Breast Cancer Research

Much research is being done in the treatment of breast cancer.  Below are summaries of just two of the studies that have been published recently.

Advanced Breast Cancers, Higher Death Rate Seen in HRT Study

A 2010 study with findings about the link between breast cancer and combined hormone replacement therapy strengthen the argument that estrogen and progestin should be used only conservatively to treat symptoms of menopause.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and it reinforces earlier research from the Women’s Health Initiative that found women ages 50-79 who received estrogen and progestin face a higher risk of breast cancer.

For more information on this study, visit this American Cancer Society page:  Advanced Breast Cancers, Higher Death Rate Seen in HRT Study

Some Women May Not Need More Extensive Lymph Node Surgery for Breast Cancer

 Clinical trials have shown that surgeons can remove less tissue from women who have early-stage, lymph node-negative breast cancer without increasing their chances of the disease returning or affecting their overall survival.

 

A study, led by Dr. Armando Giuliano, was published in the February 9, 2011 Journal of the American Medical Association.  The study demonstrates that a surgical practice called axillary lymph node dissection isn’t necessary for some women with early-stage disease when cancer cells are found in the adjacent lymph nodes.

For more information on this study, visit Some Women May Not Need More Extensive Lymph Node Surgery for Breast Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

And for more information on breast cancer research, visit What's New in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment? (American Cancer Society)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I will be featuring information on breast cancer throughout the month of October.  I thought I’d start a brief introduction in this post.  Breast cancer will affect 1 in 8 women at some point in their lives.  Breast cancer has the second highest death rate among women behind only lung cancer.

Here are some risk factors for breast cancer:

- Age - the chance of getting breast cancer rises as a woman gets older

- Genes - there are two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested.

- Personal factors - beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

     (from the National Cancer Institute)

Here are some great links for you to check out:

Breast Cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Detailed Guide: Breast Cancer (American Cancer Society)

Men Without Children May Have Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Men who do not have children appear to face a higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who become fathers, a new study published in the journal Human Reproduction suggests.

The study’s conclusion:  married men who have no children have a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease contracted after the age of 50 than men with two or more children.

However, since this is just one study, more studies will have to be done in order to confirm these findings.  If you want more information on Male Infertility and/or heart disease, check out these links:

Male Infertility (http://urologyhealth.org/urology/index.cfm?article=102) (UrologyHealth.org is the official Web site of the American Urological Association Foundation)

Diagnostic Testing for Male Factor Infertility (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) – PDF

Men and Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Heart Diseases (MedlinePlus Health Topic)

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

The United States has seen a drastic rise in the incidence of obesity in recent years. The problem affects people of all ages, but in recent years, more and more young people are now classified as obese.

Obesity is having too much body fat. Here are some sobering statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA:

- Percent of adolescents age 12-19 years who are obese: 18% (2007-2008)
- Percent of children age 6-11 years who are obese: 20% (2007-2008)
- Percent of children age 2-5 years who are obese: 10% (2007-2008)

It is important to burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute suggest these things for taking in fewer calories per day:

- Drink water instead of a 12-ounce regular soda
- Order a small serving of French fries instead of a medium, or order a salad with dressing on the side instead
- Eat an egg-white omelet (with three eggs), instead of whole eggs
- Use tuna canned in water (6-ounce can), instead of oil

And here are some ways to burn more calories:

- Shoot hoops
- Walk two miles
- Do yard work (gardening, raking leaves, etc.)
- Go for a bike ride
- Dance with your family or friends

Nutrition tips

Here are some foods to include in your diet so that you and your children can eat healthier meals:

- Low-fat dairy (less than 2% fat).
- Fish, chicken, and lean meat.
- Fruits and vegetables.
- Nuts, whole grains, and legumes.

Television personality Rachael Ray’s Yum-o! organization teams with Alliance for a Healthier Generation to Provide Healthy and Delicious Recipes for School Cafeterias Across the Country. The recipes will be provided for free to schools all across the United States. If you want to read more about this, visit http://www.yum-o.org/ for all the information. If your school does not participate, this would be a good opportunity to share this information with them. Also at the Yum-O web site are recipes for children of all ages. The organization stresses the importance of getting your kids involved in the cooking process at a young age so that they will grow up with a health respect for food and be more interested in eating nutritious meals. If you are having trouble coming up with recipes that your kids enjoy, you can search the web site by age group or other categories to narrow down your search. It’s a great web site.

Here are some other links to more information on childhood obesity:

Helping Your Overweight Child (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Childhood Overweight and Obesity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

September is National Cholesterol Education Month

High cholesterol affects many people so I thought I’d share some information and links to help you find quality information on the Internet.

Controlling cholesterol

Diet:

You should not have more than 30% of your daily calories that come from fat, which comes to 66 grams of fat.  (A quarter pound hamburger contains around 21 grams of fat).

Limit saturated fat consumption to 8-10% of your daily calories.  (About 16 grams for an adult).

Daily cholesterol consumption should be no more than 300 mg.

Limit sodium consumption to no more than 1500 mg per day.

Medications:

Statins are a class of drug that is used to treat high cholesterol.  A couple of the popular statins are simvastatin and lovastatin   Other types of drugs that fight cholesterol are resins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, fibrates and niacin.  For more detailed information on drug therapy for cholesterol check out Drug Therapy for Cholesterol from theAmerican Heart Association and High Cholesterol: Medicines to Help You from the Food and Drug Administration.

Cholesterol-lowering supplements:

If you don’t like taking a lot of prescription medicine, you may want to try non-prescription supplements.  However, it is important to discuss all treatment options with your health care provider since supplements also have side effects.

A common supplement that is used is fish oil.  This could be either in capsule or liquid formats.  Fish oil may reduce triglycerides.  There are some possible side effects which include a fishy aftertaste, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.  If you are on warfarin (Coumadin) or other blood-thinning medications, talk to your doctor as fish oil may interact with some of these medications.

Green tea extract is another supplement that  may lower LDL cholesterol.  There are some possible side effects:   May cause nausea, vomiting, gas or diarrhea.  For a more complete list of supplements, visit Cholesterol-Lowering Supplements: Lower Your Numbers without Prescription Medication from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Here are some other great links for cholesterol information:

Lifestyle Changes and Cholesterol (American Heart Association)

High Blood Cholesterol: What You Need to Know (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

High Cholesterol: Understand Your Risks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Levels of Cholesterol (American Heart Association)

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  Ovarian cancer will affect 1 in 72 women at some point during their lifetime (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program).  The higher incidence is among older women, but there are many cases of ovarian cancer among younger women.

Ovarian cancer is a very difficult cancer to diagnose since the symptoms are vague and mimic other conditions.  Symptoms may include:

Heavy feeling in pelvis

Pain in lower abdomen

Bleeding from the vagina

Weight gain or loss

Abnormal periods

Unexplained back pain that gets worse

Gas, nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite

The most common type of ovarian cancer is Epithelial cell cancer (85-90% of cases).  Here are some risk factors for epithelial cell cancer:

Age older than 55 years

Family history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, or endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus)

Personal history of breast cancer

BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

Never having had children

Infertility

Endometriosis

In order to diagnose ovarian cancer, you should get a physical examination.  Your doctor might order a transvaginal ultrasound exam and a blood test that will measure the level of CA 125.  If any of these tests look suspicious you will have a biopsy that will test the tissue in your ovaries for cancer.

If you do have ovarian cancer, surgery will be done to discover what stage your cancer is in (how far the cancer has spread from the ovaries, if at all.)  Surgical option include removing the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes.  Tests such as colonoscopy, CT scan, and MRI may be done to see how far the cancer has spread.  Surgery is usually followed by chemotherapy as part of the treatment for ovarian cancer.

For more detailed information on Ovarian Cancer, check out these links:

Ovarian Cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – PDF

How Is Ovarian Cancer Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)

Drugs Approved for Ovarian Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

Ovarian Epithelial Cancer (PDQ): Treatment (National Cancer Institute)

Treatment Side-Effects (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition)

Flood Preparation and Safety

With so many parts of the east coast experiencing flooding, I thought I’d share some helpful tips and links in case you have the misfortune of experiencing flooding or are in danger of flooding. It’s really important to be prepared with all the crazy weather the country has been experiencing.

Be prepared:

If the weather is threatening, make sure you listen to NOAA weather radio so you can be aware of any danger for your area. Check out the Flood Safety Checklist from the American Red Cross for important information on preparing for possible flooding.

If your area is in danger of flooding or has flooded, it is best to evacuate until the authorities say it is safe to return. There are many dangers lurking in flood water so it’s best not to be around. If you are caught in a flash flood, move to higher ground quickly.

If flooding is taking place, do not drive through flooded roads. It’s hard to tell how deep the water is and it takes less than two feet of swiftly moving water to sweep a car away. Even if the water isn’t moving swiftly, high water can flood your car and you will become stranded. Many people are killed by driving through flooded roads. They don’t realize how deep the water is and they get caught up in the swiftly moving current. Don’t take chances!

Keep children out of the water. Children like to play in water, but floodwater can contain many hazards that are very dangerous.

After a Flood:

Here are some food safety tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Food Safety and Flooding

• Drink only bottled water if flooding has occurred.

• Thoroughly wash all metal pans, ceramic dishes and utensils that came in contact with flood water with hot soapy water and sanitize by boiling them in clean water or by immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of one teaspoon of chlorine bleach per quart of water.

Discard:

• Canned foods, including those bought in stores as well as home-canned foods.

• All foods in cardboard boxes, paper, foil, cellophane or cloth should be thrown out.

• Meat, poultry, eggs or fish.

• Spices, seasonings, extracts, flour, sugar, grain, coffee and other staples in canisters.

• Unopened jars with waxed cardboard seals such as mayonnaise and salad dressing. Also throw away preserves sealed with paraffin.

• Wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers.

Save:

• Canned foods that did not come into contact with flood waters.

• Dishes and glassware if they are sanitized by boiling in clean water or by immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of one teaspoon of chlorine bleach per quart of water.

• When in doubt, throw it out!

Food Safety and Power Outages

• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. Each time the door is opened, a significant amount of refrigeration is lost.

• The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full and the door remains closed.)

• Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40° F or below.

• Never taste a food to determine its safety!

• Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for two days.

• If the power has been out for several days then check the temperature of the freezer with an appliance thermometer or food thermometer. If the food still contains ice crystals or is at 40° F or below, then the food is safe.

• If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer then check each package of food to determine its safety. If the food still contains ice crystals, then the food is safe.

• Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after four hours without power.

For more helpful tips on flood safety, check out these links:

Floods (Dept. of Homeland Security)

Flooding (Environmental Protection Agency)

Flood Cleanup and the Air In Your Home (Environmental Protection Agency) – PDF

Protect Yourself from Mold (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Flood Fire Safety (United States Fire Administration)

What Consumers Need to Know about Food and Water Safety during Hurricanes, Power Outages, and Floods (Food and Drug Administration)

Study on Vigorous Exercise and Your Health

Sometimes it’s hard to find time for exercising but exercise if vitally important to our overall health. Exercise helps reduce cholesterol and it can help us lose weight. It can also delay or prevent diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer.

Adults need at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. I recent study found that vigorous exercise may help us to live longer. The study found that it’s the intensity of the exercise and not the length of the exercise that counts. Check out the complete report at European Society of Cardiology.

For some great ideas on exercise plans, check out these links:

Be Active Your Way: A Guide for Adults (Dept. of Health and Human Services) - PDF

Physical Activity for Everyone (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Tips to Help You Get Active (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Back to School Safety Tips

With kids going back to school, I thought I’d share a few safety tips to keep your child safe on their way to school. Many children walk to school and there are plenty of hazards between home and school.

Here are some safety tips:

- If walking to school for the first time, walk the route with your child to check for any dangers/hazards along the way. Check to see if there are crossing guards at the intersections and check out the traffic patterns.

- Instruct your child to stay on the sidewalk and not take shortcuts, such as alleys, wooded areas or other out-of-the-way locations.

- If your child rides a bike to school, make sure they have a helmet and other protective gear. Instruct them on proper safety rules of the road.

- If your child carries a backpack, make sure it is not too heavy. Overloaded backpacks can cause back pain in your child. Make sure your child uses both straps to help distribute the weight of the backpack. Use the waist strap if there is one.

If your child rides the bus, make sure they know how to behave properly.

- Tell them to stay seated during the ride and to not horse around.

- Remind them to talk in a normal tone and not yell since it can distract the bus driver.

- Obviously, they should get along with the other kids on the bus and not cause trouble. Encourage your child to tell you if they are having trouble with anyone on the bus.

- If you take your child to school in a car or if they are riding with anyone else, make sure they (and you) are buckled up properly in a seat belt.

For other back to school issues, check out these links:

Backpacks (Nemours Foundation)

Preparing for a New School Year (American Academy of Pediatrics)

Back to School Tips (American Academy of Pediatrics)

Hurricane Safety

With the approach of Hurricane Irene and the possibility it could affect up to 65 million people, I thought I’d share some information on hurricane preparedness. If you live anywhere along the east coast (or any area that could be impacted by other storms), it is vital that you be properly prepared well before a storm hits.

If the authorities order an evacuation, even if it’s voluntary, heed the warnings to leave the area. It is best to find safety elsewhere than to be stuck in the path of a storm. When the winds pick up, stay inside since flying debris is very dangerous. Even small objects being blown with hurricane force winds, can be extremely dangerous.

For Irene and any other hurricane, it is best to be prepared so you have adequate supplies. For some great checklists, check out this site: Hurricane Safety Checklists from the National Hurricane Survival Initiative.

Another reason to evacuate if you live near the coast is storm surge. There are many factors that influence the severity of a storm surge, but some of the more devastating surges are over 20 feet higher than normal ocean levels. A storm surge of even a few feet can cause a lot of damage. For a great web site that explains the storm that also has animations, check out Storm Surge from the National Weather Service.

Here are some other useful sites:

Hurricane Preparedness from Ready.gov

During a hurricane (National Weather Service)

Creating a Disaster Supply Kit (National Weather Service