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Does Caffeine Increase Your Risk of Colo-rectal Cancer?

July 8th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Colon and rectal cancer is the third most common cancer for both men and women in the US. This year, nearly 150,000 people will be diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer and over 50,000 people will die from the disease. Some strides have been made in prevention, and fewer cases are being diagnosed each year.

In the past few years, screening has been responsible for reducing the number of incidences and deaths from this disease. Colo-rectal screening allows doctors to find small polyps in the colon and rectum and remove them. Left in the colon, these polyps often turn into cancer.
Colo-rectal screening also helps doctors find cancer in earlier stages, when treatments are more likely to be successful. In addition, colo-rectal cancer treatments have improved, reducing the mortality rate from this form of cancer.

But, as with any serious illness, we are also consistently looking for ways to prevent colo-rectal cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the most important steps you can take to prevent colo-rectal cancer are:

Get tested – In most cases, it is recommended that you get your first colo-rectal screening at age 50. However, if you have a family history of the disease, it may be recommended that you begin at an earlier age.

Eat right and exercise – The American Cancer society recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and limiting your intake of high fat foods. Some studies also suggest that folic acid and calcium supplements can lower your risk. In addition to eating properly, it’s also important to get regular exercise. Thirty minutes of exercise a day 5 days a week can help lower your risk of many diseases, including colo-rectal cancer. Being overweight is a risk factor for colo-rectal cancer, so be sure that you maintain a normal weight.

Stop smoking – Smokers have a 30-40% greater likelihood of developing colo-rectal cancer than non-smokers. Most people know that smoking increases their risk of , but many are unaware at how significantly smoking increases your colo-rectal cancer risks.

Are other lifestyle habits increasing my risk?

There have been questions about other habits and whether or not they can increase your risk of colo-rectal cancer. One of the most commonly questioned habits is drinking caffeine.

One study, reported by the UK Tea Council, attempted to answer this question. The study observed men and women beginning in the early 1980s, and continuing on until 1998. The study observed dietary habits, other factors, among them caffeine consumption through drinking coffee or tea. Throughout the course of the study, just over 1400 cases of colo-rectal cancer were observed.

The study noted no increase in the incidence of colo-rectal cancer in those people who drank tea or coffee over those who did not consume these caffeinated beverages. So, researchers concluded that drinking tea and coffee with caffeine is perfectly safe and does not increase your colo-rectal .

However, one additional finding in the study is particularly interesting. While the study did not find that drinking caffeinated beverages increased your colo-rectal , it did find that drinking decaffeinated coffee seemed to actually lower your risk of rectal cancer over those people who never drank decaffeinated coffee.

This finding is surprising, as little research has been performed on any health benefits associated with decaffeinated beverages. Why the decaffeinated coffee offered protection is unclear, as is whether this protection extends to other decaffeinated beverages, such as tea.

As with most research conclusions, more studies and conclusions are needed before we fully understand the ramifications of drinking coffee and tea, whether caffeinated or not. As years go on, we’ll have better direction on how to use such beverages to protect our health and reduce our risks.
In the meantime, it appears that drinking your favorite caffeinated beverages is safe.

This is good news for coffee and tea drinkers, whose beverage consumption mostly consists of these two drinks.

And, there’s reason to believe that there might be health benefits associated with these beverages. Both coffee and tea are good sources of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are important because they neutralize the free radicals created by our bodies during the digestion process. Left unchecked, these free radicals cause disease and aging. But, with the proper dose of daily anti-oxidants, we can prevent the damage that free radicals can do.

If you’re interested in increasing your anti-oxidant intake, start by ensuring that your diet is loaded with fruits and vegetables. Some of the best fruit and vegetable sources are blueberries, artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, strawberries and pomegranates.

But, the easiest way to get your daily anti-oxidants might just be to drink one of the world’s most popular beverages. That’s right, tea; particularly green tea, offers some of the best anti-oxidant protection you’ll ever find. Green tea’s most important anti-oxidant is EGCG, which has been linked with preventing, and even treating many forms of disease.

Green tea has been linked to preventing cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. It is also thought to naturally regulate blood sugar and help in weight management. It’s likely the world’s most perfect beverage – low in caffeine and rich in protection.

Preventing cancer is something all of us are concerned with. Even if you have a higher than average risk of developing colo-rectal cancer, it seems you’re safe drinking your coffee and tea. However, your best bet for beverages just might be decaffeinated coffee and green tea to prevent this and other forms of disease.

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current

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Easy To Avoid Mesothelioma

July 8th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

It is known that is caused by breathing asbestos fibers into the lungs. When this happens, the lungs or the abdomen may be affected by the disease. Because asbestos is so strongly linked to , regulations have been created to set limits on the amount of exposure to asbestos a worker can have in a workplace.

People who must work around asbestos because of the nature of their work must wear protective clothing. Occasionally a family member may develop as a result of breathing the fibers that may remain on the clothing when the worker returns home from work. to avoid this, if you work around asbestos it would be wise to have a clean change of clothes to wear home. Never allow the fibers to get in your car.

It has also been known to occur that people working around asbestos do not acquire the disease. Many people have resilient genes that seem to fend off diseases such as . As we never know what our body can handle or not handle regarding health issues it is important to take precautions as if . . .

When working around asbestos treat yourself with protection as if your child’s life depends on it. Refuse to take chances knowing you may carry home the very fiber that your child or spouse may breathe causing suffering as well as opening the door to the possibility of an early disease related death.

Watch for signs of to get early treatment. Symptoms may include weight loss and abdominal pain. Other signs the doctor will watch for are bowel obstruction, blood clotting, anemia and fever. As these symptoms can represent other illnesses, be sure to have your doctor make the diagnosis.

Janie Jenkins is the “Easy To Do” instruction expert. Discover how easy it is to do what seemed like your most complicated ambition.

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Prostate Cancer Treatment Options: Discussing Your Options With Your Oncologist

July 8th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Being diagnosed with is by no means a death sentence as compared to previously. There are a number of treatment options available. You need to speak with your oncologist to find out which option works best for you.

Learning about your diagnosis may be difficult to accept initially. So you should get your oncologist to answer any questions you may have. He should be able to give you very helpful advice. You may consider bringing a family member with you for the consultation for extra support.

A good tip is to ask your oncologist if he has any leaflets or any book that you can read about the various treatments. As you consider over your treatment options over later, you may need to refer to the facts or what was discussed over during the conversation.

Also ask your oncologist to explain the different treatment options to you in layman’s terms. Medical jargon can be difficult to understand and confusing to a mind that is under stress. So, the simpler the way things are explained to you, the better.

In general, there are about three major forms of treatment; surgery, radiation and . Hormone therapy is also often used as a complementary therapy. A combination of the three main treatments can be used together or in conjunction with hormone therapy. The type of treatment that you receive will depend on how extensive and advanced your cancer is.

When the initial cancer spreads to the surrounding tissues and then to other sites in the body, the type of treatment used will become more palliative than curative i.e. the treatment will slow down the growth of the cancer and help control the side effects rather than actually curing the disease.

Factors such as your age, general health and what you want to achieve from the treatment will also be taken into consideration. If you are an elderly person, you may decide not to proceed with surgery due to the side effects. In this case, you may prefer not to take drastic measures except to slow down the growth and spread of the disease. Younger men however may prefer to get rid of the cancer completely and hence would prefer to choose surgery. Surgery may also be followed with radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancerous cells.

There are a lot of things to consider when you choose your form of treatment. As such, you should not rush through your decision. Make sure that you have full information before you make a decision.

Early detection helps in your prostate-cancer-treatment-hub.com/Articles/Prostate_Cancer_Treatment.php treatment. For more information and practical tips, please visit the site at Prostate-Cancer-Treatment-Hub.com www.Prostate-Cancer-Treatment-Hub.com

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A Brief History of Breast Cancer

July 8th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Ancient Egyptians first noted and recorded the disease as tumors, or ulcers, of the breasts, concluded that there was no real cure and that the only form of treatment was cauterization with a tool called the “fire drill”. Since then, there have been many similar cases described by doctors throughout history that concluded that there was no cure; or really effective treatment.

When doctors started to understand the human circulatory system in the seventieth century, they also managed to establish a link between and the lymph nodes in the armpits. Between the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, the French surgeon Jean Petit and Scotsman Benjamin Bell were the first ones to remove the lymph nodes, breast tissue and chest muscle in an effort to save woman from .

By the 1880s, William Halsted started performing mastectomies. His procedure became known as the Halsted Radical Mastectomy and it remained a popular procedure in the fight against right up to the 1970s.

Breast cancer is a cancer of the glandular breast tissue and is found in both male and female patients. Worldwide accounts for almost 1% of all deaths, is the fifth most common form of cancer and the most common form found in women.

Although is the most prevalent cancer in women in the United States, it is only the second most common cause of cancer death in women (after ). U.S. women have a one in eight lifetime chance of developing invasive and an almost 3% chance of causing their death. Due to our modern lifestyle the ‘experts’ claim and have also noted, a significant increase in the number of cases since the 1970s.

The breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females. Therefore also occurs in males, though it is less common. Although men have a lower risk of developing , this risk appears to be rising. There seems to be an increased incidence of in men with .

The notable point about male is that the prognosis is worse in men than in women and treatment of men with is similar to that of the treatment given to older women. Because the male breast tissue is confined to the area directly behind the nipple, treatment for males has usually been a .

On a more positive note, most symptoms do not turn out to represent underlying . These normally turn out to be benign diseases of the breast and only represent the more common symptoms similar to itself. However, any appearance of new breast symptom should be taken very seriously by patients and doctors; because of the possibility of an underlying that can develop at any age.

As with all types of cancer, the detection and treatment of has a far greater chance of a positive outcome by detecting it earlier rather than later.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to breast-cancer-guideto.com/ Breast Cancer

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