Filed under: Radiation Radiation therapy uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors by damaging the genetic material of cells in the area being treated, leaving the cells unable to grow. Although radiation damages all cells, the normal cells can repair themselves. Radiation is also used to control pain by destroying a growing tumor . Radiation is delivered in one of two was through brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy. The former inserts radioactive material, which is usually left in your body, directly into or near the tumor. The latter involves a radiation beam being used on a small area of the skin. The unaffected area is left untreated. Side effects depend on where treatment is received, but usually disappears when treatment is over. Fatigue, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, painful urination, skin darkening and vaginal dryness or erection problems, if pelvic radiation is given, can occur. While radiation therapy may not cure cancer, it may reduce symptoms, decrease the spread of the disease and help you live longer. Check out more information on AOL Health . Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug , All Cancers It's never a good thing when a drugmaker sends letters to doctors saying that a drug they are prescribing has resulted in confirmed deaths. But that is what Cephalon did this week, as it admitted its cancer drug -- Fentora - has been linked to some patient deaths . Fentora, used to treat acute cancer pain , are sometimes prescribed for other pain-related ailments. Cephalon took issue with the apparent claim that it markets Fentora for uses other than cancer pain, even though some doctors use it "off label" in normal practice. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Stress Reduction , Cancer Caregivers , Cancer Survivors , Cancer Pre-vivors According to an article in CANCER, mental illness and emotional distress in patients with advanced cancer is often overlooked by oncologists, but proper management can improve a patient's quality of life.

Filed under: Lung Cancer Lung cancer screening by using CT scans may not be the best thing to do, according to a recent report by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). That group stated that, outside of research studies , studying lung cancer using CT technology is not worth the risk since it rarely (if at all) leads to reduced lung cancer deaths. The reason? Sounds to easy, but with CT tests only looking at lung cancer detection, actual survival rates were not looked at in many cases (and weren't affected anyway). Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Cancer events , Events , Fundraisers The Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation 's mission is to grant wishes, including memory-making events, for metastatic breast cancer patients, while continuing to support, educate and increase resource awareness.

Filed under: Research , Smoking , Daily news , Thought for the Day You should think about protecting your pets from secondhand smoke. According to researchers at Oklahoma State University, secondhand smoke has been determined cancer-causing for household pets, such as dogs, cats, and birds "There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets," says Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, an Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service veterinarian. "Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds." The news about smoking just keeps getting worse and worse. When we will get the hint? /**/ var adsonar_placementId="1307909",adsonar_pid="151757",adsonar_ps="-1",adsonar_zw=190;adsonar_zh=200,adsonar_jv="ads.adsonar.com"; qas_writeAd(); / Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Blogs The profile on her blog reads: Living in London. Working in ads. Currently undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer. And that about sums it up for this woman whose life has become hijacked by cancer. That's the way it goes. Cancer strikes and life revolves around it for so much longer than we'd like. The 30-something Anne-Marie Weeden writes in a recent blog post: I was genuinely confident at the beginning of this process that the whole chemo thing should not affect life too much. And in the first three treatments it didn't really. But the last three have just escalated in terms of the challenges they have thrown my way. They said it would be cumulative but I didn't realise it would accumulate on such a scale. I'd say the last two treatment cycles have been at least ten times as hard as the first one. Hers is an insightful look at living with cancer. Like most, the story is sad, yet inspiring -- and truly worth a read for anyone interested in the strength of the human spirit.

Filed under: Alternative Therapies , Cancer Caregivers , Cancer Survivors , Cancer Pre-vivors A new study finds that many people with cancer, over sixty-five percent according to this particular study, said they would be interested in attending a support group. However, only a small minority actually join one. Study participants said that they wanted practical medical information promptly after diagnosis and about twice as many wanted medical information over emotional support. Eight-two percent wanted groups to include discussion of spiritual issues, however, Allen Sherman, Ph.D, the lead author from the University of Arkansas, said that this may be influenced by the fact that the participants mostly came from the Bible Belt. The study also found that people prefer drop-in groups as needed and do not mind if the group contains people with different types of cancer. Recent studies suggest that support groups do not increase survival time, but they do improve coping skills and mood. As always, with any sort of support or counselling, it is wise to use your gut. If you're getting something out of it, that is great. If not, it's best to move on and find the support you need elsewhere. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Bone Cancer , Diets , Cancer prevention foods , Blogs , Books , Cancer Survivors

Filed under: Cervical Cancer It's quite a revelation to hear that cervical cancer could largely be prevented by newer technology, but that is what a medical pro from the National Cancer Institute said recently. If we're better at understanding what causes cervical cancer (and other cancers), medical technology sure is not showing it yet, as cervical cancer is still the second most common cancer afflicting women worldwide. I truly hope there is a breakthrough on the horizon, though. But the difference here is that most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus, not a genetic predisposition or a combination of environmental factors. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments