10% or less of all cancer have a genetic component attached to it which might lead one to believe that there is no cost effective use for DNA testing to diagnose cancer. But breast cancer is different because DNA testing is actually able to diagnose a mutated gene that increases a women’s risk of breast cancer significantly.

When it comes to genetic testing BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the key to breast cancer DNA testing. 80% of all inherited breast cancers are attached to the mutation of these genes and they also signal that there may be an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

All that is required for a genetic test is just a small sample of blood. But the test is very sophisticated using a molecular technique in which DNA is extracted from white blood cells which is then sequenced.

There is only one lab that can actually do this test. The lab is located in Salt Lake City. It takes about 4 weeks to get the results back. The expense is rather high at just under $3000 for the testing, genetic counseling and insurance coverage.

Genetic counseling is critical before any DNA testing is actually done. All patients undergo need to undergo some pre-testing with the genetic counseling. This involves the assessment of the personal information of the patient as well as the medical history of the family. It also includes some cancer education as well as discussing the risks, limitations of the test, as well as the benefit.

For example a family history of cancer at an early age, or incidents of ovarian cancer and/or breast cancer in the genetic gene pool makes you at higher risk then others and it is more likely that the testing will be conducted.

If you carry a mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene you are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. If you test negative then you are at no greater risk than any other women even if you have had family members with breast cancer.

With all the attention paid to breast cancer you might think that the risks are actually much higher than they are. In the general population your risk for breast cancer is about 12% and a 1% to 2% chance of developing ovarian cancer. Those low numbers don’t mean you don’t need to be diligent with breast examinations. Being proactive and detecting breast cancer early are sure ways to increase the survival rates.

The mammogram is still the most common detection method used for breast cancer and there are newer technologies on the horizon which look very promising and are in fact in play in some areas. And although breast cancer DNA testing is currently used minimally you could see it become more main stream in the future.

Those with the gene have a 60% to 80% chance of developing breast cancer and a 20% to 40% chance of developing ovarian cancer. And it’s those numbers that explain why it is so critical that a breast cancer DNA test be done.

About The Author

Morten Hansen has been focused on the DNA Testing area for several years and is mainly writing about DNA subjects, that make it easier for people to understand the different issues about DNA Testing. For more details about DNA Testing visit our website DnaTest4you.com www.DnaTest4you.com

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Pancreas lies horizontally behind the stomach. It serves to release enzymes that help digestion, and hormones that serve to regulate carbohydrates metabolism. It helps regulating the sugar level (glucose) of your body.

Pancreatic cancer spreads very fast and it is difficult to spot it, therefore, it is a major cause of death among cancer illnesses. It is a cancer that spreads very rapidly to other parts and organs of the body, making surgical intervention useless in protecting the patient from death.

How does cancer develop in your pancreas? Most tumors form in the cells that produce digestive enzymes. These tumors that are called adenocarcinomas account for nearly 95% of cancer pancreatic.

Endocrine tumors that form in the islet cells are less common. Upon existence, they produce too much hormone. Very serious are the ampullary cancers that form in the ampulla of Vater, it is where your bile and pancreatic ducts are emptied into your small intestine. These tumors when blocking the bile duct, lead to jaundice.

The developing of pancreatic cancer happens when the DNA is damaged, and the growth and division of healthy cells becomes uncontrolled. Thus, a tumor is formed which is a formation of malignant cells.

A small number of people develop this cancer due to genetic predisposition. In 90% of the cases environmental factors, lifestyle, smoking, diet, and chemical exposure lead to the formation of cancer.

According to surveys, black men and women are at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, being overweight and working with petroleum compounds also play a risk factor.

How do you suspect that you may have developed cancer in your pancreas? First of all, you lose your appetite, develop sharp abdominal pain, suddenly lose weight, and have jaundice, yellowing of the skin. It is important to mention Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that infect your mucus and your stomach. In many cases it is asymptomatic.

Courvoisier’s law predicts that jaundice and a painless gallbladder that is distended are together indicative of pancreatic cancer. This cancer can be spotted while carrying out liver function tests, along with ultrasound and abdominal CT examinations. Endoscopic ultrasound is a painful, but effective way of spotting the tumor.

Patients having cancer in their pancreas have a poor prognosis due to the cancer not causing evident symptoms in the early stage. Mortality is around 99% in the United States, ranking cancer pancreatic as the number one fatal cancer in America.

This cancer may result in diabetes which turns out to be a life-long illness exposing the patient at discomfort and high risk of death if not treated properly. The American Cancer Society promotes high consumption of vegetables and fruits and lower consumption of red meat. Like with all other cancers, smoking proves a major factor in developing this cancer as well.

Prevention of cancer is vital. Long-term examinations have proved that taking vitamin D helps in decreasing the risk of cancer with 50%. Lately, younger generations have been affected, however, these patients have responded well to treatment in the UK, for example. There is hope for better treatment and diagnosis, these cases have proved the general statistics wrong. For further details, please consult the Pancreatic Cancer UK organization.

For more information on cancer try visiting cancercondition.com cancercondition.com - a website that specializes in providing cancer related information and resources including information on cancercondition.com/pancreaticcancer.html pancreatic cancer.

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There are several causes of stomach cancer. To name a few are previous exposure to radiation, bacterial infection caused by Helicobacter pylori, pernicious anemia, stomach surgery, as well as genetic factors that cause predisposition to the disease. Helicobacter pylori infections now thought to be responsible for most cases of stomach cancer involving the bottom half of the stomach. Stomach cancer near the junction between the esophagus and the stomach is not usually related to Helicobacter pylori infection.

Stomach cancer is a very serious condition. Symptoms usually arise later due to the large capacity of the stomach and often the tumor is not curable at the time of diagnosis. It is for this reason that the mortality rate for patients diagnosed with stomach cancer is exceedingly high. In the Far East, the incidence of stomach cancer remains high, probably due to the high rate of Helicobacter pylori infection, as well as certain dietary factors. Nobody knows for sure why the incidence of stomach cancer is decreasing in the United States. Lowe infection rates with Helicobacter pylori, known carcinogen and cause of stomach cancer, may be a partial explanation. However, other factors are probably also important.

Because the incidence of stomach cancer is relatively low in the United States, the American Cancer Society does not recommend routine endoscopic screening for the tumor as they do for colon cancer. Early diagnosis can occasionally be achieved if warning signals such as intestinal bleeding are immediately investigated. Many people over the age of 50 are having their stool checked for blood on an annual basis. If blood is found, it is generally recommended that the patient have a colonoscopy. If the examination would show up negative, however, an upper endoscopy examining the esophagus, stomach and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) may clinch the diagnosis. While most of the patients will have esophagitis, gastritis, or peptic ulcer disease, an unsuspected stomach cancer may be found. Not infrequently, precancerous changes in the stomach lining are found at the time of endoscopy.

Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori in some susceptible individuals causes a change in the lining of the stomach to resemble the small intestines (intestinal metaplasia). The risk of stomach cancer after acquiring intestinal metaplasia in the stomach is not nearly as great as that seen with Barrett’s esophagus (a precancerous condition of the esophagus). Therefore, it is currently not recommended that patients with this precancerous change in the stomach be endoscoped on a regular basis. Nevertheless, it is recommended that patients have an endoscopy every five to ten years after discovering intestinal metaplasia.

Anyone experiencing satiety should have an upper gastrointestinal series or endoscopy to rule out stomach cancer, especially if they are over the age of 45. Anyone who has multiple family members with stomach cancer should be checked for Helicobacter pylori infection and some gastroenterologists recommend a screening endoscopy in this situation. Stomach cancer may run in families, either because the members of the family are genetically susceptible to the disease or because the members of the family have infected each other with Helicobacter pylori.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to

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Pleural Mesothelioma is one of the most intense forms of cancer. It generally attacks the chest’s membrane lining. About three thousand new occurrences each year occur in the US alone. It is now known, as you may also appreciate, that it is caused by coming into contact with Asbestos particles.

Mesothelioma may not necessarily break out immediately. It is not uncommon for it to take 15 years to rear its ugly head, and up to 40 year waits have been recorded. Therefore, most patients diagnosed with this disease are in their sixties or seventies. Because of this long latency period the disease can be in an advanced stage before it is diagnosed correctly. Unfortunately, this leads to the following treatment being less effective.

It is very hard to diagnose pleural mesothelioma because this disease has few distinguishing features at first glance. The alarming indicators are difficulty in swallowing (dysphasia), shortness of breath (dyspnoea), persistent coughing and a tight chest pain. A sore or swollen neck, alongside other indications such as fevers, sweating, hoarseness or over fatigue could (I repeat could) show that the cancer has spread. The movement of blood from the lungs could also show that the disease has spread. In this case those symptoms are mainly caused by a fluid collection in the thoracic area (effusion). It is also possible that the weak pellicle, which is covering the lungs, may fatten and decrease expansion and contraction, therefore making it harder to breathe. Shockingly, in certain circumstances no noticeable signs may show that the cancer has spread until it is out of hand.

To give you some indication of the regularity of the symptoms, 84% of patients have pleural effusions (fluid collection). The major symptoms of the pleural mesothelioma are shortness of breath (88%) and weight loss (28%).

Please visit asbestosadvice.blogspot.com asbestosadvice.blogspot.com for more information on Asbestos and Mesothelioma related illness.

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Suzanne Somers used misteloe extracts to treat herself for breast cancer. According to her press releases and interviews, she used it along with various other forms of conventional care and natural cancer treatment. Suzanne has been very pleased with the outcome she obtained from the way her breast cancer was treated with a combination of conventional and natural cancer therapies. What is mistletoe, and how is it used?

Mistletoe is the leafy, flowering vine that is used for Christmas decorations. Perhaps its’ most famous role in American society is the custom of kissing whoever stands beneath the mistletoe. Mistletoe blooms in winter. It appears to thrive in adverse situations such as cold weather. The variety of mistletoe most often utilized as homeopathic medication is the European mistletoe known as viscum album. Mistletoe vines grow on various trees, including pine, oak, and fruit trees. Some practitioners believe that viscum derived from vines grown on certain species of host trees imparts unique properties to the final medicinal preparation. Viscum preparations made from certain species of host trees are therefore utilized to treat specific types of cancers. The most commonly used variants are viscum mali from apple trees which is used for cancer in female patients, viscum quercus from the oak tree for cancers in men, and viscum pini from the pine tree which is given a mixed use, but is most famous for breast cancer.

Mistletoe extract is most often administered only by qualified physicians because it is potentially poisonous. The leaves and the berries of mistletoe are known to be poisonous. Since it is produced from extracts of the entire plant, an experienced medical practitioner is required to safely administer mistletoe extracts. The production of a type of mistletoe extract known as Iscador begins with the grinding of the entire mistletoe plant, which is then soaked in water. The mistletoe water extract is then fermented, and finally filtered to produce the final product. Scientific research indicated that Iscador may have at least two major mechanisms of action. A portion of the Iscador material seems to improve immune function. In particular, there is evidence that Natural Killer Cells, which are immune system cells thought to fight cancer, are increased in activity following the administration of Iscador. Another interesting potential effect of Iscador is to enhance the activity of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, also implicated in natural anti-cancer activity by the immune system. Another portion of Iscador extract may directly change the way cancer cells function. Evidence from scientific studies suggest that Iscador may modify the internal metabolism of malignant cells in beneficial ways, including interfering with the growth of cancer cells. This may eventually prove to be Iscador’s most important activity. However, more research is needed to elaborate on this possibility.

The common route of administration is by injection of the viscum just under the skin. As each day of therapy progresses, a more concentrated version is administered. After the first few daily doses, a red swelling often appears at the injection site. A short-term fever also is commonly seen with the daily injections. Many doctors theorize that this fever may play a positive role in the beneficial action of Iscador. After reaching the highest concentration of Iscador, the injections are often continued for a week or longer, depending upon the clinical situation as judged by the treating physician. The side effects of Iscador therapy can include low-grade fever, and redness and irritation at the injection sites.

What results have been observed in patients treated with Iscador? Reports of results are primarily anecdotal. In other words, they are the observations of physicians and others but are not part of a scientifically controlled medical trial or study. The observations suggest that Iscador is indeed a promising therapy. The website www.aacancer.com has related articles and scientific information on mistletoe and breast cancer generally. Mistletoe is probably the most promising of all the ancient natural cancer remedies. Because of the research being done on the medicinal value of this plant in Europe, it seems likely to soon become a part of the conventional armamentarium against breast cancer.

Mary Jones

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