Mesothelioma a cancer caused by asbestos

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the internal organs of the body.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibers in other ways. It was suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can put a person at risk of developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancer. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma symptoms include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis can be suspected with chest rad iograph and CT scan, and confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination.

Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a significant number of patients. Hamilton Jordan, chief of staff for President Jimmy Carter and life long cancer activist, died in 2008. Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bell died in 2005. British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney, responsible for nearly 100 works also died in 2005. Actor, TV Paul Gleason, perhaps best known for her role as director Richard Vernon in the 1985 movie The Breakfast Club, died in 2006. Mickie Most, an English producer, died of mesothelioma in 2003. Paul Rudolph, an American architect known for his cubist building designs, died in 1997.

Read more: http://www.bnu.com/mesothelioma-a-cancer-caused-by-asbestos/

Common Questions About Bladder Cancer Symptoms

The common symptoms of bladder cancer are painful urination, frequent or unproductive urination, and blood in the urine. Blood in the urine can be obvious red blood or more frequently the urine may appear darker in color, ranging from a slightly rusty color to dark reddish amber resembling tea.

What physician should I see if I am having bladder cancer symptoms?

Depending on how comfortable you are with your family doctor, you can see your them or a urologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases of the urinary tract, including bladder cancer symptoms.

How are bladder cancer symptoms diagnosed?

Generally a physician will check your overall healthiness and one or more of the following procedures:
• An in depth physical exam that includes checking the abdomen and pelvis for bladder tumors or other abnormalities. The doctor may also check for bladder tumors via a vaginal and or rectal examination.
• Generally your doctor will collect a urine sample for urinalysis. The urinalysis will show blood cells (red and/or white), cancer cells, and other signs of disease such as chemical abnormalities that can be present with bladder cancer symptoms.
• A common x-ray utilized to show images of the bladder is the intravenous pyelogram (IVP). Dye is injected into a vein and followed as it collects in the urine and travels through the urinary tract and into the bladder. When the dyed urine reaches the bladder, it will make the bladder show up on x-ray. Bladder tumors will be exposed as well.
• An urologist may perform a minor outpatient surgery called a cystoscopy. A small tube with a light at the tip (cystoscope) is inserted into the bladder by way of the urethra (urinary opening). The doctor is then able to view the bladder from the other end of the tube. A doctor can see any abnormalities such as a bladder tumor. Cystoscopy is also used to stage bladd er tumors by collecting a tissue sample and examining it under a microscope (this is called a biopsy). With the use of micro-instruments, small tumors can sometimes be removed allowing diagnosis and treatment at the same time.

How do you tell how severe a bladder tumor is?

Once your doctor had performed the tests necessary to diagnose bladder cancer symptoms as cancerous, they will need to determine how severe your cancer is. The only positive way to confirm bladder cancer symptoms are cancer is with a biopsy. With other tests, a doctor may be reasonably sure, but not positive. One component of a biopsy is the staging (extensiveness) of a bladder tumor. There are five stages of bladder cancer symptoms:
• Stage Zero: The least extensive stage - The cancer cells are only in the surface of the inner lining of the bladder.
• Stage One - Cancer cells are found in the deep inner lining of the bladder but have not invaded the bladder muscle.
• Stage Two - Cancer cells have spread to the bladder muscle.
• Stage Three - Cancer cells have spread to through the bladder muscle to the surrounding tissue. This may include the prostate (in men) and uterus or vagina (in women).
• Stage Four - Cancer cells have spread and invaded the abdomen or pelvic walls. Cancer cells may now be present in the lymph nodes, lungs, and other surrounding organs. This is the most extensive stage.

How are bladder cancer symptoms treated?

Depending on the extent and type of bladder cancer you have will determine what treatment options are available to you. Early detection is the key to successful treatment. Consult your doctor immediately for bladder cancer symptoms if you have them.

Natural Tips For Fighting Prostate Cancer

If you have just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your doctor may have given you a choice of treatment options. But what to choose and how? Natural and nutritional options that are often overlooked can help prevent and treat prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, with over 200,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. It occurs when cells in the prostate, a gland located under the bladder that is necessary for proper sexual function in men, becomes cancerous due to a flux in testosterone. Most cases of prostate cancer don''t occur until after 50 years of age, but in recent years the percentage of men in their 30s and 40s diagnosed with prostate problems and prostate cancer has been steadily rising.

Conventional treatments for prostate cancer include surgery to remove the prostate gland or radiotherapy. These are aggressive options and complications including impotence and urinary incontinence can result from s urgery, and the risk of secondary cancers is a concern since science already knows radiation exposure causes cancer.

The PSA blood test is another area of confusion. A report published in the June 2009 issue of "A Cancer Journal for Clinicians" shows routine PSA blood tests often result in over diagnosis of prostate cancer, which then results in unnecessary treatments. The PSA test can be deceptive. There can be different reasons for an elevated PSA level, including prostate cancer, benign prostate enlargement, inflammation, infection, age and race.

In the United States over one million prostate cancer tissue biopsy procedures are performed. Approximately 25% are reported as positive, indicating the presence of prostate cancer. The remaining 75% are reported negative. But the alarming fact is that one-third of the men who originally had prostate tissue biopsies that reported negative for prostate cancer actually do have prostate cancer but it was missed by the bi opsy. There is also concern biopsies can spread cancer.

Prostate cancer is typically slow growing and is very much a disease that can be managed...if you make the appropriate lifestyle changes. Early detection is important and there are natural and nutritional agents that can help you to prevent and treat prostate cancer.

1. Get lots of sun exposure to drive up your vitamin D levels. A recent study found men with prostate cancer are seven times less likely to die if they have high levels of vitamin D.

2. A study conducted at the University of Illinois found a relationship between prostate cancer and the daily consumption of broccoli and tomatoes. These are natural lycopene foods, as are raspberries and watermelon, which contain compounds that can fight cancer.

3. Keep your insulin levels below three as high insulin levels drive and promote cancer.

4. Free radical damage from oxidative stress acquired through aging or exposure to can cer-causing substances is associated with an increase in a man''s risk for prostate cancer. Taking certain antioxidants, such as vitamin E, selenium and lycopene are thought to lower this risk.

5. We know that our diets are intimately linked to the formation of cancer, and yet most of us continue to eat poorly. One reason that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is cancer-preventative is due to its rich glyconutrient and phytochemical content. Studies in numerous scientific journals, including "Molecular Urology", have shown that glyconutrients not only retarded human prostate cancer cell growth, but also encouraged their destruction. It is also believed that glyconutritional supplementation may enhance the effects of chemotherapy.

If you would like to know more about natural and alternative means for fighting prostate cancer read below and click on the link.

Diet and Exercise Fight Breast Cancer

As we get older we need to consider ways of decreasing disease brought about by lifestyle choices. Breast cancer is a devastating illness for a woman and her family. Any possible way of avoiding it should be examined. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. A woman of 60 years old is about 7 times more likely to contract breast cancer in the next ten years than a woman of 30. Although younger women are not immune it is largely a disease of middle age and later life. But women can minimise the risks. The World Cancer Research Fund has found that alcohol, obesity and lack of exercise is a factor in 40 per cent of breast cancers. Mothers who breastfeed also reduce their risk of contracting the disease. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends that women exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and limit daily alcohol consumption to one small glass of wine or equivalent. Exercise does not have to be in the gym. A walking fitness program of 30 minutes a day can just be a half mile stroll out and a half mile stroll back again. Of course it is better to do two miles in that time, but any exercise helps. To lose weight diet must be considered, but less alcohol and more exercise is a beginning.

There is a school of thought that says bra wearing may cause breast cancer. The theory is that the disease is caused by impaired lymphatic flow, resulting from the wearing of a bra. Research suggests that women who wear their bras 24 hours a day have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing cancer. Women who wear a bra 12 hours a day have a 1 out of 7 risk. Those who wear bras seldom or never have a 1 out of 168 risk. This is the same as for men.

It should be noted, however, that some authorities do not agree with these conclusions, considering that there are other factors involved and more detailed and accurate research is needed. A pragmatic approach would be for a woman to wear a bra a maximum of 12 hours a day. That will do no harm and may well do a lo t of good.

As mentioned above, weight loss is obtained through exercise and a healthy diet. Cancer Research UK suggest that women consider the following:

Replace animal fats with polyunsaturated fats (in many vegetable oils and margarines) and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil) Eat more isoflavones (found in soy, peas and beans) and lignans (found in vegetables, fruits, grains, tea and coffee) Eat more fibre from wheat bran, cereals, beans, fruit and vegetables Make sure they have enough calcium in their diet - from milk, cheese and other dairy foods, green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach), soya beans, tofu, nuts, bread, and fish where bones are eaten, such as sardines and pilchards Eat foods high in carotenoids (chemicals that the body changes to vitamin A) such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, and tomatoes By following these guidelines, women will be eating a better diet. This helps keep their weight within normal limits and can protect against a variety of chronic health conditions including breast cancer. It appears that we just need to carry on with a walking for weight loss program and a healthy diet to be well on the way to minimising the chances of breast cancer. And that is really good news.

How to diagnose prostate cancer?

In the diagnosis of prostate cancer in clinical symptoms and signs is very important, but when prostate cancer symptoms appears, the disease often has been developed to a serious situation. Therefore, regular screening for older men may be the early detection, which can achieve good therapeutic effect.

(1) digital rectal examination: digital rectal examination is the primary means of diagnosis of prostate cancer, with 80% of poststate cancer patients .Prostate cancer digital rectal examination includes glands increased, hard nodules, uneven, the central sulcus disappearing, glands fixed and so on.

(2) acid phosphatase determination: the elevated serum acid phosphatase of prostate cancer patients is increasing, but the specificity is not high. Some scholars have used immuno-electrophoresis method, which can enhance sensitivity ,so that we can get early detection of prostate cancer.

(3), prostate-specific antigen (PSA): At present,we considered the psa has higher va lue compared with serum acid phosphatase

(4) B-ultrasonic examination: we can know whether the prostate cancer increased or there is space-occupying lesions. In particular, when it can be a special probe into the rectum, the rectum B-diagnosis is more exact.

(5) CT and MRI: they can show the size of the prostate, tumor location, size and the surrounding tissue clearly.

(6) prostate needle biopsy: In recent years, the accuracy was obviously improved with the use of rectal B ultrasound-guided biopsy ,and this is an important significance for the diagnosis of early prostate cancer.