. Bad news… your risk of prostate cancer is one in three.

4. Prostate cancer is considered basically a geriatric disease. That is, the great majority of men, under the age of 60 will not be diagnosed with a cancerous prostate. Remember fact number three above though as your risk increases greatly after age 60.

According to such well known cancer societies and cancer associations as the American Cancer Society, about 92 percent of all the men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive at least five years after the initial diagnosis. Although such a prognosis may seem like less time than you expected, remember that prostate cancer is considered a disease of the aged and many men who contract the disease are well into their 60s and 70s.

So your life expectancy after a diagnosis of prostate cancer, will depend on what stage the cancerous tumor has progressed to, your age and willingness to consider all treatment options. In the end, prostate cancer survivability rests with early diagnosis and effective treatment

Abigail Franks has written many articles on the subject of prostate cancer. On her Prostate Cancer site you can find valuable information about