The Truth About Mammograms and Other Breast Myths

Do mammograms cause breast cancer? Can you get a one-hour boob job at lunch? Is 36 inches the ideal breast size? When it comes to breast health, the questions are endless, more so since this particular part of a woman’s anatomy attracts a lot of attention from both men and women.

But even the simplest question can be difficult to answer owing to the many myths and misconceptions surrounding the female breast. As a public service to readers, the maker of the Clevastin natural breast enhancement system presents these common breast myths and the facts behind them. Read them and put all those crazy ideas to rest.

The ideal breast size is 36 inches. False. There is no ideal breast size since women come in different shapes and sizes. Some have small breasts while others have large breasts. All this is normal since breast size has no bearing whatsoever in a woman’s ability to enjoy sex or nurse a baby. While some men prefer bigger breasts since they appear more erotic, more comforting, and very inviting, others are happy with smaller sizes. The bottom line: If a man truly loves you, he won’t mind what breast size you have.

You can get a boob job over lunch. False. Last July 9, the British trade magazine Chemistry & Industry reported that women could get bigger breasts in an hour during lunch break via a special procedure that would soon be available. The report said this would be accomplished by transplanting belly fat into those “troubled” boobs. The story spread like wildfire and was picked up by blogs and news Web sites. Even enterprising plastic surgeons began granting interviews about a procedure they had never seen.

As exciting as it sounds, the story isn’t true. Chemistry Editor Neil Eisberg said an uncorrected draft of the story was published by mistake. What’s true is that Cytori Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech company, has developed a way to relocate fat cells without the latter dying or being reabsorbed by the body. Theoretically, this can be used in fat grafts to boost breasts. But the technology is still in its infancy and the people at Cytori said a boob job using this system could take over two hours.

Mammograms cause breast cancer. False. A mammogram is a special type of x-ray exam that creates detailed images of the breast. It is an important tool in detecting breast cancer at a stage when it is curable. The US Food and Drug Administration said mammograms detect about 85 percent of breast cancers often years before even anything suspicious can be felt. Contrary to popular belief, a mammogram doesn’t cause breast cancer since it uses low levels of radiation – equivalent to one you would get in flying from New York to California on a jet or from a dental exam.

Tags: Breast, Mammograms
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How To Cure Cancer Naturally

Cancer is now no longer deadly. The cancer patients in Indonesia can have a longer life expectancy with the discovery of the plant “Rodent Tuber” (Typhonium flagelliforme) as a medicinal plant that can stop and treat various cancers and other severe diseases. It is A kind of tuber plants with a maximum height of 25 to 30 cm which only grow in the bush which are not exposed to direct sunlight. “This plant is commonly found in Java,” said Drs.Patoppoi Pasau, the first person who discovered the plant in Indonesia. This herb have been studied since 1995 by Prof. Dr. Chris KH Teo, Dip Agric (M), BSc Agric (Hons) (M), MS, PhD from Saint University Malaysia and also the founder of Cancer Care Penang, Malaysia. This Cancer treatment institutions was established in 1995 that had helped thousands of patients from Malaysia, America, England, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and various countries in the world.

In Indonesia, this plant first discovered by Patoppoi in Pekalongan, Central Java, when his wife ailed breast cancer stage III and should to undergo cancer surgery on January 14, 1998. After the cancer was removed through the surgery, Patoppoi’s wife had to undergo chemotherapy (chemicals injection to kill the cells) to stop the cancer cells spread. “Prior to chemotherapy, the doctor told us to get a wig because the chemotherapy would cause hair loss, in addition skin damage and loss of appetite,” Patoppoi explained.

Accompanying his wife during chemotherapy, Patoppoi continued to seek alternative treatment until he got information about the use of Lin Qi tea to treat cancer in Malaysia. “At that time I flied immediately to Malaysia to buy the tea,” said good biologist Patoppoi. When he was in a drug store in Malaysia, he accidentally saw and read book on cancer treatment, entitled “Cancer, Yet They Live” by Dr. Chris KH Teo issued 1996. “After I read the brief, I just bought the book. Once I found the book, I did not even buy tea Lin Qi, but went back to Indonesia, “Patoppoi recalled with a smile. By that book Patoppoi read efficacy of Typhonium flagelliforme.

Based on his knowledge in biology, this pensioner of Agriculture Department immediately investigated and found this plant. After contacting several colleagues at various places, his relatives in Pekalongan Central Java called back. Apparently, they found the plant there. After getting the plant and learn more, Patoppoi contacted Dr. Teo in Malaysia to ask for the truth of the plants he found.

Tags: Cancer, Cure
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Media responsibility and balanced reporting – Cancer Misdiagnosis

There can be few diseases can be as devastating to a woman as breast cancer. Not only does a woman wonder what trauma this will cause to their physical attributes, but also what the future holds in terms of psychological damage.

Many years ago confirmation of cancer may well have confined the sufferer with limited chances of survival, however with the onset of modern techniques and much improved diagnostics survival rates have improved across the board, apart from a handful of tumors.

As a society we are far more supportive and indeed informed as far as cancer is concerned. The cynics amongst us and I may be included in that may suggest that from time to time cancer issues are featured in the media as much for their panic culture and the perceived media benefit as to the genuine progression of good information channeling.

Consistent information across all media channels is of great benefit in terms of providing a balanced approach and in terms of awareness.

In realistic terms the reporting of specific diseases reaches a peak when either a epidemic threatens or a rich and famous celebrity is diagnosed.

How much of a conspiracy has the recent Swine Flu pandemic been and what are the real values to society other than creating a panic and the following interest value that proceeds with financial gain of the newspaper sales?

The tangible  benefit media create on society is when it focuses on real life issues. The rise of media celebrity Jade Goodie is a perfect example of this.

Jade first came to our attention as a  ‘Big Brother’ contestant and followed that up with a ‘C’ list rating. However this minor celebrity statues  paled into insignificance as the onset of cancer and the way Jade exploited the media for the benefit of her son was launched by the Max Clifford stable.

No matter what the masses thought of the early Jade, her reincarnation within the media became a human story to touch the life of us all.

Jade Goody died a heroine and her open suffering displayed on the front pages of many newspapers and on national TV is real testament to make a positive move to ease the burden on many cancer sufferers. Jade’s bravery brought the attention of early diagnosis to the fore and for this we should all be grateful.

Another celebrity to create a media feeding frenzy on the subject of cancer is Australian singer Kylie Minogue.

Tags: Cancer
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Stimulating the Body’s Defenses to Fight Ovarian Cancer

Comediennes such as Gilda Radner and Madeline Kahn, Oscar-winning actresses like Loretta Young and Sandy Dennis, singers Laura Nyro and Dinah Shore, actor Pierce Brosnan’s wife Cassandra Harris, actress Jessica Tandy, former Connecticut governor Ella Grasso, and Martin Luther King’s wife Coretta Scott King all died of ovarian cancer. It’s not just celebrities, politicians or movie stars, who are stricken with ovarian cancer. One in every 55 U.S. women is at risk for ovarian cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates about 22,000 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed. More than 16,000 women will die because the symptoms are often subtle, and her doctor did not recognize the symptoms soon enough. It is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies, and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
 
Silent and undetected, this cancer often spreads beyond the ovary or ovaries into the abdominal cavity, or by the final stage, into other body organs such as the liver or lungs. Family doctors often fail to properly diagnose “The Silent Killer” until it is too late. Last August, University of California Davis researchers reported 40 percent of women told their doctors about their symptoms for as long as a year before they were correctly diagnosed. A British survey discovered 75 percent of family doctors believed symptoms are only present during the advanced stages of the cancer. By the time women are diagnosed for ovarian cancer, 40 to 50 percent of the patients are in the advanced stage, where there is little hope for survival.

Less than one-half the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will live five years. About 10 to 14 percent live beyond five years after their diagnosis. Their choices have been limited, mainly reserved to variations of chemotherapy drugs or a new way to delivery the drug. The general public is often unaware of the side effects ovarian cancer patients suffer during chemotherapy. In mid March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticized the safety profile of Eli Lilly’s Gemzar for ovarian cancer patients, saying the 2.8 months increased survival seen in studies of patients taking the drug wasn’t enough to offset the treatment’s increased toxicity which included anemia, neutropenia (a blood disorder) and thrombocytopenia (reduced platelets in the blood). Presently used first-line treatments for ovarian cancer patients include Cisplatin, with associated side effects such as nerve, kidney and/or ear damage, Carboplatin (side effects: nerve damage in the arms and/or legs, joint pain, and/or thrombocytopenia), Paclitaxel (neurotoxicity), or Melphalan, with side effects which include irreversible bone marrow failure, bone marrow suppression).
 
A woman stricken with ovarian cancer faces first surgery, then chemotherapy. Recent widespread press heralding a new development in treating ovarian cancer, intra-abdominal or intraperitoneal chemotherapy, is just that: more chemotherapy. The “belly bath,” as it has been nicknamed by some television reporters, it has been highly praised because the treatment can extend life by about 16 months more than “regular” chemotherapy. The results were first published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in December 2005. Most news reports failed to mention that only 40 percent of the women treated with the belly bath were able to complete all six cycles. Why? The therapy relies upon infusions of Paclitaxel and Cisplatin (see side effects in the previous paragraph). According to Dr. Robert Edwards, research director of the Magee-Women’s Gynecologic Cancer in Pittsburgh, “Many women don’t feel well enough to work for the duration of the intra-abdominal (therapy).” Some patients, such as Cindy Pakalnis of Marshall (Pennsylvania) have called the treatments “grueling.”

Tags: Cancer
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Ovarian Cancer – Obstetrics and Gynecology New York

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Tracy E. Austin, MD
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 – 07:01 PM
Obstetricians/Gynecologists-OB-GYNs-New York

A Silent Killer of Women

Cancer is defined as a disease process in which cells grow unregulated by the body part it is inhibiting. Cancer can remain confined to that part of the body, where it starts, or it can spread (a process called metastasizing.)

Among American women, ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer. Of the cancers that attack the female reproductive system, it is the leading cause of death. About two-thirds of the deaths from ovarian cancer occur in women age 55 and older. A quarter of ovarian cancer deaths occur in women between 35 and 54 years of age.

Causes

The cause of ovarian cancer is unknown, as the risk for developing it is related to many factors. The strongest risk factors are hereditary. Women with a personal history of breast cancer, a family history of breast or ovarian, and/or mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have an increased risk for developing ovarian cancer.

Childbirth as Protection

Women, who conceive their first child at an early maternal age, have a reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer. The same goes for women that have multiple births earlier in life with the final pregnancy at an older age. Women using low dose hormonal contraception have also been shown to have a protective effect where ovarian cancer is concerned. In fact, women who used oral contraceptives for 10 years had about a 60% reduction in risk of ovarian cancer.

Symptoms

The symptoms of ovarian cancer are notoriously nonspecific. They are viewed as any of the conditions that affect the abdominal, gastrointestinal, and pelvic regions. The nature of these symptoms often causes ovarian cancer to be misdiagnosed because a physician may conclude that another condition is to blame for your symptoms. This appears to be the rule, rather than the exception. Unfortunately, by the time the cancer is diagnosed, the tumor has often spread beyond the ovaries to more vital organs. Thus, ovarian cancer is called a “silent killer.”

Some symptoms of ovarian cancer are:

bloating, and/or vague lower abdominal discomfort, increased abdominal girth, difficulty ingestion normal meals, and/or feeling full quickly, abnormal menstrual cycles, pelvic or abdominal pain, and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).

Diagnosis

Physicians can run a myriad of tests, to aid in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Some of the less invasive tests used are:

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10 Celebrity Cancer Survivors Who Have Inspired Others

There can be no question that cancer is blight on the world; every year it takes the lives of huge numbers of people across the globe. It has no prejudice, striking down young and old, black and white, rich and poor alike. As such, it also strikes our cherished celebrities taking their lives in equal numbers.

But, also, as with all cases of cancer, many Celebs get through their ordeal and come back as strong as ever. The only real different with celebrities that win their fight and survive cancer is that they can be seen back in the public eye and are a clear inspiration to other people who are suffering to not give up hope and fight back and hopefully win the battle against these various forms of cancer.

Here are just Ten of the many celebrity cancer survivors who are showing that it is possible to win the cancer fight.

1. Kylie Minogue

2. Kylie Minogue, the famous Australian starlet, who is known for her sexy music videos and sultry voice especially in the world wide smash “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” also had a bout with breast cancer in 2005.

3. She is now currently in remission and in the past year has published a children’s book and returned to both the concert and Broadway stage.

4. Throughout her battle she remained strong, publicly stating that with the aid of friends and family she was determined to beat breast cancer and pick up her life where she left off before her diagnosis, it is said that untold numbers of young women were saved by early detection as a direct result of the publicity around her story.

2. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, a celebrity due to his status as co-founder of Apple, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. Although he is most recognizable for the Apple brand, Jobs also is a member of the Board of Directors of Walt Disney and was CEO of Pixar Animation until Disney acquired the stock.

Despite the fact that pancreatic cancer is normally inoperable, Jobs is now in remission after undergoing a radical new procedure in which part of the pancreas is removed Pancreatic cancer treatment.

Although there has been speculation about his health, Apple reports Jobs still contributes heavily to decisions and is in remission from cancer.

3. Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong is well known for his battle with testicular cancer in 1996 and was given a 2% chance of surviving the cancer. This is because it had spread to his brain, lungs, and abdomen.

Tags: Cancer, Survivors
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Spontaneous Cancer Remission…

Though many woman dread that yearly mammogram, we’ve all heard often enough that early detection of breast cancer saves lives… finding lumps when they’re too small to feel and before they get a chance to grow and spread gives you the best chance for a cure.

Or does it?

A recent study of mammography screening for breast cancer found that some invasive cancers might spontaneously regress over time, leaving no sign that they were ever present in a woman’s body.

This leaves us to question if breast cancer is over diagnosed, and therefore over treated.

The research, conducted by Norwegian scientists, used 119,472 female subjects aged 50 to 64 years, who underwent three rounds of mammography (one mammogram every two years) from 1996 to 2001 as part of the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program.

The cancer rates in this group were compared with the cancer rates of 109,784 control subjects who would have been screened if the program existed back in 1992. The control subjects were invited to have a one-time mammogram at the end of the observation period.

The team had expected that no matter when they were detected, the number of breast cancer tumors would ultimately be the same between the regularly screened group and the never screened controls.

As the researchers expected, the 4-year cumulative incidence of invasive breast cancer in the screened group was higher than in the non-screened control group – 1268 vs. 810 cases per one thousand women.

However, the surprise finding of the research was that even after the one time mammography was given to the previously unscreened control group, the six year cumulative incidence of breast cancer in the mammography screened group was still higher – 1909 vs. 1564 cases per one thousand women.

The study authors couldn’t explain this.

There were no obvious differences between the two groups, and since that all important cumulative incidence of cancer in the control group never reached, even after one time screening, the mammography screened group of subjects, it lends support to the idea that some cancers found on repeat scans wouldn’t show up on a single scan at the end of six years.

The study authors note, “This raises the possibility that the natural course of some screen-detected invasive breast cancers is to spontaneously regress.”

Perhaps as many as one in five cancers detected by mammogram might, in fact, spontaneously resolve.

And since two out of three breast cancer tumors are estrogen driven, the drop off of the hormone as women age and go through menopause suggests that cancer cells are naturally starved of the very hormone they need to grow and thrive.

Tags: Cancer, Remission...
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CANCER AND THE DIRTY ELECTRICITY PLAGUE

“… the 20th century epidemic of the so called diseases of civilization including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes and suicide was caused by electrification not by lifestyle.  A large proportion of these diseases may therefore be preventable.”(i)

Released in the year 2000 a study of 44,788 sets of twins from Sweden, Denmark and Finland concluded that environmental factors were the initiating event in the majority of cancers.(ii)  The strongest contender and most likely culprit is artificial (man-made) electromagnetic radiation.

The pieces of the puzzle were finally pieced together by a ground-breaking study in 2008. Two highly qualified men aided by a school teacher were given unauthorised access into a school where there was a cancer cluster.  Threats of unlawful trespass to the distinguished doctor and a letter of reprimand to the teacher were issued.  When the teachers from the school filed a complaint, the progressive California Department of Health intervened. Finally, a study was conducted with the highest integrity, and able to break through the red tape and politics that usually accompanies dirty electrical environments.  The study showed that dirty electricity – a potent universal carcinogen – caused the cancers in the school and that the high levels of dirty electricity measured at the electrical outlets in the classrooms accurately predicted a teacher’s cancer risk.  

Of no surprise, breast cancer was amongst the 18 cancers in the 137 teachers at this school as breast tissue is the most sensitive tissue in the body and the most sensitive to artificial (man-made) radiation.  Being a very high risk disease today one would assume that a possible cause of this disease, let alone a probable cause – would be widely disseminated and acted on promptly.  Sadly this is not the case.

Why is it that an associate professor can submit testimonies for women for court cases in Canada reporting how a dirty electrical environment can cause breast cancer yet women continue to remain uninformed on the involvement of dirty electricity with this potentially deadly health issue?  Dirty Electricity (DE) is taking away women’s breasts with working at computers a high risk factor.  

Are our experts really so uninformed or is it because breast cancer affects so many women that the information is so widely resisted with suggestions of ‘random change’ and ‘coincidence’?   Breast cancer today affects 1 in 7 women yet when individual cases of breast cancer or breast cancer clusters in women occur, various reproductive factors are also taken into account which makes it easier to discount role that EMFs play in causing breast cancer.

Tags: Cancer
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Cancer Cluster and Health Hazards

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau

In the movie “Erin Brochovich”, Julie Roberts plays the leading lady who finger pointed at the industries for having illegally dumped hazardous waste, leading to a cancer cluster in the neighborhood.

So, what is a cancer cluster? And how does it affect your health?

A cancer cluster is the repeated occurrence of a particular type of cancer in a specific community or neighborhood. Because of its health hazards, a cancer cluster requires medical intervention and investigation to determine the causes of the outbreaks of cancer.

Cancer occurrence may be due to the pollution of the air, the underground water, the toxic waste dumps, and the power lines, among others.

If repeated outbreaks have occurred in a specific neighborhood or at workplace, then there should be concern from the authorities about the formation of a cancer cluster.

For example, in shipyards, due to the greater exposure to asbestos, shipbuilders are more prone to lung cancer; or in factories where there is greater exposure to vinyl chloride, workers have higher risk of liver cancer. These work environments are grounds for cancer clusters.

Although there have been many cancer cluster investigations, very few of them have produced tangible results, that is, a definitive connection of a cancer outbreak with a certain chemical or toxic material. In addition, given that cancer may take many years to develop in an individual, proving the cause and effect of cancer due to an external factor is extremely difficult, if not impossible.

To illustrate, breast cancer has increased significantly in recent years. This drastic increase may be attributed to several factors. Nowadays, many women tend to bear children later in life because of their career, and this trend may affect their hormone balance. Having children earlier may decrease breast cancer risk, while delaying childbirth may increase the risk. Other factors, such as obesity, diet and lifestyle, also play a critical role in the incidence of breast cancer. Therefore, to pin down the cause of breast cancer to a specific agent is almost impossible. For this reason, common cancers, such as breast cancer, do not fall into a cancer cluster.

Indeed, given that each type of cancer has its unique causes and risk factors, only the frequent causes of the same type of cancer, which does not occur frequently elsewhere, can be counted towards a cluster and compared against background rates.

There are approximately over one million cases of cancer diagnosed each year in the United States. So, to prove or to investigate into the possibility of a cancer cluster, there must be many cases of similar type of cancer outbreak in a specific geographic area. In addition, this type of cancer must be uncommon, or at least apparently less frequent elsewhere. Furthermore, there must be an evident source of environmental pollution as the cancer agent.

Tags: Cancer
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Bone Cancer Pain Management

Throughout October I see stories about brave cancer survivors who survived their toxic treatments and went on to run marathons. Bone Cancer Pain ManagementI see stories about new, expensive cancer breakthroughs on broadcasts lucratively sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. These are the same multinational corporations that manufacture plastics, pesticides and fragrance chemicals that actually cause cancer!

Whether you count by dollars or numbers of people employed by it, Cancer is one of the largest industries in the country. How is it that the companies that cause cancer also manufacture the cancer drugs? When it comes to Big Pharma, news stories aren’t so much news as propaganda. Watch carefully this month: How many breast cancer stories will show women being healed by natural, non-patented medicine? None.

Why is it that the research we’re asked to fund looks for new treatments (as long as they can be patented), but never at the carcinogenic effects of plastics, pesticides and fragrance chemicals? Because it would rock the industrial boat that funds the research. Their definition of “prevention” is earlier detection. My definition of “prevention” is not getting it in the first place!

So why did I choose to risk my life with alternative medicine?

Two women whom I loved very much died of breast cancer not long before I got it. More accurately, they died of their cancer treatments. One was like a mother to me, the other, like a sister. They were both seemingly healthy when the cancer was discovered. Indeed one had no tumor site at all. At her annual physical, the doctor found some cancer cells trapped in a lymph node. That’s what lymph nodes are supposed to do. Her immune system was working well.

They gave her every test they could to find the location of the cancer, to no avail. Then they proceeded to bombard the poor woman with “as much chemo as we can give you without actually killing you.” After that, they gave her radiation therapy.

Once she had no immune system left, the cancer that her body had been keeping at bay took over with a vengeance. It spread to her hip bone. More radiation. Oops! Too strong. The radiation killed her hip bone so she needed a hip replacement. More chemo. No more visits from her beloved grandchildren because she had no immunity to germs.

The bone cancer spread to her arm. She had a painful surgery for that. Then to her skull- exactly where her mobile phone antenna had touched her head. The last three years of life for this once-vital, beautiful woman were spent in pain, wretched illness and isolation. She never complained once. She just accepted it as her fate. I held her hand as she died.

Tags: Cancer
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