Filed under: Research , Thought for the Day Until the 1990s, most medical studies used only men. Women are included now, but more research is needed on how diseases, like cancer, affect each sex. Women have unique needs, after all, and it's critical that all angles are represented in important research findings. Think you might want to volunteer and help advance research on this female front? Just visit womancando.org and find out how you can do your part. "The power of one can make a difference," reads this website. "You can make a powerful contribution to improving women's health by participating in medical research and becoming part of the effort to understand health and treat disease. Today, it is easy to take health advances for granted. We know a lot about how to treat and prevent disease, but much remains to be learned." Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: All Cancers , Stress Reduction , Services , Cancer Survivors Worklife doesn't stop once you've been diagnosed with cancer. Many women have to--and want to--work during and after treatment. Cancer and Careers offers information and tools to help working women manage their battle with cancer as effectively as they manage the rest of their lives.

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Magazines , Movies Apparently the movie In the Land of Women is playing somewhere in the United States -- it was released on April 20 -- but I can't seem to find it in my area. I want to find it, though, because it stars actress Meg Ryan as Sarah Hardwicke, a woman rediscovering herself as she recovers from breast cancer. Breast cancer is not the main theme in this movie. It's mostly about a successful writer, played by The O.C.'s Adam Brody, who loses a girl, moves to a new town to care for his grandmother, and finds a new girl. Her mom is Sarah Hardwicke. I learned about this movie just today while reading an interview with Meg Ryan in the May 2007 issue of Redbook. "I like that Sarah comes out of a difficult situation a much bigger person," says Ryan of the character she plays. "I think that most adults, if they're honest with themselves, have these turning points -- a sort of rebirth, and they come back out either better or they don't come back out." I agree. And that's why I want to see the movie. To see a trailer of In the Land of Women, click here .

Filed under: Skin Cancer , Prevention , Thought for the Day It's May. Summer is upon us. So is the hot sun. What a perfect time for an awareness month. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. So now is the time to learn a thing or two about a disease that is largely preventable, extremely deadly, and almost 100 percent curable when caught early. Think about this: Someone dies of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- every 65 minutes. Women ages 20-29 are most at risk, with melanoma ranking as the second most common cancer in this age group. But anyone, regardless of skin color or age, can develop skin cancer. More than one million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year -- shocking considering the cause of the disease is no secret: skin cancer is caused mostly by too much sun exposure. OK, how about some good news? In recognition of this awareness month, Olay and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) have partnered for the third year and are offering a nationwide free skin cancer screening program. Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross -- who's had two family members stricken by melanoma -- is the face of this campaign, intended to raise awareness about the importance of prevention and detection. Cross, Olay, and ASDS say regular screenings and daily protection from the sun's dangerous UV rays are the best defenses against skin cancer. And so during May, June, and July, this team is making sure your screening is free. Visit http://www.skincancertakesfriends.org/ to locate a dermatologist offering complimentary screenings. Once you get an appointment, take a friend. It's free for both of you. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Cancer events , Fundraisers , Exercise , Movies Summer Running: A Race To Cure Breast Cancer is a documentary about two amazing women who are fighting breast cancer. The film sheds light on this common disease and those dedicated to finding a cure.

Filed under: Leukemia , Colon and Rectal Cancer , Prevention , Liver Cancer , Stomach Cancer , Research , Daily news

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Research , Daily news Red meat makes headlines -- again -- due to new research indicating it increases a woman's chances of developing breast cancer. I've heard this before. Maybe that's because it's becoming pretty conclusive. Findings are most significant for post-menopausal women because these are the women with the highest rates of consumption -- about one portion of red meat per day. This daily doses puts them at a 56 percent greater risk than women who eat no red meat. Researchers at the University of Leeds followed the eating habits and health of more than 35,000 women over the past seven years to gather their data, published in the British Journal of Cancer. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug , Prevention , Research , Daily news , Anal cancer It's not yet clear if the drug Gardasil, the vaccine intended to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) in females, is effective for men. But some men are signing up for the chance to take the drug. Gay and bisexual men in San Francisco are asking their doctors for the vaccine with hopes it will prevent anal and penile cancer, also caused by HPV. "The prevalence of anal cancer among gay and bisexual men is very high," says Jason Riggs, spokesman for the STOP AIDS Project. "So that's why some people are looking at this as a possible preventive cure for anal cancer and HPV that causes anal cancer." Anal cancer occurs among gay and bisexual men at a rate 35 times higher than that of the general population. And it occurs more in those infected with HIV.

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Chemotherapy , Research , Daily news Results of two studies, sponsored by the Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials Collaborative Group, conclude that adding chemotherapy to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen improves survival for those with early-stage breast cancer. The same studies reveal preventing the secretion of estrogen from the ovaries does not offer much benefit for most women. Researchers studied 1991 patients, ages 28 to 81. All had received five years worth of treatment with tamoxifen therapy with or without standard chemotherapy. Some premenopausal women were also treated with ovarian removal (ablation) or suppression, a technique used to stop the glands from secreting hormones. While early results, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, fell short of statistical significance, chemotherapy still reduced the overall risk of death by 17 percent, mostly for women younger than 50 and especially for premenopausal women not treated with ovarian ablation or suppression. ___FCKsi___3 <img width=1 height=1 alt="" src="http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=Cto3VUSOwhX8OjckQD.BAxA0GKrAiEYU.bgAAeF4&T=18oloubk5%2fX%3d1175779768%2fE%3d7666449%2fR%3dnews%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d2.1%2fW%3dH%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d1122275479%2fH%3dY2FjaGVoaW50PSJuZXdzIiBjb250ZW50PSJkcnVnO2JyZWFzdCBjYW5jZXI7QnJlYXN0IENhbmNlcjt0cmlhbDtDYW5jZXI7Y2FuY2VyO2l0O21lbm9wYXVzZTsiIHJlZnVybD0iIiB0b3BpY3M9IiI-%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d66C28E44&U=13a3mvkbg%2fN%3dxNXvJdG_fzY-%2fC%3d568450.9739544.10710891.6052652%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4290323"> Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , All Cancers , Cancer Survivors My husband heard this song yesterday on the radio and I wanted to share the lyrics. You can listen to Craig Morgan here singing Tough.