Breast Cancer Treatment: New Research Suggests Sometimes Less is More

"Although lymphedema can be treated with physical therapy, it can remain a lifelong nuisance, if not a true medical issue, and result in scarring, injuries to the armpit structures and limited range of motion,” said Kristine Calhoun, M.D., a breast surgeon at SCCA. “All of the breast cancer surgeons at SCCA have embraced the Z11 study and have adjusted their practice to apply this to patients where such management is appropriate.”

Oncologists and researchers are discovering that when it comes to treating breast cancer, “doing less does more” for patients. This approach kills the cancer while improving cure rates and decreasing the chance of the cancer returning. It also spares patients the damaging side effects of treatment caused by toxic chemotherapy, less-precise radiation therapy, unnecessary diagnostic radiology and surgery.

Following is a summary of “less-is-more” trends in four areas – drug therapy, radiation therapy, surgery and radiology – from the perspective of breast cancer specialists at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), a specialty, academic-based treatment center that offers the latest clinical trials and customized treatment approaches for a wide variety of cancers.

Comer brócoli combate el cáncer, mejora la piel y evita la infertilidad masculina

El secreto del éxito de esta verdura son sus altos índices de selenio, que según investigaciones de la ingeniera química Andrea Mahn, también le entrega la capacidad de ser un efectivo antioxidante y acelerador de la sinapsis cerebral.

Suplementación dietaria con selenometilselenocisteína produce una respuesta proteómica diferenciada”, es la investigación de la ingeniera química Andrea Mahn que ganó el Premio Henri Nestlé, y que en palabras simples es el estudio que demuestra como la ingesta de selenio orgánico puede prevenir y tratar cánceres como próstata, ovario y pulmón, además de mejorar el sistema inmunológico y mejorar la infertilidad masculina.

Tremendos beneficios que entrega este elemento químico al cuerpo humano, y que se encuentra mayormente en el brócoli, polémico vegetal que produce amor u odio, pero que según las investigaciones de Mahn, permite incluso retardar los signos del envejecimiento al ser un poderoso antioxidante.

“El selenio se puede encontrar en todos los tipos de carne y mariscos, pero como su consumo excesivo puede ser peligroso para la salud, buscamos otros alimentos, y el brócoli, tiene la capacidad de acumular selenio orgánico en buenas cantidades”, explica la experta sobre la elección de este vegetal para su estudio.

A high-carb diet may increase odds of colon cancer recurrence, study says

THE QUESTION For people who have had colon cancer, might carbohydrate consumption affect whether the cancer comes back?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 1,011 adults, most in their early 60s, who had surgery and chemotherapy for Stage III colon cancer, in which the cancer had spread to lymph nodes in the immediate area but had not metastasized to distant parts of the body. In about a seven-year span, the cancer recurred in 343 people; 262 of them died, as did 43 others who had no recurrence of cancer. People who consumed the most carbohydrate-rich foods were 80 percent more likely to have had a recurrence of colon cancer or to have died than were those who consumed the least of such foods. Among people who were overweight or obese, high carbohydrate consumption more than doubled the risk for a cancer recurrence or death.

Enhancing Breast Cancer Detection: Computer Algorithm Analyzes Thermal Images of Breasts

Straightforward imaging with an infrared, thermal, camera for detecting breast cancer early without the discomfort or inconvenience of mammography or biomolecular tests, according to a study to be published in theInternational Journal of Innovative Computing and Applications.

Blood test 'finds brain tumours'

Tiny fatty balls ejected by cancer cells into the bloodstream have been used to detect deadly brain tumours, US researchers report.

The spheres, known as microvesicles, share the unique characteristics of the cancer cells they come from, but are much easier to get hold off.

The brain tumours could be detected in the blood.

Anticancer: A New Way of Life

When David Servan-Schreiber, a dedicated scientist and doctor, was diagnosed with brain cancer, his life changed. Confronting what medicine knows about the illness and the little-known workings of his body's natural cancer ­fighting capacities, and marshaling his own will to live, Servan-Schreiber found himself on a fifteen-­year journey from disease and relapse into scientific exploration and, finally, to health. 

You can buy the book via Amazon either in English or in Spanish

Download a free leaflet provided with the book: http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/downloadextracts/Anticancerleaflet.pdf

Cancer scam: mother shaved son's head and eyebrows

A UK mother who shaved her son's head and eyebrows to pretend he had cancer in an £85,000 ($130,300) benefit scam has been jailed.

The woman, from the Stroud area of Gloucestershire, forged doctors' notes and made it look as though her son was taking medication for cancer.

She forced him to wear a bandana and sent him to school in a wheelchair, where he was unable to run around and play and became the "butt of jokes".

The woman used the money she fraudulently claimed in benefits to take her children to Florida, where she made the boy sit in the wheelchair so they could jump queues.

Las células tumorales del cáncer de colon necesitan a las sanas para hacer metástasis

Este hallazgo del IRB permitirá tener en cinco años un test para predecir el riesgo de expansión del tumor

No hay metástasis en el cáncer de colon si las células tumorales no convencen a las sanas para que les ayuden a sobrevivir. Es la principal conclusión de una investigación pionera, liderada por Eduard Batlle, coordinador del Programa de Oncología del Instituto de Investigación de Barcelona (IRB), y la doctora Elena Sancho, investigadora asociada, y en el que también ha participado el oncólogo Joan Massagué, director adjunto del IRB y descubridor de las claves de expansión de este cáncer al pulmón.

Cuban medicament against cancer rewarded in the FIHAV 2012

The Cuban medicine against cancer called VIDATOX received the special prize of the XXX International Fair of the Havana, the most important stock market of the Carib.

The medicament,created by the state Managerial Group of Productions Biofarmacéuticas and Chemistries of Havana (Labiofam) was elaborated based on poison of scorpion and it can be used against any type of cancer.

Fármaco cubano contra el cáncer premiado en la FIHAV 2012

El medicamento cubano contra el cáncer llamado VIDATOX recibió el premio especial de la XXX Feria Internacional de La Habana, la bolsa comercial más importante del Caribe.

El fármaco creado por el estatal Grupo Empresarial de Producciones Biofarmacéuticas y Químicas de La Habana (Labiofam) se elaboró a base de veneno de escorpión y puede ser usado contra cualquier tipo de cáncer.

El orégano combate el cáncer / Oregano fights cancer

El orégano, ingrediente común de las pizzas y de muchas salsas italianas, ha sido estudiado durante décadas por sus diversos efectos beneficiosos para la salud. Ahora, un nuevo trabajo de investigadores de la Universidad Long Island (EE UU) ha dado un paso más al demostrar que un componente de esta especia podría usarse para tratar el cáncer de próstata, uno de los tumores masculinos que más muertes causan cada año.

Oregano, common ingredient in many Italian sauces and pizzas , has been studied for decades for its different health benefits. Now, a new study carried out by researchers from Long Island University (USA) has shown that a component of this spice could be used to treat prostate cancer, one of the most deadly tumors in men.

Cipla announces price reduction on select cancer drugs

Cipla announced price cut in three additional anti-cancer drugs Erlotinib (Erlocip) , Docetaxel (Docetax) and Capecitabine (Capegard) recently. Earlier, the company had announced price reduction on three major anti-cancer drugs - Sorafenib (Soranib), Gefitinib (Gefticip) and Temozolomide (Temoside) in May 2012.

Skin grown in Cornwall malignant melanoma cancer study

Scientists in Cornwall are attempting to grow human skin in a bid to improve survival rates in skin cancer.

The skin is being made at the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health in Truro.

In the project scientists are studying skin cells which are in contact with each other rather than single cells.

Researchers have said this is more realistic and could help to identify people at risk.

Cancer Research said the number of cases of malignant melanoma skin cancers in Cornwall is higher than the UK average.

The number of cases of malignant melanoma in Cornwall is higher than the UK average, according to Cancer Research

Nacen en España los dos primeros bebés sin una mutación genética que predispone al cáncer de colon

La lucha contra el cáncer puede empezar desde el mismo momento de la gestación. Un equipo de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAM) y del Programa de Reproducción Asistida Fundació Puigvert-Hospital de Sant Pau, también en la ciudad condal, ha presentado a los primeros gemelos nacidos en el mundo con una doble condición: por una parte, no han heredado la mutación genética que les predisponía a sufrir el más común del cáncer de colon hereditario, el síndrome de Lynch pero, además, cuando eran embriones de apenas tres días, los expertos se aseguraron de que no iban a presentar tampoco alternaciones cromosómicas que cuestionaran su viabilidad o les provocaran graves enfermedades en un futuro.

Es un paso más en el diagnóstico genético preimplantacional (DGP), la técnica que se inauguró en España en 1994 para conseguir que una pareja diera a luz por primera vez en el país a un niño libre del gen de la hemofilia.

Signs and Symptoms of Cancer

What are some general signs and symptoms of cancer?

You should know some of the general signs and symptoms of cancer. But remember, having any of these does not mean that you have cancer—many other things cause these signs and symptoms, too. If you have any of these symptoms and they last for a long time or get worse, please see a doctor to find out what’s going on.

Unexplained weight loss

Most people with cancer will lose weight at some point. When you lose weight for no known reason, it’s called anunexplained weight loss. An unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more may be the first sign of cancer. This happens most often with cancers of the pancreas, stomach, esophagus (swallowing tube), or lung.

First post

Hello world!

This blog intends to be an informational area where people can instruct themselves and (the most important!) comment and discuss about new news related to cancer. The news will be either in English and/or Spanish so as to let more people read them.

If you have special interest in reading about some particular cancer, please let me know.