There's encouraging news for women in the fight against lung cancer. Although the incidence of lung cancer in women increased rapidly after World War II as more women began to smoke, that trend may finally be reversing. Recent studies show that lung cancer cases in women have leveled off for the first time.
However, according to the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), raising awareness of the disease and its causes remain urgent. Despite the downward trend, lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women in the U.S. Lung cancer accounts for one in every four cancer deaths and one of every eight newly diagnosed cancers in women. Altogether, 173,000 Americans are diagnosed each year.
According to a new NWHRC report, Lung Cancer: What You Need to Know, women who smoke are 12 times more likely to get lung cancer than those who don't, yet more than one in five women continue to smoke.
Of the two main types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), women who smoke are more likely to be diagnosed with SCLC, the more aggressive form.
Smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipes remains the leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for nearly nine out of 10 cases.
However, you don't have to smoke to get lung cancer. Breathing other people's smoke can also affect you. Studies show spouses of smokers have a 20 to 30 percent greater chance of developing the disease than those of nonsmokers. Other causes include exposure to harmful substances in the home or workplace, such as radon or asbestos, and some people seem to be more vulnerable.
Quitting smoking at any age reduces the risk but the degree of risk depends on the length of time since quitting and how heavily the person smoked. Aside from quitting or never starting to smoke, people can minimize their risks by reducing exposure to harmful substances. A small percentage of people may be genetically susceptible to lung cancer.
Symptoms include a persistent cough, blood-stained phlegm or spit, shortness of breath, chest pain, recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss.
Recent advances in lung cancer treatment have contributed to improved patient survival and quality of life.
Treatments may include surgery to remove the cancer, radiation to kill or shrink cancer cells, chemotherapy and newer targeted therapies or a combination of these treatments.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Bladder Cancer: Another Health Risk Posed by Cigarette Smoking
Cigarette smoking has been strongly linked to ailments such as heart disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory and circulatory diseases. However, there are several other cancers that can be developed because of cigarette smoking such as bladder cancer. Bladder cancer affects about 53,000 thousand individuals across the United States and smokers are twice more likely to get lung cancer than non-smokers.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which are highly carcinogenic. Smoking means exposing oneself to chemicals like hydrogen cyanide, butane, nicotine, carbolic acid, ammonia, and other harmful chemicals. As these substances are inhaled, they are absorbed into the lungs and eventually into the bloodstream. The blood then gets filtered by the kidneys and is incorporated in the urine. These carcinogens damage the urothelial cells that line the bladder walls and cause the development of tumors.
In some cases, bladder cancer often causes no symptoms until it has reached an advanced cure that may be difficult to cure. Noticeable symptoms of bladder cancer are non-specific, which means that these conditions may be linked to other health conditions other than cancer. Some of the symptoms of bladder cancer include the following:
Presence of blood in the urine;
Pain or burning sensation during urination without the occurrence of urinary tract infection (UTI); and
Urinating more often or feeling the strong urge to urinate without producing much urine.
Because of modern technology and advanced medicine, treatments for bladder cancer are now widely available. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the type of cancer, and the patient's overall health. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy are some of the common methods performed to treat this kind of cancer. However these treatments may produce a number of side effects that may affect one's sexual health. These treatments may cause certain signs and symptoms that may make sexual intimacy with one's partner more difficult. But this does not mean that a healthy sex life after cancer treatment cannot be achieved. Doctors should be consulted for possible remedies for these conditions.
Some sexual health problems that may be caused by cancer treatment may include the following:
Inability to achieve or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction)
Difficulty climaxing
Orgasm without discharge of semen (dry orgasm)
Weaker, less satisfying orgasms
Loss of libido
Pain during sex
The development of different kinds of cancers that are linked to cigarette smoking have made the need to quit smoking more important. Despite the availability of many methods for cancer, people can drastically lessen the risks of developing bladder cancer by quitting cigarette smoking --- a goal that might be easier said than done for certain individuals. These individuals may use various quit smoking products like nicotine gums, patches, and others that are out in the market. These products are scientifically proven to aid individuals who want to quit smoking. These products work by temporarily supplying the body with nicotine through means other than cigarettes. This helps calm physical withdrawal symptoms of cigarette smoking. Using these products and coupling them with the right attitude a sure formula for the prevention of bladder cancer and improve one's overall health and well-being.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which are highly carcinogenic. Smoking means exposing oneself to chemicals like hydrogen cyanide, butane, nicotine, carbolic acid, ammonia, and other harmful chemicals. As these substances are inhaled, they are absorbed into the lungs and eventually into the bloodstream. The blood then gets filtered by the kidneys and is incorporated in the urine. These carcinogens damage the urothelial cells that line the bladder walls and cause the development of tumors.
In some cases, bladder cancer often causes no symptoms until it has reached an advanced cure that may be difficult to cure. Noticeable symptoms of bladder cancer are non-specific, which means that these conditions may be linked to other health conditions other than cancer. Some of the symptoms of bladder cancer include the following:
Presence of blood in the urine;
Pain or burning sensation during urination without the occurrence of urinary tract infection (UTI); and
Urinating more often or feeling the strong urge to urinate without producing much urine.
Because of modern technology and advanced medicine, treatments for bladder cancer are now widely available. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the type of cancer, and the patient's overall health. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy are some of the common methods performed to treat this kind of cancer. However these treatments may produce a number of side effects that may affect one's sexual health. These treatments may cause certain signs and symptoms that may make sexual intimacy with one's partner more difficult. But this does not mean that a healthy sex life after cancer treatment cannot be achieved. Doctors should be consulted for possible remedies for these conditions.
Some sexual health problems that may be caused by cancer treatment may include the following:
Inability to achieve or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction)
Difficulty climaxing
Orgasm without discharge of semen (dry orgasm)
Weaker, less satisfying orgasms
Loss of libido
Pain during sex
The development of different kinds of cancers that are linked to cigarette smoking have made the need to quit smoking more important. Despite the availability of many methods for cancer, people can drastically lessen the risks of developing bladder cancer by quitting cigarette smoking --- a goal that might be easier said than done for certain individuals. These individuals may use various quit smoking products like nicotine gums, patches, and others that are out in the market. These products are scientifically proven to aid individuals who want to quit smoking. These products work by temporarily supplying the body with nicotine through means other than cigarettes. This helps calm physical withdrawal symptoms of cigarette smoking. Using these products and coupling them with the right attitude a sure formula for the prevention of bladder cancer and improve one's overall health and well-being.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Avoiding and Preventing Cancer: Simple Steps to Take
With its fairly unique characteristics, cancer strikes intense fear in many people and all would like to find ways to preventing and avoiding cancer.Obviously, any disease that is a) fatal, b) incurable and c) derived from unknown causes will earn a position of esteemed concern among the general public.
The faulty basis regarding the incurability of cancer is something you will find in my most recent book, but for now let us acknowledge that most people believe this to be true.
Cancer is a unique illness, in that it is created within our cells, by our cells. Damaged DNA causes a cell to divide without limits, producing more cells with damaged DNA that divide without limits. Soon, the cells create a massive tumor which is often fatal. Is it really possible to avoid and prevent cancer?
The most reliable medical treatments for cancer are essentially poisonous. We poison our body, depending on the fact that the cancerous portion will perish first. This theory has proven itself workable, though it often generates effects which are as lethal as the cancer.
Luckily for us, our bodies were created with an inherent set of tools, our immune system, designed to keep illness from settling in and destroying us. Not so luckily for us, we live in an age where the maintenance of those tools is incredibly poor.
To increase the abilities of our immune system and ensure that it can do its job, we must strive to be as healthy as possible. Our immune system will help us prevent and defeat disease, but it won’t do it all by itself: we must be willing to help. There are indeed some simple steps you can take to avoid and prevent cancer.
After all, if we don’t care enough about our health to fight for it, why should our immune system? If you do care enough to fight for it, how do you go about it?
Start exercising. This is actually one of the cheapest, easiest and potentially most effective tactics we have in promoting a healthy, active and forceful immune system. We make it hard, even though it doesn’t need to be.There is no need to join a health club or purchase fancy equipment.
If you have stairs in your home, spend 15 minutes a day walking up and down them. Do sit-ups and push-ups. The key is to do something, which will always be better than doing nothing regarding exercise.
Eat better. While there may not be a scientifically backed study indicating that a regular diet of deep fried fast food causes cancer, it has certainly been linked to a variety of health problems. Remember that any health problem drains your immune system which, in turn, makes you more susceptible to other health problems.
I’m not suggesting that you become a vegetarian and start shopping exclusively at organic health stores, although you may want to look into those options. But you may stop giving into the so-called “easy” way of eating .
Look at it from a new perspective. Certainly, every time you pick up a quick dinner at the local grease market you are saving yourself the time and trouble of preparing a healthy meal.
What’s really happening with those “savings,” however, is that you’re stashing them into a “time bank.” Like most savings, that time earns interest. In this case, the interest you are earning is pain, problems and suffering. When you finally withdraw all of that saved time, later in your life,you have to withdraw the earned interest as well.
Reduce stress. Stress is a massive immune system inhibitor. It comes at you from all angles, in every direction and with varying intensity. Recognize the sources of stress in your life and then work on healing them. A great number of options exist to reduce stress, you simply need to find the one that works best for you.
Of the options, one that is particularly viable to the prevention and avoidance of cancer is meditation. Drop the images you may be having of monks in robes. Meditation can be done in a very secular way, with no dogma attached.
Simply sit undisturbed in a comfortable position while visualizing your self at the peak of health. When your mind strays, as it will, from the visualization of yourself at peak health, all you need to do is simply bring it back.
After practicing this for awhile, you’ll find that your mind hardly drifts at all. You’ll also find yourself feel much better than you’ve felt in a long time, and it won’t even cost you a penny. This simple step could indeed be the start of avoiding and preventing cancer.
The faulty basis regarding the incurability of cancer is something you will find in my most recent book, but for now let us acknowledge that most people believe this to be true.
Cancer is a unique illness, in that it is created within our cells, by our cells. Damaged DNA causes a cell to divide without limits, producing more cells with damaged DNA that divide without limits. Soon, the cells create a massive tumor which is often fatal. Is it really possible to avoid and prevent cancer?
The most reliable medical treatments for cancer are essentially poisonous. We poison our body, depending on the fact that the cancerous portion will perish first. This theory has proven itself workable, though it often generates effects which are as lethal as the cancer.
Luckily for us, our bodies were created with an inherent set of tools, our immune system, designed to keep illness from settling in and destroying us. Not so luckily for us, we live in an age where the maintenance of those tools is incredibly poor.
To increase the abilities of our immune system and ensure that it can do its job, we must strive to be as healthy as possible. Our immune system will help us prevent and defeat disease, but it won’t do it all by itself: we must be willing to help. There are indeed some simple steps you can take to avoid and prevent cancer.
After all, if we don’t care enough about our health to fight for it, why should our immune system? If you do care enough to fight for it, how do you go about it?
Start exercising. This is actually one of the cheapest, easiest and potentially most effective tactics we have in promoting a healthy, active and forceful immune system. We make it hard, even though it doesn’t need to be.There is no need to join a health club or purchase fancy equipment.
If you have stairs in your home, spend 15 minutes a day walking up and down them. Do sit-ups and push-ups. The key is to do something, which will always be better than doing nothing regarding exercise.
Eat better. While there may not be a scientifically backed study indicating that a regular diet of deep fried fast food causes cancer, it has certainly been linked to a variety of health problems. Remember that any health problem drains your immune system which, in turn, makes you more susceptible to other health problems.
I’m not suggesting that you become a vegetarian and start shopping exclusively at organic health stores, although you may want to look into those options. But you may stop giving into the so-called “easy” way of eating .
Look at it from a new perspective. Certainly, every time you pick up a quick dinner at the local grease market you are saving yourself the time and trouble of preparing a healthy meal.
What’s really happening with those “savings,” however, is that you’re stashing them into a “time bank.” Like most savings, that time earns interest. In this case, the interest you are earning is pain, problems and suffering. When you finally withdraw all of that saved time, later in your life,you have to withdraw the earned interest as well.
Reduce stress. Stress is a massive immune system inhibitor. It comes at you from all angles, in every direction and with varying intensity. Recognize the sources of stress in your life and then work on healing them. A great number of options exist to reduce stress, you simply need to find the one that works best for you.
Of the options, one that is particularly viable to the prevention and avoidance of cancer is meditation. Drop the images you may be having of monks in robes. Meditation can be done in a very secular way, with no dogma attached.
Simply sit undisturbed in a comfortable position while visualizing your self at the peak of health. When your mind strays, as it will, from the visualization of yourself at peak health, all you need to do is simply bring it back.
After practicing this for awhile, you’ll find that your mind hardly drifts at all. You’ll also find yourself feel much better than you’ve felt in a long time, and it won’t even cost you a penny. This simple step could indeed be the start of avoiding and preventing cancer.
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