This great article was passed along to us by Sandra over at Daily Health Tips. It really is a fantastic resource that ALL of you should be subscribed to. Their goal is to offer you the most balanced, sound advice to ensure that your health is at it’s peak.
There are various types of cancers whom treatment are not yet discovered. Lot of research is going on about the causes of cancer. Researchers also suggest that people who avoid habits like smoking have less chance to effect from this deadly disease. They also suggest that many fruits can also prevent us from the cancer.
In a research, which was conducted by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), it was found that many people have wrong beliefs about the causes of cancers. This study was based on the interview conducted on 29,925 people in 29 countries over the past year.
Continue reading the rest of this article at Daily Health Tips.
Posted in Cancer News| Posted by admin | No Comments »
“The recent reductions in death rates from major cancers in the US have bypassed less educated working people, suggesting that persons in lower socioeconomic groups have not yet benefited equivalently from recent advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment of the major fatal cancers,” Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues conclude.
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics and from the US Bureau of Census Current Population Survey, the researchers found that death rates from cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, and colon/rectum generally fell significantly in every race and sex stratum in people with 16 or more years of education.
For instance, in subjects with this level of educational attainment, colorectal cancer mortality fell by 2.4% to 4.8% annually from 1993 to 2001.
The one exception, however, was lung cancer in black women for whom death rates held steady during the study period.
With less than 12 years of education, by contrast, cancer death rates generally remained stable or even increased, as was seen with lung cancer in white women and colon cancer in black men. However, in white women with breast cancer, mortality fell by 1.4% annually.
Posted in Cancer News, Cancer Treatment| Posted by admin | No Comments »
Doctor Ronald Herberman, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the UPMC Cancer Centers seems to think so. He’s planning to issue a memo to over 2,500 faculty and staff today about the possible health risks associated with cell phone radiation and cellular phone use.
“Recently I have become aware of the growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer,” he said in the advisory. “Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there is sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use.”
This advisory suggests certain measures to limit exposure to electromagnetic radiation emitted by the devices, such as shortening the length of conversations or keeping the phones away from the head by text messaging or using headsets or speaker phone options. It also recommends that children not use cell phones except in emergencies.
A child’s developing organs “are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure,” according to the document.
In an interview, Dr. Herberman said he hoped the suggestions would spread to others within Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as to the general public.
He noted that other countries have recommended limits on exposure, and that in Canada, public health officials in Toronto have advised young people to limit cell phone use.
But while there is growing support for limited use, it is not universal.
There is nothing wrong with taking precautions, but “the bottom line, at this time, is that there is no conclusive evidence tying cell phone use to brain cancer,” said Dan Catena, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Herberman believes he is the first U.S. cancer center director to approve the release of such an advisory. And a spokesperson for the National Cancer Institute said officials there were unaware of similar advisories issued by other center directors.
No other major U.S. health care or consumer group has gone as far in advocating for precautions, said Dr. Louis Slesin, editor of Microwave News, which tracks research related to cell phone safety.
Dr. Herberman also has signed on, along with more than 20 other international experts, to a document calling for precautions in using the devices.
Many are from Europe, but they also include several with U.S. ties. Among them are Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, a Pitt medical school professor who spends much of his time in France, and Dr. Devra Davis, director of the Pitt Cancer Institute’s Center for Environmental Oncology.
Dr. Servan-Schreiber, a brain cancer survivor, said he solicited experts to support the document, and Dr. Herberman credited Dr. Davis with drawing his attention to the recent research findings.
Release of the document in France last month drew considerable attention from the news media, Dr. Slesin said.
Some of the concerns about cell phone use have come from preliminary data from the 13-country study of cell phone use and tumors known as the Interphone study, he said.
Release of the overall findings has been delayed for more than two years. But a group of European countries has reported an elevated risk for certain brain tumors among long-term cell phone users, particularly on the side of the head where the phone was used, he said.
A separate group of Swedish researchers reported similar findings, Dr. Slesin said.
“From a public health perspective, it makes sense to limit risks,” said Dr. Dan Wartenberg, director of environmental epidemiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and one of the international experts calling for precautions.
The group also wants manufacturers to provide phones “with the lowest possible risk” and to “encourage consumers to use their devices in a way that is most compatible with preserving their health.”
“We do not need to ban this technology, but to adapt it — to harness it — so that it never becomes a major cause of illness,” the group noted.
But others question the need for action.
While suggestions that cell phones may be linked to cancer have been around for years, “the science remains so sketchy,” said Dr. Matt Quigley, surgical director of neuro-oncology at Allegheny General Hospital.
“The overwhelming majority of studies that have been published in scientific journals around the globe show that wireless phones do not pose a health risk,” CTIA-The Wireless Association, a group representing the wireless industry, said in a statement.
Posted in Cancer News, Cancer Prevention, Types of Cancer| Posted by admin | No Comments »
Thinking about cancer is something most of us would like to never do, but today we know that paying attention to our cancer risk can yield real dividends. Scientists estimate that if everyone ate a healthy diet, was physically active every day and maintained a more healthy weight, the number of cancer cases would be reduced by about one-third.
Learning Simple Changes
Making healthy lifestyle choices, ones that can help protect against cancer along with heart disease, stroke and a variety of other health problems, is quite a bit easier to do than you may think. The best starting point is the AICR Recommendations for Cancer Prevention.
Condensed to their simplest form, the recommendations fall into three guidelines:
- Choose mostly plant foods, limit red meat and avoid processed meat
- Be physically active every day in any way for 30 minutes or more
- Aim to be a healthy weight throughout life.
And always remember…
Do not smoke or chew tobacco.
Eat right, stay active and watch your weight
The foods you choose to eat every day are one of the most important factors in protecting you against cancer. Most Americans eat a diet that is far too high in meat and calories. Even more important is what the average diet lacks: a variety of vegetables, fruits, beans and other plant based foods. These plant based foods give your body not only the nutrients it needs for good health, but an arsenal of compounds (phytochemicals) that help protect against naturally occurring cancer risks you face every day.
Regular physically activity in any form, from dancing to walking, is also shown to help significantly lower cancer risk. If you both eat a predominantly plant based diet and are physically active, that will help with weight maintenance, which is increasingly found to play a role in cancer risk. As well as helping avoid weight gain, research shows that activity itself can keep our hormone levels healthy, which is important because having high levels of some hormones can increase our cancer risk.
Changing your pattern of diet and activity is not as hard as you may think. AICR offers free educational publications that can help.
Smoking and Cancer
There is absolutely no question that smoking, or using tobacco in any form, is one of the worst choices you can make when it comes to your health. Not only does the use of tobacco greatly increase risk for lung cancer, but it also appears to influence some other forms of cancer, and significantly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Today there is more help than ever for those who wish to stop smoking. Your doctor or local hospital can help you find assistance. There are even community programs now in place that aim to help you kick the habit. These programs are free, and can even cover chemical help such as the patch, nicotene gum, or other quit smoking prescriptions.
Posted in Cancer Prevention| Posted by admin | No Comments »