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Friday 1 March 2013

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Source(Google.com.pk)
Alternative Cancer Treatment
Cancer is considered to be one of the most dreadful diseases. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment to eradicate it from its roots. Various researchers associated with cancer research are still trying to find a definite cure for this shape shifting disease. Although, conventional treatments are available for cancer, but patients in the initial stages of the diseases are advised to follow some alternative therapies which have proved promising in treating cancer and dealing with some of its effects on the body. Below we discuss some of these treatments.

Acupuncture as alternative cancer treatment
This is one of the most popular alternative treatments for cancer. In this therapy, small pins or sterile needles are inserted in some definite points into the skin. It is a very relaxing technique, helps in removing nausea that resulted after chemotherapy treatment, and at the same time is helpful in releasing cancer-related pains. Cancer patients should not undergo this treatment if their blood count is not at optimum levels or if they are on any blood thinning medications currently. Consult your doctor before embarking upon this alternative therapy. While choosing the above, make sure that you put your body in the hands of a licensed and experienced acupuncture therapist.

Aromatherapy for cancer treatment

Oil mixed with fragrances, such as lavender, rose, etc., can be extremely successful in promoting a calm and relaxed feeling in cancer patients. In this therapy, scented oils are either heated to release the fragrance in the atmosphere or mixed with the bath water. The perfect choice is always to have a massage with scented oil. Aromatherapy helps in releasing pain, stress, and nausea sensations. However, at times these oils may cause a skin allergy in some patients. Hence, keep this in your mind before going committing to this treatment. Make sure that you put your body under the ministrations of an experienced aromatherapy massage practitioner and consult him on the best therapy for your particular symptoms and condition.



Biofeedback for cancer treatment
This treatment involves training your mind to monitor various functions of the body, such as heart rate, blood flow rate, muscle relaxation process, etc which normally take place involuntarily. In this process, a biofeedback therapist connects the electronic device to your body at certain specific points to monitor specific body functions. The device produces a beeping sound or has a light indicator to signal any extraordinary physiological activity. Once you have identified the problem area, for example high blood pressure or extreme sensation of pain, the therapist works with the patient to control this response. With the help of meditation and other mental exercise, the patient would be able to control body processes which are usually involuntary. The biofeedback monitor helps chart the progress of the patient and these tangible readings act as a motivating factor in continuing with the therapy. Biofeedback is especially helpful in controlling pain responses, blood pressure problems and incontinence in a cancer patient.

Treatments On Cancer

Source(google.com.pk)
Treatments On Cancer
Information about cancer treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, clinical trials, proton therapy, complementary medicine, and cutting edge technologies.

Biologic Therapy
Biologic therapies work by helping the immune system to function better by using substances that occur naturally in your body to fight cancer. Biologic therapies include Gene Therapy and Vaccine Therapies.

Bone Marrow Transplants
Support and information for bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cell, and cord blood transplants.

Chemotherapy
Information about chemotherapy treatment, drugs and side effects. Includes an overview of the treatment process and OncoLink Rx, a list of teaching sheets about chemotherapy drugs.

Clinical Trials
Tools to help empower cancer patients to evaluate research studies for which they may be eligible. Includes the OncoLink/EmergingMed Clinical Trials Matching Service, which encourages patients to seek out and consider clinical trials for the treatment of their cancer.
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer
Treatments On Cancer


Sunday 17 February 2013

Cancer Types

Source(google.com.pk)
Cancer Types Biography
Oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee was treating one of his patients, a woman with advanced abdominal cancer who had relapsed multiple times, when she asked him what seemed like a simple question.

"She said, 'I'm willing to go on, but before I go on, I need to know what it is I'm battling,' " Mukherjee tells NPR's Terry Gross.

But, as Mukherjee explains, describing his patient's illness wasn't so simple. Defining cancer, he says, is something doctors and scientists have been struggling to do since the disease's first documented appearance thousands of years ago.
"Cancer is not just a dividing cell," he says. "It's a complex disease: It invades, it metastasizes, it evades the immune system. So there are many, many other stages of [defining] cancer which are still in their infancy."

Mukherjee's new book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, grew out of his desire to better understand the disease he treats, through examining the way cancer has been described and treated throughout history. He chronicles the ways therapies evolved, particularly in the 20th century, as more treatment options became available and scientists worked to understand the underlying genetic mutations that caused the disease.

"If there's a seminal discovery in oncology in the last 20 years, it's that idea that cancer genes are often mutated versions of normal genes," he says. "And the arrival of that moment really sent a chill down the spine of cancer biologists. Because here we were hoping that cancer would turn out to be some kind of exogenous event — a virus or something that could then be removed from our environment and our bodies and we could be rid of it — but [it turns out] that cancer genes are sitting inside of each and every one of our chromosomes, waiting to be corrupted or activated."

Enlarge image
Siddhartha Mukherjee is a staff oncologist at Columbia University Medical Center.

Deborah Feingold via Scribner
As the genetic understanding of cancer evolves, Mukherjee says, oncologists will be able to integrate that knowledge to develop more targeted treatment options — particularly as they find commonalities between different types of cancer.

"A breast cancer might turn out to have a close resemblance to a gastric cancer," he says. "And this kind of reorganization of cancer in terms of its internal genetic anatomy has really changed the way we treat and approach cancer in general."

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff cancer oncologist at Columbia University Medical Center. His articles have been published in Nature, The New England Journal



Friday 15 February 2013

About Brain Cancer

Source(google.com.pk)
About Brain Cancer
Brain tumors are not rare.  Each year more than a 100,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a primary brain tumor or metastatic (secondary) brain tumor. Being diagnosed with a brain tumor can cause shock, fear, and confusion. For most people, having a brain tumor raises a lot of questions about what to do, where to go, and how to find the most comprehensive care. Dr. Sperduto and his expert team are here to help. From diagnosis to treatment, our experienced, concerned team of experts specializes in the comprehensive care of brain tumors.
The brain is the most important organ in the body.  It controls the five senses as well as the ability to speak and move.  In this section you will find a brief introduction to: brain anatomy,brain tumors, the diagnosis of brain tumors, and a description of the different types of brain tumors.
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BRAIN ANATOMY 
Central Nervous System (CNS): Your CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord.
Brain Stem: Connects your brain with your spinal cord and controls your breathing and heart rate.
Cerebral Cortex: Involved in your thinking, learning and speaking activities.

Cerebellum: Like a mini-brain within your brain, your cerebellum allows you to carry out skilled, complicated movements, including balance. 

Cerebrospinal fluid: Protects your brain and spinal cord by acting as a shock absorber.

Cerebrum: The largest and uppermost portion of your brain. It consists of the right and left hemispheres, which control thoughts and conscious action. 

Corpus Callosum: Connects the two hemispheres of your brain and allows both sides to communicate. For example, when your right hand holds an object, your left hand knows it. 

Hypothalamus: Regulates areas for thirst, hunger, body temperature, water balance, blood pressure and links the nervous system to the endocrine system.

Thalamus: Egg-shaped area that helps you process and recognize information about touch, pain, temperature and pressure on your skin. 
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer
About Brain Cancer

About Brain Cancer

Treatment Of Brain Cancer

Source(google.com.pk)
Treatment Of Brain Cancer 
Treatment methods for brain cancer:
Curing the brain cancer depends on the extension level of the tumor and the place it’s localized. If it’s possible, some brain tumors are treated in a surgical manner, the tumor is removed and the curing is complete. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy prescribed after the operation help to totally destroy the cancerous cells that remained isolated.

In case of brain tumors that have been affecting in a profound manner some areas of the brain, the treatment consists in chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which eliminate the tumor through laser, because the extirpation of the tumor on a surgical method can provoke serious cerebral lesions. In this case the curing is not assured; it can only slow the developing of the cancerous cells, prolonging the life of the sick person.

Meningiomas are forms of tumors that form from the membrane which covers and protects the brain, are benign and can be surgically extirpated. Glioblastomas is another type of tumors, malign, that are born right from the brain tissue and cannot be operated. In serious situations when the curing is impossible, the doctors will try to create a state of comfort for the patient and keep the neurological functions alive, administrating drugs (anticonvulsants, analgesics, corticosteroids) which have the role of reducing the edema, control and ameliorate the pains. The therapies for physical rehabilitation are indicated for the patients for whom the tumors provoked residual brain lesions.

There are also accepted a series of alternative therapies which ameliorate a bit the symptoms of this disease: hydrotherapy, yoga, therapeutic touch, meditation, biofeedback, some methods of reflecting, etc.

The researchers from the National Health Institution are studying a new type of therapy, through which they wish to destroy the cancerous cells at the brain level by modifying their genetics. In this way, through foreign genes, if the result of the tests will be positive, they will realize the most efficient method of treating the brain cancer.

The innovation of this idea consists in the fact that the cancerous cells will be vulnerable for a drug that leads to their destruction, but leaves the healthy cells unaffected and intact. By testing this therapy for humans, for 5 from 8 patients the cancerous tumor has been significantly reduced. Testing this therapy on rats, 11 from 14 animals got entirely rid of the tumors. Nowadays there are necessary many supplementary tests, but the new genetic therapy is very promising on the future market
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer
Treatment Of Brain Cancer

Brain Cancer Treatment

Source(google.com.pk)
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain tumors can be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non cancerous). Treatment options for brain tumor should be individualized based on age, health and size, location and type of the tumor. Treatment for brain cancer is complex that it involves cumulative effect of team of doctors including neurosurgeons, oncologists, and radiation oncologists apart from primary health care providers.

Various treatment options available for brain cancer are,
Surgery: Surgical removal is the usual first treatment for most brain tumors. Many tumors except some at the skull base can be successfully removed. Any person undergoing brain surgery may suffer from epileptic seizures and medication is prescribed to minimize or eliminate the occurrence of seizures.

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a new technique to destory brain tumor using high energy radiation without opening the skull. There are various types of stereotactic radiosurgeryand the advantages of stereotactic radiosurgery is that it has fewer complications with a shorter recovery time.
Radiation: It is a localized therapy to selectively destroy tumor cells. It may be used for people who can not undergo surgery. In some cases it is used after surgery to kill any tumor cells that may remain. Radiation can be given externally or internally.

External radiation uses a high-energy beam of radiation that travels through the skin, the skull, healthy brain tissue, and other tissues to get to the tumor. The process is repeated for a total of 10-30 treatments depending on the type of tumor.
Internal or implant radiation uses a tiny radioactive capsule that is placed inside the tumor itself.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat tumor. It is often used in young children instead of radiation, as radiation may affect the developing brain. The toxicity and many side effects of the drugs holds back this treatment option in comparison to surgery and radiation therapy
Clinical Trials: Clinical trials are another treatment option for brain cancer, as new therapies are being developed all the time. Clinical trials offer new therapies that may be more effective than the existing one. Many people with cancer are eligible for clinical trials. Check out list of clinical trials for brain tumor currently recruiting here.

A brain tumor or treatment can lead to other health problems and you need to receive supportive care to prevent these hurdles.
                                 Brain Cancer Treatment

Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain Cancer Treatment

Cancer Symptoms

Source(google.com.pk)
Cancer Symptoms
Since prevention is one of the most important cancer-fighting tools, it is important that cancer be detected as early as possible before it spreads.
Telltale Signs of Cancer include:  A lump or thickening in the breast or testicles; a change in a wart or mole; a skin sore or a persistent sore throat that doesn't heal; a change in bowel or bladder habits; a persistent cough or coughing blood; constant indigestion or trouble swallowing; unusual bleeding or vaginal discharge; and chronic fatigue.

If you notice any of these symptoms, you should see a physician for testing.  We also have a web page that lists some of the tests that are available to detect cancer.

The following are symptoms that may occur in specific types of cancers:

Bladder cancer: Blood in the urine, pain or burning upon urination; frequent urination; or cloudy urine

Bone cancer: Pain in the bone or swelling around the affected site; fractures in bones; weakness, fatigue; weight loss; repeated infections; nausea, vomiting, constipation, problems with urination; weakness or numbness in the legs; bumps and bruises that persist

Brain cancer: Dizziness; drowsiness; abnormal eye movements or changes in vision; weakness, loss of feeling in arms or legs or difficulties in walking; fits or convulsions; changes in personality, memory or speech; headaches that tend to be worse in the morning and ease during the day, that may be accompanied by nausea or vomiting

Breast cancer: A lump or thickening of the breast; discharge from the nipple; change in the skin of the breast; a feeling of heat; or enlarged lymph nodes under the arm

Colorectal cancer: Rectal bleeding (red blood in stools or black stools); abdominal cramps; constipation alternating with diarrhea; weight loss; loss of appetite; weakness; pallid complexion

Kidney cancer: Blood in urine; dull ache or pain in the back or side; lump in kidney area, sometimes accompanied by high blood pressure or abnormality in red blood cell count

Leukemia: Weakness, paleness; fever and flu-like symptoms; bruising and prolonged bleeding; enlarged lymph nodes, spleen, liver; pain in bones and joints; frequent infections; weight loss; night sweats

Lung cancer: Wheezing, persistent cough for months; blood-streaked sputum; persistent ache in chest; congestion in lungs; enlarged lymph nodes in the neck

Melanoma: Change in mole or other bump on the skin, including bleeding or change in size, shape, color, or texture

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: Painless swelling in the lymph nodes in the neck, underarm, or groin; persistent fever; feeling of fatigue; unexplained weight loss; itchy skin and rashes; small lumps in skin; bone pain; swelling in the abdomen; liver or spleen enlargement

Oral cancer:  A lump in the mouth, ulceration of the lip, tongue or inside of the mouth that does not heal within a couple of weeks; dentures that no longer fit well; oral pain, bleeding, foul breath, loose teeth, and changes in speech

Ovarian cancer: Abdominal swelling; in rare cases, abnormal vaginal bleeding; digestive discomfort

Pancreatic cancer: Upper abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss; pain near the center of the back; intolerance of fatty foods; yellowing of the skin; abdominal masses; enlargement of liver and spleen

Prostate cancer: Urination difficulties due to blockage of the urethra; bladder retains urine, creating frequent feelings of urgency to urinate, especially at night; bladder not emptying completely; burning or painful urination; bloody urine; tenderness over the bladder; and dull ache in the pelvis or back

Stomach cancer: Indigestion or heartburn; discomfort or pain in the abdomen; nausea and vomiting; diarrhea or constipation; bloating after meals; loss of appetite; weakness and fatigue; bleeding - vomiting blood or blood in the stool

Uterine cancer: Abnormal vaginal bleeding, a watery bloody discharge in postmenopausal women; a painful urination; pain during intercourse; pain in pelvic area