Cell Phones and Brain Cancer: Is There a Link? By Shauna Arthurs

With the recent announcement by WHO (world health organisation) about the potential dangers of cell phone radiation, we are all naturally concerned, especially those of us who use cell phones regularly and/or who have kids with cell phones. What is safe, we wonder, in terms of use, cell phone type and exposure? Are some cell phones safer than others, and are there ways in which we can limit the dangers by changing our usage patterns?

4 Tips to Prevent Cervical Cancer, Naturally

Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancers affecting a significant number of women worldwide every year. Though unlike breast cancer, it has certified preventive measures. The medical condition starts with the cervix undergoing precancerous changes. This is termed as cervical dysplaxia, which can be mild to severe. Its development to cervical cancer takes years to happen, and it is aided by other factors. However, as earlier mentioned, cervical cancer can be prevented and one can reduce her risk of having it.

Pediatric Brain Tumors and Brain Cancer Alter the Definition of Normal

For most of us, today will begin like any other day. We'll sip our coffee, skim the morning paper, drop the kids off at school, and perform the normal rituals that make up our daily lives. The good, the bad, and yes, even the somewhat ugly; we'll tackle it all with confidence and a sense of comfort, knowing that tomorrow, as routine as it may be, we'll get to do it all over again.

The cancer of the mesothelium

If you need information about malignant mesothelioma cancer, you might find it difficult to get the right information written in a simple way. Everybody has listened the word mesothelioma at least once, but very few people know what this rare type of cancer really is. Through of a series of articles about this subject, you will know and learn rapidly about this cancer disease that affects either, men or women at any age without any kind of distinction. Lets review some basic concepts and what this disease exactly is.

Prostate cancer

September has been designated as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month throughout the United States. "I...do hereby proclaim September 2007 as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month," said President George W. Bush, in a proclamation dated August 21. "All Americans can raise awareness and help fight this disease by talking with their friends and families about the risk of prostate cancer and the ways to prevent, detect, and treat it."

The recent passing of television mogul Merv Griffin in August, is certain to have an impact on awareness of this disease throughout the world.

lung cancer

Lung cancer is a very serious form of cancer. This is lethal especially when the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lungs has already spread to the other organs in the body.
Cancerous cells can break down and can spread in other parts of the body by forming secondary tumor sites, which makes it more fatal.
When the tumor is already on its advanced stage, managing it is somewhat harder. It may help to know that early detection of lung cancer is best to ensure the possibility of putting the lung cancer into remission.
If early detection of lung cancer did not happen, diagnosis in the advanced stage may be harder and managing the symptoms may likewise be too difficult.

cancer

Not taking into account certain skin cancers, in 2005, more than 570,000 Americans, or more than 1,500 people a day, will die of cancer. The bad news is the rate is increasing by about 1% a year. Finally, one in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.

Cancer tends to affect older people, but it can strike at any time. Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common. New cases of lung cancer fall away due to the big number of smokers. According to statistics, cancer is the second leading cause of death among Americans. It is responsible for one of every four deaths in the United States

However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.

On the other hand, recent studies claims the number of new cancer cases can be reduced substantially, and many cancer deaths can be prevented. It's in our power to adopt healthier lifestyles. Just take a look to the following list:

1. avoid tobacco use,
2. increase physical activity,
3. achieve optimal weight,
4. improve nutrition,
5. avoid sun exposure.

The above actions can significantly reduce a person’s risk for cancer. On the other side, making cancer screening, information, and referral services accessible and available to all Americans is also crucial for reducing the high rates of cancer and cancer deaths.

Liver cancer

Liver cancer

Liver is an important organ that performs a number of different functions like maintaining fluid balance in the body, handling toxic substances etc. It also produces bile that is instrumental in breaking down fat. Occurrence of cancer in the liver is termed as liver cancer.
Types of Liver cancer
On a broad basis, we can classify liver cancer as primary liver cancer and secondary cancer. When cancer originates in the liver itself, it is called as primary liver cancer. Liver cancer is known as secondary liver cancer when it originates in some other part of the body and then spreads to liver (e.g. due to proximity of liver to the place where cancer originated in the body). Hepatoma and bile duct cancer are the two main types of liver cancer.
Causes of Liver cancer
The two main causes of Liver cancer are: Excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks and occurrence of infections like Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. It’s unfortunate to note that though a number of people know that alcohol can increase the risk of Liver cancer, they still don’t cut down on alcohol.
Symptoms of Liver cancer
Liver cancer can lead to enlargement of Liver which can result in discomfort e.g. pain in the upper abdomen or pain in the right shoulder. There are some other common symptoms of Liver cancer (none of them are too conclusive though) like nausea, weakness, loss of weight etc. Other symptoms of liver cancer include jaundice and fluid disbalance in the body (e.g. building up of fluid in the abdomen). However, these too are just mildly indicative of liver cancer and are in no way conclusive symptoms.
Diagnosis of Liver cancer
Recognizing the symptoms and seeking professional help (from qualified doctors) can help early diagnosis of liver cancer. So, consult your doctor and let him/her know all the symptoms that you have been experiencing. The doctor might do a physical examination and prescribe certain tests as the need may be. The physical examination is basically to check the enlargement of liver. Other tests include liver ultrasound scan, abdominal CT scan, liver biopsy etc.
Treatment of liver cancer
Based on the type of liver cancer, the stage of liver cancer and your general health etc, the doctor might prescribe one or more liver cancer treatment techniques. Surgical procedure to remove the affected part of liver is one of the treatments for liver cancer (especially if it has not spread elsewhere). Besides surgery there are other techniques that use laser and other procedure for removal or destruction of tumor/ liver cancer. Chemotherapy is also one of the liver cancer treatments.

leukemia

Leukemia is generally considered and known as blood cancer, where as if considered in its real terms leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and the platelets. These platelets actually help blood to clot. Additionally when the white blood cells reduce in amount they actually leave the immune system unlocked for attack and the patient sometimes die of a very usual illness like flu. In general the deficiency of normal white cells impairs the body's ability to struggle against infections. A shortage of platelets results in bruising and easy bleeding whenever there is a need of clot to stop the flow of blood.
All kinds of various acute or chronic diseases of leukemia are dangerous. Acute leukemia being a swiftly succeeding disease affects typically cells that are embryonic or primitive (which means the cells that have not yet fully developed or differentiated from the others). These not fully formed cells thus cannot achieve their standard utility. These cells are described as "nonfunctional" because they do not work like normal cells. They also number out the usual normal healthy cells in the marrow, resulting in a decrease in the number of new healthy normal cells made in the marrow. These later results in low red cell counts which is a typical form of anemia.
On the other hand chronic leukemia develops gradually, and allows the development of larger amounts of more developed cells. In broader perspective, these more grown-up cells can achieve some of their typical functionality but due to the increase in the number of cells like white blood cells the blood flow may slow down and result in severe anemia.
The leukemia is categorized in to four basic categories which are as follows:
• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
For acute leukemia following are the signs and symptoms of leukemia:
• Fatigue or tiredness
• Shortness of breath during physical activity
• Sluggish curing of cuts and excess bleeding
• Mild fever or night sweats
• Black-and-blue spots (bruises) for no evident cause
• Pinhead-size red spots under the skin
• Pale skin
• Low white cell counts
• Aches in bones or joints
As far as chronic leukemia is concerned people with CLL or CML may not have any symptoms. Some patients learn they have CLL or CML after a blood test as part of a usual checkup. Occasionally, a person with CLL may see enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin and go to the doctor. The person may feel exhausted or short of breath or have frequent infections, if the CLL is more severe. In these cases, a blood test may show an increase in the lymphocyte count.
A comprehensive blood count is utilized to make a diagnosis of leukemia. This blood examination may confirm high or low point of white cells and show leukemic cells within the blood. Sometimes, number of platelet and red cell are fairly low. Bone marrow tests like aspiration and biopsy are often carried out to verify the analysis and to glance for any chromosome irregularities. All these tests spot the leukemia and its cell category. These tests must be continued after regular intervals after treatment commences to gauge how sound the healing is.

cancer skin

Skin cancer is the most common form of human cancer. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Skin cancer generally develops in the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, so a tumor is usually clearly visible. There are three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Basal cell carcinomas and most squamous cell carcinomas are slow growing and highly treatable, especially if found early. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. It affects deeper layers of the skin and has the greatest potential to spread to other tissues in the body. Squamous cell carcinoma also can spread internally. It is estimated that over 1 million new cases occur annually. The annual rates of all forms of skin cancer are increasing each year, representing a growing public concern. It has also been estimated that nearly half of all Americans who live to age 65 will develop skin cancer at least once. They usually form on the head, face, neck, hands and arms. Another type of skin cancer, melanoma, is more dangerous but less common. For localized melanoma, the 5-year survival rate is 99%; survival rates for regional and distant stage diseases are 65% and 15%, respectively.
Skin cancer is an increasingly common condition. This is in part attributed to increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation, which in turn is thought to be caused by the increased popularity of sun tanning. Solar or actinic keratoses are rough, red or brown, scaly patches on the skin. They are usually found on areas exposed to the sun, and sometimes develop into squamous cell cancer. Moles are clusters of heavily pigmented skin cells, either flat or raised above the skin surface. While most pose no danger, some-particularly large moles present at birth, or those with mottled colors and poorly defined borders-may develop into malignant melanoma. Moles are frequently removed for cosmetic reasons, or because they're constantly irritated by clothing or jewelry. Skin cancer develops primarily on areas of sun-exposed skin, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms and hands, and on the legs in women. There are varieties of treatments available, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, to treat skin cancer.
The goals of treatment for skin cancer are to remove all of the cancer, reduce the chance of recurrence, preserve healthy skin tissue, and minimize scarring after surgery. Treatment for skin cancer depends on the type and size of cancer, your age, and your overall health. Surgery is the most common form of treatment. It generally consists of an office or outpatient procedure to remove the lesion and check edges to make sure all the cancer was removed. Most skin cancer removal can be done using a local anesthetic. Excisional biopsy – The entire tumor along with a margin of tissue that is not a visible part of the tumor is removed. Incisional biopsy – A portion of the lesion is removed during an incisional biopsy, which is usually performed when the lesion is large. In cryosurgery, tissue is destroyed by freezing to -40 ° C or below. Liquid nitrogen, the only cryogen effective in destroying malignant and premalignant skin tumors, is used. Radiation may destroy basal and squamous cell carcinomas if surgery isn't an option. Biological therapy-Interferon and interleukin-2 are under study to treat melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers.
Skin Cancer Treatment Tips
1. Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, especially between 10 a.m. And 2 p.m. and during the summer months.
2. Excisional skin surgery is a common treatment to remove skin cancer.
3. Mohs surgery (also called Mohs micrographic surgery) is often used for skin cancer. The area of the growth is numbed.
4. Electrodesiccation and curettage is often used to remove small basal cell skin cancers.
5. Cryosurgery is often used for people who are not able to have other types of surgery.
6. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
7. Use a high-factor sunscreen of at least SPF15 that filters out UVB and UVA and reapply it every two hours.
8. Wear protective clothing - a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and loose, tightly woven clothing