Australian researchers have discovered that rapid-growing skin cancers show common characteristics.

Skin cancers or melanomas are more likely to grow and spread quickly if they are thicker, symmetrical, elevated and have regular borders or display certain symptoms, according to their study.

Wendy Liu from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in East Melbourne, Australia, with her colleagues, examined the melanoma growth rate of 222 male patients and 182 female patients with an average age of 54.

The participants had their skin closely examined by a dermatologist, and they were interviewed soon after diagnosis about when they first noticed the spot or spots on their skin.

The researchers relied on the tumour’s thickness at the time of removal to judge the rate of the cancer’s growth.

The study, appearing in the December issue of the Archives of Dermatology, found the fast-growing skin cancers were linked to:

• Tumour thickness.

• Formation of a break or sore in the skin.

• Lack of pigment in the tumour.

• Regular borders.

• Elevation.

• Symptoms.

They also noted that rapid-growing melanomas were more likely in people 70 years of age or older, in men in general, and in those with fewer moles and freckles.

“We propose that this information on melanoma rate of growth be incorporated into education programs for patients and health professionals,” the report said.

By identifying faster-growing melanomas, experts hope aggressive cancers can be diagnosed and treated quickly.

Death rates have been on the decline globally since public education campaigns were launched on detecting and treating slow-growing melanomas, contended Dr. Dan Lipsker of Clinique Dermatologique in France.

“The challenge in the coming years will be to do the same work for fast-growing tumors, and the work by Dr. Liu et al is a first step in that direction,” Lipsker wrote in the study’s accompanying editorial.

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Tags: melanoma, skin cancer

Isn’t it cliche, let us just take one day at a time. Well, that’s what I found out to be true, that’s all anyone has, just today.

My brother was diagnosed with a rare cancer this summer. He is the epic of health. He’s big, healthy, young, never smoked, ate the right foods, lives on a farm with a large, organic vegetable garden. His demeanour is kind, loving, sensitive, giving, educated. What went wrong? So you see, it can strike at any time, this deadly disease, you can be young, old, any size or shape. When it strikes, it’s devastating to your immediate family. We all kind of go through pseudo symptoms. Questioning, why us, getting angry, depressed, this happens to the other guy, we were living life the way we were suppose to. How are we going to live now?

Here are some tips on living with cancer:

-Get many opinions, from many different doctors

-Don’t wait - get blood tests, cat scans, biopsies as soon as possible

-know doctors deal with statistics and past cases, they can be insensitive

- If you are given a time table, (i.e.) 6 mo., 1 year, 2 or 3 years, know that it may be wrong and often is. Many have lived a lot longer and still are living.

-people are different in emotional structure, their will to live, the battle to fight for more time. Each person is chemically different based on heredity

-Don’t let the fear of the disease tear your family apart.

- Stay together, love each other and try not to play the if only game. (i.e.) If only they could have diagnosed it earlier, or, I should of eaten more fruits and vegetables.

-Be supportive to your loved one. Try not to feel sorry for yourself or lose it.

You don’t know when your life is going to take a turn. So what I have learned is, live your life today. Don’t wait until you have that nest egg, or until you get that promotion, or until you can do this, or accomplish that. My brother didn’t give himself cancer. We are all terminal. Just tell me one person who has lived pass one hundred and fifty.

Through experience, we found out that this disease has opened our eyes to live for today. Today is all we have. It has brought us closer together. We tell each other, I love you every time we see each other. We live in a real world, but it’s hope of seeing each other today, that makes living with cancer, bearable.

Karen Sargent is the creator and designer of a web site for womensportapparel.com women’s sport apparel. She’s
a physical educator and health teacher in a public school system in
Illinois.
womensportapparel.com womensportapparel.com

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A hysterectomy is not often a procedure that needs to be performed urgently, except in the case of cancer. Therefore, a woman considering the procedure should take time to investigate all her options, including other possible treatments. There are now new treatments for conditions that previously would have required a hysterectomy. Women advised to have a hysterectomy for a non-cancerous condition before being offered more conservative treatments may find it beneficial to seek a second opinion.

Deciding whether to have a hysterectomy can be a difficult and emotional process. By becoming informed about the procedure, women can confidently discuss available options, concerns and wishes with their doctor, and make a decision that is right for them.

If you, too, have been questioning the necessity of a surgery for fibroids, prolapse, incontinence or any “cele” repairs, you will be reassured to know you have every right in doing so. The decision to undergo surgery of any kind is often difficult, so it is often useful to explore other alternatives before moving forward. Women, especially around the time of menopause, are too often advised to have major gynecological surgery for minor conditions that can be significantly improved with natural alternatives

Every 10 minutes, 12 hysterectomies are performed in the United States. That is over 600,000 per year, of which only 10% are due to cancer. This surgery most often does not correct the diagnosed problem and instead results in new afflictions. And, argues Dr. Stanley West, author of The Hysterectomy Hoax, nine out of ten hysterectomies are unnecessary.

We need to ask “How have these surgeries impacted the quality of life for women?” Nowhere in the gynecological literature did the study address the number of women for whom sex had become painful or impossible. Nowhere were there studies to track the number of marriages that failed or were severely compromised as a result of these post-surgical complications or alcoholism or drug addiction resulting from debilitating chronic pain.

Women who have been hysterectomized experience a myriad of negative side effects, including chronic pain and fatigue, depression, and pain during sex. These are only a fraction of the long list of unwanted symptoms reported by women after surgery.

So, if you decide, or have already decided, that surgery is not an option, you are probably asking yourself, “Now what?” I have asked myself this same question. But, I will tell you, there is no quick fix. As women we must understand our bodies to care for them in a positive way.

The more I review this subject the stronger I feel about informing women before they make this important decision. Prevention is the key and hormone balance is the answer.

For the most part those who are encouraged to have their uterus’s removed are likely suffering from estrogen excess which is explained well by Dr. John Lee.

Balancing hormones involves working on a few fronts using simple strategies.

1. Evaluate your hormones using a saliva test – determine what is happening in your body – ask your self the question – are you estrogen dominant? Use a saliva test to find the answer.

2. Optimize your diet by lowering your insulin levels. Over 2/3 of North Americans are overweight. This extra weight increases insulin levels causing estrogen dominance to increase. EAT 40/30/30

3. If the saliva test shows the need, use a natural progesterone cream in the process of rebalancing your hormonal system

4. Exercise to reduce excess estrogen and to eliminate toxins

5. Drink more water

6. Supplement with wisdom using our hormone balancing program of fiber, indoles, efa, multi – fruit & veggi essence, calcium

This Article Is Copywright 2006 Jackie L. Harvey & Saliva Testing com

Jackie Harvey is an International speaker, radio program host, seminar leader, business trainer, and a mother of seven. She works in partnership with nurses, medical doctors and health care practitioners.

Jackie is a men & women’s health advocate specializing in hormonal and menopausal health. Thousands of men & women have watched her informative DVD “Let’s Talk About Hormones”. Jackie is committed to making a positive change in peoples lives.

Visit SalivaTesting.com SalivaTesting.com for more information Saliva Hormone Tests Kits & her Best Selling 1-hour DVD “Let’s Talk About Hormones with Jackie Harvey”. Click For More information on SalivaTesting.com Men’s & Women’s Saliva Hormone Testing and Saliva Test Kits.

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Tags: ovarian cancer

Breast cancer can be frightening, but knowledge is power. If you’ve been vigilant in your personal breast exams and mammograms there may come a time when a lump or suspicious area is found. The first thing that will probably happen is you’ll get another mammogram. This time it’s called a diagnostic mammogram and it will concentrate on the suspicious area. You may also get an ultrasound, with is painless and can often tell the difference quickly between benign and malignant growths.

Depending on the results of the previous tests, the doctors are likely to recommend a biopsy next. A biopsy takes a small piece of the lump for examination under a microscope. It is the best way to make sure if breast cancer is present. The biopsy can take many forms from a surgical procedure to a fine needle, which isn’t much worse than getting a shot. It depends on the type and location of the mass. Your doctor will decide which type of biopsy is best in your case.

Once the biopsy sample is retrieved, a pathologist will study and characterize it. If it is found to be cancerous, it is further classified in various ways to identify its size and strength. The mass will be tested for the presence of special estrogen and progesterone receptors. If present, the cancer can be treated with hormone therapy. Another receptor called the HER-2/neu is also sought. Other therapies are directed and cancers containing this receptor.

At this point the patient is “staged”. The stages of breast cancer are complex, but here is a simplified description:

Stage 0 – Abnormal cells are found in the lining of a gland within the breast. This is indicative of a future cancer, but not representative of present cancer.

Stage I – The earliest stage where the tumor is less than 2 cm across and is contained within the breast.

Stage II – Early stage where the tumor is either: a. Less than 2 cm. across and in both the breast and the lymph nodes under the arm b. between 2 and 5 cm. and may be in breast or breast and lymph nodes under the arm c. More than 5 cm. and only in the breast

Stage III - Advanced breast cancer where: a. The tumor is less than five cm. across, in both breast and lymph nodes under the arm b. The cancer is extensive in the lymph nodes under the arm. c. The cancer is in the lymph nodes or other tissues located near the breastbone. During stage III your doctor will be checking to find signs of metastatic disease. When cancer has “metastasized,’ it has spread from the breast/lymph node areas into other distant organs of the body. These tests will take the form of chest x-rays and CT and bone scans.

Stage IV – Metastatic breast cancer, where the cancer has spread to other organs.

Almost all breast cancer victims will have some type of surgery to remove as much of the cancerous growth as possible. No matter how successful, most will probably undergo a regimen of chemotherapy as well. This kills off any microscopic scraps of the disease that may remain to grow into full-fledged cancer again. Other therapies such as radiotherapy (radiation therapy), hormonal therapy, or biologic therapy may be proscribed.

Once treated, breast cancer patients need to be monitored for recurrence. At first this means every 3-4 months. These become less and less frequent, but annual mammograms are even more important for former breast cancer patients than for the normal population.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to

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Tags: breast cancer, cancer patient, chemotherapy