Second Opinion May Aid Breast Cancer Treatment

December 5, 2006 (New York Times)

A second opinion from a team of specialists after an initial diagnosis of breast cancer resulted in a significant change in the recommended surgical treatment in more than half of cases, a new study has found.


Chemo Temporarily Shrinks Brain Areas, Study Finds

November 27, 2006 (National Health Information Center)

Discovery could explain cognitive troubles linked to cancer treatment. Chemotherapy promotes a short-term, but apparently reversible, shrinkage of key brain areas, new research shows.


Laser Therapy to Beat Cancer Without Chemo

November 27, 2006 (Daily Mail)

Mike Sherratt was facing the dismal prospect of losing an eye. A mole by the inside corner had turned cancerous and was going to have to be cut out.


Chemo Combo Fights Cancer

November 11, 2006 (Innovations Report)

Bacteria that can cause deadly infections in humans and animals have shown promise in treating cancer by "eating” tumors from the inside out. Now, two new studies at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have demonstrated that, combined with specially-packaged anti-cancer drugs, the bacterial therapy’s prospects for cancer eradication have dramatically improved.


Breakthrough In Eye Cancer Treatment

November 6, 2006 (Medical News Today)

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in a mouse model a new, locally applied treatment for the eye cancer retinoblastoma that not only greatly reduces the size of the tumor, but does so without causing the side effects common with standard chemotherapy. The treatment also appears to be suitable for certain forms of breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer, and is simple enough for widespread use even in countries with limited resources.


Radiation Adds to Lung Cancer Survival

November 6, 2006 (Reuters)

Adding a course of radiation to chemotherapy can double the lives of some lung cancer patients, European researchers reported on Monday.


Targeting Cancer Stem Cells to Stop Brain Tumors

October 31, 2006 (Media-Newswire.com)

Research on a novel approach to brain cancer – exploring the notion that the source of a brain tumor is a normal stem cell that has gone bad – is moving forward thanks to an award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.


New Hope for Brain Cancer Therapy

October 26, 2006 (Science at Berkeley Lab)

Glioblastoma multiforme, the most common of malignant brain tumors in adults, is one of the deadliest of all forms of cancer. Striking some 18,000 new victims in the United States every year, the disease is always fatal, usually within six months of onset


Seek a Second Opinion For a Difficult Diagnosis

October 25, 2006 (Rutland Herald)

We are quick to get multiple quotes when refinancing a mortgage or selecting a telephone service. But when it comes to a medical condition, we often don't take the same initiative in exploring our options, even though the reasons for obtaining a second opinion are much more complex.


Better Bladder Cancer Detection

October 24, 2006 (Ivanhoe Newswire)

Paul Smith loves retired life with his wife Sue and dog Ronan. Every year, more than 61,000 people in the United States will be told they have bladder cancer. The cancer will return in as many as 90 percent of people who are treated for it. A new test catches those recurrences earlier and easier and is just four tiny drops away.


Fish Research Aids Utah Cancer Study

October 10, 2006 (Desert Morning News)

Research on zebra fish has helped Huntsman Cancer Institute scientists identify a target that might one day lead to prevention or treatment of colon cancer — the No. 2 cause of cancer deaths in the United States.


'Mediterranean Diet' Linked With Lower Alzheimer Risk

October 9, 2006 (The Jerusalem Post)

Eating a "Mediterranean diet" of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, fish, and olive oil - which has been popular for many years in Israel but is gradually being supplanted in some sectors by American-style junk food - has been linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.


Obesity Independently Impacts Prostate Cancer Screening

October 9, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

When interpreting prostate cancer screening test results, physicians should consider the impact of a patient’s body mass index, regardless of race, according to a new study. Published in the November 15, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study found that obese African-American and Caucasian men had lower levels of prostate surface antigen (PSA) and free PSA (fPSA) than men with normal body mass index (BMI), suggesting that an obese man with a slightly elevated PSA may be at higher risk for prostate cancer than a man with normal BMI.


Exercise Helps Breast Cancer Patients Avoid Anemia

October 9, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

Women undergoing radiation treatment for breast cancer benefit from moderate intensity, regular aerobic activity, according to a new study. Published in the November 15, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study found that exercise improved the oxygen capacity of patients and maintained levels of red blood cells during radiation treatment. In contrast, women who did not exercise experienced significant declines in their oxygen capacity. This is the first study to investigate the effect of exercise during treatment.


Rare Breast Cancer Difficult To Detect

October 5, 2006 (NBC 4)

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Defies Typical Breast Cancer Warning Signs. A local doctor is warning women about a rare type of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer can be difficult to identify because it defies the typical warning signs.


Maryland Doctor Develops Vaccine That Could Fight Cancer

September 29, 2006 (NBC 4)

A Maryland doctor has helped develop a vaccine that could one day help in the fight against certain types of cancer. Vaccine Targets Cancers Of Neck, Head.


World First Advance in Breast Cancer Treatment

September 14, 2006 (The Age)

BREAST cancer sufferers around the world will benefit from the results of a groundbreaking Melbourne trial that could increase survival rates and save thousands of women from undergoing needless chemotherapy.


Liver Cancer in At-risk Liver Patients Prevented by Anti-inflammatory Drug

September 14, 2006 (Medical News Today)

Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug most often used to treat gout, prevented liver cancer in patients with hepatitis virus-related end-stage liver disease, according to a new study.


Vitamin D may Significantly Cut the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer, the Results of a New Study Indicate.

September 12, 2006 (irishhealth.com)

Vitamin D is essential for good bone health as it helps the body to absorb calcium from food. It is found in the diet in foods like fish oils, fortified margarines and dairy products, while the rest is made by the skin from sunlight.


Experts Recommend Patients do Their Homework, Get Second Opinion

September 8, 2006 (Great Falls Tribune)

Faced with so many options for medical treatment, what's a patient to do? It seems that new treatments are discovered every week and touted in the press. Health care technology is almost overwhelming.


Smoking Increases Bladder Cancer Risk

September 1, 2006 (CancerConsultants.com)

According to a study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, risk of bladder cancer increases with duration and amount of smoking.


Gene Patterns May Predict Recurrence for Early Stage Lung Cancer

August 10, 2006 (American Cancer Association)

Duke University researchers have discovered a set of gene patterns that they say can help predict recurrence in people with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. If their findings are confirmed, doctors could one day use these patterns to help decide which people need additional treatment with chemotherapy after surgery and which do not. The research appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.


Uterine Cancer May Be Clue To Inherited Syndrome

August 6, 2006 (Medical News Today)

A new study suggests that women with endometrial cancer should be screened for inherited mutations that could lead to a high risk of several other cancers.


Breast Cancer Blood Test Developed

August 4, 2006 (Press Association)

Scientists have developed a new blood test to detect breast cancer at a very early stage.


Uterine Cancer may be Indicator of Other Tumors

August 1, 2006 (The Columbus Dispatch)

Uterine-cancer patients should be screened for a genetic mutation that inflates their risk of colon, ovarian and gastric cancers, according to the lead author of a study published today.


Dietary Patterns Linked with Cancer Risk

Aug 1, 2006 (American Institute for Cancer Research)

World's Most Comprehensive Cancer Study is Finding Connections Between Dietary Patterns, Risk for Cancer. So Why Haven't You Heard of it?


Testicular Cancer Success Has Doctors Asking Why

August 1, 2006 (New York Times)

The cyclist Lance Armstrong’s successful treatment for advanced metastatic testicular cancer was not a miracle, though some accounts have portrayed it as one.


Exercise Improves Life for Breast Cancer Survivors

July 31, 2006 (Reuters)

Women getting over breast cancer treatment who engage in aerobic and resistance training exercises may have better physical fitness and better quality-of-life than their more sedentary counterparts, new study findings show.


Blood Product Shows Promise in Treating Alzheimer's

July 19, 2006 (The New York Times)

A blood product normally used to treat immune disorders and a type of leukemia may also slow or stop mental decline in people


Sunscreen Isn't Perfect, but Still Worth Using

July 10, 2006 (Boston Globe)

For years now I have been, shall we say, a rather haphazard sunscreen user. And I'm not alone -- a fact that makes dermatologists apoplectic.


Gene Changes Linked to Most Common Form of Melanoma

July 10, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

A new study may shed some light on why some people develop melanoma on parts of their bodies that don't get much sun. Researchers say these people often have a variation in a gene called MC1R which makes the skin sensitive to small amounts of any type of ultraviolet (UV) light


U.S. Women Uninformed About Lung Cancer

July 10, 2006 (HealthDay News)

A new survey finds that American women are greatly uninformed about the threats posed by lung cancer and how it can affect them.


New Therapy Approved For Multiple Myeloma - Revlimid Delays Time to Progression

July 7, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new use for the drug Revlimid (lenalidomide). It will now be available to people with multiple myeloma that has not responded to other treatments. The drug is already approved to treat a certain type of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder that can sometimes lead to leukemia.


Formula Helps Find Some Colon Cancers

June 28, 2006 (Forbes)

Scientists have developed a simple formula that can help find colon cancer patients with certain inherited bad genes - information that can help determine the best course of treatment and identify family members at risk of developing the disease, too.


Excess Pounds May Raise Ovarian Cancer Risk

June 15, 2006 (Reuters)

Being overweight in young adulthood or later in life may raise a woman's risk of ovarian cancer, particularly if she's never had children, researchers have found.


'Immediate Hope' For Leukemia Patients

June 14, 2006 (Web MD)

Two new drugs -- developed with astonishing speed -- offer real hope to patients with deadly forms of leukemialeukemia


Buddies For Life: When Should You Get A Second Opinion?

June 11, 2006 (KFMB - CBS NEWS)

Medicine isn't always an exact science, because doctors are human and can make mistakes. So if you're diagnosed with cancer, getting a second opinion may make sense. Even if the diagnosis is correct, there could be treatment options you haven't considered.


U.S. Approves Use of Vaccine For Cervical Cancer

June 9, 2006 (NY Times)

Federal drug officials on Thursday announced the approval of a vaccine against cervical cancer that could eventually save thousands of lives each year in the United States and hundreds of thousands in the rest of the world.


Survey Points To The Emergence Of The "Healthcare Consumers" In Canada

May 30, 2006 (CNW Group)

Majority of Canadian employees report taking control of decisions that affect their personal healthcare


Researchers Find that Tumor Stem Cells are Good Models for Brain Tumor Research

May 15, 2006 (The National Institutes of Health)

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), both part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that tumor stem cell lines derived directly from human glioblastoma brain tumors are a better model to study the biology and physiology of glioblastomas than are cancer cell lines that have been commonly used in cancer research laboratories.


Surgery Helps If Even Breast Cancer Spread

May 15, 2006 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Surgery greatly increases a patient's chances of surviving with breast cancer, even if the cancer has spread by the time a woman is diagnosed, Swiss researchers reported on Monday.


Exec Gets Sight Back In Damaged Right Eye

May 14, 2006 (Star Bulletin)

David Wilson learns it pays to get a second opinion, even after 24 years


Genetic Insights May Explain Retinal Growth, Eye Cancer

May 13, 2006 (Medical News Today)

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered the role of several key genes in the development of the retina, and in the process have taken a significant step toward understanding how to prevent or cure the potentially deadly eye cancer retinoblastoma.


Breast and Ovarian Cancer: New Hopes, Longer Life

May 8, 2006 (MSNBC)

An estimated 213,000 new cases of breast cancer and 20,000 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2006. Together, the two diseases will kill more than 56,700 U.S. women this year; the yearly toll comes to well over a million women worldwide, according to a 2002 World Health Organization study.


Daily Aspirin Use Linked with Pancreatic Cancer

May 1, 2006 (Pak Tribune)

Women who take an aspirin a day -- which millions do to prevent heart attack and stroke as well as to treat headaches -- may raise their risk of getting deadly pancreatic cancer, according to U.S. researchers.


Many Breast Cancer Survivors Neglect Mammograms.

April 24, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

Regular Screening Important to Catch Recurrences, New Cancers. Many breast cancer survivors don't keep up with their mammograms after their treatment has ended, according to a new study. And the longer it's been since their original diagnosis, the less likely they are to be on schedule, researchers say in the journal Cancer


Surviving Congenital Heart Defects

April 18, 2006 (WSOC TV)

Congenital heart defects are structural problems that are present at birth. The defects may affect the structure of the heart, the heart valves or blood vessels leading to or from the heart.


Studies Challenge Traditional Breast Cancer Treatments

April 12, 2006 (The New York Times)

Two important studies being published today challenge conventional thoughts about treating and avoiding breast cancer.


High Cholesterol Linked to Prostate Cancer

April 11, 2006 (HealthDay News)

Italian researchers have found what they call the first direct association between high cholesterol levels and prostate cancer


A New Hope For Brain Tumor Patients

April 6, 2006 (News 14)

Glioblastoma is the most common and the deadliest of brain cancers. It strikes all ages, including children, but a new treatment is giving patients hope for the very first time


Nicotine Makes Lung Cancer Chemo Less Effective. May Explain Worse Outcome for Patients Who Keep Smoking

April 4, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

Smokers have yet another reason to kick the habit if they're diagnosed with lung cancer. Early research on lung cancer cells suggests nicotine may make chemotherapy treatments less effective.


Screening a Lifesaver for Families at High Colon Cancer Risk. Study Details Benefit of Regular Colonoscopies

April 3, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

A new study shows just how important it is for people at very high risk of colorectal cancer to get screened regularly for the disease. Researchers from the Netherlands report that screening can cut the risk of dying from colorectal cancer by as much as 70% in people with Lynch syndrome, a genetic mutation that makes them especially susceptible to the disease.


Cancer "Tumour Bank" To Advance Research

March 17, 2006 (Toronto Star)

Global access to donated tissues Samples collected from 5 provinces. A Canadian tissue bank with more than 7,000 cancer tumour samples — and growing — is being made available to researchers around the world in what scientists are hailing as a major step in cancer research.


More Evidence That Whole Grains Could Protect Against Colon Cancer

March 17, 2006 (nutraingredients.com)

Antioxidants in wheat, allied with dietary fibre, are the key to its anti-colon cancer properties, say researchers. Whole grains, a rich source of phytochemicals, bran, fibre, minerals and vitamins, have been gaining increasing attention from researchers, with studies reporting reduced risks of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and colorectal cancer. The latter causes 492,000 deaths each year worldwide.


Stress: Why You Have It And How It Hurts Your Health

March 21, 2006 (Mayo Clinic)

Today's news includes around-the-clock coverage of natural and manmade disasters. Earthquakes and floods. War and terrorist attacks. Just 10 minutes of watching the network news can make your stress level soar.


Gene test helps predict lung cancer, study finds

March 16, 2006 (Reuters)

A test that finds damaged genes in the lungs of people considered at high risk of lung cancer might be able to predict who actually develops the deadly disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.


Early antibiotics may increase asthma risk

March 13, 2006 (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exposure to antibiotics in the first year of life may increase the risk of developing asthma later in childhood, researchers report. In fact, there may even be a higher risk with each additional course of antibiotics.


Second opinion counts for a lot

March 12, 2006 (USA Today)

One-third of adults in a recent survey said they had never sought a second opinion for a medical problem.


First Signs or Symptoms of Bone Metastases

February 27, 2006 (The Yahoo Health section)

The first symptom of metastases to the bone is usually pain near the metastases. However, a patient may also experience a pathological fracture as the first sign that their cancer has metastasized to bone.


Why Doctors So Often Get It Wrong

February 22, 2006 (The New York Times)

ON a weekend day a few years ago, the parents of a 4-year-old boy from rural Georgia brought him to a children's hospital here in north Atlanta. The family had already been through a lot. Their son had been sick for months, with fevers that just would not go away.


Society Report Describes Historic Drop in Cancer Deaths

February 2, 2006 (American Cancer Society)

A new milestone in the fight against cancer is documented in an annual American Cancer Society report released today. It shows that the actual number of Americans who died of cancer dropped below the count for the previous year, based on records from 2003 and 2002, the most recent data available.


Eating Lots of Fruit Further Cuts Stroke Risk, Study Shows

January 27, 2006 (Bloomberg.com)

Eating more than the recommended daily amounts of fruit and vegetables further reduces the risk of having a stroke, a new study shows.


Thalomid slows multiple myeloma: Celgene

January 9, 2006 (Reuters)

Celgene Corp. said on Monday that a pivotal-stage trial of its Thalomid drug was stopped early after the medicine was shown to dramatically limit the progress of the blood cancer multiple myeloma.


Study brings big advance against ovarian cancer.

January 5, 2006 (The Associated Press)

Heavy chemotherapy treatment boosts survival, researchers find. Pumping heavy doses of chemotherapy drugs right into the abdomen boosted survival of women with advanced ovarian cancer by 16 months in what experts call the first big advance in more than a decade against one of the most lethal cancers in women.


U.S. cancer death rate continues to drop

January 4, 2006 (The Associated Press)

Decline includes the four most common types of the disease, report finds. The rate of cancer cases diagnosed in the United States has stabilized, but the cancer death rate continues to decline, including the four most common types of cancer — prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal — the National Cancer Institute said Thursday.


Study: Vitamin D lowers risk of major cancers

December 29, 2005 (Reuters)

Researchers urge more consumption for colon, breast and ovarian cancer. Cancer researchers urged people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower their risk of colon, breast and ovarian cancer, saying studies showed a clear link.


Aspirin may cripple cancer cells

December 15, 2005 (Health News)

University of Pittsburgh researchers have found that aspirin aids in switching on a death signal for cancer cells and could be used to prevent many aggressive secondary cancers.


Better test sought for prostate cancer

December 12, 2005 (USA TODAY)

Melvyn Raider is all too familiar with the limitations of prostate cancer screening. Raider, 63, began getting PSA tests in his 50s. They were recommended by his doctor as a way to catch cancer early, when it is more curable.


Burning questions about green tea

December 12, 2005 (Los Angeles Times)

We've always been told the drink is good for us, but the Food and Drug Administration isn't so sure. Tea, to China's 18th century Emperor Chien Lung, was more than a whistle-wetting pick-me-up: It was "that precious drink which drives away the five causes of sorrow."


Fewer Breast Cancer Patients to Get Chemo

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 10, 2005 (AP News)

For years, doctors have known exactly what to do with breast cancer patients like Eva Ossorio: Poison them. Blasting women with toxic chemicals was considered the best way to save their lives. The bigger the cancer or the more it had spread, the more vile liquid doctors pumped into their veins to try to kill it. But there's been a sea change in the last year.


Few cancer survivors receive critical post-treatment care, report says

November 8, 2005 (The Associated Press)

The nation's 10 million cancer survivors require customized follow-up for years that too few now receive, says a major study that calls for oncologists to create a "survivorship plan" to guide every patient's future health care.


Cancer Treatment: Know Your Options

November 4, 2005 (MediLink Features)

Earlier this year, Nancy Touhey was snorkeling in the Caribbean with her family - something she never imagined she would be able to do. After getting married in 1992, Touhey was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma.


Race Can Affect Decision About Lung Cancer Treatment

November 4, 2005 (American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)

Race may play a role in whether a patient accepts surgical treatment for lung cancer. A study in the November issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that blacks with lung cancer declined surgery at a higher rate than whites, leading researchers to believe that blacks may be misinformed about the effects of lung cancer surgery.


Advanced Imaging Techniques Help in Prostate Cancer Treatment

November 1, 2005 (University of Michigan Health System)

Even with a family history of prostate cancer, 42-year-old Ray Harvey was stunned when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease.


Digital Mammograms better in some cases

October 18, 2005 (Dailey Republic)

Dr. Eric Tau, a board certified radiologist, sits in a darkened room searching for signs of breast cancer on a computer screen. He zooms in on a small area and tweaks the display to examine a small lump on the right breast.


Refuge From Cancer

October 14, 2005 (The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles)

Four years ago, my wife told me not to build a sukkah. She had a good reason. In early September of 2001, Marsha was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer — a tumor in each breast.


Cancer survivors: Managing your emotions after cancer treatment

October 7, 2005 (Mayo Clinic)

When you began your cancer treatment, you couldn't wait for the day you'd finish. But now that you've completed your treatment, you aren't sure if you're ready for life as a cancer survivor.


Survivors find purpose, strength

October 3, 2005 (Gloucester County Times)

In April 1995, Chris Taylor scheduled a mammogram and a clinical breast exam. Both came out negative. Then, in August 1995 -- just four months later -- she felt a lump in her breast which turned out to be a 1.5 centimeter tumor.


Advanced Imaging Techniques Help in Prostate Cancer Treatment

September 27, 2005 (University of Michigan Health System)

Even with a family history of prostate cancer, 42-year-old Ray Harvey was stunned when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease.


You Are Not Alone: Online Resource Available for Teens Trying to Come to Grips With Cancer

September 27, 2005 (The Wellness Community)

How One Girl Found Comfort and Support on Her Laptop. Already struggling on so many fronts with issues that have nothing to do with cancer, the needs of teens can be extraordinary.


Many Ignore Doctor Recommendations On Perceptions of 'Over Treatment'

September 13, 2005 (The Wall Street Journal)

More than half of U.S. adults say they've chosen to forgo a treatment recommended by their doctor, including filling a prescription, getting a diagnostic test or undergoing a surgical procedure, because they felt it was unnecessary or too aggressive, a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive health-care poll found.


When Is a Headache Not Just a Headache?

September 11, 2005 (The New York Times)

The man squinted into the morning mist as he leaned forward to place his ball on the first tee of the golf course. The motion triggered an explosion of pain. "There was a huge bang in my head," he later told the neurologist, the third doctor he had seen in the two months since that Friday morning.


In the Hospital, a Degrading Shift From Person to Patient

August 16, 2005 (The New York Times)

Mary Duffy was lying in bed half-asleep on the morning after her breast cancer surgery in February when a group of white-coated strangers filed into her hospital room.


Awash in Information, Patients Face a Lonely, Uncertain Road

August 14, 2005 (The New York Times)

Nothing Meg Gaines endured had prepared her for this moment. Not the six rounds of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer that had metastasized to her liver.


Mystery illness diagnosed - Niles man recovering after surgeries at Mayo Clinic.

August 11, 2005 (South Bend Tribune)

At first, Don Schrimsher thought perhaps the loss of feeling in his legs was caused by an out-of-place vertebra.


Skin cancer triples in women under 40

August 10, 2005 (Reuters)

The incidence of two types of skin cancer has nearly tripled among women under age 40, a sign that tanning is still popular among the young despite warnings about the harm it can cause, researchers said Tuesday.


Boynton man finds it in his heart to take risk to cut odds

August 9, 2005 (Palm Beach Post)

For Clyde Freint, it was all about the odds. A weakened blood vessel leading to the 75-year-old man's heart had a baseball-sized aneurysm, a swelling that could burst with deadly results.


Cancer's other shadow - After diagnosis, younger women face unique family, infertility issues

July 17, 2005 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

When Tammy Haase was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2000, her worst fears were death and the loss of her medium-length hair.


Tulane pioneers novel ovarian cancer treatment

July 16, 2005 (Tulane University/Medical News Today)

The Tulane University Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology is investigating a novel treatment for ovarian cancer by using intravenous Ontak to deplete harmful cells that inhibit the body's natural immune response to fight cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cancer killer of women in the United States.


New Drug Gains Ground Against an Aggressive Breast Cancer

July 12, 2005 (Wall Street Journal)

Almost overnight, one of the worst forms of breast cancer has become potentially one of the most curable.


A Dose of Magic - "Chemo parties" help patients cope amid stresses of cancer treatment

July 11, 2005 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The first clue arrives at night in her east Cobb mailbox in the form of pale blue socks with white bunnies. By morning, Lisa Nesz can hardly wait for her latest party thrown by friends. She's had one about every two weeks for the past 16 months, but she never knows the motif.


Care from others critical in fight against cancer

June 10, 2005 (Oxford Press)

It is rare to find anyone with enough optimism to label the experience of cancer as a positive encounter. However, Julie Burt, an Oxford breast cancer survivor of strong faith, is anything but bitter about her cancer experience.


Promising New Cancer Treatment

June 8, 2005 (Long Island Press News Staff)

Men with prostate cancer have new cause for confidence in a treatment other than invasive surgery. The results of an eight-year study on nearly 1,500 Long Island prostate cancer patients will be published in this month’s preeminent Journal of Urology, which show the success rate of one alternative is equal to or better than surgical therapy.


New Cancer Treatment Unveiled

June 7, 2005 (The Flint Journal)

A new cancer treatment known for delivering the right dose of radiation in the right place could make a difference in treating small, hard-to-reach tumors.


Success with dual liver cancer treatment

June 2, 2005 (University of Michigan Health System)

It's been five years since Dave Smethurst had 10 tumors removed from his liver. After surgery, three remained, too difficult for surgeons to safely remove.


Studies Find Disparity in U.S. Cancer Care

May 16, 2005 (The New York Times)

New studies show that Americans generally receive high-quality cancer care but that closer monitoring is needed to explain significant geographic variations in practices.


Mayo researchers to announce new findings about promising early-stage breast cancer treatment

May 16, 2005 (Mayo Clinic)

A study led by a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist and conducted by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) provides important new data about the effectiveness and safety of a breast cancer treatment combining chemotherapy and a drug called trastuzumab (Herceptin).


Drug's Effect On Cancer Stuns Doctors. Specialists Are Saying Revlimid Now Looks Like A Breakthrough

May 16, 2005 (Associated Press)

No one could have been more surprised than the doctors themselves. They were just hoping to relieve the symptoms of a deadly blood disorder — and ended up treating the disease itself. In nearly half of the people who took the experimental drug, the cancer became undetectable.


Health Alert: Cancer treatment timing

May 11, 2005 (WISTV.com)

With some cancers, it's often best to step back and consider your options. Knowing how to time your treatment is best decided after talking it over with your doctor.


Cancer Breakthrough May Detect Disease Years Earlier

April 15, 2005 (Daily Post)

Cancer could be detected up to five years earlier following groundbreaking DNA research at the University of Liverpool.


Role Reversal: Chemo Before Surgery for Breast Cancer

April 12, 2005 (ABC News)

When it comes to breast cancer treatment, there is usually a standard sequence of events. First a woman has surgery to remove the tumor, then, if necessary, she has chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells in the bod


Techniques: Argon to the Prostate's Rescue

April 5, 2005 (New York Times)

A new kind of surgery for prostate cancer that freezes the tumor to destroy it may be just as effective as older treatments and carry a much lower risk of impotence or urinary incontinence.


Mayo Clinic Study Shows Advanced Prostate Cancer Previously Considered Inoperable May Be Operable, Curable

April 1, 2005 (Mayo Clinic in Rochester)

New findings from Mayo Clinic indicate that cT3 prostate cancer, a disease in which the cancer has spread locally from inside the prostate to immediately outside it, is operable and has 15-year cancer survival rates of almost 80 percent.

Despite Recent Rise in Screenings, At-Risk Women Still Not Heeding Real Threat of Deadly Disease

March 22, 2005 (National Women’s Health Resource Center)

Alarming Nationwide Survey Prompts Educational Initiative Daring Women to be Aware of the Truth about Colorectal Cancer


Advances in technology give cancer patients more options

March 20, 2005 (The Dailey Oakland Press)

Alexander Buhl of Rochester was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2004. Because of the 79-year-old's age, he said he was told surgery and chemotherapy were not good ideas to treat the illness.


Natural Way to Beat Skin Cancer

March 15, 2005 (Evening Standard)

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the battle against skin cancer by discovering a way to reactivate the body's own defense system.


Rare disease strikes after dormancy

March 15, 2005 (The News Journal)

For 14 years, the mysterious growth in Shirley Jelinek's chest was nothing more than an unwelcome guest.


A Breast Cancer With a Built-In Quandary

February 22, 2005 (New York Times)

Of all the debates surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in recent decades, the most persistent and perplexing one involves a very early cancer called D.C.I.S., or ductal carcinoma in situ.


Exercise Therapy Builds Strength, Mobility in MS Patients


February 22, 2005 (Newswise.com)

Newswise — Exercise therapy can improve muscle strength, mobility and other signs of fitness in people with multiple sclerosis, according to a recent review of studies.


Inflammation-Fighting Drugs May be Key to Endometriosis Treatment

February 15, 2005 (fertilityneighborhood.com)

Medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs (EN-seds), already used to treat symptoms of endometriosis, may be effective as treatment for the disease itself, claim doctors in Boston who studied the drugs in mice.1


Why It's Hard to Get a Second Opinion (And How to Make Sure You Get One)

February 1, 2005 (Wall Street Journal)

The Second Opinion is one of the most vaunted tenets of the medical system. So why is it so hard to get one?


Traveling around the world for cancer treatment

Janurary 21, 2005 (The Soruce)

Gina Aprea Lisica has been battling cancer for more than three years, and is hoping a new treatment will help slow the progression of the disease.


Poway Woman First To Try Experimental Brain Cancer Treatment

Janurary 20, 2005 (10News.com)

A Poway woman with brain cancer is the first to undergo a groundbreaking treatment that could help her beat the deadly disease.


Physician a pioneer in cancer treatment. Chemical prolonging life beyond deadlines

January 13, 2005 (Medical College Of Ohio)

Theodore Hill woke up one day in July with chest pains. It wasn't a heart attack. Somehow he knew that. But this morning, he gasped as though the air of his room had thinned overnight.


Prostate cancer treatment makes bones brittle

January 13, 2005 (Reuters)

New research suggests an increasingly popular type of prostate cancer treatment also makes bones brittle and may be responsible for over 3,000 fractures each year in the United States.


Cervical Cancer Treatment Depends on Patient Age

December 28, 2004 (Washington University School of Medicine)

Elderly women with cervical cancer face double jeopardy. Not only does their advanced age decrease chances of survival, it also decreases the likelihood that they'll be given the most aggressive treatments for their disease, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.


Throat Cancer Treatment Saves Voices

December 24, 2004 (Ivanhoe Newswire)

A promising new option for people with throat cancer is combining surgery and laser treatment to save patients' voices.


Prostate cancer treatment concern

December 19, 2004 (BBC News)

One in three men with slow-growing prostate tumors are not getting the best treatment - and could be risking their sex lives, experts warn.


Patients Need to be Prepared in Hurried Doctor Visit

December 19, 2004 (San Antonio Express-News)

Given the go-go pace most doctors must keep to meet the demands of the managed care bureaucracy, its little wonder that many patients blank out when we finally do come face-to-face with our physician.


Study: CT Scans Find Cancer Earlier

November 29, 2004 (Associated Press)

Disease often diagnosed at advanced stages, when it is incurable


Keenly Honed Cancer Therapies Boost Seniors' Quality of Life

November 27, 2004 (Wall Street Journal)

Doctors are getting smarter about treating elderly cancer patients, led by advances in treatment and a growing understanding of what happens as a person ages.


Tissue Transplant Offers Hope

November 26, 2004 (REDNOVA NEWS)

In a world first, a 32-year-old Belgian woman has given birth to a healthy daughter following the re implantation of ovarian tissue seven years after becoming infertile through chemotherapy.


New Breast Cancer Treatment Option

Nov. 17, 2004 (Providence, Rhode Island-NBC - WISTV.com)

It's been nearly a year since Geri Anger was diagnosed with breast cancer.


New breast cancer treatment lets patients survive, thrive

October 28, 2004 (The Clarion-Ledger)

Regiena Berry was home alone on the couch one evening in mid-February when her phone rang.
  
  
Do You Feel a Lump?

October 18, 2004 (Post-Dispatch)

You've done everything right.

      
Finding Answers to your health questions is easy. The hard part is knowing what questions to ask.

October 11, 2004 (The Wall Street Journal)

Many health questions are obvious: What's the diagnosis? How is it treated? Will I get better?

   
Early detection can help overcome ovarian cancer

September 28, 2004 (Asbury Park Press)

Contrary to what many women believe, a Pap smear is not a screening test for uterine or ovarian cancer.

    
Report to the Nation on Prostate Cancer, Frames the Debates on Treatment, Identifies Areas of Consensus
  
September 22, 2004 (PRNewswire)

With Baby Boomers Aging, Prostate Cancer Has Become Most Common Non-Skin Cancer in the United States

   
Scaled-back chemotherapy could hurt chances for a cure

September 20, 2004 (USA Today)

Severe side effects keep many patients with aggressive but potentially curable non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from getting the recommended dose of chemotherapy — a problem that could hurt their chance of a cure, according to a study published Monday on the Web site of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

      
Not All Breast Cancer Patients Need Radiation

September 3, 2004 (Boston Globe)

Elderly women undergoing treatment for early stage breast cancer may safely forgo radiation therapy that is expensive, inconvenient, and often difficult without substantially increasing the prospects of the disease returning, researchers report Thursday.


Combined Treatments Show Promise for Prostate Cancer

August 21, 2004 (Houston Chronicle)

Men with prostate cancer that doesn't appear to have spread have better survival chances when they get short-term hormone treatment along with standard radiation, rather than radiation alone, a small study found.


New way to gauge cancer treatment found

August 19, 2004 (The Plain Dealer)

Unnecessary treatments for breast cancer may be a thing of the past now that the Cleveland Clinic and other researchers have come up with a more efficient method of measuring the necessity of cancer treatment.


Second Opinion Saves Springville Woman's Life

August 10, 2004 (The Porterville Recorder)

Sometimes it pays to get a Second Opinion. Five-year cancer survivor Lynnette Hanshew, 38, of Springville, believes she might not be alive today if she hadn't. In early 1999, Hanshew discovered a lump in her left breast. "My doctor felt it and said it was nothing to be concerned about," Hanshew said. "He also said I was too young for a mammogram."


Efforts Mount To Make Cancer Treatment Less Toxic

July 14, 2004 (Wall Street Journal)

As the number of long-term cancer survivors continues to increase, doctors are starting to focus attention on another issue: how to make cancer treatments less toxic without diminishing their effectiveness.


Rapid Rise in PSA May Predict Aggressive Prostate Cancer

July 12, 2004 (American Cancer Society News Center)

How quickly a man's PSA level has been rising before a diagnosis of prostate cancer may help doctors predict whether the cancer is more likely to kill him, according to a new study.


Aggressive Cancer Care Touted

June 30, 2004 (Wall Street Journal)

The oncologist told her and her husband the cancer was inoperable, and the choice wasn’t one treatment or another — but whether to do any treatment at all.


For Doctors, Second Opinions are now a Mouse Click Away

June 24, 2004 (The Detroit News)

The next time you show up at a hospital with a complicated injury or illness, there’s a good chance your doctor will consult a specialist miles or even oceans away.


Breast Cancer Particularly Traumatic for Women Under 40

June 23, 2004 (Hampton Chronicle)

At age 31, Lynnette Richey thought she had it all. She and her husband had moved to Hampton a couple years before, and a new son was born in October, 2002. She was in perfect health, she ate all the right foods, and she didn't smoke. She never expected to become the one woman in 200 who are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40.


Drugs Show New Hope in Fighting Cancer

June 7, 2004 (New York Times)

Several new drugs are showing unprecedented promise in treating kidney cancer, a form of cancer that has been particularly hard to treat, doctors said on Sunday.


Doctors Disagree on the Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer

June 3, 2004 (MedicalNewsToday.com)

A Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) study, headed by Cornelia Trimble, MD of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, has revealed that pathologists who evaluate uterine biopsies disagree 60 percent of the time on whether the specimens contain cancerous cells.


Mothers Journey of Determination Saves Son from Surgery

May 9, 2004 (TCPalm.com)

After more than 20 years of raising children, this year I learned what it really means to be a mother.


AA.I. duPont Doctors Save Two Lives Hospital Performs First Split Liver Transplants in Delaware

April 23, 2004

When a South Carolina doctor told Brenda Daniels that she should "let nature take its course" with her cancer-stricken 10-year-old son, she knew she needed a Second Opinion. Then someone told her about a hospital 660 miles away that performed a liver transplant and saved a child with the same kind of cancer as her son - the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Rockland.


Stem Cell Stransplants offer New Hope in Some Cases of Blindness

April 15, 2003 (New York Times)

A little-known operation restores hope for people who lose sight from chemical or heat burns of the eye or certain rare diseases. The procedure, 50 to 100 percent effective in healing corneal damage, is used worldwide, including Iran, where it helps restore sight for vitems of Iraqi mustard gas attacks.


Strategies are in Place, Not Money, Cooperation

March 24, 2004 (The News Journal)

Delaware could save more cancer patients if medical leaders work together and politicians spend money to improve diagnosis, treatment and the state's safety net for the poor.


High Death Rate Blamed on Lapses in Treatment

March 21, 2004 (The News Journal)

Competition among doctors cited as problem. Two keys to surviving cancer are being diagnosed before the disease has spread and receiving prompt, thorough treatment.


Surfing for a Hospital

March 8, 2004 (Boston Globe)

Comparison shopping is routine for many decisions, but consumers haven't been able to apply this strategy easily to one of the most important choices: Where to go nearby for medical care


A Debate on Radiation in Breast Cancer

February 24, 2004 (New York Times)

Radiation treatment is being prescribed for more and more breast cancer patients, including women who would have been told just a few short years ago that they could skip it.


Even the Elite Hospitals Aren't Immune to Errors

February 23, 2003 (New York Times)

The medical error that led surgeons to put the wrong organs into a teenager at Duke University Hospital on Feb. 7 was not the first embarrassment in recent years for this elite medical institution. Nor are such problems limited to Duke. (as a summary)


Help Yourself to Seconds

February 2003 (AARP Bulletin Your Health)

Second Opinions save lives; that’s the bottom live as far as medical specialists and consumer health advocates are concerned. Yet fewer than one in four Americans facing life-threatening illnesses like cancer and heart disease actually seeks another opinion.