Advances in Radiation Delivery Technology Improve Cancer Treatment
When cancerous tumors appear, the best thing to do with them is to destroy the tumor and any cancerous residue. Killing the cancer is not difficult. The problem is that the methods used to kill the cancer also kill healthy tissue. The trick then becomes killing the cancer whilst sparing the patient.
Radiation beams that are often used to treat malignant tumors can be very narrowly focused, minimizing damage to healthy tissue. However, targeting a tumor with such precision as to not damage any surrounding tissue simply isn�t possible at this time. However, advances in medical technology over the last decade has improved targeting, resulting in higher success rates and quicker recovery times.
One of the most significant recent advancements in cancer treatment is Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, or IMRT. If tumors were square and were never located near healthy or vital tissue, then IMRT wouldn�t be necessary. However, since tumors tend to come with curves and often are very close to tissue that one doesn�t want to damage, the IMRT plays a significant role in lessening damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Thanks to computer-controlled radiation shields, uniquely-shaped radiation fields can be delivered from various angles and approaches. The result is an ability to create concave shaped radiation fields, conforming to the shape of the tumor, allowing higher doses of radiation to be delivered while sparing healthy tissue.
IMRT is especially useful for smaller tumors that are stationary and surrounded by large amounts of healthy tissue or are located very near critical structures. These can include tumors in the brain, head and neck, prostate, or spinal cord.
Although IMRT is not currently useful for treating larger or mobile tumors, advances in imaging technology, allowing oncologists to target a tumor site more quickly and precisely, show hope for using IMRT-like technology in the future.
Posted in: Health Cancer| Tags: Cancer Radiation Detect Technology TreatmentHi, Detect Your Cervical Cancer With Pap Test
Cervical cancer is the cancer of the cervix. It is a disease caused by the abnormal growth and division of cells that forms in the lining of the cervix. It is the second common form of cancer that affects women today. It is very common in middle age women and older.
The statistics of cervical cancer in the United States, according to American Cancer Society (ACS), shows that about 11,150 women are diagnosing with this cancer and approximately 3,670 women die from this cancer every year.
To understand more about cervical cancer, it is important to note what a cervix is first. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus (womb) that connects the uterus to the vagina (birth canal) in a woman's body.
Usually, cervical cancer exhibits no symptoms to detect the presence of cancer in your body. It is known as a slow growing form of cancer. When cancer develops in your body, the healthy cells in the cervix begin to change into abnormal cells, which then turn into pre-cancerous cells. If left untreated, these pre-cancerous cells will turn into cancer.
Risk factors of cervical cancer:
Although the cause of cervical cancer is not known there are certain risk factors that increase the risk of developing this cancer. Risk factors are the things that will affect the chances of developing a disease greater.
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexual transmitted disease is highly associated with invasive cervical cancer.
Sexual transmitted diseases occur due to sexual contacts with an infected person. Chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, HIV/AIDS are some of he examples of sexual transmitted diseases.
Other risk factors that increase your chances of developing cervical cancer are: a history of sexual transmitted diseases, having sexual intercourse with multiple partners, having sexual activities in very young age (without using contraceptives).
Smoking doubles your risk of having cancer of the cervix. Weakened immune system, regular usage of birth control pills, age, giving birth to many children, and irregular pap tests increases your risk of developing cervical cancer.
As the cause of cervical cancer is unknown, it can be detected with regular Pap tests or pap smears. It is very important for you to have regular Pap tests to identify the condition early to take appropriate treatment and prevent cervical cancer from developing.
Pap test to detect cervical cancer:
With Pap tests, you can detect the cancer in the early stages before it spreads to other parts of the body. Pap smear is a procedure where scraped cells from the cervix are examined under a microscope to check for the changes in the cells of your cervix that leads to cervical cancer.
The rate of cervical cancer in women has greatly decreased in recent years in the United States due to regular pap smears.
As cervical cancer is a malignant tumor, it is very important for you to have Pap tests done annually. Remember, it is not a good idea to wait for signs to consult a doctor as early detection is the key to being treated successfully.
Go Exercising and Prevent Breast Cancer
Can You Prevent Breast Cancer?
You already know that exercise helps reduce your chances of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. It also helps you lose weight, sleep better and feel better. But, what about the effect of exercise on breast cancer? While it's not officially proven to reduce the risk of breast cancer, some studies show that exercise can offer some protection. The American Family Physician, discusses an investigation into the relationship between exercise and breast cancer, concluding that "physical activity during both leisure time and work reduced the overall risk of breast cancer in women, particularly among premenopausal and younger postmenopausal women." This is because exercise lowers a woman's ongoing exposure to estrogen, which is believed to contribute to cancer growth.
The interesting thing is that exercise and weight control may work together in preventing breast cancer. Dr. Anne McTiernan, an internist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, found that the women in her study who exercised the most had a 22% decreased risk of breast cancer.
While some studies have found a positive relationship between exercise and breast cancer, others have found no relationship at all. Either way, exercise is important for staying healthy and, when it comes to recovering from breast cancer, that's when exercise really becomes important.
Can you Exercise if You're Recovering from Breast Cancer?
If you're recovering from breast cancer, first of all congratulations! Second of all, you might be wondering what you can do to speed your recovery. Past studies have shown that exercise can be an effective treatment for cancer patients. About's Sports Medicine Guide, Elizabeth Quinn notes in her article, Exercise as Cancer Treatment, "...exercise had a positive effect on physical and psychological functioning of cancer patients while in treatment." Cancer patients who exercised experienced fat loss, a decrease in nausea and fatigue, higher self-esteem and better quality of life.
After checking with your doctor first, consider taking a page from Jill Forrest's book. Jill Forrest, a breast cancer survivor, started Better Than Before Fitness, Ltd. which has created the first rehabilitative/exercise video for breast cancer survivors. The video takes you through the first day after surgery to six weeks later and all participants are breast cancer survivors. Visit their website for information about the video and to find answers to your questions about exercise.
Whatever exercise you choose, remember that moving your body can help heal both your mind and your body.
Posted in: Exercise| Tags: Exercise CancerGo Exercising and Prevent Colon Cancer
How does exercise help prevent colon cancer?
Your large intestine is kind of like a sewage plant. It recycles the stuff your body can use and stores the waste for disposal. The longer waste sits in the colon or rectum, the longer toxic materials have to leach out of the solidifying stool and back into your tissues.
Exercise gets your body moving, which gets the waste in your body moving. This is because exercise stimulates peristalsis, a wave-like muscular contraction that helps push waste through your colon.
Research indicates that exercising can decrease colon cancer risk by up to 40%. Exercise also tends to reduce the incidence of other risk factors for colon cancer, like obesity and diabetes.
Why should you care?
Ahh, good question. There are a lot of things to care about and sometimes it seems like every issue is urgent, so you need to do this and you need to do that, and you need to have done those things yesterday or that's it, you're doomed! I'm not big on scare tactics, so I'll just give you some facts.
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths for women and men combined. In fact, more lives are lost each year to colorectal cancer than to AIDS and breast cancer combined. If you love yourself and you love the people who care about you, you have good reasons to care about preventing colon cancer.
What should you do?
Intentional exercise seems to be less important than simply leading an active lifestyle. In general, people don't have to go to the gym three-to-five times a week for an hour in order to reduce their risk of developing colorectal cancer. People can reduce their risk by increasing physical activity in their daily lives. This can be accomplished by choosing a distant parking space, taking the stairs, shopping, cleaning, going for walks, playing with children or pets, and a multitude of other activities.Of course, intentional exercise isn't bad either. But it's hard to do if you're forcing it on yourself. So, I recommend making a real effort to find a fun, physical past time. Sex works. If you like it and you're safe and old enough and all the other caveats that should be added. Team sports like volleyball, basketball, hockey, and tennis are great for a lot of people. Individual sports like skating, swimming, walking, and running are great for others.
Exercising helps prevent colon cancer and makes you feel better. It can also be fun, if you let it. Why not incorporate a bit more exercise into your daily routine? Posted in: Exercise| Tags: Exercise Cancer