Cancer Resources

National Cancer Survivors Day is an annual holiday dedicated to celebrating life after cancer diagnosis. Managed by the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, this holiday is held on the first Sunday in June each year. National Cancer Survivors Day 2011 will be held on June 5th. Started in 1988, this year marks the holiday’s 23rd anniversary. Originally held solely in the United States, holiday celebrations now also take place in Canada, India, the Netherlands and many other nations around the world.

Thanks to medical research and early detection, the number of cancer survivors has increased dramatically over the past decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while there were 3 million survivors in 1971, the figure for 2007 was 11.7 million of people who are living with this disease. Continue reading ‘National Cancer Survivors Day’ »

Breast cancer is growth of abnormal breast cells and this can be caused by damage to DNA which is the brain of the cell. This leads to the cells mutating several times which in turn leads to them being out of control. DNA damage can be caused by radiation, genetic defects, free radicals, electrical fields, chemicals, drugs, metabolic stress or viruses and it is this damage that precipitates the cancer.

The mutations mount up and turn on oncogenes which are often diagnosed as atypia, dysplasia, or hyperplasia and are not always cancerous. The damaged cells are not really any threat to life without a catalyst to promote them. Oestrogen for example is a promoter of breast cancer as it brings nutrients to the cells. Most things that promote the cancer are eaten and slip by hidden and the promoted cells are called carcinomas. Some research does show that these cells can exist without causing life threatening cancer and sometimes are reversible without invasive treatment. Continue reading ‘Cancer – The BIG C’ »

Ovarian cancer is cancer of the ovaries, that part of a woman’s body where a child grows. According to most medical statistics, over fifteen thousand women die each year from this cancer. Medical studies have also shown that 45% of the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer live five or more years after the initial diagnosis.

These are pretty grim statistics. Over half of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer die in less than five years after the initial diagnosis. Many medical professionals feel that their studies seem to show that one very real reason for this is that cancer has little or no symptoms and so before it is discovered this cancer has developed and spread.

What can be done to increase these survival rates? One way is to have a gynecological examination performed regularly. Yes, this may well cause you to experience some pain, however not any where’s near as much pain as the mental pain of sitting across from your doctor’s desk and hearing that you are in the advanced stages of ovarian cancer and will most likely die within five years. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer Survival Rate’ »

Ovarian cancer is actually more than one form of cancer but they are all cancers which start in that area of the female reproductive organs known as the ovaries.

Unfortunately, ovarian cancer often has no noticeable symptoms in its early stages, allowing it to grow and develop for sometime before its victim becomes aware of it. When this cancer does begin to show symptoms, the symptoms are usually such things as the person becoming very tired easily, having a bloated stomach, feeling nauseous a good part of the time and being inflicted with either diarrhea or constipation.

Although other problems can cause these same symptoms, it is important that a woman should immediately be checked out by a doctor to find out what the problem is. It may not be this cancer, but then again it may be and the sooner it is caught and dealt with, the better. Continue reading ‘Information About Ovarian Cancer’ »

We hear more and more that our friends or family have been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is a terrible thing to happen to anybody. Ovarian cancer is one particular disease that seems to be on the rise so it is important for the female population to keep their yearly checkups on schedule. There are four stages that ovarian cancer goes through; let’s review those ovarian cancer stages.

Stage 1 – The first stage is determining where the cancer is located and it can be in either one or both ovaries at this time. During this stage, the cancer is only located in the ovaries and has not moved elsewhere in the body. As this stage progresses, the cancer can be found in both ovaries and may at this time have moved to the outside and elsewhere in the body. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer Stages – Top 4’ »

I had just left my ex husband on the 14th October 2005 and here I was on the operating table on the 14th November 2005 being cut open from my sternum to the pubis with a massive UTI and in a lot of pain.

I was in “Sunshine Hospital” where I had been working as a nurse in every ward now as a patient. I remember being told prior to going into the theatre that there could be the chance that this mass could be malignant and I may need a hysterectomy.

I have my two beautiful daughters and whatever needed to happen so that I could be with them, I gave my consent.

Post op I was told that the mass was malignant and that I would have to have chemotherapy, the shock was great and very surreal.

Being a nurse I had often cared for oncology patients and said that I would never have chemotherapy. Isn’t it amazing when you are on the other side, you do what it takes. Continue reading ‘How to Be a Cancer Survivor’ »

The leading cause of death from genital malignancies in women is ovarian cancer. It accounts for almost 4% of all cancer deaths in women although not the highest incidence among reproductive tumors. Over time, the mortality rates have increased, this is most likely because of lack of early detection methods. Caucasian women show higher incidence rates of ovarian cancer than African-American women.

The cause of ovarian cancer is not known. The risk factors includes age, women older than 40 years old; Family history, also heredo-familial disease can be a major risk factor; null parity, a woman who has not given birth to an infant capable of survival; history of infertility; history of dysmenorrhea; and the use of ovulation-stimulating medications increase the risk that the p53 which is a tumor suppressor gene to mutate. Continue reading ‘Ovarian Cancer – The Facts You Need to Be Aware Of’ »

Natural and Alternative medicine has been getting notoriety in the treatment and prevention of cancer. Tea is the most well-known as a potential remedy. Continuing research shows the effectiveness of green tea in the prevention of heart disease as well as other forms of cancer.

The first indication of tea effectiveness is in the markedly low incidence of major diseases in the Asian regions. Those who are living in Asia typically imbibe large quantities of green tea and statistics show that they have a significantly lower risk or heart ailments as well as cancer. Particularly Japanese men, as opposed to American men have statistically lower risk of lung cancer and heart ailments though as much as 75 percent of them smoke cigarettes. Continue reading ‘Effective Against Ovarian Cancer – Green Tea’ »

Ovarian cancer is a type cancer that is caused due to the abnormal growth of ovarian cells on the tissues of a woman’s ovary and thereby production of malignant tumors. Ovaries are a pair of female reproductive glands located on either side of a woman’s uterus. According to type of formation/origination of cells the this can be categorized into the following 3 types:

* Epithelial ovarian cancer: The common type of cancer that which develops on the outer surface of the ovary, accounts for 90% of ovarian cancer
* Germ cell tumor cancer: That which develops on the egg-producing cells (ova’s)
* Stromal tumor cancer: That which originates around the ovarian tissues

The rest two types rarely occur in humans. The various treatments to curb this type of cancer these days are surgery, radiation and intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Apart from these conventional medical treatments various alternative treatments for ovarian cancer are available to ease out the stress, relieve the pain and minimize the symptoms of routine medical treatments. Nutrition therapy is well-known alternative treatment for ovarian cancer. Continue reading ‘Natural Therapies – Alternative Treatment For Ovarian Cancer’ »