It’s well known that lethargy and low energy levels affect most cancer patients sometime in the course of their disease.

A recent study looked at 282 patients who had various forms of cancer and gave them either a placebo or a dose of American Ginseng. The lead author for the study was Deborah Barton of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The American Ginseng was given in three different dose sizes: 750 milligrams, 1000 milligrams, or 2000 milligrams.

The results showed that more than two and half times as many patients in the higher dose groups reported that their fatigue was moderately or much better as compared to the lowest dose group and the placebo group.

And, energy levels were higher in the 1000 milligram dose group as compared to the placebo group.

The study didn’t look at how the actual cancer responded to the ginseng if at all.

It’s important to note that the type of Ginseng used was American ginseng, the scientific name of which is Panax quinquefolius . The ginseng used in the study was extracted from the roots of plants grown in Wisconsin and was tested for content and quality at a laboratory.

This type of ginseng is sometimes marketed as Canadian, Wisconsin or North American ginseng.

Although the study seems promising there are, of course, a number of caveats to consider before doctors will blindly recommend ginseng for all cancer patients.

Firstly, the results of this study will need to be validated in a larger study.

Secondly, the results may not be the same with commercial ginseng which is sold as a nutritional supplement and which is therefore unregulated. The doses of ginseng found in commercial ginseng may not match what is written on the label.

Ginseng tea also may not be as effective as the ginseng capsules given to the patients in the study.

As always with new announcements about cancer, the best course is to stay informed and to discuss everything with your doctor. Remember, there could be interactions between nutritional supplements that you may be taking such as ginseng and the treatments being given to you by your doctor. So, it’s always best to advise your doctors of anything you may be taking.

Dr. Glenn Sheiner is a medical doctor with diplomas in Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine, and Family Medicine.

Dr. Sheiner is the author of the medical multimedia digital product called Cancer Research Online Made Easy which you can read for FREE online at researchyourcancer.com/bookcover_page1.html CANCER RESEARCH ONLINE MADE EASY

If you would like to learn how to find clinical trials, or online support groups, or research the medical literature, Dr. Sheiner’s Free ebook and videos will teach you how.

Dr. Sheiner created this product to help patients research cutting-edge medical information in hours not days. The FREE Ebook contains 5 videos illustrating exactly what to do. To learn more go to researchyourcancer.com researchyourcancer.com researchyourcancer.com

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Tags: cancer patient

Inflammatory breast cancer, or IBC, is a rare form of breast cancer. It is estimated to occur in only 1 - 3% of all breast cancer patients. It usually occurs in post-menopausal women, but cases have been found in girls as young as 12 and in men. IBC is usually diagnosed at an earlier age than other forms of breast cancer and is more common in African American women than in Caucasian women. This cancer has a higher mortality rate because it is often misdiagnosed in the early, more treatable stages. However, advances in cancer research have improved the survival rate.

This cancer grows rapidly; your symptoms will appear in a matter of days or weeks. Women with inflammatory breast cancer often have no idea that they have breast cancer because IBC does not usually form a lump in the breast. Instead, this cancer forms ’sheets’ of cancer cells making your breast feel thicker or heavier than usual. Other symptoms of IBC include swelling and tenderness of the breast, discoloration (usually red to purple) of the breast, itching or pain in the breast, dimpled or rough looking skin on the breast, swelling or crusting of the skin on the nipple and flattening or retraction of the nipple. Many of these symptoms mimic those of a breast infection, or mastitis. Mastitis usually causes a fever and usually occurs in younger breast-feeding mothers. Mastitis will respond to antibiotics. IBC, which has been documented in breast-feeding women, does not cause a fever nor respond to antibiotics.

Because the symptoms of IBC are so similar to mastitis and because inflammatory breast cancer is so rare, many doctors misdiagnose this cancer as mastitis. Patients are often prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotics because it doesn’t clear up after the first round. If you have these symptoms and your doctor wants you to take more than one round of antibiotics, ask for a biopsy or referral to a breast specialist. You may have to be very aggressive to get the proper diagnosis. This is vital because the earlier this is diagnosed, the sooner you can begin treatment and the better your survival chances.

A proper cancer diagnosis usually results from elimination of mastitis as a culprit, with the symptoms still present and possibly getting worse. Your doctor may schedule you for a mammogram or a breast sonogram to confirm the diagnosis, but these are not very reliable with this cancer because the affected area may not show up. A biopsy is the most effective way to confirm diagnosis of this cancer, however it may still be wrong if your doctor biopsies the wrong area of your breast. Because this cancer does grow very rapidly, your doctor may also schedule other tests to determine if your cancer has spread to other organs in your body. This will affect your course of treatment.

Your treatment depends largely upon whether your cancer has spread to other organs of your body. You will most likely have a team of doctors talking with you, trying to determine the best course of treatment for you. You will receive aggressive treatment because inflammatory breast cancer is a late stage cancer. This means you will most likely receive chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. You will most likely receive chemotherapy first because this cancer makes performing surgery first risky due to the skin changes it causes. Chemotherapy also works to shrink the size of the cancer, making it more likely that surgery will remove all of it. The surgery that most women choose with this cancer is a mastectomy, or complete removal of the affected breast. This is because the cancer is often widespread throughout the breast, making a surgery that preserves breast tissue highly unlikely.

During surgery, your surgeon will probably remove the lymph nodes under your arm to examine them for cancer. After surgery, you will most likely receive radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is used to kill any cancer cells that the surgeon may have missed and to help prevent the cancer from returning. Inflammatory breast cancer has a high incidence of recurrence, so your doctor may prescribe additional rounds of chemotherapy if you responded well to the previous rounds or hormone therapy if your cancer was the type that grew in the presence of estrogen.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to

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Understanding prostrate cancer warning signs is very important as nearly every man experience some type of prostrate problem during his lifetime. Enlargement of the prostate is commonly experienced by men after the age of forty-five. Although this may not be a problem in itself, it is uncomfortable and could potentially develop into more serious maladies.

Prostrate cancer begins when cells in the prostate grow in uncontrollable fashion and invade the surrounding tissues or even spread throughout the body. It is not surprising that prostrate cancer has become one of the major killers of men. Unfortunately, majority of men know little about the disease. It is also suggested that ethnicity is one of the factors that offers some differentiation, with black men the highest risk and Asian men the lowest.

Prostate Cancer Warning Signs

It is possible to cure prostate cancer given the condition is detected in the early stages. One of the best things to do to promote good prostate health is to take a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test every year. The test involves simple procedures to check your prostate and you will be given recommendation if any condition is detected.

The test, however, cannot give you a comprehensive report on the prostate cancer detection. It is simply because prostate cancer symptoms are very difficult to detect. Many men do not even seek medical advice when the symptoms are present, partly because they are very similar to those of another disease: BPH or benign prostatic hypertrophy.

There are some prostrate cancer warning signs that are worth mentioning. They include:

- difficulty starting urination

- painful urination

- incomplete emptying of the bladder

- lower pressure of the urination stream

- frequent urination of small amounts

- pain during ejaculation

- blood in the urine

Treatment for prostate cancer patients has to be specific to the individual case. Doctors have to determine several decisive factors, such as general health condition, age, location of the tumor in the prostate, size of the tumor. The common option for treatment is surgery. However, the main operation, known as radial prostatectomy, is extremely tiring to the body, so the patient has to be in good health condition.

Getting a hormone therapy is also a common option. This treatment does not kill the cancer cells but it reduces the size of the prostate tumor of the majority of patients. Above all, it is important to pay attention to food that you consume. Recent research by the authoritative US National Cancer Institute revealed that men who consumed more than 1/3rd of an ounce of onions, scallions, garlic, chives per day were much less likely to have prostate cancer.

Read here for

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Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancerous tumors originating in the body tissue known as the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a specialized layer of cells that line and protect many internal organs such as the chest and abdominal cavities.

Types of Malignant Mesothelioma

The first type of malignant mesothelioma is called Pleural Mesothelioma or mesothelioma of the pleura. It is the most common type of mesothelioma making up approximately 75% of all mesothelioma cases. The pleura is a thin serous membrane found between the lungs and the chest cavity that provides a lubricated surface preventing the lungs from chafing against the chest walls. It also serves as a protective layer.

The second most common type of mesothelioma is Peritoneal Mesothelioma, also known as mesothelioma of the peritoneum. The peritoneum is a thin serous membrane that encloses the organs of the abdomen. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a rare form of malignant mesothelioma cancer. This disease accounts for approximately 10% to 20% of all mesothelioma cases. It tends to be a more invasive form of cancer; patients diagnosed with this disease have a shorter life expectancy than if they had attracted Pleural Mesothelioma.

The third and least common type of mesothelioma is pericardial mesothelioma also known as mesothelioma of the pericardium. It accounts for less than 10% of all mesothelioma cases. The pericardium (heart sac) is the serous membrane that surrounds and protects the heart.

There are about 2,200 new cases of malignant mesothelioma of the visceral pleura each year. Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose and is rarely curable. The most common symptoms are dyspnea and chest wall pain.

Causes

Asbestos is the predominant cause of malignant mesothelioma of the visceral pleura. The period between the time of exposure to asbestos and the onset of symptoms is about 20 to 50 years. Because of this late onset, it occurs most commonly in the later years of life. It also occurs more often in men than in women.

Diagnosis

Doctors usually make an incision through the chest wall and insert an instrument called a thoracoscope between two ribs to view the area. Doctors will then do a biopsy to select a tissue sample that can be analyzed under a microscope.

Stages of Mesothelioma

Stage I: The cancer is found in the lining of the chest cavity near the lung and heart or in the diaphragm or the lung.

Stage II: The cancer has spread beyond the lining of the chest to lymph nodes in the chest.

Stage III: Cancer has spread into the chest wall, center of the chest, heart, through the diaphragm, or abdominal lining, and in some cases into nearby lymph nodes.

Stage IV: Cancer has spread to distant organs or tissues.

Treatment

Radiation and radiotherapy are used in situations where the cancer is localized at the point of origin.
Chemotherapy is used in more advanced stages of malignant mesotheliomas.

Cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic (heated) chemotherapy improves the survival and quality of life for patients with peritoneal metastases (tumors involving the lining of the abdomen).

Surgery is the option used for Stage I malignant mesothelioma. For stages II to IV, treatment by surgery is still evolving.

About the Author:

Dave Casey is a medical writer for Mesothelioma-Adviser.com, a guide for mesothelioma-adviser.com/ mesothelioma lung cancer victims. Visit the site for informative articles on the mesothelioma-adviser.com/causes-of-mesothelioma.html causes of mesothelioma, mesothelioma-adviser.com/mesothelioma-stages.html mesothelioma stages and treatment options.

Copyright 2007 Mesothelioma-Adviser.com

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Tags: chemotherapy, lung cancer, mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma