Archive for March, 2010

Breast Cancer Treatment: Hyperthermia with RT and CT

This is two separate news stories about one breast cancer patient. One is during her hyperthermia treatment and one is afterwards.

Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment used in battling cancer by heating tumors. The Heating is about as warm as a hot tub. Research has shown that heat can damage or kill cancer cells in some tumors while also making radiation and chemotherapy more effective.

While it has been known for hundreds of years that fevers can kill cancer, only recently has technology been developed that can control and focus heat specifically on tumors. Local hyperthermia treatment (heat applied to a very small area, such as a tumor) is a well-established cancer treatment.

Primary malignant tumors have a bad blood circulation, which make them more sensitive to changes in temperature. “Our own clinical experience and the results of numerous published studies are highly encouraging in that increased use of hyperthermia will improve the quality of life for cancer patients and improve control of cancer recurrences.” Dr. Gerald Sokol, New Hope Cancer Center, Hudson, FL.

“Hyperthermia is offering our patients new hope. We are often seeing faster responses, better cancer control, and fewer side effects.” Dr. Leland Rogers, gammawest, Salt Lake City, Utah “Hyperthermia gives us a method to treat people when there are few other alternatives. It’s an additional form of treatment that can be done in difficult cases, usually without serious side effects or complications.” Dr …

Fighting Sex and Body Changes After Breast Cancer Treatment

Changes in your appearance and/or your sex life after breast cancer treatment may well bring you down. Psychologist Helen Coons, phd, clinical director of Women’s Mental Health Associate in Philadelphia, advises patients to speak up about both.

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Breast Cancer Surgery: Lumpectomy, Mastectomy

This 3D patient education medical animation depicts various surgical procedures to remove breast cancer lumps and tumors. The surgeries include lumpectomy, simple mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy, and radical mastectomy surgery.

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Breast Cancer And Pregnancy

Although it is rare for breast cancer to strike younger women, the fact remains that all women are at risk. And for those of childbearing age, the first sign and symptoms of breast cancer leading to a diagnosis can not only be upsetting and unexpected, but complicated as well.

Developing breast cancer at a younger age—in a woman’s 40s, 30s, even 20s—will mean making important and difficult decisions about one’s life and future perhaps much sooner than originally expected.

One concern is developing breast cancer during pregnancy, which although rare, can still occur. In this case, the treatment chosen will not only affect the patient and her body, but the growing baby inside her as well. It will depend on what stage of pregnancy she is in (first, second or third trimester) and what stage her cancer is in—such as whether or not it’s advanced.

Most pregnant women can have treatment for their breast cancer without affecting the baby. But some might be advised by their obstetrician or health-care practitioner—or even decide themselves—to terminate the pregnancy, more so if the pregnancy is in its earlier stages, in order to receive certain treatments that would be too risky otherwise. But it is essential to remember that it is a woman’s own decision—it is not medically necessary to terminate a pregnancy if the expectant mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. All it does is limit treatment options. Breast cancer itself will not affect the fetus—only certain tests and treatments will.

Generally speaking, tamoxifen, chemotherapy, radiation, and other drug-related therapies are avoided if the woman is pregnant because of their associated risks with birth defects. Tamoxifen, especially, is considered very unsafe because it is a hormonal therapy and is never recommended if the woman is pregnant or planning on conceiving.

Surgery—either a lumpectomy or mastectomy—is the most common and preferred method of treatment for breast cancer in pregnant women.

Another concern is whether or not breast cancer survivors can or should go on to have children after treatment and recovery. It’s a very controversial issue with firm advocates on both sides of the debate.

There are two main questions here, for both the medical and health community and breast cancer survivors wanting their own children: 1) Do certain breast cancer treatments affect fertility?; and 2) Is it actually considered safe to conceive and carry a baby to term following breast cancer and breast cancer treatments?

As far as fertility goes, there is no definite answer here. For chemotherapy, it depends on the age and what specific drug was used—some affect fertility more than others. And taking tamoxifen after chemotherapy to prevent recurrence is not recommended if the woman desires to become pregnant right away. Although tamoxifen is sometimes used as a fertility treatment, there is evidence to suggest that it damages developing embryos, and therefore is not considered safe to use.

Many doctors caution these women to wait several years to ensure receiving the best breast cancer treatment possible and to go past the point of the biggest threat of breast cancer recurrence. But some women decide to go ahead and have babies anyway, since it’s so important to them.

About the Author : Make sure you’re protected from the risks and symptoms of breast cancer by visiting the information resource for breast cancer. Source: www.isnare.com
Article Source: http://articles.smashits.com/articles/family/64488/breast-cancer-and-pregnancy.html

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Phytochemicals And Fruits Help Treat Breast Cancer

You are in luck if you love sinking your teeth into juicy delectable fruits, and if you know someone with breast cancer or are a breast cancer patient yourself. Pomegranates and mangoes are considered to be superfruits, or fruits that are known for their exceptional nutritional richness and antioxidant qualities. New research indicates that substances found in pomegranates and mangoes may be natural alternatives to breast cancer medication and other treatment options. The wonderful thing about fruits as natural medicines is that they are delicious, there are no side-effects as a result of their consumption, and they contain a variety of nutrients.

Both fruits have the potential to alter some of those dismal breast cancer statistics by preventing the spread of breast cancer!

Pomegranates

Pomegranate fruit contains phytochemicals, specifically Urolithin B, that work like aromatase inhibitors. In reference to the results of a study published in the January issue of Cancer Prevention Research, researchers say they’ve found a natural substance in pomegranates that could prevent the development of hormone-dependent breast cancer and stop the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, AI drugs come choc-full of side effects such as severe joint pain, muscle aches, hot flashes, headaches, bone fractures, fatigue, and even a risk of heart disease. Aromatase inhibitors are used by physicians to block the synthesis of estrogen in an attempt to subdue the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer tumors.

The research team for the aforementioned study discovered that natural phytochemicals found in pomegranates suppress estrogen production, thereby preventing the spread of breast cancer cells and the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors. One particular substance found in pomegranates – dubbed Urolithin B – significantly inhibited the growth of cultured breast cancer cells in the laboratory.

Mangos

What do mangoes contain that may eventually have the scientific and medical communities singing their praises as worthwhile adversaries of breast cancer? The answer is polyphenols, the natural phytochemicals found in plants. Polyphenols are antioxidants with the potential to protect the body from disease.

At Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Research department, laboratory experiments indicated that mango fruit prevented or stopped cancer growth in certain breast and colon cell lines. The experiments also showed that mango extract demonstrated some anticancer abilities when tested on prostate, leukemia and lung cancer cells. When tested on the most common breast and colon cancers, however, mango compounds were found to have even stronger cancer fighting abilities than when tested on the other types of cancer cells.

In the experiments, the researchers documented that the cancer cell division process was interrupted by the mango extract. In fact, the mango extract caused the colon and breast cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

When husband and wife food scientists Dr. Suzanne and Steve Talcott performed the experiments at Texas A&M, they evaluated specific polyphenols for effectiveness. What they found was that gallotannins were the most active cancer-fighting agents in mangoes. Gallotannins are a class of natural polyphenolic compounds believed to aid in the prevention or halt the growth of cancer cells.

So, pomegranate and mango lovers, eat and drink up!

By Jenny Heart. Research breast cancer medication through extensive breast cancer info resource site. Find doctors, breast cancer statistics and patient stories.
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Technorati Tag: Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment

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