Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Summer can be a rough time for your skin – bug bites, sunburn, poison ivy and other irritating skin problems are at their peak this time of the year. Unfortunately, sometimes the cure is just as bad as the problem. Many anti-itch creams and other …
Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash Summer brings around lots of fresh, healthy and delicious fruits and vegetables. When you’re picking out your healthy salad ingredients from your garden, farmer’s market or local food store, keep these five major summer superfoods in mind – they …
Research shows that digital breast tomosynthesis, better known as 3-D mammography, has the ability to detect more invasive and possibly more dangerous cancers than a traditional digital mammogram.
3-D mammography is significantly more detailed than traditional mammogram techniques. During the 3-D section of the exam, the X-ray arm – which uses a comparable dose of radiation to a traditional mammogram – sweeps over the breast in a slight arc, producing multiple images in mere seconds. A computer then produces a 3-D image of your breast tissue in one-millimeter slices, providing greater visibility for the radiologist to see tissue details like never before.
More information on Mammographic breast density and breast cancer risk
After the FDA approved the use of digital breast mammography in 2011, about 15% of women have opted for this new method. Ultimately, the goal of 3-D mammography is to detect breast cancer as early as possible so women with breast cancer have more available treatment options. The downfall, however, is that these machines are heavy, costly, and not yet available at most facilities.
So, where does that leave women who simply cannot afford the extra costs associated with the 3-D mammograms? Experts suggest that women should still go for their traditional 2-D mammograms. Getting regular mammograms allows your doctor to easily compare your current images with previous scans, which leads to earlier detection of breast cancer.
Researchers in Northern Italy performed a nested case-control study of women aged 35 to 65 beginning in 1987. They had blood samples taken repeatedly over the years. Over a 15 year period a number of women developed breast cancer. Their data and blood samples were compared to those of women who retained their health.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) at higher concentrations in blood plasma was strongly correlated with lowered cancer incidence. It was connected to a decreased risk of breast cancer overall by 22%, decreased the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women by 34%, decreased the risk of estrogen dependent breast cancer by 21%, decreased the risk of progesterone dependent breast cancer by 28%, and decreased the risk of breast cancer in women who consumed alcohol by 29%. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) was also connected to protection decreasing the risk of breast cancer in younger premenopausal women by 55%. The study is published June 1st, 2016 in The Journal of Nutrition.
Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/24/do-i-need-a-3-d-mammogram/?hpt=he_c2
Photo by Nordwood Themes on Unsplash A new study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City has determined that an extract of the cocoa plant may help to block damage to the nerve pathways seen in patients with …
Photo by Meghan Holmes on Unsplash Injuries are usually a pretty common occurrence for athletes, but you don’t have to be doing backflips on a daily basis to hurt yourself badly. Sprains, muscle pulls, tendonitis, fractures, broken bones, and many other notorious sports injuries can …
In an experimental study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota discovered a groundbreaking new treatment that shows incredible promise as a potential cure for cancer. The Mayo Clinic conducted a clinical study last year using a treatment method known as virotherapy. Scientists provided a massive dose of the Measles vaccine, specifically engineered to target only cancerous cells, through an IV to two patients with multiple myeloma.
One of the patients was 49-year-old Stacy Erholtz, who received the experimental treatment after fighting a ten-year battle with multiple myeloma. Her disease was said to be incurable. With no other options left, she turned to experimental medicine as a last resort. Her cancer has been in full remission for six months. After every conventional treatment failed, Erholtz says the decision to give recovery one last try was a no-brainer. “Why wouldn’t I do it? I had to have failed all conventional treatment to do that trial,” she explained to KARE.
Erholtz was one of just two multiple myeloma patients in this groundbreaking study, which used a treatment that had only been tested on mice before. “It was the easiest treatment by far, with very few side effects,” she said of the actual method. “I hope it’s the future of treating cancer infusion.” Unfortunately, the other patient’s cancer returned after nine months. But Dr. Steven Russell, the Mayo Clinic hematologist who conducted the study, still considers this a major milestone in cancer research. We have known for some time viruses act like a vaccine,” said Dr. Russell. “If you inject a virus into a tumor, you can provoke the immune system to destroy that cancer and others. This is different – it puts the virus into the bloodstream. It infects and destroys the cancer, de-bulks it, and then the immune system can come and mop up the residue.”
Dr. Russell hopes to eventually turn this method of treatment into a single-shot, overall cure. The Measles virus is currently being tested for its effects on brain, head, neck and ovarian cancers, as well as mesothelioma. “We know this can happen,” he says, determined to bring hope to cancer patients everywhere. The Mayo Clinic will immediately push forward into a phase-two clinical study with more patients. They hope to receive FDA approval for this new treatment within four years.
For cancer patients who have run out of options, the Mayo Clinic is now accepting inquiries for further studies on their website. Today, Stacy Erholtz and the Mayo Clinic have brought a little bit of hope to cancer patients everywhere. We’ll be keeping up with this incredible breakthrough. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, or know somebody who has, then you may also want to point them in the direction of some organizations that help cancer patients financially, as the average cost of treatment is a staggering $150,000 for a person battling cancer.
Source: USA Today: Measles Vaccine Attacks Cancer in Landmark Study