Home     Log in

Archive for November 27th, 2008

Asbestos Relation To Mesothelioma

November 27th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Asbestos is a mineral that has been used through the centuries for many items including lamp wicks, napkins, burial clothes, and table clothes and is mined from metamorphic deposits. When used for its resistance to fire, the fibers of asbestos are typically woven into mats or fabric or mixed with cement.

It was formally used in electric ovens for its electrical insulation and in the construction of buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating qualities. Also its flexibility and resistance to chemicals made it popular in constructing buildings. In ancient times items made of asbestos were held to be at par with items made of gold. It was generally used to wrap bodies when people were burnt after death to keep the ashes of the body separate from the woods and other burning materials.

After the discovery that asbestos was tied to numerous cases of lung caner and Mesothelioma, the removal of asbestos that had been used in houses and other buildings became common. This was procedure proved to be difficult because anyone in the building at the time of removal had to be relocated and the surrounding atmosphere had to be contained as to not allow the removed asbestos be released into the air.

Along with the removal of asbestos a gargantuan amount of lawsuits were filed against owners of buildings and producers of the insulating asbestos causing many companies to declare bankruptcy. Even to this day, many cases of asbestos are being reported and the development of treatments to the illnesses such as Mesothlioma causes are being created.

To find out whatismesothelioma.ca/ What Is Mesothelioma and for info on whatismesothelioma.ca lawsuits canada visit whatismesothelioma.ca/ whatismesothelioma.ca

Tags:

Related posts

Tags:

Detecting Colon Cancer in its Early Stages Can Save Your Life

November 27th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

Symptoms of do not appear in all the patients when the disease is in an early stage but only after it has advanced in gravity. This is why doctors recommend that after a certain age people should ask for screenings regularly.

Colorectal cancer can give a lot of symptoms but they all match other diseases too like: inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulosis, and irritable bowel syndrome. All these diseases can be treated but they first must be diagnosed in order to apply a right treatment.

Patients come at the hospital because they are constipated, or have diarrhea for more than a week. Sometimes people observe that their stool is much thinner than before and that it comes with blood. They might be feeling abdominal pain, cramps, and bloating. Most of the patients loose a lot of weight in a short period of time and they feel that they have not defecated sufficiently.

Cancer determines cells to divide in an uncontrollable way. Generally the cells of the body divide only when needed, like when they grow old and other cells need to be produced in order to replace them or when they are in a small amount and the body needs more of them. Because the cells are produced in an increased number, a mass of unknown tissue will form, known as a tumor (this tumor can be benign or malign). Doctors believe that this type of cancer is developing from polyps situated in the large intestine. These polyps are considered to be benign but left untreated for years they can transform in malign tumors.

There are several types of polyps: adenomas, which can become cancerous but are easily removed during a colonoscopy; inflammatory polyps which appear after an ulcerative colitis and can also become cancerous and hyperplasic polyps which rarely transform into cancer.

If the cancer passes to a next stage it can affect the local lymph nodes and then get into the blood stream and affect other organs giving metastases.

The can affect old people as well as young people but most of the cases are recorded at those aged over 50. There are several factors that increase the risk of developing : those who have a family history of or other type of cancer is at risk; those who drink alcohol and follow an improper diet can develop this disease. Also, people who suffer of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, and familial adenomatous polyposis are exposed at a greater risk than others. There is a type of nonpolyposis syndrome which also occurs in the same family members but now people who are at risk can be identified through genetic screening.

Those who have adopted western diets, are obese, are smoking and also follow a diet that is rich in proteins and fats and low in fiber are at risk to develop .

For greater resources on colon-cancer-center.com/ or especially about colon-cancer-center.com/colon-cancer-symptoms.htm symptoms please visit this link colon-cancer-center.com/colon-cancer-symptoms.htm colon-cancer-center.com/colon-cancer-symptoms.htm

Tags: ,

Related posts

Tags: ,

Is There A Link Between Environmental Toxins And New Cancer Cases?

November 27th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

The study of health for me is very important because I am passionate about leading individuals to better overall health. I enjoy writing articles on relevant up to date health information. To be honest with everyone, writing this article was disturbing to me because of how serious the problems we have in association with toxins. This article will hopefully bring about a new awareness in regards to and cases of cancer.

There was a study done by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine In New York, in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group and Commonwealth, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of ninety-one industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers. Many of these toxins that were found have been named as cancer causing agents by the National Toxicology Program or the Environmental Protection Agency:

-PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls are a group of chemical compounds developed in the 1930s for making paint, ink, dye, hydraulic fluids, electrical transformers, to name a few uses. PCBs continue to be found in the fatty tissues of land animals and fish. Many farm-raised salmon have been raised on pellets of ground up fish that have absorbed PCBs from the environment.

-DIOXINS. These are organic compounds that contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen and can be created naturally (from volcanoes and forest fires) or through the manufacturing of PVC products (plastic piping) or industrial chlorinated cleaners. This toxin tends to accumulate in animals with high fat content such as fish and shellfish.

-FURANS. These chemicals are related to dioxins and PCBs, and are linked to problems with the endocrine (hormonal) system.

-METALS. Metallic particles of mercury, lead, arsenic, aluminum, and cadmium accumulate in the soft tissues of the body, which causes lowered IQs, developmental delays, and behavioral disorders. Arsenic can be found in tap water, and mercury is found in canned tuna.

-ASBESTOS. This substance was used as an insulation material found in schools, and office buildings. This cancer causing contaminant can be released when these buildings harboring this substance are torn down.

-PHTHALATES. These chemicals soften plastics and lengthen the shelf life of cosmetics, hair spray, mousses, and fragrances. Phthalates cause harm to the developing testes of males and damage the lungs, liver and kidneys.

-ORGANOCHLORINE INSECTICIDES. These are pesticides such as DDT and CHLORDANE. DDT was used to kill mosquitoes after World War II, but it also caused thinning of the eggshells belonging to bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and brown pelicans, resulting in deformed or broken eggs.

The nine volunteers that were selected in the Mount Sinai study did not work with chemicals on the job or live downwind from polluting smokestacks when they were scanned for 210 toxic substances. There were 167 chemicals that were found in their blood and urine, of that number 76 chemicals cause cancer in humans and animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development in children. We need to be aware of the damaging effects these toxins are having on our overall health. In the resource box below there’s a link to a website that brings to light more knowledge of health related concerns.

DISCLAIMER

The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practioner/ patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well being other than to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of this publication based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher isn’t responsible for errors or omissions. The Food and Drug Administration have not evaluated these statements. These products aren’t intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

born-again-health-and-fitness.com born-again-health-and-fitness.com

Tags:

Related posts

Tags:

Prostate Cancer Survival Rates in UK

November 27th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

There are approximately 25 000 men newly diagnosed with every year in the United Kingdom. For these men the risk of dying from their depends on a number of risk factors. For example if the cancer is confined to the prostate gland at diagnosis the chance of surviving to 5 years is 70%. If the cancer has already spread e.g. to the bones then only 20% of men will survive to five years. Of all the men who currently have in the UK approximately 10,000 will die of the disease each year. The survival rate is much higher in the developed world - unsurprisingly.

When a man is first diagnosed with then the doctor who has found the cancer (most often a “urologist” – a surgeon who specialises in looking after problems to do with the kidneys, prostate and bladder) will arrange a series of tests to help assess the risk for that individual patient. The results of these tests will in turn help the doctor and patient to decide the best treatment for that patient.

Prostate Cancer Tests to Help Predict Survival

1. Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA

2. Digital Rectal Examination or DRE

3. Trans-rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy

4. CT or MRI Scan

5. Bone Scan

PSA
This is a protein made by the prostate gland which can be measured on a sample of your blood i.e. a blood test. The PSA level can be raised by non cancerous problems with the prostate gland i.e. not all men who have a raised PSA have . Also some men who have will not have a raised PSA. However PSA does tend to increase as prostate cancers grow, invade and spread so PSA can be used to monitor how a is progressing or how it is responding to treatments.

DRE
This is where a doctor feels the prostate gland through the back passage. It tells the doctor how big the prostate gland is, whether the cancer is able to be felt easily and whether it has invaded the area near by.

Tran-Rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy
For this test you need to lie on your side with your knees brought up into the chest (same position as for a DRE). An ultrasound probe is then inserted into the back passage. This enables the doctor to see on a screen the outline of the prostate gland. There is no radiation involved. The image on the screen then allows the doctor to insert a needle safely into the prostate gland to take some samples of the prostate tissue. Usually several samples are taken from each area of the prostate gland. These samples are then sent to a laboratory to be looked at under a microscope. This allows confirmation that there is present and tells us how aggressive the cancer looks. Sometimes a local anaesthetic is used to help make the procedure more comfortable.

CT or MRI Scan
This is usually carried out in an x-ray department and involves lying still on a thin couch which moves through either a big donut (CT) or into a long tunnel (MRI). This is not painful in any way. The pictures gained from this test helps the doctors to see whether the is still within the prostate gland or whether it had started to invade out of the gland into other surrounding structures. This tells the doctor what “stage” the is.

Bone Scan
This requires you to have an injection and then to lie on a special table where a camera scans the whole body. It shows up whether any of the bones in the body have been affected by the i.e. whether the has spread to the bones.

Prostate Cancer Stage and Survival

The stage of describes how far the cancer has grown and spread. It is assessed by a mixture of DRE and CT/MRI scans.

T1 Stage
This is very early which can only be seen under a microscope. At this stage the cancer would not cause any symptoms. Men with this stage are at low risk from their disease may not need any treatment but surveillance. The original cause of a problem can be difficult to diagnose.

T2 Stage
This is early but is now big enough to be felt by a doctor on DRE. This may still not have caused any symptoms. This is most often cured if treatment is undertaken at this stage and about 70% of men are still alive after 5 years i.e. average length of survival from diagnosis is well over 5 years.

T3 Stage
This is locally advanced which has started to extend and invade outside of the prostate gland. This stage would often cause bladder symptoms in men. By this stage in the disease the chance of cure with treatments is reduced however survival is often around five years.

T4 Stage
This is more advanced which invades the structures around the gland. At this stage there are often already secondaries e.g. bone metastases. If the disease has spread it is usually incurable but may be controlled for some time. The average survival is between 1 and 3 years.

Predicting Survival in Prostate Cancer

Doctors use a combination of risk factors to predict the behaviour of but cancers do not always act as expected. The factors they consider include the cancer stage (see above), the age of the patient, the PSA level and how quickly it is rising, and the Gleason Score. The Gleason score is a marker of how aggressive the cancer looks under the microscope and how much of the gland is affected by cancer.

Adrian Jones has a personal interest in promoting awareness and self-help in dealing with several forms of cancer. This article is from his website dealing with justabout-prostatecancer.com/ and justabout-prostatecancer.com/treatments/prostate_cancer_treatments_index.html treatments. He writes on other forms of cancer, including justabout-coloncancer.com/ . This article is available for reprint for your website and/or newsletter, provided that you maintain its copyright integrity and include this resource box information.

Tags: , ,

Related posts

Tags: , ,