Saturday, April 10, 2021
Bridgehead Software Expands Global Product Marketing Team
Jones Robinson Estate Agents gives another £10,000 for match funding to The Rosemary Appeal via The Good Exchange on-line matching platform
BD Launches Circulating Cell-Free DNA Blood Collection Tube for Cancer and Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Applications
REaD Group and Marie Curie Celebrate Award Success with Multi Award-Winning Insight Project
Obesity epidemic results in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) becoming the most common cause of liver disease in Europe
Hitachi and Centre Léon Bérard cancer center in Lyon to launch a research collaboration in the fight against cancer with AI
SOTIO exercises second target option under existing collaboration with NBE-Therapeutics to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates
Blood Cancer Charity, Anthony Nolan, Selects IGEL Endpoints to Boost Workplace Collaboration and Support Windows 10 Migration
Reading, UK. February 20, 2020 – IGEL, provider of the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces, today announced that Anthony Nolan, the pioneering blood cancer charity, has implemented UD3 desktops to support an organizational-wide implementation of Windows 10 and provide rich multimedia capability for over 300 employees. This will boost collaboration and teamwork by enabling geographically dispersed staff to, among other things, set up video-based conference calls to work more productively.
Founded in 1974, Anthony Nolan is a charity that makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and incredible strangers ready to donate their stem cells. Every day, its register of more than 780,000 people gives families a future. And it’s a significant problem. Every 14 minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. This meant that, last year, Anthony Nolan helped over 1,400 patients receive a second chance of life.
A long term user of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), Anthony Nolan uses Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops as its centralized content collaboration platform. Users are based at the charity’s headquarters in Hampstead Heath, London, a laboratory on the Royal Free Hospital site and a Cell Therapy Centre located in the grounds of Nottingham Trent University.
Ilan Jacobson, Anthony Nolan’s Infrastructure Manager, says, “Our legacy thin client terminals didn’t support Citrix HDX, and we wanted a solution which would work with Windows 10. This informed our decision to choose IGEL.”
After a trial period where ‘demo’ units were tested, new UD3 multimedia endpoints were supplied by Metaphor IT, a Citrix Gold partner and IGEL reseller based in the City of London.
IGEL supports transition to cloud-based applications
Anthony Nolan has transitioned to deploy Windows to embrace the cloud and was looking for an environment which is reliable, responsive and up-to-date and to deliver this whilst ensuring the best end-user experience possible.
Jacobson explains, “We have a mixed environment now. We’ve standardized on Microsoft Azure for cloud services and run various applications like Office 365, Dynamics 365 and a new HR solution. Citrix is hosted in our physical datacenter, along with various internal systems, databases, print servers and domain controllers. The IGEL endpoints are agnostic and happily support both routes to application delivery.
“It’s essential we’re able to work at our best because every year in the UK another 2,000 patients with blood cancer, and blood disorders, start their search to find a matching donor. Anthony Nolan must be there to help them find that donor and ensure they receive the support they need to live well after transplant,” adds Jacobson.
All IGEL endpoints have now been installed at Anthony Nolan’s various sites. The project was easy to complete as the UMS makes it simple to configure settings centrally and apply them to all devices over the network.
Andrew Gee, IGEL’s VP Sales Northern Europe, says, “Anthony Nolan has a lot of people who work at the office, remotely and from hospital sites. The use of Windows 10, combined with our multimedia-optimized UD3 endpoints, mean its IT team can introduce new ways for people to work, boost efficiency without the worry that applications like video conferencing will fail or perform poorly. This project is a good example, therefore, of how IGEL offers a powerful solution for any organization going through the whole Windows 10 migration process.”
Learn more about how IGEL helps healthcare organizations solve their end user computing challenges here: https://www.igel.com/customer-stories/healthcare/. For more information on Anthony Nolan’s use of IGEL watch this video.
-ENDS -
IGEL on Social MediaTwitter: www.twitter.com/IGEL_Technology Facebook: www.facebook.com/igel.technology LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/igel-technology YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/IGELTechnologyTV IGEL Community: www.igel.com/community
About IGELIGEL provides the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces. The company’s world-leading software products include IGEL OS™, IGEL UD Pocket™ (UDP) and IGEL Universal Management Suite™ (UMS). These solutions comprise a more secure, manageable and cost-effective endpoint management and control platform across nearly any x86 device. Easily acquired via just two feature-rich software offerings, - Workspace Edition and Enterprise Management Pack - IGEL software presents outstanding value per investment. Additionally, IGEL’s German engineered endpoint solutions deliver the industry’s best hardware warranty (5 years), software maintenance (3 years after end of life) and management functionality. IGEL enables enterprises to save vast amounts of money by extending the useful life of their existing endpoint devices while precisely controlling all devices running IGEL OS from a single dashboard interface. IGEL has offices worldwide and is represented by partners in over 50 countries. For more information on IGEL, visit www.igel.com.
About Anthony NolanAnthony Nolan is the charity that finds matching donors for people with blood cancer and gives them a second chance at life. It also carries out ground-breaking research to save more lives and provide information and support to patients after a stem cell transplant, through its clinical nurse specialists and psychologists, who help guide patients through their recovery. Find out more at www.anthonynolan.org
Note to sub editorsPlease note that Anthony Nolan changed its name in 2001 and is no longer known as Anthony Nolan Trust.
IGEL Media Contact:Tom HerbstTel: +44 (0)7768 145571 Email: tom@ambergroup.net
Source: RealWire
The Good Exchange Helps Ark Cancer Centre Charity Raise £1.8m to Build State-Of-The-Art Facility in Basingstoke
https://www.realwire.com/releases/The-Good-Exchange-Helps-Ark-Cancer-Centre-Charity-Raise-18m
Effectiveness and efficiency of targeted intra-operative single dose radiotherapy for breast cancer patients confirmed
JENA/ GERMANY, August 27, 2020 Use of targeted intra-operative radiotherapy (TARGIT), as a single dose - with ZEISS INTRABEAM - directly after removal of a tumor, confirmed as non-inferior, when compared with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Within the accuracy of the study, the risk of a local tumor recurrence in the breast is similar and non-breast cancer death is reduced. The TARGIT-A randomized, multi-center phase 3 study involving 2298 patients with a median patient follow-up time of 8.6 years meets the highest scientific standards.
Globally more than 40,000 patients have already been treated, in over 350 breast cancer centers, with the TARGIT method. "Single dose intra-operative radiotherapy for early stage breast cancer can be a better alternative to conventional whole breast radiotherapy for most patients during primary tumor management " stated the principal investigator Professor Jayant Vaidya, Professor of Surgery and Oncology and Scientific Director at University College London when presenting the results of the study. “These excellent results provide real clinical justification for single intraoperative radiation in suitable patients with early breast cancer. It is now essential to develop the corresponding treatment guidelines as soon as possible”, added Professor Jeffrey Tobias, Professor of Oncology at University College London and joint initiator of the TARGIT-A study.
Positive clinical study results validate TARGIT as an option in breast cancer treatment The local, recurrence-free survival rate of women treated with single dose TARGIT is non-inferior when compared with EBRT. The mortality in the TARGIT arm was even lower because of fewer cardio-vascular deaths.
"We are delighted with the positive results, as the ZEISS INTRABEAM 600 now represents an outstanding treatment alternative for many patients. We are confident that the procedure can now find its way into everyday clinical practice" said Ludwin Monz, CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.
[1] https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2836
TARGIT method underscored as an efficiency-oriented treatment'This study reflects two decades of interdisciplinary clinical research by leading radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists and health economists. The TARGIT-A trial has offered many breast cancer patients a treatment that is well tolerated, effective, convenient and highly cost efficient', summarized Professor William Small, Professor of Radio-oncology at Loyola University, Chicago and one of the world's leading radiation oncologists.
Contacts for the press: Petra RettenmaierHead of Marketing Communications VisualizationCarl Zeiss Meditec AGPhone: +49 7364 204-232Email: press.meditec@zeiss.com
Contact for investors Sebastian FrericksDirector of Investor RelationsCarl Zeiss Meditec AGPhone: +49 3641 220-116Email: investors.meditec@zeiss.com
www.zeiss.de/presse
Brief ProfileCarl Zeiss Meditec AG (ISIN: DE0005313704) is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies and is included in the German MDAX and TecDAX stock indices. The Company supplies innovative technologies and application-oriented solutions designed to help doctors improve the quality of life of their patients. The company offers complete solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases – including implants and consumables. In microsurgery, the Company provides innovative visualization solutions. With approximately 3,230 employees worldwide, the company generated revenue totaling €1,459.3 million in fiscal year 2018/19 (ended 30 September).
The company is headquartered in Jena, Germany. The company has subsidiaries in Germany and abroad; more than 50 percent of its employees are based in the US, Japan, Spain and France. The Center for Application and Research (CARIn) in Bangalore, India and the Carl Zeiss Innovations Center for Research and Development in Shanghai, China, strengthen the Company's presence in these rapidly developing economies. Around 41 percent of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG shares are in free float. The remaining approx. 59 percent are held by Carl Zeiss AG, one of the world’s leading companies in the optical and optoelectronic industries.
For more information please visit: www.zeiss.com/medSource: RealWire
https://www.realwire.com/releases/Effectiveness-of-targeted-intra-operative-single-dose-radiotherapy
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Pasta dishes with ingredients cooked fire
Pasta dishes are remarkably popular and versatile, but it seems like noodles as traditionally prepared sometimes can be boring. Cooked pasta with meat from the grill or fire or vegetables is a wonderful treatment. One of the best ways is to improve your pasta dishes, some of the ingredients Cook over a fire pit. So instead of daily pasta dishes, some kick try with some ingredients cooked fire. Here are some ideas for you to use:
Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Zucchini
Cut the zucchini into pieces and in a square of aluminum foil. Feel free to the zucchini as desired, with salt and garlic season. Add oil or butter and wrap the zucchini in the slide. How to you with hot foil packaging in the fireplace coals and cooking for about half an hour. Take the zucchini in with your Fettuccine Alfredo pasta.
Tomato pasta sauce with fire-roasted tomatoes
Tomato sauce is probably the most popular topping for pasta dishes. There are all kinds of things can tomato sauce so it your own. One of the things you can do to give your pasta sauce some additional flavor is the sauce to fire-roasted tomatoes. To fire tomatoes they halve the root, and remove you can roast, the seeds and drain juice from. Brush cut sides with olive oil and place the tomatoes on grilled on the barbecue area. Cooking until skin is blackened, then pull the skin off. You chop immediately the new roasted tomatoes and stir you gently to your tomato pasta sauce.
Noodles with fire cooked fish
Put your fish in foil and season it as you want, with garlic, paprika and oregano. Set slide with the fish a slice of lemon or lime juice in each packet. Cook the fish over hot coals in the fireplace for about 15 minutes. Before unpacking the slide, you can be to the fish for a minute or two, sit a little cool. Pack the fish in small or bite-sized pieces cut and throw white wine for more taste in pasta, add.
Full taste and some dimensions are unique flavour to your table this dishes. Their pasta dishes are certainly memorable for you and your guests be, if you have a fireplace cooking ingredients and use the complex aromas, cooking thrown the pit offers.
Geoffrey F. Moore
Firepit
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Causing bacteria cancer?
Microbes are all around us, on our skins, in our nasal passages and in our intestines, and even in our blood and tissues.
Usually they exist in harmless balance with the immune system. Some are even beneficent : bacteria in the human intestine help digest food, produce vitamins, and crowd out toxic pathogens. In fact, the human body contains more bacterial cells than somatic (body) cells.
Mitochondria, organelles which produce energy within human cells, have their own DNA and are thought to be descended from free-living bacteria. Bacteria are highly integrated into functions of the entire human body.
The mainstream medical community is now willing to accept that a few type of bacteria or viruses may indeed be responsible for a few forms of cancer, such as Kaposi's sarcoma, stomach and cervical cancer, but they are unwilling to recognize that infectious agents may be inextricably linked to the development of most other tumors as well.
Yet, there scientific evidence dating back more than one hundred years which points to an bacterial cause cancer, a pleomorphic (many-formed) bacteria, related to or resembling mycoplasma, which has been seen in microscopic slides of numerous tumors.
At the beginning of the 20th century, bacterial genesis of cancer was considered a mainstream theory, and papers about it were published in the Lancet. However, it was eventually sidelined despite a large body of substantiating evidence.
Over the past century hundreds of independent researchers have noted a link between bacteria and cancer in both animals and humans, but their findings were treated as a scientific curiosity and rarely followed up by the general medical establishment.
However, the theory never went away, and individual scientists continued searching for ways to identify and eliminate the suspect bacteria.
In 1890 the German physician and bacteriologist Robert Koch formulated a standard criteria still in use today for judging whether a given bacteria is the cause of a given disease.
"Koch's Postulates," while not always valid, provide a useful benchmark for disease investigators.
Koch's postulates are as follows:
The bacteria must be present in every case of the disease.
The bacteria must be isolated from the host with the disease and grown in pure culture.
The specific disease must be reproduced when a pure culture of the bacteria is inoculated into a healthy susceptible host.
The bacteria must be recoverable from the experimentally infected host.
However, Koch's postulates have their limitations, which even Koch recognized. They may not hold if:
The particular bacteria (such as the one that causes leprosy) cannot be "grown in pure culture" in the laboratory.
Animal test subjects are immune to the infection.
In addition, a usually harmless bacteria may cause disease if:
It has acquired extra virulence factors making it pathogenic.
It gains access to deep tissues due to trauma, surgery, an IV line, etc.
It infects a patient with a compromised immune system.
Not all people infected by a bacteria develop serious disease; subclinical, low-grade infection may be more common than clinically obvious, symptomatic infection.
The different species of infectious agents linked to various cancers fit fairly well within Koch's postulates, since they can be isolated from tumors and grown in a petri dishes or cell cultures, and they sometimes produces tumors when injected into test animals.
However, many are also found in lower concentrations in healthy subjects, and it appears that these microbes only cause disease when their host is weakened.
The host's immune system limits the amount of damage any infectious agent can cause. For instance, H. pylori stomach infections can lead to stomach ulcers and gastric cancer, but many people are asymptomatic carries. Not every woman who has been infected with HPV develops cervical cancer.
Similarly, we should not expect all carriers of other "cancer microbes" to become ill. Also, these bacteria may have the potential to produce diseases besides cancer, since H. pylori can cause stomach ulcers as well.
History
Probably the first official mention of "cancer microbe" occurred on December 3, 1890 when William Russell, a pathologist in the School of Medicine at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, gave an address to the Pathological Society of London. He described histopathologic findings of "a characteristic organism of cancer" that he observed microscopically in fuchsine-stained tissue sections from all forms of cancer that he examined, and also from some cases of tuberculosis, syphilis and skin infection.
The microbe was seen both around and within tissue cells, and ranged in size from barely visible to one and half times the size of a red blood cell. Russell felt that the large size of some of these organisms was suggestive of a yeast or fungal infection.
Russell tentatively called the microbe a possible "blastomycete" (a type of fungus); and called the round forms "fuchsine bodies" due to their bluish-red staining qualities.
Nine years later in 1899, Russell published a report in the Lancet on "The parasite of cancer," and stated that finding the suspect bacteria present in diseases other than cancer presented a "stumbling block" to the idea of a definitive function for the organisms.
Cultures yielded numerous species of bacteria, and injection of the bacteria into animals gave ambiguous results. Subsequently, many scientists concluded that Russell bodies were merely the result of cellular degeneration.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the scientist Royal Raymond Rife pioneered the use of radiofrequency devices to kill bacteria. Rife discovered that a certain spectrum of radio waves was lethal to bacteria, while harmless to human tissue. He also invented a new form of microscope which used monochromatic light, and was accurate enough to see viruses without the use of electron microscopy.
Working from a laboratory in La Jolla in the 1930s, Rife claimed to have a 100 percent success rate in treating cancer. Rife's lab was shut down due to political pressure by the American Medical association , most of his papers were destroyed, and currently the only known example of his microscopes exists in a museum.
Rife's discovery of radiofrequency devices to kill bacteria was picked up by Hulda Clark, a Canadian scientist, who began her work in the 1960s. Clark also claimed that many other diseases, including diabetes, allergies, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, are caused by bacteria and parasites such as liver flukes.
She improved on Rife's technology, and invented a small raidofrequency device she called the "Zapper" that she claimed eradicated bacteria and other parasites from the body. Instructions on how to build the devices were made available to the public, and can be found on the Internet today.
Clark was harassed by the American authorities until she left to set up her cancer clinic in Mexico, where in 2001 the authorities forbade her from offering alternative treatment for cancer. Like Rife, Clark claimed an extremely high success rate in treating cancer, nearly 100 percent, but no independent analysis of her claims, or those of Rife, exist.
In the 1960s, Dr. Virginia Livingston antagonized the scientific establishment by claiming to have found the microbe responsible for causing cancer, naming it "Progenitor cryptocides", which means "hidden killer". She felt that that the microbe had an intrinsic, symbiotic function in the human body, that was responsible for initiating life and for healing of tissue, and that the microbe was ultimately responsible for eventual degeneration and death of all life.
When the cultured organism was injected into animals, it caused tumors to develop in some, but not all, of the test subjects.
In 1974, Livingstone became the first scientist to discover that both cancer bacteria and cancer cells produce the human hormone HCG. This hormone, normally secreted by the human fetus to protect it from the maternal immune system, also protects cancers from immune system attack.
Livingstone concluded that bacteria secrete mutagenic factors such as actinomycin-D with damage human cell DNA, and that they can also interchange genetic material such as bacterial growth factors with human cells. Vaccines targeting HCG-producing and cancer-promoting bacteria deprive cancer cells of a key source of HCG.. As the levels of HCG are lowered, the immune system's ability to launch an assault on cancer cells increases.
Livingstone cultured patients' own bacteria from blood and urine to create "autogenous" vaccines to stimulate the immune system. She published many articles and books, such as "Cancer, A New Breakthrough" (1972); "The Microbiology of Cancer" (1977); and "The Conquest of Cancer" (1984).
Her research has been confirmed by other scientists, such as microbiologist Eleanor Alexander-Jackson, cell cytologist Irene Diller, biochemist Florence Seibert, and dermatologist Alan Cantwell, among others.
Milton Wainwright, a microbiologist at the University of Sheffield, UK, has written extensively about the bacteriology of cancer in recent publications such as: "Nanobacteria and associated 'elementary bodies' in human disease and cancer" (1999); "The return of the cancer germ; Forgotten microbiology - back to the future" (2000); "Highly pleomorphic staphylococci as a cause of cancer" (2000); and "Is this the historical 'cancer germ'"? (2003).
Currently, one of the most well-known popular proponents of the link between cancer and bacteria is Dr. Alan Cantwell, who has written numerous articles and books on the subject. Cantwell isolated and reported cell wall deficient bacteria in breast cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma and Hodgkin's disease. He states, " If a disease like cancer is indeed caused by microscopic bacteria, it would indicate physicians have been unable to see what was quite plain for some nineteenth and twentieth century scientists to observe using simple light microscopy.
And with powerful electron microscopes there is now little excuse for not "seeing" bacteria."
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma, the oldest suspect in the bacterial theory of cancer, has also been implicated as a direct cause or a signficant cofactoer in a host of other degenerative and inflammatory diseases.
Mycoplasmas are frequently found in the oral and genito-urinary tracts of normal healthy subjects, with females four times more frequently infected than males, which just happens to be the same gender-skewed incidence rate as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and other related auto-immune disorders.
In 1997, the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, published the article, Mycoplasmas : Sophisticated, Reemerging, and Burdened by Their Notoriety, by Drs. Baseman and Tully who stated:
"Nonetheless, mycoplasmas by themselves can cause acute and chronic diseases at multiple sites with wide-ranging complications and have been implicated as cofactors in disease.
Recently, mycoplasmas have been linked as a cofactor to AIDS pathogenesis and to malignant transformation, chromosomal aberrations, the Gulf War Syndrome, and other unexplained and complex illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn's disease, and various arthritides."
The first strains of mycoplasma were isolated from cattle with arthritis and pleuro-pneumonia in 1898 at the Pasteur Institute. The first human variety was isolated in 1932 from a wound abscess.
The first connection between Mycoplasmas were identified as a cause of rheumatoid diseases in 1939 by Drs. Swift and Brown. In the late 1950's a specific strain was identified as the cause of atypical pneumonia, and named Mycoplasma pneumonia.
The association between immunodeficiency and autoimmune disorders with mycoplasmas was first noted in the mid 1970s in patients with primary hypogammaglobulinemia (an autoimmune disease) due to infection with four species of mycoplasma localized in joint tissue.
Since that time, more than 100 different mycoplasma species have been identified and recorded in plants, animals, and humans.
There are hundreds of studies from scientists all around the world linking various species of mycoplasma with cancer.
The research of Dr Shy-Chung Lo at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., confirms the multistage, malignant transformation of embryo cell lines persistently exposed to mycoplasma infection as well as animal models so exposed.
According to research by P.J. Chan, published in Gynecologic Oncology (1996), "The oncogenic potential of mycoplasmas was only recently realized when they were shown to cause chromosomal changes and in vitro cell transformations through gradual progressive chromosomal loss and translocations." Chan and colleagues also report the prevalence of mycoplasma DNA in ovarian cancer.1
In 1993, a research team led by C. Ilantzis at the McGill Cancer Centre, Montreal, Canada analyzed cancer-related markers which are specific to various organs in the body. These markers, called "organ-specific neoantigens" (OSNs), elicit specific immune responses. After analyzing OSN proteins from human colon adenocarcinomas, researchers found the OSNs to be mycoplasmal in origin.2
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(1). Chan P.J et al Prevalence of Mycoplasma Conserved DNA in Malignant Ovarian Cancer Detected Using Sensitive PCR-ELISA Gynecologic Oncology 1996 pp. 258-260(3)
(2). C Ilantzis, DM Thomson, A Michaelidou, S Benchimol Identification of a human cancer related organ specific neoantigen Microbiol Immunol, 1993;37(2):119-28
Microscopic Findings
The "cancer bacteria" have a variable appearance, both in tissue samples and in cultures. They can appear as cocci (spheres) 0.1 micrometer in size (a micrometer is 1/1000 of a millimeter), called "ultramicroscopic" since they can still be seen by an ordinary light optical microscope.
Scientists have used the term "nanobacteria" to describe extremely small bacteria which range from .05 to 0.2 micrometer in size. Viruses, which measure 0.01 to 0.02 micrometers, can be viewed only with an electron microscope. The smallest forms of bacteria pass easily through a standard viral filter with pores 0 .2 micrometers in size, which microbiologists assumed (until recently) would catch all bacteria, which tend to be much larger.
Once these tiny cocci are placed in a petri dish and the resulting culture is observed over time, the bacteria also produce larger rods and branching, fungus-like strands.
Mycobacteria are known to exist in different forms, and the tuberculosis microbe, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a good example of this complex life cycle. Some forms of the bacillus are round "coccoid" forms; other forms are more typically "acid-fast" and "rod" forms. All mycobacteria form a phylogenetic link or bridge between the bacteria and the "higher" fungi. "Myco" is Greek for fungus. This is the origin of the term "mycobacteria." Mycoplasmas also have a flowing plasma-like structure without a cell wall - hence "plasma".
Unlike common bacteria, the suspected cancer microbe Mycoplasma has no cell wall. It invades tissue cells, and uses the cell to replicate itself, much like a retrovirus. When the Mycoplasma breaks out of the cell, it takes a piece of the host cell membrane with it. When the immune system attacks the Mycoplasma, it may also mistakenly attack the host cell, causing an autoimmune condition. It can invade the Natural Killer cells of the immune system, causing immune system disorders. Because it can hide deep within cells, it is extremely difficult to detect and eradicate.
Treating Mycoplasma With Antibiotics
Antibiotic treatment must be tailored to the specific bacterial infection. Many bacteria, especially mycoplasma, are unaffected by many common antibiotics. However, some targeted treatments which are known to kill specific cancer-causing bacteria have proven effective, at least in the early stages of disease.
Mycoplasmal infections are treatable with long cycles of high-dose antibiotics such as doxycycline and tetracycline, followed by a long period of low dose antibiotics. Due to their lack of cell walls, mycoplasma are unaffected by penicillins. Since the organism is a slow-growing, intracellular species with a long life cycle, several long term courses of antibiotics may be necessary. The infection may need to be treated for several months or years, much the same protocol as for Lyme Disease.
No clinical trials have been published in regards to the treatment of cancer with antibiotics against mycoplasma.
Vaccines Against Mycoplasma
Maruyama vaccine is similar to BCG vaccine, both of which are made from mycobacteria tuberculosis isolates. Both have been used extensively as immune system stimulants in cancer patients. Murayama vaccine is made from mycobacteria tuberculosis isolates, and BCG is derived from an attenuated bovine tuberculosis bacillus. However, BCG has more side effects than Maruyama vaccine.
Maruyama vaccine, invented by Dr. Chisato Maruyama more than 50 years ago, can be used by itself or in combination with standard therapies. Some Japanese physicians claim to have achieved complete remissions in poor-prognosis cancers, but no large scale clinical trials exist. No negative side effects from the vaccine have been reported.
Murayama vaccine is approved by the FDA to treat terminal cancer patients. Some forms of health insurance will cover the cost if the vaccine is used as part of standard therapy, because it is officially approved only as an immune system stimulant to counteract the side effect of bone marrow suppression caused by radiotherapy.
Maruyama vaccine is supplied by The Research Institute of Vaccine Therapy for Tumors and Infections Disease, Nippon Medical School Hospital in Tokyo, as long as the patient supplies a request from their physician. It is not expensive, approximately 9000 yen (100 USD) for a 40 day course of treatment.
According to an article published in Cancer Detection And Prevention, 2003, by Tetsuo Kimoto M.D., Ph.D., Maruyama vaccine does not have direct cytotoxic effects on tumors, but rather causes their encapsulation by collagen fibers.
This leads to the containment and sometimes necrosis (death) of tumors and their metastasis. Survival time increased in both animal and human subjects with tumors, and Kimoto stated that Murayama vaccine "may benefit patients in whom the tumor is inoperable and resistant to conventional chemotherapy." 1
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(1). Tetsuo Kimoto M.D., Ph.D The antitumor effects of Maruyama vaccine (SSM) Cancer Detection and Prevention Volume 22 Issue 4 Page 340 - August 1998 .
Herpes Virus
Cervical cancer, caused by the human papilloma virus, strikes more than 10,000 U.S. women each year, killing more than 3,700. A new vaccine against the virus, Gardasil, was approved by the FDA in 2006. The vaccine is effective against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers and against HPV types 6 and 11, which cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts.
Less well known is the fact that HPV is also implicated in squamous cell head and neck cancers, especially cancer of the tonsils. 1,2 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center tested tumor tissues from 253 patients with head and neck cancers and found 25 percent of the cases were HPV-positive. In 90 percent of those HPV-positive tumors, HPV16, the type of virus most often associated with cervical cancer, was present.3
Multiple studies confirm the link between HPV and head and neck cancer. Approximately 31,000 people in the United States are diagnosed each year with cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, which causes 8,500 deaths annually.
The vaccine against HPV only works if it administered before infection, indicating the importance of immunization before potential exposure to the virus. Also, Gardasil does not protect against less common HPV types not included in the vaccine, thus routine and regular pap screening remain critically important to detect precancerous changes in the cervix to allow treatment before cervical cancer develops. It is a preventative measure, not a treatment for existing cervical or head and neck cancer.
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(1). Paz IB et al., Human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancer. An association of HPV 16 with squamous cell carcinoma of Waldeyer's tonsillar ring. Cancer 1997 Feb 1;79(3):595-604.
(2) Klussman JP et al., Human papillomavirus-positive tonsillar carcinomas: a different tumor entity? Med Microbiol Immunol (Berlin) 2003 Aug;192(3):129-32. Epub 2002 Sep 14.
(3). Gillison ML, Koch WM, Capone RB, Spafford M, Westra WH, Wu L, Zahurak ML, Daniel RW, Viglione M, Symer DE, Shah KV, Sidransky D, Evidence for a causal association between human papillomavirus and a subset of head and neck cancers. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2000 May 3;92(9):709-20
Stomach Cancer
In the December 2000 edition of the Journal of The National Cancer Insitute, a research team led by Columbian pathologist Pelayo Correa reported that antibiotics, vitamin C, or beta-carotene (precursor of vitamin A) can reverse precancerous stomach conditions caused by Helicobacter pylori.
Stomach cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide, and is most common in countries such as Colombia and China, where H. Pylori infects more than half of the population in early childhood. In the U.S., where H. pylori is less common, stomach cancer rates have decreased since the 1930s.
The two main risk factors for stomach cancer are H. pylori infection, and a diet low in vitamin C and beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. There is also ample evidence that a diet including fresh fruits and vegetables, which are rich in those nutrients, protects against stomach cancer.
In 1992, the researchers studied 631 patients with aberrant gastric cell growth, which falls into one of three successive premalignant stages--multifocal nonmetaplastic atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia.
Patients received either a placebo pill, a vitamin C or beta-carotene supplement, or antibiotics against H. pylori. Some others received a combination of drugs and supplements.
The scientists took stomach biopsies of the patients after 3 and 6 years of treatment. Patients with atrophy were roughly five times as likely to experience regression of this premalignant cell growth as those getting a placebo.
Among those with metaplasia, the volunteers who were taking supplements or drugs were three times as likely to improve as those getting placebos were. However, patients with dysplasia, the last stage of stomach disease before cancer, showed no significant improvement with any of the treatments. "The earlier in the process [that we intervened] the better the chance of regression," Correa said. 1
This study is encouraging because it shows that treating carcinogenic bacteria produces clear benefits against precancerous conditions. However, once the tissue damage caused by infection had progressed to the premalignant stage, the antibiotics produced no benefits, and would likely produce no improvement in cases of outright malignancy either.
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(1). Correa, P., et al. 2000. Chemoprevention of gastric dysplasia: Randomized trial of antioxidant supplements and anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 92(Dec. 6):1881-1888
Lymphoma
The common antibiotic doxycycline effectively treats a type of ocular lymphoma associated with chlamydia infection, according to a study published in the October 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A team of researchers led by Andres J. M. Ferreri, M.D., of the San Raffaele H Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, gave 27 patients with ocular adnexal lymphoma (OAL) a 3-week course of doxycycline therapy, whether they tested positive or negative for chlamydia.
The researchers observed for tumor progression every 6 months, and found that doxycycline caused caused lymphoma to regress in patients regardless of whether they tested positive or negative for chlamydia.
The study suggested that doxycycline is a useful therapy even in patients where other treatments have failed, and it is a valid alternative to chemotherapy and radiation without causing the same toxic side-effects. Patients treated with doxycycline had a 66% rate of disease-free survival. 1
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(1). Andrés J. M. Ferreri, Maurilio Ponzoni, Massimo Guidoboni, Antonio Giordano Resti, Letterio S. Politi, Sergio Cortelazzo, Judit Demeter, Francesco Zallio, Angelo Palmas, Giuliana Muti, Giuseppina P. Dognini, Elisa Pasini, Antonia Anna Lettini, Federico Sacchetti, Carlo De Conciliis, Claudio Doglioni, Riccardo Dolcetti Bacteria-Eradicating Therapy With Doxycycline in Ocular Adnexal MALT Lymphoma: A Multicenter Prospective Trial Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2006 98(19):1375-1382
Cautionary Note On Indiscriminate Use Of Antibiotics
So far, no antibiotic treatment has been discovered that is successful in treating most types of cancer, and a study linking antibiotic use to an increased risk breast cancer appeared in the February 2004 Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, which examined 10,000 Washington state women, found that those who took more than 25 courses of antibiotics over an average of 17 years had double the risk of breast cancer compared to women who did not take antibiotics. Women who took between one and 25 prescriptions over the same period had a one-and-a-half times increased risk for breast cancer. 1
Correlation does not always imply causation, and this study raises intriguing questions as to the mechanism of this effect. Perhaps it is due to direct cellular damage by the antibiotic. Maybe the disruption of the body's normal bacterial homeostasis by antibiotics causes proliferation of pathogenic bacterial species.
It could be that women with poorly functioning immune systems (due to genetics or poor living conditions) are more prone to infections as well as cancer. A need for antibiotics may indicate an underlying inflammatory or infectious condition which is responsible for the development of cancer.
However, the study illustrates the perils of using broad spectrum antibiotics indiscriminately. This practice evidently does not ward off cancer, and cannot be recommended.
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(1). Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH. Jane A. Cauley, DrPH Antibiotics and Breast Cancer--. What's the Meaning of This? Journal of The American Medical Association Feb 2004 291:77, 880-881
Antibiotics To Treat Cancer
In 2006, researchers at the University of Illinois discovered that siomycin, a poorly known antibiotic first discovered in the 1960s, caused cancer cells to undergo apoptosis (cell death) while leaving normal cells unharmed. This is due to a direct effect on the FOX M1 gene, which is activated in tumor cells and causes their rapid growth. Siomycin is currently being evaluated for possible clinical trials. 1
Neomycin, another old antibiotic first discovered in 1949, inhibits angiogenesis (development of blood vessels) of prostate tumors, and prevents them from growing and spreading in animal subjects, according to researchers Hu and Yoshioka in the Sept 2006 edition of the Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences. 2
In both cases, the action of these antibiotics is due to a direct chemotherapeutic effect, not antibacterial action. However, both of these agents show promise for the development of chemotherapy without the current horrendous side effects.
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(1). Senthil K. Radhakrishnan, Uppoor G. Bhat, Douglas E. Hughes, I-Ching Wang, Robert H. Costa and Andrei L. Gartel Identification of a Chemical Inhibitor of the Oncogenic Transcription Factor Forkhead Box M1 Cancer Research 66, 9731-9735, October 1, 2006
(2). Hu G-F. Neomycin inhibits angiogenin-induced angiogenesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 9791-9795, 1998
Integrated Treatment Clinics
Livingstone-Wheeler claimed an 82% success rate in her book "the Conquest of Cancer".
One of the largest clinics offering treatment based on the bacterial hypothesis of cancer is the Livingstone Wheeler Foundation Medical Center, San Diego, California. Livingstone-Wheeler claimed an 82% success rate in her book "the Conquest of Cancer". Here, patients are given vaccines and other measures purported to enhance immunity to the pleomorphic bacterium believed to be the cause of cancer.
BCG vaccine is used along with a multifocal treatment program: vegetarian diet, vitamins, antioxidants, detoxification, nutritional counselling, support groups. Patients are monitored with tests of immune function and vitamin levels.
However, a 2001 study by the Centre for Alternative Medicine Research at the University of Texas found poor outcomes the 191 clinic patients followed, approximately half of whom had metastatic cancer. Only 28 patients out of 193 were found to be still alive five years later, giving a five-year survival rate of 14.5%, no better than conventional therapy for advanced cancer. These results refute Livingstone's claims of success.
However, other practitioners have had better results. The Issels Clinic, founded in 1951 in Germany by Dr. Josef Issels, specializes in immunotherapy (along with other alternative treatments) and and has a significant success rate documented by independent studies.
Since the late 1960s, German public health insurance has covered treatment at the Issels Clinic. From 1981 until his retirement in 1987, Dr. Issels served as expert in the Federal German Government Commission In The Fight Against Cancer.
In the Clinical Trials Journal (London 1970) a peer-reviewed study showed that Issels treatment plus standard therapy (chemo and radiotherapy) improved the five-year survival rate of patients with metastatic cancers to 87%, as compared to 50% with standard therapy alone.
In 1959, A. G. Audier, M.D., from the University of Leiden, Holland, reported that Issels therapy produced a 16.6% cure rate in 252 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma, which has only a 2% cure rate by conventional therapy.
This was confirmed by a study in 1971 by John Anderson, M.D., from King's College Hospital, which found a 17% cure rate for metastatic melanoma. The Issels clinic has documented long term cures (greater than 10 years) of advanced metastatic cancer, including astrocytomas (malignant brain tumors) and melanomas, which are virtually incurable by conventional treatment.
There are two Issels Medical Centers in the United States, in Phoenix, Arizona, and Santa Barbara, California.
Summary
Evidence for a causal link between infection and cancer appears to be overwhelming, but so far no universally applicable treatment has been developed from this knowledge.
In some cases, such as intraocular lymphoma, eradication of infection cures cancer; but in other cases, such as gastric cancer, it has no effect once the disease has progressed from pre-malignant to cancerous. So far, some success has been achieved by immunotherapy, but be sure to look for a reputable clinic with proven results, since patient outcomes vary greatly between practitioners.
This is definitely a field to watch closely, since new discoveries are being made constantly.
Frank J Vanderlugt owns and operates [http://www.cancer-cure-now.com]
Conventional Theories Of Cancer Development [http://www.cancer-cure-now.com]
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Little have we know that prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer amongst men
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer, has overtaken lung cancer as the leading cancer affecting all men and followed by colorectal cancer.
Statistically, 80 percent of prostate cancers occur in men over the age of 65. Although this cancer can also occur in younger individuals, it is very rare under the age of 50. As males age the prostate can develop problems.
Annually, one out of six American men will develop it in the course of his lifetime. Little did we know the fact a man is 33% more likely to develop prostate cancer than a woman is to get breast cancer.
In 2004, it is estimated that 234,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnose in the United States. That makes it the most common cancer among American men, next to the skin cancer. More than 27,000 deaths due to prostate cancer are expected to occur annually.
One new case every 2 1/2 minutes. One new case every 150 seconds.
While in UK, nearly 35,000 men are diagnosed and about 10,000 men die from prostate cancer annually. This means over one man die every hour in UK.
Today, about two million men are fighting prostate cancer, and over the next decade, as baby boomer men reach the target ripen age for prostate cancer, about three million more will be compelled to join the battle. It is estimated that by 2012, the number of new cases in the U.S. is expected to increase to more than 300,000 new cases per year by 2012.
One new case every 100 seconds. One man dead every 13 minutes.
What is prostate?
Prostate is a male sex gland, the size of a walnut, located behind pubic bone in front of the rectum that encompasses lower part of a bladder. The tube that carries urine (the urethra) runs through the prostate. At birth the gland size is small like a pea and it continue to grow until age of 20 when a man reaches adulthood. Male hormones (called androgens) is responsible for this growth. The gland size will not change until 45, when it starts to grow again.
Its primary function is to produce thick fluids that nourish the sperm, as well as helping propel sperm through the urethra and out of the penis to reach and fertilize an egg. Even though prostate is not a primary component of urinary tract, but it is very important for urinary health.
In older men, the part of the prostate around the urethra may keep on growing. This causes BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) which cause problems passing urine. BPH is a problem that must be treated, but it is not cancer.
What is prostate cancer?
The body is made up of different types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide and then die. Sometimes, cells mutate and begin to grow and divide more quickly than normally. Instead of dying, these abnormal cells clump together to form tumors. If these tumors are cancerous or so-called malignant tumors, they can invade and kill healthy tissues in the body. From these tumors, cancer cells can metastasize (spread) and form new tumors in other parts of the body. In contrary, non-cancerous tumors or so-called benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
Prostate cancer is abnormal cells grow out of control forming small nodules or bumps (overgrowth tissue) on the surface of in the prostate gland. In some cases, the overgrowth tissue is benign and this prostate condition is called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH). Other times, abnormal cancerous cells characterize the overgrowth of tissue, and this is referred to as a malignancy or prostate cancer.
As its close proximity to the bladder, prostate disorder might interfere with urination and causing bladder or kidney problems. It is also located immediately next to the nerves responsible for erections hence it might interfere with sexual function as well.
Although more than 70% of all prostate cancer cases are diagnosed in men over the age of 65, doctors recommend that every man above the age of 50 should have a PSA test and a rectal exam. According to statistic African-American have almost twice as much prostate cancer incidence rates as Caucasian American, hence they should start getting tested at age 40. The same is true if you have a
family history of prostate cancer.
One-third of men over the age of 50 have some cancer cells within their prostate and nearly all men over the age of 80 have a small area of prostate cancer. In most men, these cancers grow extremely slowly, particularly in elderly men, and it will never cause any problems. Even without treatment, many of them will not die of the prostate cancer, but who, but rather live and die of some other unrelated cause before the disease takes its toll.
However, similar to most types of cancer, if left completely unchecked prostate cancer can be aggressive, grow more quickly and may spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body, particularly lymph nodes or the bones. This makes treatment much more difficult.
What are the symptoms?
Prostate cancer often does not cause any symptoms for years. When symptoms do occur, usually the cancerous cells have spread beyond the prostate, this is why regular check up for men age of 40 and above is necessary and recommended. The symptoms include:
Urinary problems:
Dull pain in the lower pelvic area, hips, or upper thighs
Not being able to urinate
Sensation that your bladder doesn't empties
Having a hard time starting or stopping the urine flow
Problems with urgency of urination and difficulty in starting
Frequent urination, especially at night
Weak flow of urine
Urine flow that starts and stops
Pain or burning during urination
Difficulty having an erection
Pain at ejaculation
Genital pain
Blood in the urine or semen
Note: Other health issues such as urinary infection or inflammation; bladder problems or kidney stone can cause exactly the same symptoms. Hence, should those symptoms occurred and accompanied with blood in your urine, painfully ejaculation and general pain in your lower back, hips and leg bones, significant lost of weight - you must inevitable visit your urologist for a thorough check up.
Who are at risk?
Risk factors consistently associated with prostate cancer include:
Age: After the age of 50, the chance of developing prostate cancer is higher. More than 80 percent of all prostate cancers occur in men 65 years and older.
Race: African American men have a 60% higher risk of prostate cancer than white men, including Hispanic men
Ethnicity: More common in North America and northwestern Europe and occurs less frequently in Asia, Africa, Central
America and South America.
Family history: Appears to have a genetic link. Having family history of prostate cancer, a father or brother with the disease doubles a man's risk of developing it. Man whose brother had a prostate cancer have 4.5 times higher risk of prostate cancer and 2.5 time higher if his father had a prostate cancer.
Vasectomy: Men who have undergone vasectomy (a surgical procedure that renders them sterile) may have an increased risk.
Men who have diabetes have less risk of getting the disease, although no one really knows why.
How to prevent?
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the best way to reduce the risks from all forms of cancer:
Diet: The results of most studies show s diet high in animal fats and low in fresh fruit and vegetables have an increased chance of developing prostate cancer.
Studies show a diet high in lycopenes (found in higher levels in colorful fruits and vegetables), selenium, goji berry, broccoli and turmeric may lower the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Exercise: Maintaining a healthy weight along with regular physical activity may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Get plenty of rest- regularly scheduled bed time is important for overall health.
How is prostate cancer detected?
There are three common screening methods for prostate cancer:
Digital rectal examination (DRE)
A digital rectal examination as part of an annual physical exam in men age of 50 or older (and in younger men who are at increased risk). During this test, a doctor inserts a gloved and lubricated finger into the rectum to feel for abnormalities. While the rectal exam may be a bit unpleasant, it is done quickly.
Blood test for prostate specific antigen (PSA)
The PSA is a blood test which measures a protein in prostate gland cells. The American Cancer Society recommends the test to be executed once a year for men 50 and older, and for younger men with higher prostate cancer risk.
Results under 4 are usually considered normal. Results above 10 are considered high. Values between 4 and 10 are considered borderline. The greater the PSA level, the greater the chance that prostate cancer exists.
The test need to be validated further with a biopsy as the PSA test cannot be used as a foolproof test for prostate cancer:
2 out of 3 men with a high PSA values show no cancerous cells in their prostate biopsy.
1 in 5 men with prostate cancer will have a normal PSA result.
Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)
TRUS will be done if the digital rectal exam or PSA levels are abnormal. A probe is inserted into the rectum and pictures are recorded using sound waves, which create an image of the prostate gland. The test is usually done in outpatient setting and usually takes less than 30 minutes. Based on results from these screenings, additional tests may be recommended.
A positive biopsy is needed to confirm the diagnosis. If a biopsy reveals cancer, additional testing is done to see if it has spread to other organs:
Blood tests- may be taken to see if the cancer has spread
Bone scan- to determine if the cancer has spread to the bones
CT scan- a series of x-ray images taken of the pelvis or abdomen, often used to determine general signs of disease
Chest x-ray- to determine if cancer has spread to the lungs
MRI- magnetic resonance imaging to detect cancer in lymph nodes and other internal organs
What is the usual treatment for prostate cancer?
There are several treatments to treat prostate cancer: These include surgery, radiotherapy and various forms of drug treatment. Hormone therapy is commonly used. It blocks the action of testosterone, a sex hormone that prostate cancers need in order to grow.
Three treatment options are generally accepted for men with localized
prostate:
Radical prostatectomy: A surgical procedure to remove the entire prostate gland and nearby tissues. In some cases the lymph nodes in the pelvic area are also removed. This procedure is performed using nerve-sparing surgery which might prevent damage to the nerves needed for an erection. However, nerve-sparing surgery is not always possible.
Radiation therapy: Using energy to the prostate using an external beam of radiation. Patients with high-risk prostate cancer are candidates for adding hormonal therapy to standard radiation therapy.
Active Surveillance may be an option recommended for patients with early-stage prostate cancer, particularly those who have low-grade tumors with only a small amount of cancer seen in the biopsy.
Are there any side effects?
As with all disease, treatment may result in side effects. The most concern side effects of are impotence, or erectile dysfunction, and incontinence.
Researchers still do not fully understand what causes prostate cancer, or how it develops - and they urgently need to improve on current treatments.
Irwan Lee is the owner of Powerhealths, GojiHighlights.com and Immune-boost.com. Click here for health watch and best natural nutritional supplements and its business opportunity.
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Geschichte von zwei Brüste - eine Krebs-Geschichte
In September of 2004 my doctor found a lump. After several ultrasounds and mammograms, the concerns outweighed my age enough to necessitate a biopsy. At 26 years old, I wasn't a likely candidate for a mammogram, let alone an open surgical biopsy.
The lump turned out to be many, but to my relief they were mostly simple fluid-filled cysts. However, it was because of those cysts that something of greater interest was discovered. The radiologist had seen several micro-calcifications that showed up as tiny white specks during my screenings.
In February, 2005, a fine wire localization biopsy was performed and a section was removed about the size of a stack of 6 toonies (a toonie is a Canadian two dollar coin). It was reviewed by the pathologist in Nanaimo and a diagnosis was unclear, so the slides were sent to a specialist at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver for consultation. According to his review, it was "a challenging case". A month after the procedure, although I hadn't actually seen the report, I was told that it was "not cancer", but we should continue screening every 6 months to make sure nothing changed.
My experience with the BC Cancer Agency; Vancouver Island Centre didn't transpire until one year later, once I was living in Victoria. I was in for a routine check up, and my new doctor requested my medical file from the previous clinic in Nanaimo. I had given him my version of the past 2 years' events, so he was a little surprised to read my pathology report from the year before stating that I had been diagnosed with Lobular Carcinoma in Situ (LCIS), among other things. He made a call on my behalf, and within hours I was contacted by someone at the Cancer Agency here in Victoria.
I met with a specialist there a few days later and we went over my surgical pathology report to try to decipher exactly what it meant. He spent 3 hours with me going over the diagnosis, translating and even creating diagrams to help me understand. He was very thorough and helped put my mind at ease with the diagnosis.
Depending on who you ask, or what reports you read, LCIS is not considered cancer, as its name suggests. It has been explained to me that "in situ" means that abnormal cancer cells are present, but have not spread past the boundaries of tissues where they initially developed. LCIS is considered a red flag to allow both doctor and patient to keep an eye on things.
Essentially no invasive cancer was discovered, however several "markers" were found. Markers are indications of a heightened risk of developing invasive breast cancer in the future. There are several risk factors associated with the disease which include; age, hormonal risk factors, personal or family history, lifestyle habits and antecedent intraductal hyperplasia. Although neither my age nor lifestyle provide a heightened risk, my family history and the diagnosis of both intraductal hyperplasia, and LCIS do increase my risk significantly.
The implication of a cancer diagnosis is somewhat overwhelming, but the important message is that thanks to screenings made available through funding, I know about the risks and I am in control of my health care options.
Cancer in its early stages is difficult to detect without the use of screening tests. Thanks to concern from my doctors and a little diligence on my part, I am able to stay on top of my health concerns.
The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds so people are able to receive the care they need at any of the BC Cancer Agencies across the province. Their mandate includes research, prevention & education, early detection & diagnosis, and treatment & care. Visit their website bccancerfoundation.
The Basics
First of all, let's try to understand what cancer is. Our body's cells have genes which regulate the growth of said cells. A normal, healthy cell grows at a reasonable rate and eventually it dies out and is replaced by a new one. A cancer cell has the ability to divide at a rapid pace and produces many cells which form a tumor. A benign tumor is simply one that is made up of cells that are virtually normal and is considered harmless for the most part. The ones that concern doctors are malignant tumors which are cancerous and can continue to multiply spreading throughout the body.
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the breast, usually in the lobules (milk producing glands) or ducts(tubes that carry milk to the nipple). I say usually because it can also develop in the connective tissues of the breast; which is the fatty part that surrounds the ducts and lobules.
Understanding the Lymphatic System is an important part to understanding how breast cancer can spread. Lymph nodes are an assembly of immune system cells which are connected by lymphatic vessels (small veins carrying lymph away from the breast. Lymph is a clear fluid that contains tissue fluid, waste products and immune system cells. If cancer cells enter the lymphatic vessels they can begin to grow in the lymph nodes. If this happens there is a good chance that they have also gotten into the bloodstream therefore spreading to other parts of the body. However, just because it has reached the lymph nodes.
Why?
Only 5 - 10% of cancers are hereditary (passed down from mother or father). The cancer itself is not inherited, but the gene that increases the risk factor for developing the cancer is inherited. The other 90 - 95% of cancers are sporadic.
So what does that mean? Well, our genes have many jobs and are in charge of telling our cells what to do and when to do it. If there is a mutation in those genes it causes the cells to do strange things. In the case of cancer, a mutated gene is telling cells to divide when they shouldn't be which causes tumors (as discussed in The Basics). For the most part, gene mutations usual happen later in life and are a result of natural aging or exposure to things like smoke, hormones, certain viruses or chemicals and dietary influences. The damage to our cells doesn't always lead to cancer because our cells are also equipped to repair damage and, as you may remember from grade 9 Science, we have 2 copies of each damage repairing gene (one from each parent). But if a mutation occurs in both copies of the gene, it can mean uncontrolled growth and can lead to cancer.
If a person is born with a mutation in one of the copies of a damage repairing gene pair, this means their risk for developing cancer is higher, known in the medical community as "genetic susceptibility". That is because they only have one good protective gene remaining and if it is damaged in the aging process or because of other environmental exposures, it can lead to the gene communicating to its cells to divide and multiply at a rapid rate. Hereditary cancer, therefore, usually develops earlier in life.
When a cancer develops in someone who has no family history or "genetic susceptibility" it is called "sporadic cancer". Since both copies of the protective gene which eventual mutate, start out in good condition, sporadic cancer usually develops later in life as it takes longer for both copies to become damaged.
The genes that are linked to breast cancer are called the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Genetic risk assessment and genetic counselling are available to help you discover your risk for breast and other forms of cancer. Genetic Risk assessment will tell you if you carry the BRCA1 or 2 gene mutation, but it won't tell you what your risk of developing breast cancer is. Genetic Counselling can help you to understand your risk for hereditary cancer by reviewing family history, discussing genetic testing and providing information and referrals to experts. Learn more about Genetic Counselling.
Symptoms or signs of breast cancer can range from lumps and swelling to changes in the skin. Non-cancerous cysts and infections often have the same symptoms. So how can you be sure?
Symptoms
Watch for the following symptoms:
*swelling of all or part of the breast
*skin irritation or dimpling
*breast pain
*nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
*redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple of breast skin
*nipple discharge other than breast milk
*a lump in the underarm area
Detection
Breast Self-Exam (BSE)
It is, in my humble opinion, the most important way to stay on top of your breast health - because it is something you can do on your own, and will get you familiar with your body. It is becoming quite a controversial subject. There was a study performed in Russia and China in 2008 of 400,000 women, which reported that BSE does not reduce the mortality rate and may cause more harm due to prompting unnecessary biopsies. It is my opinion that it's better to be safe than sorry. According to Breastcancer.org about 20% of breast cancers are found by physical exams rather than mammography.
Breast self-examination can be frustrating at first, because you don't know what to look for, and if you are like most women, there are many bumps and lumps in your breasts that are harmless. That is exactly why you should do this on a regular basis - every month. The best time to perform a BSE is a few days after your period when swelling has gone down. If you feel a lump don't panic, it is most likely not cancerous. But have it checked out by your doctor and then keep an eye on it to see if anything changes. You may want to keep a journal with notes on where and when you found something suspicious. If a change lasts longer than one cycle see your doctor to have it checked.
Mammogram
It is one of the most hated words in the English language for women! But I'm here to tell you that they've been given a bad rap and they aren't as horrible as they have been made out to be. They save lives after all! Doctors have been using mammography for the past 40 years to find and diagnose breast cancer. Mammograms have been shown to lower the risk of dying from breast cancer by 35% in women over 50 years old. Cancer Foundations world wide are now recommending that women over 40 be screened annually in order to find tumours before they are able to develop into invasive breast cancers. Early detection often means that the cancer can be removed without having to resort to a mastectomy (breast removal).
Of course, nothing is guaranteed and mammography alone can miss up to 20% of breast cancers because they simply aren't visible. Breast Self-Examination and other techniques such as ultrasounds or MRI's can also help detect problems.
Treatment
There are several types of breast cancer and your treatment can differ based on what your diagnoses is. Some of the most common types of breast cancer are explained below:
DCIS - Ductal Carcinoma In Situ
This form of cancer is considered non-invasive because it stays inside the milk duct. It can grow within the duct, but will not spread into the rest of the breast tissue or to the lymph nodes. If caught early enough, DCIS can be removed with a lumpectomy, which is the removal of just the area of the breast containing the cancer. However if the cancer is large, or appears in more places throughout the breast, a mastectomy may be necessary. In most cases a lumpectomy is followed by radiation, but a mastectomy is only followed by radiation if lab tests show cancer near the edge of the removed tissue.
IDC - Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
This is the most common type of breast cancer, making up about 80% of all cases. It begins in the milk ducts and spreads to surrounding breast tissue. If left untreated it can spread to the lymph nodes and other areas of the body. Invasive cancers are given a stage to describe how far it has spread from its original location. It is based on the size of the tumor, whether or not it spread to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body. It can range from stages 1 to 4, where 1 is the earliest stage and 4 is the most advanced stage.
Your doctor will order a variety of tests to help determine which stage the cancer is at and to help determine the best treatment regime. Typically the patient would undergo surgery to remove the tumor and determine whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. This surgery can range from a lumpectomy (removal of only the lump or tumor) to a radical mastectomy (removal of the breast[s] and all the muscle under the breast[s]) or somewhere in between. Radiation may be recommended after the surgery to destroy and remaining invasive IDC cells. This has also been shown to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Chemotherapy is used to treat many higher stage cancers where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Chemo (for short) is a medication (or combination of medicines) which enter the bloodstream to travel throughout the body interfering with rapidly dividing cells. For the most part they are the cancer cells, however there are also many healthy cells in your body which divide rapidly, such as those in your blood, mouth, intestinal tract, nose, nails, vagina and hair. Therefore the chemotherapy will also affect them causing symptoms ranging from hair loss to osteoporosis.
Your doctor may also recommend hormonal or other targeted therapies. As with any major medical diagnoses, there is follow up care that will be important to your continued health. Regular exams and tests will be required by your doctor.
LCIS - Lobular Carcinoma In Situ
Like DCIS, LCIS is not considered an invasive cancer as it does not spread into other areas within, or outside the breast. It is considered a marker for breast cancer, meaning that the person is at a higher risk for developing an invasive breast cancer in the future and should be monitored with regular mammography and ultra sounds. It is usually found in pre-menopausal women aged 40-50. It is difficult to estimate the risk of a patient with LCIS developing an invasive cancer because LCIS can go undetected, however it has been estimated that your risk increases from 12.5% for the average women, to 30-40% if diagnosed with LCIS.
LCIS is usually diagnosed when a biopsy is performed because of an abnormality in a mammogram. It does not require typical cancer treatment but should be carefully monitored to watch for early signs of invasive cancer. Talk to your doctor about medications and treatments which may help to reduce your breast cancer risk.
ILC - Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
This is the second most common type of breast cancer, making up about 10% of all cases. It begins in the lobules and spreads to surrounding breast tissue. . If left untreated it can spread to the lymph nodes and other areas of the body. ILC tends to be found in more than one area within the breast and is likely to affect both breasts. It is slow to spread outside the breast and tends to show up in the stomach, intestines and ovaries and has been known to eventually spread to the brain spinal cord tissues.
Treatments and care for ILC are similar to that of IDC and will vary depending on the stage of the cancer cells.
Some other, less common forms of breast cancer are Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Male Breast Cancer and Recurrent and Metastatic Breast Cancer.
Coping
Once you have been diagnosed with a form of breast cancer, you have so many questions that you don't even know where to start. Most of them are likely about your health and what your options are. But there are many other factors in your life that are affected by breast cancer besides your health. Such as how will I pay for my care? What if I can't work? How will my family cope? How will my life change?
You will need more than just medical support, you need mental and spiritual support. Who do you talk to about your cancer concerns? The same people you talk to about your everyday concerns. You should have a support group that can help you through the difficult times. If you don't feel that you have anyone close to you that you can talk to, there are still options. Talk to a social worker or psychologist. It is important to get your thoughts and fears out in the open, and as long as you have a sympathetic ear, it will help you let go of some of those fears.
There are many support groups of other people with breast cancer and cancer survivors who can lend an ear, and can also benefit from talking with you. Ask you doctor about support groups in your area, or go the discussion boards on Breastcancer.org.
I found that being involved in fundraisers was also a great way to feel like I was in control, like I was dictating at least one part of how this disease affected my life. Last year I took part in the CIBC Run for the Cure in Victoria and raised almost $5,000 towards helping research in my area.
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