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Mesothelioma: Description, Diagnosis and Treatment Prognosis

June 15th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

”The number one cause of cancer is ignorance. Applied knowledge of nutrition can help you remove or reduce the risk factors and abort the manifestation of any growth.”
—Uzo Onukwugha, MD

Mesothelioma is a tumor of the flat cells that cover the surface of the lungs, adjacent wind pipes and the thoracic cavity. Mesothelioma is an acronym of mesothelium (flat or cellophane covering) and oma (Latin name for growth or tumor). It is a rare type of lung tumor and tends to be associated with occupational hazard. It is an affliction that involves a multi-disciplinary approach and institutions: the physicians, occupational and preventive medicine, surgeons, occupational safety, worker’s compensation, attorneys, occupational therapists and labor unions.

Risk Factors and Evolution of Tumor:

Long term inhalation of asbestos fibers is associated with certain occupations like ship-building, insulation, construction and demolition. The worst culprits are blue and white asbestos. Cigarette smoking may double the risk. The disease is subtle and may take several years if not decades to produce symptoms. At onset, the diseases may not produce symptoms. A construction worker may only notice symptoms long after retirement. Appearance of symptoms may prompt the victim to seek medical help. The symptoms and signs may include shortness of breath, chest pain, fibrosis, pleural effusion, calcified plaques and bronchial cancer. The cancer may eat up the lungs, wind-pipes, ribs and adjacent muscles.

Types of Mesothelioma: The growth may be fibrosed and localized or it may be diffused and malignant spreading to adjacent tissues.

Fibrous Mesothelioma:

Presents as chest discomfort, and all sorts of breathing problems. As with pleural-affected tumors, joint pain may be noticed in the hands, wrists, ankles and knees. Examination of the hands may reveal finger clubbing.

Chest x-ray is important in the clinical diagnosis and may reveal localized growth as soft-tissue mass. There may be air-fluid level showing effusion into the lung cavity.

The prognosis with surgical resection for this type is good even with evidence of spread. However, some may progress to full-blown malignancy.

Malignant Mesothelioma:

The symptoms of malignant appear much later and seem to peak at 55. The symptoms are diffuse and tend to develop in a couple of decades after exposure to asbestos. Cigarette smoke tends to worsen the onset of the symptoms like breathlessness, and chest pain.

Chest x-ray may reveal connective tissue complications like clumping of the pleural tissues (pleurisy), pleural effusion, lung collapse, basal fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension and lupus erythematosis. Other autoimmune diseases and bronchial cancer may develop.
Sputum test is non-contributory and open pleural biopsy may be necessary to characterize the type of tumor before treatment.
At this stage, surgery is hopeless. Palliative radiotherapy or anticancer may be attempted but the prognosis is hopeless.

Prevention—better than cure:

The best treatment of is preventive measures and health advice to the at- risk professions. These include wearing face masks and finding alternatives to asbestos and quitting smoking. Change of jobs may be necessary.

Complimentary Treatment:

Green super foods like spirulina, chlorella, barley grass, wheat grass, green kamut, and alfalfa helps the body to stand the stress of and radiotherapy. Green foods are also known to boost immunity and attack free radicals, neutralize toxins released by cancer cells and improve the overall quality of life of patients. Supplements like multivitamins, minerals, aloe vera, and essential fatty acids can be added to the greens as adjunct to treatment.

Uzo Onukwugha’s site is geared towards teaching info-preneurs the inner game of business success. Visit his site at: weblinkbusiness.com weblinkbusiness.com and subscribe to his e-course to learn more. Reach him at: mailto:uzonukwugha@yahoo.com uzonukwugha@yahoo.com. He is your go-to-guy when the gurus forsake you for whatever reason.

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Cancer Can Be Prevented

June 15th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

On December 23, 1971, former President Richard M. Nixon signed
the National Cancer Act into law. That was the beginning of a
government led assault known as the ‘war on cancer.’

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States;
heart disease is first–though not by much. Cancer strikes 1 in 2
men and 1 in 3 women. 1.2 million Americans develop cancer every
year, and a new cancer is diagnosed every 30 seconds! A
particularly sad statistic is that cancer is the major cause of
death in children who are between the ages of 1 and 14 years
old.

50 percent of all cancer is preventable. This cancer is due to
lifestyle. The leading cause of preventable cancer is smoking.
The second leading cause is obesity.

We could eliminate preventable cancer if every American who
smokes would stop smoking, and those who are overweight would
lose those unnecessary pounds, and adopt an exercise routine.

The other 50 percent of cancer is due to genetic factors and
pollutants in drinking water, the air, and in our food supply.
The complete elimination of this source of cancer is a lot more
difficult.

Unfortunately, most of the effort on the ‘war on cancer’ goes
towards treatment. What happened to prevention? If the causes of
cancer were targeted and eliminated, wouldn’t that be the path
to take? It is the path to take but would be savagely opposed by
big money interests.

What self-respecting pharmaceutical company head would knowingly
put his company out of business by attempting to ?
Cures and prevention would do just that! Think about the billions
of dollars hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and the medical
profession receives from cancer surgeries and and
prescription drugs every year. Prevention and a cure would put a
huge dent in that income.

The cancer that is due to environmental factors, and that is
deeply entrenched in our food and water supplies, has many
causes. Over the years, thousands of chemicals which have been
proven by animal studies to cause cancer, or to increase the
risk of developing it, were created in laboratories.

Cancer toxins are known as carcinogens. These carcinogens number
literally in the thousands. Unfortunately, advancing technology
is literally creating thousands more.

Prevention is the only way that cancer can be eliminated. But the
cost would be enormous. Companies would have to find alternate
means of developing their products by finding and testing
substitute chemicals. Also, industrial processes which produce
carcinogens as a by-product would have to be eliminated by
finding carcinogen-free processes.

The cost factor would not only be in terms of money, but time. To
find an alternate chemical which functions as the carcinogen
would take an enormous amount of time. And if you factor in the
thousands of carcinogens in existence–well, you get the point.
What would you do if you were president of one of these
companies and you had to answer to your shareholders and to Wall
Street?

Not only is that not going to happen, but these industries have
hundreds of lobbyists in Washington to make sure that it doesn’t!

It is up to the American people to change the status quo. If
every meat-eating American would buy only organic meat, the huge
meat conglomerates would soon stop giving their animals
hormones, steroids and antibiotics which wind up in the meat
that is eaten.

Snack and fast food manufacturers would also begin making
healthful alternatives if the American public would boycott all
products containing artificial sweeteners, colors,
preservatives, trans fats, and genetically modified materials.
These products are high in bad fats and sugars and low in
essential nutrients. They contribute to America’s skyrocketing
obesity epidemic, and its associated chronic diseases.

The highest source of calories in the American diet is in the
form of soft drinks. Soft drinks, comprising regular and diet
soda and fruit drinks, are nothing more than ‘liquid candy.’
These manufacturers likewise could be forced to turn out
healthier products.

This would be a start towards reducing or eliminating that 50
percent of cancer that is not due to lifestyle choices. The
closer to nature food is, the safer it is. Food that is
chemically treated can cause problems that simply cannot be
anticipated by science. The chemicals may interact with each
other and with chemicals in prescription drugs which may produce
deadly results in the long term. And this is in addition to
known carcinogens!

No one has to place their well being and long term health, and
even their very lives, into the hands of profit-driven
multi-national pharmaceutical and food companies. We also need
not be at the mercy of a compromised government who leans
towards big money interests.

Sign up for free weekly health, nutrition and exercise news, tips and advice. America, along with almost every other nation on the face of the earth, is overweight. You can take steps to improve your health and quality of life. This weekly email (Your Health & Wellness) is absolutely free (a $235.00 value.) Go to following link: spirit-of-truth.com/MyBookOptin.html spirit-of-truth.com/MyBookOptin.html

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The Best Prostate Cancer Treatment for Each Type of Patient

June 15th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Whether a therapeutic technique is the best treatment for a patient depends on various factors. In selecting the treatment, a patient and his doctor should take into consideration the patient’s age and expected life span, the stage and grade of the cancer, possible side effects and other health problems that the patient might have.

One of the best treatment techniques, particularly for older men and those who suffer from other serious illnesses, is the expectant management or watchful waiting method. Watchful waiting involves the close monitoring of the cancer through prostate specific antigen testing. It does not involve active treatments like surgery and radiation therapy and is recommended mostly to those who have no symptoms. It is also used when the cancer is contained within one area of the prostate gland and is expected to grow very slowly.

Another option available to patients is surgery. This can be radical retropubic prostatectomy, radical perineal prostatectomy, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). In retropubic prostatectomy, the surgeon makes an incision in the lower abdomen to remove the prostate gland. Lymph nodes around the prostate might also be removed depending on whether the cancer has spread to these parts. In perineal prostatectomy, the incision is made in the perineum or the skin between anus and scrotum. This procedure is use less often because the lymph nodes cannot be removed and there is a high probability that the nerves will be affected.

LRP, on the other hand, involves the use of several smaller incisions and specialized instruments. This highly complex procedure is known for its high precision and control. In the hands of experienced surgeons, it becomes an advantageous option compared with retropubic and perineal prostatectomy. TURP, meanwhile, makes use of an instrument called a resectoscope which is passed through the end of the penis into the urethra at the level of the prostate. The electricity that passes through the instrument cuts or vaporizes the issue in the prostate. TURP is done to relieve symptoms and is also used for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Radiation therapy is the method in which high-energy rays or particles are used to kill cancer cells. This, like surgical procedures, is another example of a highly developed method of dealing with cancer. Radiation therapy is classified into two main types, the external beam radiation therapy (ERBT) and brachytherapy.

In treating localized , a procedure called crysosurgery is sometimes used. It involves the freezing of the tissues using very cold gases. Aside from cryosurgery, hormone therapy and are also options that patients can explore. Hormone therapy does not cure cancer but is primarily used to lower levels of male hormones in a patient’s body. Chemotherapy, meanwhile, is a procedure more commonly used in cases when the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland.

Choosing the best treatment depends on a lot of factors. What is considered appropriate for one patient might not be good for another, that’s why options should be discussed in detail with doctors before proceeding to the treatment stage.

Mensglands.com provides you with info on

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Prostate Cancer Symptoms What You Can Do About It

June 15th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

The prostate gland is located directly beneath the bladder and in front of the rectum. It’s estimated that approximately 234,460 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with this year, and approximately 27,350 will die of the disease. About one man in six will be diagnosed with during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease.

The most common cancer in American men, excluding , is . Early is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems. Like other cancers, the cause of is not known; it appears to be more common in African American men and men with a family history of the disease.

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease are bone pain or tenderness, and abdominal pain. Having one or more cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have . If cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms.

One symptom is a need to urinate frequently, especially at night. One symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine. If you have one or more symptoms, you should see a qualified doctor as soon as possible.

When a digital rectal exam is performed it often reveals an enlarged prostate with a hard, irregular surface. A chest x-ray may be done to see if there’s a spread of cancer. A number of tests may be done to confirm a diagnosis of .

A PSA test with a high level can also be from a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. The decision about whether to pursue a PSA test should be based on a discussion between you and your doctor. A urinalysis may indicate if there is blood in the urine.

Medications can have many side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire. Surgery is usually only recommended after thorough evaluation and discussion of all available treatment options. Besides hormonal drugs, hormone manipulation may also be done by surgically removing the testes.

Urinary incontinence can be a possible complication of surgery. An oncology specialist will usually recommend treating with a single drug or a combination of drugs. Surgery, called a radical prostatectomy, removes the entire prostate gland and some of the surrounding tissues.

In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the chosen conventional alternative. Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced , blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. Radiation therapy is used primarily to treat prostate cancers classified as stages A, B, or C.

Thoroughly discuss your treatment options and concerns with your doctor and other health professionals; it never hurts to get a second or even third opinion or more if necessary. Impotence is a potential complication after the prostatectomy or after radiation therapy. Recent improvements in surgical procedures have made complications occur less often.

Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer. Treatment options can vary based on the stage of the tumor.

Just about all men with survive at least five years after their diagnosis, 93% survive at least 10 years, and 67% survive more than 15 years. Make sure to read everything you can get your hands on and mull it all over. The one thing that you should not do however is rely on any information obtained from the Internet to make your final decision.

For more information on BestProstateHealthTips.com treatments and symptoms go to BestProstateHealthTips.com BestProstateHealthTips.com Helen Hecker R.N.’s website specializing in prostate and tips, advice and resources, including information on prostate tests and BestProstateHealthTips.com natural treatments

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