Avoiding Skin Cancer

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Do you know what the most common form of cancer is in the United States? If you answered, "skin cancer", you'd be correct. Approximately 1 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer each year. That is an incredible amount! But if caught early, skin cancer can be curable.

What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer occurs when the outer skin cells grow abnormally.

What types of skin cancer are there?

There are three types of skin cancer. The two most common forms are squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas. The third type, melanoma, is less common but far more deadly.

How can I avoid skin cancer?

Protect your skin.

To protect against skin cancer, avoid exposure to ultra-violet rays. Make sure you use a sunscreen with any of the following ingredients listed in the top 2 positions in the ingredient list:

Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, or Parcal 1789.

After I learned this information, I checked my own sunscreen. It was SPH 50 and a well-known brand, so I felt confident. "With an SPH of 50, of course it is going to protect me", I thought. WRONG! None of the ingredients I just listed were included in my sunscreen.

I rushed to the store to find a sunscreen that included these most important ingredients but what I found (or did not find) shocked me.

Among all the common brands out there, not one had listed Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, or Parcal 1789 among the ingredients. I will be honest: it was hard to find but I eventually found one. A bonus was that it was actually far less expensive than what I have been paying all along for a sunscreen that was never protecting me against the harmful UV rays to begin with. So don't think you have to pay a fortune for a good quality sunscreen!

Limit your time in the sun during peak times.

The hours between 10am and 2pm are when damaging rays are at their peak. If you must be out during this time, wear your sunscreen and protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts, a brimmed hat, and sunglasses. Tanning beds and sunlamps are damaging so stay out of them, too!

What foods can help to discourage skin cancer?

What you eat can have an impact on the development of cancer. To reduce your overall risk of developing skin cancer, focus on getting in plenty of the following foods:

Soy

Tofu, miso, soybeans, tempeh, and soy milk contain phytochemicals that help to fight cancer.

Whole Grains

Cereal, breads, whole oats, wheat, and rice that contains folic acid and selenium all help to fight off cancer. (Brazil nuts also contain selenium, which help to ward off skin cancer).

Fruits and Vegetables

Broccoli, kale, peas, celery, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, winter squash, and sweet potatoes are all great veggie choices! Citrus fruits, red grapefruit, cantaloupe, and strawberries are all examples of fruits that not only taste great, but also help to fight skin cancer.

Fish

Fish contains the valuable omega-3 fatty acids. Oily, cold-water fish (like salmon and tuna) are rich in not only omega-3's but also selenium.

Flaxseed Oil

This is another fantastic source of omega-3 fatty acids.

What about supplements?

Supplements are a great way to enhance your diet if you would like to give your diet a boost. Selenium, Vitamin E, Fish oil capsules, and ECGC (epigallocatechin-gallate) all help to fight skin cancer and can be a wonderful addition to your diet.

Are there any other steps I can take?

It is important to check your skin often for signs of skin cancer. Look for any irregularities that might show themselves in moles with irregular edges, color, or are longer that 6mm. I highly recommend visiting a dermatologist once a year for a skin and mole check to ensure you're safe from developing skin cancer.

With a few lifestyle changes, you can protect yourself against skin cancer and minimize its harmful effect on your health.

Colleen is a health and fitness enthusiast who loves to pass on the latest information on health and wellness. Sign up for your free e-newsletter filled with cutting-edge information on health, nutrition, weight loss, and fitness. For your free e-newsletter, visit HealthyRevelations.com

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Prostate Cancer Treatment? - New Study Results - Delay Prostate Cancer Treatment! - Nurse's Report!

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by Helen Hecker

Whether or not to treat prostate cancer conventionally is one of the major medical dilemmas we have today. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. Approximately 222,000 cases will be diagnosed this year, however most prostate tumors tend to grow slowly. They never actually threaten lives. There is no sure way to tell which tumors will grow at a more rapid rate.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests can help find tumors many years before they cause any prostate cancer symptoms, however routine screening of men who are at average risk is currently not recommended, because there is no proof that it saves lives.

Prostate cancer treatments are particularly rugged, especially on older men. And many men end up after the treatment with sexual, bladder control or other prostate gland or prostate health problems. Many doctors instead recommend "watchful waiting" to monitor signs of prostate disease and treat it only if the signs or symptoms get worse. Smaller studies have given contrary views of the safety of this approach.

This new study looked at the natural course of the disease in the men who had chosen that option. Grace Lu-Yao of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey was the head of the study. It's the first study involving so many older men. 50% of the men were over 75 and many of their tumors were found through the PSA tests.

As part of this study they used the U.S. government's prostate cancer database. The researchers studied 9,017 men who were diagnosed over a period of ten years, from 1992-2002, with early-stage prostate cancer who did not get prostate surgery, radiation or hormone therapy for at least six months. Most of the men never had any treatment whatsoever.

Ten years later only 3 percent to 7 percent of those with the low-grade or moderate-grade tumors (which are rated by how aggressive the cells appear to be) had died of prostate cancer, while 23 percent of those with high-grade tumors died. Overall, prostate cancer killed only 10 percent of the patients.

It's thought that most of the patients are going to die from something else and because of this most of the older men with the early-stage tumors could delay any treatment. It's not clear what should be done, if anything - whether it's conventional prostate cancer surgery, radiation and hormone therapy or alternative prostate cancer treatment. This may be true even if people are younger or have a more advanced prostate cancer. Most cases are diagnosed in men who are 68 or older, and most are in an early stage.

In any event this large study shows that a large number of men do well with no initial treatment and with no treatment long term. So this new study shows that for older men observation is a reasonable approach. Many patients do well for a long period of time with absolutely no treatment.

To sum up, older men with early-stage prostate cancer are not taking a big risk if they just keep a good eye on the progress instead of going ahead with treatment. It's the largest study to look at this issue since the PSA blood tests to detect prostate tumors became so popular in the 1990s. The study may persuade some middle-of-the-road prostate doctors that we are over-treating prostate cancer and that PSA testing may be magnifying the problem. Finally patients have the opportunity to concentrate on adopting a healthy lifestyle and most importantly adopting a healthy diet.

For more information on prostate cancer treatments and prostate cancer symptoms go to a nurse's website http://www.BestProstateHealthTips.com specializing in enlarged prostate, and prostate cancer tips, advice and resources, including info on prostate tests and natural prostate cancer treatments

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Risk Of Ovarian Cancer

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by Jackstone

What women should know?

Every year, 6,800 new cases of ovarian cancer are discovered in the UK, and there are about 4,650 deaths per year caused by the ovarian cancer. About 50 percent of ovarian cancer patients are already at an advanced stage by the time a correct diagnosis is made. She said I had had Stage IIIc ovarian cancer and she did not know if there was lymph node involvement.

Women who have a prior history of breast cancer will also have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer at some time in their life. It is also said to be that women is at high risk in her advanced age.

Some other factors are: A family history of osteoporosis. Abnormal absence of menstrual periods (amenorrhea). Anorexia nervosa. Vitamin D deficiency. Use of certain medications (corticosteroids, chemotherapy, anticonvulsants and others).

The statistics for osteoporosis related fractures is downright scary - according to the NOF, A woman's risk of hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. One study linked dairy products to an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

It has been observed that the majority of women with epithelial ovarian cancer are not diagnosed early enough. Note that radiation is rarely used in ovarian cancer treatment. In most instances, different kinds of anticancer drugs are prescribed in combination in order to speed up ovarian cancer treatment.

For more information and articles about health issues and concern, visit http://ward911.blogspot.com. For natural healing and alternative articles visit http://natureheal.blogspot.com. Get fit naturally, visit http://extrafit.blogspot.com.

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Memory Screenings Are An Essential Tool For Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease

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by Wendy Mitchell

So you think your loved one might have Alzheimer's disease. Did you know that simple and safe memory-screening tests are available to help your doctor assess your loved one's memory and other mental functions?

"Memory screening tests are great tools that give doctors a benchmark for evaluating a person's memory," explained Jay Ellis, D.O., director of neuroscience research of the Berkshires, Pittsfield, Mass. "It's so important for people with Alzheimer's disease to get a proper diagnosis from their doctor so they can begin treatment, which can help slow the progression of symptoms."

The Ins and Outs of

Memory Screenings

Memory screenings typically consist of a series of questions and tasks designed to test memory, language skills and thinking ability. Two common examples are the clock-drawing test and three-word recall test.

The clock-drawing test requires patients to draw a clock and set the hands at a specific time. Although there are a number of scoring systems for this test, the Alzheimer's disease cooperative scoring system is based on a score of five points: one point for the clock circle, one point for the numbers being in the correct order, one point for the numbers being in the proper spatial order, one point for the two hands of the clock and one point for the correct time. A normal score is four or five points. However, a score of three points or below could signal possible Al-zheimer's disease.

Another test, the three-word recall, is a simple examination where patients are given the names of three unrelated objects to remember-table, ball and pen, for example. The patient is then asked to repeat the three words, scoring one point for each object correctly recalled. This test is administered alone or in combination with the clock-drawing test. Later in the doctor's visit, patients are asked to recall the original three words given in the beginning of the memory screening.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)-an 11-question measure that evaluates five areas of cognitive function: orientation, memory, attention/calculation, language and visuospatial ability-is another, more-complex test used to screen for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease and

the Benefits of Combination Therapy

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, as well as behavioral changes. An estimated one in eight persons over age 65 and nearly half of those 85 or older have Alzheimer's disease.

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, FDA-approved treatments have been shown to slow the progression of symptoms and improve quality of life. A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that combining two classes of treatments, an NMDA receptor antagonist and a cholinesterase inhibitor, provided greater cognitive, functional and behavioral benefits to people with moderate to severe Al-zheimer's disease than treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors alone. This approach to treatment is known as combination therapy.

For more information about Alzheimer's disease, including signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests and information about caregiving, visit www.alzheimersonline.com. The spatial inaccuracies in this clock drawing could indicate the need for further evaluation for Alzheimer's disease.

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Treatment of Mesothelioma

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by Nkeno Kapya

Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer that attacks the lining that covers most of our organs, the mesothelium. It is caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust, a compound that was used in the construction industry several years ago. Mesothelioma tends to manifest itself more than 30 years after an individual has been exposed to asbestos. That is why we tend to see a lot of people getting diagnosed with this terrible disease now, in the 21st century. Many more will continue to be diagnosed. Asbestos was used up until the 1970's. Mesothelioma has also been associated with irradiation, intrapleural thorium dioxide, and the inhalation of other fibrous silicates.

Since mesothelioma is a cancer, the same methods used to treat any other cancer are also used in the treatment of mesothelioma. Depending on the patient's medical history and the stage of the mesothelioma, doctors can decide on which treatment would be best for the patient. One can expect either one, or a combination of the following; chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Due to the intricacies of mesothelioma, the prognosis after treatment tends not to be very good. A patient's prognosis is usually a few years at the most.

In order to try and prolong a patient's life as much as possible doctors these days tend to use all three methods of treatment. This is known as trimodality therapy. This has proven to increase one's survival time by up to 5 years. Without this it is a year at most.

With trimodality therapy chemotherapy is the first treatment administered. The drugs used in chemotherapy are given either orally or intravenously. The aim of this is to halt the growth of malignant mesothelioma. After chemotherapy comes surgery, where any tumor mass is removed. Surgery is performed in four stages.

wide local excision
pleurectomy and decortication
extrapleural pneumonectomy
pleurodesis
postoperative radiation therapy

The last method is radiation where high-energy x-rays are used to kill off the cancer cells.

New methods of treating mesothelioma are currently being researched. These include gene therapy, IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and immunotherapy.

For more info on mesothelioma treatment please visit Nkeno's site.

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Use of Cord Blood to Cure Leukemia

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by Kerwin A. Chang

A three-year-old leukemia victim was given a life-saving infusion of her own cord blood, marking the first time a child with this disease served as their own blood donor, American doctors said.

The little girl is now a thriving six-year-old -- a tribute, say her doctors, to the pioneering transplant that helped her recover from radical chemotherapy.

They also commended the foresight of her parents who decided to save some of her umbilical cord on the off chance it might be needed later.

"There's a good chance the procedure saved her life. She is in remission and has an excellent chance of being cured," said Ammar Hayani, the pediatric oncologist who treated the youngster at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill.

In 2003, the little girl was diagnosed with the most common childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and began long-term chemotherapy treatment.

She quickly went into remission, but 10 months later the cancer was back, and this time it had spread to her spine, a worrying development that signaled the leukemia was a particularly aggressive kind that would probably not respond well to treatment, Hayani said.

Her doctors responded with a more aggressive chemotherapy protocol and full-body radiation, and then looked around for ways to replace the blood system they had wiped out.

Ordinarily they would have had to choose between a blood or bone marrow transplant from a family member or unrelated donor, but in this case, the family members were not a match.

And rather than use material from an unrelated donor, with the corresponding risk of life-long complications, they opted to take the controversial and risky step of transplanting the girl's own cord blood, which had been frozen and stored at a private blood bank several years following her birth in 1999.

"We were in unchartered territory," said Hayani. "We couldn't predict with any certainty whether the operation would be successful. We had no concrete data, but the parents felt very comfortable with it, so we went ahead."

The procedure was not without risk, because even though the cord blood was screened to ensure it did not contain any cancerous cells, the screening techniques are not 100 percent accurate, Hayani explained.

Still, the child's parents weighed the risks and gambled that their daughter's own stem cells, contained in her cord blood, would benefit her more than stem cells harvested from the bone marrow or blood of strangers.

The results so far suggest they made the right call, said Hayani who reported on the girl's case in a paper that appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

"It's hard to argue with success. Relapse seems very unlikely at this point, and she has an excellent quality of life, much better than if she had taken stem cells from a donor."

Kerwin Chang writes for http://www.cordbloodmen.com where you can find out more about cordbloodmen and other topics.

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Why Good Colon Health Is Important

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by James Briggs

The health of your colon directly relates to the health and well being of the rest of your body. A colon that is sluggish and not working effectively will leave the sufferer feeling lethargic among other symptoms.

What a poorly functioning colon means:

The colon is known by most of us as the large intestine. The main job of the large intestine is to store bodily wastes before they are eliminated from the body.

When your colon is functioning properly these wastes pass quickly and easily from the body. When the colon function becomes slow and the whole system slows down, your colon is not healthy.

The retention of the waste products in your body leads to a build up of toxins in your system that has an effect on your whole system. The effects of the toxic waste build up can be seen in the skin as acne or just dull skin.

You can feel extremely lethargic and your other internal organs can start to also work inefficiently and start to get ill from the toxic build up.

Constipation:

The major sign of an unhealthy colon is constipation. A lack of daily bowel movements may indicate an unhealthy colon.

Many people's colons malfunction, resulting in constipation; this is often due to their unhealthy diets, which are low in fiber and high in processed foods.

Though constipation is a symptom and not a disease, the accretion of toxins in the body due to the build up of waste can result in other ailments.

Constipation can lead to headaches and backaches stomach aches, gas and even damage to the anus such as rectal tears and hemorrhoids.

Any person who is ailed by constipation should seriously think about utilizing colon cleansing treatment to restore their colon's good health.

The effects of colon cleansing on weight loss:

As has already been stated, when your colon is malfunctioning you will experience lethargy and a decrease in energy.

Once you have taken a colon cleansing treatment your energy levels will increase again giving you the energy and endurance you will need for the exercise component of your weight loss plan.

A properly functioning digestive system is the direct result of a properly functioning colon. Seeing a diet all the way through will give you a great chance at achieving good health while feeling better about yourself.

You will feel rejuvenated, and, as anyone who has had difficulty dieting can attest to, the better you feel whilst dieting, the greater your chances are of successfully completing the diet.

Colon Cleansing Treatments:

Colon cleansing treatments come in a variety of forms, which are all relatively simple to bear. You can purchase herbal based colon cleansing treatments in tablet form, in shakes and in powders that you can mix with fruit juice or water.

You can purchase colon cleansing treatments from pharmacies, health food stores, vitamin suppliers and over the internet.

Testimonials and recommendations from people who have used the various available colon cleansing treatments are available through a quick search of the internet.

I would recommend that you read these recommendations to find out about the various products available so that you can work out which product will be the best one for you to take.

In addition, your pharmacist or vitamin supplier can give you advice on the most popular and effective colon cleansing products in their expertise.

Find out more about Colon Cleansing and Bowtrol at http://www.cleanseandhealth.com/.

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Skin cancer myths debunked

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by Janet Martin

The weather may be sunny but the statistics are not. Every year, a million new skin cancer cases are diagnosed in the United States alone. The most serious form, melanoma, will be seen in almost 60,000 people this year and result in over 8,000 deaths, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Experts say the disease is increasing yearly mainly because of prolonged exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays and the thinning of the ozone layer. The tragedy of it all is that skin cancer is preventable.

To avoid this problem, it pays to be sun wise. The first step in fighting skin cancer is to learn about the disease so you can protect yourself from the sun's deadly rays . To make this easy for you, here are some skin cancer myths you should be aware of courtesy of Dermaxin, a safe and natural alternative to expensive and risky cosmetic injections. Regular use of Dermaxin will help reduce fine lines and wrinkles caused by aging and the sun's harmful rays.

Skin cancer is inherited. In some cases, it is but a healthy family history doesn't mean you won't get the disease later. It all depends on how much time you spend under the sun. Excessive sun exposure causes precancerous changes in the skin and is a major factor in the development of malignant melanoma. High-risk groups include farmers, laborers, sailors, campers, athletes, soldiers, students undergoing military training, beach lovers, and picnickers.

Only sunbathers should worry about skin cancer. False. No matter where you are or what you're doing, you can get skin cancer with constant sun exposure, especially if you go out between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the sun's rays are strongest. In fact, you may get more UV exposure in going to the office and other daily routines than spending a weekend at the beach.

A good tan is a sign of health. Wrong. A golden brown tan once meant that a person had plenty of leisure time, exercise, and fresh air. But that's not the case nowadays. Tanning is the skin's response to sun damage. When the sun's rays penetrate the skin, pigment-producing cells called melanocytes produce melanin to protect the skin and block UV light. However, this defense mechanism isn't enough to protect the skin from burning. Over time, repeated tanning causes premature aging, wrinkles, and increases your risk of skin cancer.

Only fair-skinned individuals will get skin cancer. Wrong again. While a fair complexion puts you at risk for skin cancer because it burns easily, those with dark or brown skin will also develop the disease with prolonged sun exposure.

"If you're Irish, Welsh, Scottish, or English descent, you probably have the whitest and most vulnerable type of skin. Other Europeans and Asians are at risk too. Individuals with 'olive' or brown skin carry a lower risk. Dark-skinned blacks are the least vulnerable to sun burning and sun-induced cancers but they're not immune. Even the darkest skin can burn and, decades later, develop skin cancer. Prevention is the best course," according to the editors of Consumer Guide's "Medical Book of Health Hints & Tips."

You can't get sunburned on a cloudy day. False. Up to 80 percent of the sun's rays can penetrate clouds, mist and fog. Fresh snow reflects back 85 percent while white sand can intensify it by 18 percent which is bad news for beach lovers. Staying in the water is not safe either since 5 percent of the sun's rays are reflected back on you and sunlight can penetrate up to 3 feet under water! If you believe all that will end by the time you drive home, think again. A concrete sidewalk reflects back 12 percent of the sun's rays while an asphalt road reflects about 8 percent.

Janet Martin is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.thearticleinsiders.com. Visit http://www.dermaxin.com for more information on Dermaxin.

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Prostate Cancer and Prevention

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by Jerry Ryan, Ph.D.

I recently attended a meeting of physicians, surgeons, research scientists and concerned individuals for the Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference. Representatives of Oregon Health Sciences University spoke about their state-of-the-art prostate cancer research department. Every man reading this article can benefit from the advances made in prevention, detection and treatment of this disease.

Let's begin with a brief review of our anatomy. The prostate gland is located around the bottom portion of a man's bladder and is positioned behind the pubic bone and in front of the rectum. The prostate's primary function is to produce most of the fluids in semen. Tiny ducts within the prostate convey this fluid to the urethra, the channel that drains urine from the bladder. This fluid is then released through the penis during ejaculation.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. It's estimated that by age 50, up to 1 in 4 men have some cancerous cells in the prostate gland. By age 80, the ratio increases to 1 in 2. So, your risk of prostate cancer increases as you age. The average age at diagnosis is 72.

Prostate cancer also is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. Yet unlike other cancers, you're more likely to die with prostate cancer than you are to die from it. On average, an American man has about a 30 percent risk of having prostate cancer in his lifetime, but only about a 3 percent risk of dying of the disease.

The risk of prostate cancer is dramatically higher among blacks, intermediate among whites, and lowest among native Japanese. However, this increase in risk may be due to factors other than those associated with race. Studies have shown a link between levels of testosterone and prostate cancer risk, with black men having the highest levels.

Symptoms of prostate cancer include frequent urination, inability to urinate, blood in urine or semen, or painful ejaculation. Frequent low back pain, burning urination or a weak urine flow are also very common.

There is another condition of the prostate known as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH. This is basically an enlarged prostate with no cancerous lesions. Symptoms for this condition are similar in many respects to prostate cancer. For example, Prostate-Specific Antigen or PSA levels can become elevated in both BPH and prostatic cancer.

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are the three most common approaches to treatment of prostate cancer. The selection of which method is used depends largely upon the extent of the disease. With the surgical removal of the prostate, there is an increased risk of osteoporosis similar to that of menopause in women. This problem is most often handled by using hormone replacement therapy postoperatively. Calcium and Vitamin D supplements have also been shown to be helpful in reducing this type of bone loss.

Natural measures for the prevention of prostate cancer include chemoprevention, changes in diet and lifestyle, and hormonal prevention. Chemoprevention is the use of specific natural or man-made drugs, vitamins, or other agents in order to reverse, suppress, or prevent cancer growth. Several agents, including difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), isoflavonoids, selenium, vitamins D and E, and lycopene have shown potential benefit according to studies. Further tests are needed to confirm this.

The herb, saw palmetto, was once thought to be the best natural supplement for prevention of prostate cancer. Recent studies lead researchers to believe saw palmetto to be much less powerful in its preventive effect.

A diet high in fat, especially animal fat, may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. So, reducing red meat, cheese and other dairy products, salad dressings, and gravies is a good step. Increasing the dietary intake of fruits and vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer in some studies. Adding soy products such as tofu and soy milk can be helpful in regulating hormonal balance. Exercise, even just plain old walking, has been shown to reduce the incidence of prostate and of practically all other cancers.

Since prostate cancer has a link to testosterone levels, studies are underway to discover the role of certain drugs, such as finasteride, that reduce the amount of male hormone as preventive agents for prostate cancer.

If you think you have experienced any of the symptoms listed in this article, check with your health care provider. Early detection of prostate cancer is very important in managing its damaging effects.

If you would like more information on any topic discussed in this column or to suggest ideas for an article, you can contact me my website.

Jerry Ryan, Ph.D. is a Natural Health Coach who teaches individuals and group classes on the scientifically documented benefits of natural health techniques. He is also an internationally published author and has been a guest speaker at such places as NIKE World Headquarters. For more information, his website is http://www.JerryRyanPhD.com

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Breast Cancer Survivors Spawn Increased Breast Cancer Awareness

by Mike Veluch

According to the Susan G. Komen organization, there are now 2.3 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. An increase in breast cancer survivors has been a result of new drugs and medical methods. With such an influx of breast cancer survivors, it is not surprising that these survivors have made the fight against breast cancer a priority. In fact, numerous organizations and woman-started businesses have popped up with the goal of promoting breast cancer awareness in mind.



In order to preserver breast cancer, patients often go through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Although these techniques are becoming more successful, a question of how to deal with the after-effects arises for the breast cancer survivors. Many survivors feel they are no longer attractive or a completely different person. To deal with this problem, survivors have started businesses selling breast cancer apparel and fashion items to help survivors feel proud of who they are.



While apparel is one business sector breast cancer survivors have entered, survivors have started a variety of businesses as a result of their disease. One woman, a computer scientist by profession, has started a venture creating a system for patients to keep track of medical costs and help patients in finding medical bill errors and reimbursement opportunities.



Still other patients have promoted breast cancer awareness more directly. Leigh Hurst, a breast cancer survivor, created a website selling breast cancer T-shirts. Her shirts simply said “Feel your boobies” on the front, implying that women should conduct self-exams to attempt to catch breast cancer in its early stages.



With so many women surviving breast cancer, there has been a huge increase in breast cancer awareness. It is amazing to see so many motivated individuals fighting to help others prevent or defeat such a horrible disease.


The author is the owner of http://www.help4breastcancer.com
His site contains a wealth of breast cancer information.
It also allows users to earn breast cancer apparel and to
promote breast cancer awareness. Come check out the site
to learn more breast cancer information, earn breast cancer
apparel, and promote breast cancer awareness.