For years we have been proponents of using nutrition and Nutritional supplements to enhance the bodies best defense mechanism: The Immune System. By law I can't make disease claims with supplements, but I did want to share with with you a relatively non-toxic pharmaceutical drug that works to fight prostate cancer by using the bodies own immune system.
A company I have been following recently received FDA Advisory Panel Approval for their drug known as Provenge. The real thumbs up or thumbs down from the FDA comes this May. Should this drug be given approval this May, Denderon should become somewhat of a household name among Biotech, Big Pharma and certainly those with prostate cancer.
Being a one time cancer patient, I can attest to the outright "mid-evilness" of Chemo and Radiation therapies. These are not fun and last time I checked the "War on Cancer" is not looking very positive. I like companies like Dendreon because they seem to be taking a different approach, similar to what common sense would suggest - They are using a drug to enhance the bodies own Immune System to get the job done!
If you are a cancer patient you may want to take a look at the other types of cancers Dendreon is looking to tackle such as active immunotherapies against bladder, breast, ovarian, lung, colon cancer and more. Here is a LINK to their website where you can learn more.
In closing, I'm excited to see new approaches to serious illness, but even with advances in stem cells and Immunotherapies it's important to realize that the cure sometimes isn't far from the cause, meaning "An ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure".
So, stay as stress free as possible, drink plenty of clean water, eat Organic and take a daily-multi supplement at the least for Insurance!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
CANCER, DIET, AND THE MASTER SWITCH
To Turn Off Cancer’s Master Switch, Heed Grandmother’s Advice: Fruits and vegetables target the disease at the molecular level by Jeni Baker, Cancer Monthly Staff Writer
A recently published review* highlights a large body of evidence that active ingredients in fruits and vegetables can not only stave off certain cancers, but also can inhibit the cell division that leads to tumor growth and metastasis.
Although the review specifically examines a number of ways that some fruits and vegetables target cancer at the molecular level, co-author Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, stresses that diet represents only one front in the battle against the disease.
The culprit is inflammation, the cause is (usually) lifestyle
Simply put, most diseases, including cancer, are caused by dysregulated inflammation, Aggarwal says. “If we can correct this, we can prevent and even treat cancer.”
A recently published review* highlights a large body of evidence that active ingredients in fruits and vegetables can not only stave off certain cancers, but also can inhibit the cell division that leads to tumor growth and metastasis.
Although the review specifically examines a number of ways that some fruits and vegetables target cancer at the molecular level, co-author Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, stresses that diet represents only one front in the battle against the disease.
The culprit is inflammation, the cause is (usually) lifestyle
Simply put, most diseases, including cancer, are caused by dysregulated inflammation, Aggarwal says. “If we can correct this, we can prevent and even treat cancer.”
HOW FOODS CAN AFFECT CANCER
n this weeks Time Magazine, there is a great article entitled, "How Foods Can Affect Cancer" by Andrew Weil, MD. Dr. Weil covers what alternative doctors like myself and health conscious individuals have been saying for years; Eliminate red meat from your diet and choose soy based foods such as Isoflavone rich tempeh and tofu instead. If you want to avoid cancer you should probably read on....
Dr. Andrew Weil goes on in this article to discuss the latest findings from a study done by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and what they found was that women (Asian-American) who ate a lot of soy-based foods as children, adolescents and adults reduced their chances of developing hormone dependent breast cancer. Reductions of breast cancer by 58% were observed in the group that ate the most soy in childhood (ages 5-11) while a 25% reduction was noted in the adolescent and adult group.
Pretty impressive....Yes? Of course it is! So when shopping, opt for the soy milk instead of the dairy based milk which can contain unsavory added growth hormones which contribute to hormone fueled breast cancers. And for the Men....Dr. Weil (as do I) recommends that these same Isoflavone rich foods can lower the risk of prostate cancer.
As for the red meat and why you should just say no to it, take a look at a large population study done on more than 90,000 nurses. This report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the risk of estrogen and progesterone receptive positive breast cancer increased most in nurses who ate the most red meat. Dr. Weil goes on to cite from the study that women who ate more than 1.5 servings of red meat a day had nearly double the risk, compared with those who ate fewer servings a week. The authors of this study theorize that the red meat causes cancer by:
1) Delivers too much iron in a form that promotes cancer
2) Carcinogens form in meat as it is cooked
3) Hormones contained in conventionally raised beef
Dr. Andrew Weil goes on in this article to discuss the latest findings from a study done by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and what they found was that women (Asian-American) who ate a lot of soy-based foods as children, adolescents and adults reduced their chances of developing hormone dependent breast cancer. Reductions of breast cancer by 58% were observed in the group that ate the most soy in childhood (ages 5-11) while a 25% reduction was noted in the adolescent and adult group.
Pretty impressive....Yes? Of course it is! So when shopping, opt for the soy milk instead of the dairy based milk which can contain unsavory added growth hormones which contribute to hormone fueled breast cancers. And for the Men....Dr. Weil (as do I) recommends that these same Isoflavone rich foods can lower the risk of prostate cancer.
As for the red meat and why you should just say no to it, take a look at a large population study done on more than 90,000 nurses. This report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the risk of estrogen and progesterone receptive positive breast cancer increased most in nurses who ate the most red meat. Dr. Weil goes on to cite from the study that women who ate more than 1.5 servings of red meat a day had nearly double the risk, compared with those who ate fewer servings a week. The authors of this study theorize that the red meat causes cancer by:
1) Delivers too much iron in a form that promotes cancer
2) Carcinogens form in meat as it is cooked
3) Hormones contained in conventionally raised beef
THE LATEST NEWS ON BREAST CANCER
The latest news on the cancer front is that mushrooms and green tea lower the risk of breast cancer. A summary of findings from the study published in the International Journal of Cancer is attached below.
Mushrooms, green tea may lower breast cancer risk (Read More...)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who get plenty of mushrooms and green tea in their diets may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, new study findings suggest.
The study, of more than 2,000 Chinese women, found that the more fresh and dried mushrooms the women ate, the lower was their breast cancer risk.
The risk was lower still among those who also drank green tea everyday.
It's known that the rate of breast cancer in China is four- to five- times lower than rates typically seen in developed countries -- though the rate has been climbing over the past few decades in the most affluent parts of China.
The current findings suggest that traditional diets -- and specifically, large quantities of mushrooms and green tea -- may help explain China's lower breast cancer incidence, according to lead researcher Dr. Min Zhang, of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
She and her colleagues report the findings in the International Journal of Cancer.
The study was conducted in southeast China and involved 1,009 breast cancer patients between the ages of 20 and 87, and an equal number of healthy women the same age. All completed a detailed dietary questionnaire that asked them how often they ate specific foods.
Overall, Zhang's team found, women who ate the most fresh mushrooms -- 10 grams or more per day -- were about two thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than non-consumers of mushrooms. Meanwhile, women who ate 4 grams or more of dried mushrooms per day had half the cancer risk of non-consumers.
Finally, mushroom eaters who also drank green tea everyday had only 11 to 18 percent of the breast cancer risk of women who consumed neither.
The study does not prove cause-and-effect, the researchers point out.
They did account for several kinds of risk factors for breast cancer - such as the women's weight, education level, and exercise frequency and smoking habits -- but there could be other factors that explain the findings.
This is also the first study linking high dietary amounts of mushrooms and green tea to lower breast cancer risk, Zhang told Reuters Health.
Therefore, she said, it's too early for women to assume that the foods will help them avoid the cancer.
Still, it is biologically plausible, the researchers point out.
Lab research has shown that mushroom extracts have anti-tumor properties and, in animals, can stimulate the immune system's cancer defenses. For its part, green tea contains antioxidant compounds called polyphenols that have been shown to fight breast tumors in animals.
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, March 15, 2009.
In China, green tea and mushrooms are a more common part of the culinary culture but the quantities consumed by the Chinese women in this report are much greater than what are typical in the U.S. On Wednesday, we will give you some recommendations on how you can increase your daily amount of green tea and mushrooms. We will also detail some of the key reasons how these foods have a positive impact on your body.
Mushrooms, green tea may lower breast cancer risk (Read More...)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who get plenty of mushrooms and green tea in their diets may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, new study findings suggest.
The study, of more than 2,000 Chinese women, found that the more fresh and dried mushrooms the women ate, the lower was their breast cancer risk.
The risk was lower still among those who also drank green tea everyday.
It's known that the rate of breast cancer in China is four- to five- times lower than rates typically seen in developed countries -- though the rate has been climbing over the past few decades in the most affluent parts of China.
The current findings suggest that traditional diets -- and specifically, large quantities of mushrooms and green tea -- may help explain China's lower breast cancer incidence, according to lead researcher Dr. Min Zhang, of the University of Western Australia in Perth.
She and her colleagues report the findings in the International Journal of Cancer.
The study was conducted in southeast China and involved 1,009 breast cancer patients between the ages of 20 and 87, and an equal number of healthy women the same age. All completed a detailed dietary questionnaire that asked them how often they ate specific foods.
Overall, Zhang's team found, women who ate the most fresh mushrooms -- 10 grams or more per day -- were about two thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than non-consumers of mushrooms. Meanwhile, women who ate 4 grams or more of dried mushrooms per day had half the cancer risk of non-consumers.
Finally, mushroom eaters who also drank green tea everyday had only 11 to 18 percent of the breast cancer risk of women who consumed neither.
The study does not prove cause-and-effect, the researchers point out.
They did account for several kinds of risk factors for breast cancer - such as the women's weight, education level, and exercise frequency and smoking habits -- but there could be other factors that explain the findings.
This is also the first study linking high dietary amounts of mushrooms and green tea to lower breast cancer risk, Zhang told Reuters Health.
Therefore, she said, it's too early for women to assume that the foods will help them avoid the cancer.
Still, it is biologically plausible, the researchers point out.
Lab research has shown that mushroom extracts have anti-tumor properties and, in animals, can stimulate the immune system's cancer defenses. For its part, green tea contains antioxidant compounds called polyphenols that have been shown to fight breast tumors in animals.
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, March 15, 2009.
In China, green tea and mushrooms are a more common part of the culinary culture but the quantities consumed by the Chinese women in this report are much greater than what are typical in the U.S. On Wednesday, we will give you some recommendations on how you can increase your daily amount of green tea and mushrooms. We will also detail some of the key reasons how these foods have a positive impact on your body.
Studies Don’t Resolve Debate on Screening for Prostate Cancer
The evidence on whether PSA testing to detect prostate cancer saves lives has never been clearly proven, so findings of two large studies involving a total of 240,000 men have been long awaited. Alas, the results so far hardly resolve the issue of whether PSA’s benefits outweigh the harm of unnecessary treatment.
European and American health authorities today released interim looks at the data from two major studies of prostate-cancer screening that both began in 1993, after the introduction of a blood test for a chemical called prostate-specific antigen to detect prostate cancer. The results were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a urological conference in Stockholm.
One study, run by the National Cancer Institute and including 77,000 men aged 55 to 74, hasn’t found a benefit from prostate screening after seven to 10 years of follow-up, as the WSJ explains.
A second article, which combined several European national studies that included a total of 162,243 men, did find a benefit to screening after an average of nine years of follow-up. Men in the screening group had a death rate from prostate cancer that was between 5% and 33% lower than men in the control group.
But the overall benefits came at a cost, the second study found. “By the European data, saving one life from prostate cancer would require treatment of 48 men. In other words, 47 men would be unnecessarily treated – many suffering urinary or sexual problems – for every life saved,” the WSJ said.
European and American health authorities today released interim looks at the data from two major studies of prostate-cancer screening that both began in 1993, after the introduction of a blood test for a chemical called prostate-specific antigen to detect prostate cancer. The results were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a urological conference in Stockholm.
One study, run by the National Cancer Institute and including 77,000 men aged 55 to 74, hasn’t found a benefit from prostate screening after seven to 10 years of follow-up, as the WSJ explains.
A second article, which combined several European national studies that included a total of 162,243 men, did find a benefit to screening after an average of nine years of follow-up. Men in the screening group had a death rate from prostate cancer that was between 5% and 33% lower than men in the control group.
But the overall benefits came at a cost, the second study found. “By the European data, saving one life from prostate cancer would require treatment of 48 men. In other words, 47 men would be unnecessarily treated – many suffering urinary or sexual problems – for every life saved,” the WSJ said.
Cancer
Cancer (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize. Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not. The branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is oncology.
Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age.[1] Cancer causes about 13% of all deaths.[2] According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007.[3] Cancers can affect all animals.
Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells[citation needed]. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers are usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome. New aspects of the genetics of cancer pathogenesis, such as DNA methylation, and microRNAs are increasingly recognized as important.
Genetic abnormalities found in cancer typically affect two general classes of genes. Cancer-promoting oncogenes are typically activated in cancer cells, giving those cells new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of respect for normal tissue boundaries, and the ability to become established in diverse tissue environments. Tumor suppressor genes are then inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in the loss of normal functions in those cells, such as accurate DNA replication, control over the cell cycle, orientation and adhesion within tissues, and interaction with protective cells of the immune system.
Diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of a tissue biopsy specimen by a pathologist, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptoms or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer. There has been significant progress in the development of targeted therapy drugs that act specifically on detectable molecular abnormalities in certain tumors, and which minimize damage to normal cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is most influenced by the type of cancer, as well as the stage, or extent of the disease. In addition, histologic grading and the presence of specific molecular markers can also be useful in establishing prognosis, as well as in determining individual treatments.
Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age.[1] Cancer causes about 13% of all deaths.[2] According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007.[3] Cancers can affect all animals.
Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells[citation needed]. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers are usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome. New aspects of the genetics of cancer pathogenesis, such as DNA methylation, and microRNAs are increasingly recognized as important.
Genetic abnormalities found in cancer typically affect two general classes of genes. Cancer-promoting oncogenes are typically activated in cancer cells, giving those cells new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of respect for normal tissue boundaries, and the ability to become established in diverse tissue environments. Tumor suppressor genes are then inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in the loss of normal functions in those cells, such as accurate DNA replication, control over the cell cycle, orientation and adhesion within tissues, and interaction with protective cells of the immune system.
Diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of a tissue biopsy specimen by a pathologist, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptoms or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer. There has been significant progress in the development of targeted therapy drugs that act specifically on detectable molecular abnormalities in certain tumors, and which minimize damage to normal cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is most influenced by the type of cancer, as well as the stage, or extent of the disease. In addition, histologic grading and the presence of specific molecular markers can also be useful in establishing prognosis, as well as in determining individual treatments.
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