World Ovarian Cancer Day

This is the story of a medical lady diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Please read, there is great hope for survival too, as your destiny is already decided by the one above !

Tuesday 8th May is World Ovarian Cancer Day.  It’s the one day where we come together to speak up about an often overlooked disease; a disease that kills more women than all other gynaecological cancers combined; a disease I feel that I almost miraculously survived.  

‘Miraculously’ because in 2003 I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer – only 19% of women who receive that diagnosis today will survive another five years.  

15 years later, as an ovarian cancer survivor I am supporting the campaigning efforts of research charity Ovarian Cancer Action.  To raise awareness of this devastating illness, on World Ovarian Cancer Day we will be handing out 7,400 roses across the country with cards on the stems that describe the main symptoms of ovarian cancer.  The number of roses represents the number of women diagnosed each year with the disease. At present there is no screening process for ovarian cancer. Until we have one, the main priority is to educate women on the vague symptoms of ovarian cancer that do manifest themselves. Awareness is key if we’re to catch it early; the earlier the condition is diagnosed the better the outcome. 

Nothing illustrates the truth of this more than the cold fact that a woman has a 90% chance of living for five years if diagnosed at stage 1, but only a 4% chance if diagnosed at stage 4. 

As I learnt first-hand, an early diagnosis is a relatively rare thing in the ovarian cancer community.  

I had been a nurse and a midwife but had given up work to bring up our three children.  I was a busy full time mum and as a Christian very involved in our Church. I believed it was because of this busy lifestyle that I constantly felt tired. It was only after I recovered from chemotherapy did I realise how abnormal my fatigue had been. I had also had one episode of abdominal pain. Things became more serious when I started bloating.  The bloating increased gradually over a few months, not helped by going on a diet as I initially thought it might be ‘middle aged spread’. I decided to visit the GP as I thought I might have a cyst or a fibroid.  

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The GP immediately thought I was pregnant.  As I had been a midwife and had had three children I knew I wasn’t but he insisted that I did a pregnancy test.  It was only the negative result that convinced him. At this point he ordered an urgent ultrasound scan. The scan revealed a tumour on both ovaries with cancer spots on my bowel, bladder and omentum.  I was told that I would have a full hysterectomy followed by six sessions of chemotherapy. 

Even though I had been in the medical profession the news came as a real shock.  I was in a low risk category for cancer: 40 years old, a non-smoker who did moderate exercise.  

At the time, I didn’t know of anyone that had survived ovarian cancer - my aunt had died of ovarian cancer (although there was no genetic link).  The diagnosis was stage three ovarian cancer so I knew this was advanced and that the survival rates weren’t very good. But my consultant used to say, “I deal with individuals, not statistics.”   

I knew that the medical profession would do all that they could but when I asked my husband honestly, “Do they think I’m going to die?” he answered, “They don’t know”.    

Even now there are many women who don’t make it.  This is why I have become a ‘Voice’ (someone who raises awareness of ovarian cancer) for Ovarian Cancer Action.  With one woman dying every two hours of ovarian cancer in the UK something needs to be done. It is 15 years since I was diagnosed and I’ve been discharged from medical care for eight years, which I never thought would happen.  As a Voice I give awareness talks in Wales, where survival rates are some of the poorest in the UK. I also raise money for research through cake sales, and generally support women going through treatment and beyond. 

I am so grateful that I am well and able to hopefully be an encouragement and offer hope to women being diagnosed with the disease now.  

On World Ovarian Cancer Day, I hope lots of women pick up a rose and get to know the symptoms of ovarian cancer. 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                        https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://my crochet creations.blogspot.com

Cervical cancer: What are the various treatment options?

Cervical cancer kills over 33,000 Indian women every year. We singly account for 27% of the world’s deaths due to cervical cancer. Because of the dormant nature of the human papillomavirus and our society’s norm not to talk about it thousands of women get infected without even knowing they could. 

Here are some of the treatment options for cervical cancer:
Precancerous changes in the cervix may be treated with cryosurgery, laser surgery. These methods, howeverare not used to treat invasive cancer. Cryosurgery is a method in which a metal probe is cooled with liquid nitrogen and placed directly on the cervix. This freezes the abnormal cells and thus kills them. Laser surgery involved vapourising abnormal cells with a focused laser beam, directed through the vagina. This method is also used to remove a small piece of tissue for study.

The treatment options for women with cervical cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combination of two or more of these methods. The choice of treatment depends mainly on how big your lesion is, whether your cancer has spread and whether you would like to become pregnant someday.
With surgery, the tissue that may contain cancer cells is removed. Surgery is an option for women with Stage I or II cervical cancer.

• Radical trachelectomy: This option is for women with small tumors who plan a pregnancy later on. It allows them to be treated without losing their ability to have children. The surgeon removes the cervix, part of the vagina and the lymph nodes in the pelvis.
• Hysterectomy: In total hysterectomy the cervix and uterus are removed. In radical hysterectomy, the cervix, some tissue around the cervix, the uterus and part of the vagina are removed. Women no longer have menstrual periods after a hysterectomy and cannot become pregnant. Menopause occurs at once when the ovaries are removed. More severe symptoms of menopause (hot flashes, etc.) are experienced by surgery induced menopause. Discuss this with your doctor before surgery. Some drugs help with these symptoms and may be more effective if started before surgery.

Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. It is an option for women with any stage of cervical cancer. It also may be used after surgery to destroy any remnant cancer cells in the area. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are used if the cancer extends beyond the cervix. Radiation aimed at the pelvic area can harm the ovaries. It may also help to know that if you want to get pregnant after radiation therapy there are ways to preserve your eggs before treatment starts.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. In cervical cancer treatment, chemotherapy is usually combined with radiation therapy. Chemotherapy alone may be used for cancer that has spread to distant organs.
After the treatment
Have regular check-ups after treatment for cervical cancer. Check-ups may include a physical exam, Pap tests and chest x-rays. Any changes in your health are noted during check-ups and treated if needed. Your doctor will check for the recurrence of cancer. You may be relieved to finish treatment, but find it hard not to worry about recurrence. It may take a while before you learn to live with this uncertainty. Don’t lose heart. Many cancer survivors have and are living full lives.

It’s important for you to eat well and stay as active as you can. However, you may not feel like eating during or soon after treatment. Foods may not taste as good as they used to. In addition, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting or mouth sores as a result of side effects of treatment can make it hard to eat well. People with cancer feel better when they stay active. Walking, swimming, yoga, and other activities can increase your energy and keep you strong. Exercise relieves stress and may reduce nausea and pain.

Prognosis of cervical cancer
When followed up and treated properly, pre-cancerous conditions of cervical cancer are completely curable. There is 92% chance of  a five-year survival for cancer that has spread to the inside of the cervix walls but not outside the cervix area. The five-year survival rate falls steadily as the cancer spreads into other areas.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                      PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   
FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                           https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         https://my crochet creations.blogspot.com/ 

Test and Treatments for Multiple Myeloma

Blood Tests

When you have multiple myeloma, cancer cells crowd out healthy blood cells in your body. Instead of making normal proteins called antibodies, they make particles called M proteins. (The M stands for monoclonal.) To diagnose you, your doctor will take a small amount of blood from a vein in your arm. A lab then checks it for M proteins and another substance -- beta-2 microglobulin -- that are signs you have multiple myeloma.

Urine Tests

The proteins that myeloma cells make don’t just show up in your blood. They can appear in your urine as well, which gives doctors another way to diagnose the disease. Plus, multiple myeloma can damage your kidneys, so your doctor will want to check your pee for any sign they aren’t working properly. Some of the tests require you to collect urine over a 24-hour period, not give just one sample.

Skeletal Survey

In this test, your doctor takes a look at all the major bones in your body using X-rays. Multiple myeloma can cause bone problems, including pain, soft or thinning bones, and fractures. X-rays can show that kind of damage. A technician will show you how to position yourself and then take images from different angles to get views of all your bones.

Bone Marrow Biopsy

Multiple myeloma starts in bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside some bones. To test it, the doctor uses medicine to numb the area near your pelvis, then he takes a sample of the liquid inside your bone marrow using a needle that goes into your pelvic bone. He also removes a sliver of bone and marrow. Doctors will check the samples to see how your cells look and whether you have too many plasma cells, a sign of multiple myeloma.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

This scan will show your doctor if myeloma cells have replaced normal bone marrow. Your doctor might also look for a tumor in the plasma cells of your blood called a plasmacytoma. This type of imaging test is also good for spotting spine fractures from the bone damage the disease can cause. For an MRI, you’ll lie still inside a machine that looks like a large tube while high-energy magnets and radio waves make pictures of your insides.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

A PET scan is sometimes combined with another test, computed tomography, or a CT scan. Before you lie inside the scanner, you’ll get a substance injected into your veins through an IV in your arm or hand. It has a sugar and a radioactive chemical. Cancer cells absorb more of this substance, so the image gives your doctor a good idea of where those cells are in your body.

Fat Pad Aspirate

Multiple myeloma can make too many proteins build up in some organs, which can damage them. It’s called amyloidosis. If your doctor suspects that’s happening to you, the best way to find out is to check the fat around your belly. The doctor puts a needle into your belly and removes a small bit of tissue. (You’ll get numbing medicine first to make you more comfortable.) Then, he’ll look at it under a microscope.

Molecular Tests

These highly detailed looks at your bone marrow or tumor cells can identify chromosomes, genes, proteins, and other things that are unique to your cancer. The names of some of these tests are cytogenetics and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). You and your doctors can use the information from these tests to decide on your treatment plan.

Watchful Waiting

Once you're diagnosed, you and your doctor may decide that the best treatment for your multiple myeloma is no treatment at all -- at least not right away. This approach is also called “active surveillance,” and it’s recommended if your disease is in the early stages and you don’t have any symptoms. You’ll have checkups often to make sure your status hasn’t changed. You might have blood and urine tests at these appointments.

Targeted Therapy

This treatment uses drugs that go after your cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue that helps it survive. This approach -- also called novel therapy -- targets the cancer but limits harm to healthy cells. Drugs in this group include those that stop myeloma cells’ growth in your bone marrow and others that help your own immune system fight the cancer. You take some of these drugs as pills; a needle is used to put others into a vein in your arm.

Chemotherapy

This type of treatment uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. You may take them in pill form or through a needle in one of your veins. You’ll get a series of these treatments on a set schedule, called a regimen. The length will depend on the drugs you take and how severe your condition is. Sometimes, doctors give a few chemotherapy drugs at once.

Radiation Therapy

Your doctor might order this treatment to shrink a tumor quickly if it’s causing pain or damaging a bone. High-intensity energy particles are beamed at your body from a machine, and the radiation from the particles kills the cancer cells. You’ll have a set number of treatments scheduled over a period of time.

Corticosteroids

Drugs such as prednisone and dexamethasone can boost your immune system, fight inflammation, and work against the myeloma cells in your body. Your doctor might have you take a steroid as part of your treatment plan. You can take these drugs in pill form, or get them as shots into a vein in your arm.

Stem Cell Transplant

This procedure replaces your damaged bone marrow with special blood-forming cells called hematopoietic stem cells. You can get them from a donor, or doctors can collect your own cells ahead of time and give them back to you. First, you’ll have chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells in your body. Then the transplant puts new cells in to start making healthy bone marrow. The entire process takes several weeks. How much of that time you spend in the hospital depends on the specifics of your condition.

Bisphosphonates

Your doctor might add one of these drugs to your treatment plan if your multiple myeloma is causing a lot of bone problems. They can slow bone disease, prevent fractures, and ease your bone pain. Two common drugs are pamidronate (Aredia) and zoledronic acid (Zometa). You get them in a shot that goes into a vein.

Surgery

Operations can help deal with any bone fractures the disease causes -- they can reduce pain or help you move around better. Multiple myeloma often affects the spine. Nothing can undo the damage, but surgeons can help stabilize your back. You may have a procedure called vertebroplasty or another called kyphoplasty.

Multiple Myeloma -What Is It?

This blood cancer forms when plasma cells -- white blood cells that fight germs -- start to grow out of control. They’re found in marrow, the spongy tissue inside some of your bigger bones. Sometimes these abnormal plasma cells, known as myeloma cells, form a single tumor. That's called a solitary plasmacytoma. If you have more than one of these tumors, it’s called multiple myeloma.

Why Do You Get It?

Like many cancers, multiple myeloma has no known cause. However, there are some things that can raise your chances. Age plays a role: Most people who have it are over 65. It’s twice as common in African-Americans and slightly more likely to affect men than women. If someone in your family has it, you're more likely to get it, too.  

Can It Be Prevented?

You may wonder if there was anything you could have done to avoid this cancer. The answer is no. It doesn’t result from lifestyle choices, and you can’t discover it with early screening tests. In fact, multiple myeloma is hard to find early. Symptoms usually don’t show up until you’ve had it a while. But scientists learn more about what causes it every year, and new drugs are in the pipeline. 

Symptom: Low Blood Counts

Plasma cells aren’t the only ones formed in your bone marrow. Other white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are created there, too. However, myeloma cells can prevent bone marrow from making these healthy blood cells. That can lead to:

• Anemia (low red blood cells), which can cause fatigue
• Thrombocytopenia (low platelets), which can cause bruising or bleeding
• Leukopenia (low white blood cells), which raises infection risk

Symptom: Bone Fractures

Myeloma cells are a major enemy to bones. Believe it or not, your “old” bone is constantly being dissolved by cells called osteoclasts. Meanwhile, cells known as osteoblasts are making new bone. These things normally happen together. Myeloma cells speed up the breakdown process, but not the buildup. The result: Your bones get weak and can fracture easily.

Symptom: Infections

Plasma cells make antibodies, which fight germs. If you get a cold, they can create an antibody to attack the virus that’s making you sick. Abnormal plasma cells don’t do that. Myeloma cells multiply and quickly crowd out your healthy plasma cells, along with other white blood cells that protect you from infection. 

Other Things to Watch For

Multiple myeloma can lead to health problems like:

• Confusion and dizziness
• Numbness or muscle weakness in your legs
• Kidney problems

Because your bone dissolves faster than normal, you may have a high level of calcium in your blood. You might also feel really thirsty and dehydrated.

How Is It Diagnosed?

Blood tests can check for many red flags, like low blood cell counts and high calcium levels. X-rays can reveal bone loss. But the most important test for this cancer is a bone marrow biopsy. A doctor will insert a special needle into your bone and remove a tiny piece of tissue. He'll look at it with a microscope to see if you have myeloma cells.

Should I Get Treatment?

It sounds crazy, but if you don’t have symptoms yet -- a stage called smoldering myeloma -- the doctor may tell you not to. Many people wait months or years before they start treatment.

Are There Medications?

Yes. If you do need treatment, there are many types. You might try traditional cancer drugs like chemotherapy and corticosteroids. Or your doctor could try one of several new options:

• Immunomodulating agents: affect your immune system, but doctors don’t know how
• Proteasome inhibitors: stop cells from breaking down proteins
• Monoclonal antibodies: attack cells that are a threat

Other Treatment Options

If you’re under 65, or over 65 and otherwise healthy, your doctor may suggest a stem cell transplant. Before it, you’ll get a high dose of chemo or radiation to kill cells in your bone marrow. Then you’ll get a transplant of healthy stem cells -- the ones that create new blood. You might get your own cells. The doctor will call this an autologous transplant. Or they could come from a donor. This is known as an allogeneic transplant.

Related Health Issues

Drugs and blood transfusions improve anemia (low red blood cell counts) and the extreme fatigue it causes. There’s a special procedure that thins your thickened blood, a problem that can result in dizziness and confusion. Another treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), will help your body fight infections. You might also take drugs called bisphosphonates to lower your risk of bone fractures.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

It’s always a good idea to bring up concerns and ask questions at your office visits. Put these on your list:

• How can I stay healthy?
• Are there ways to ease my pain?
• What stage is my disease in, and what does it mean for me?
• Does my treatment have side effects?
• Should I get a second opinion?
• Should I join a clinical trial?                                             
  THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                      PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   
  FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                           https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              
  FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         https://my crochet creations.blogspot.com/  

Breast cancer treatments may increase risk of cardiac diseases

Treating breast cancer patients with chemotherapy and radiation may increase their risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, the doctors have warned.

With the advances in treatment, there has been a growing number of breast cancer survivors. However, survivors above the age of 65, were more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer, the new study showed.

Targeted therapies for breast cancers like HER-2 could cause weakening of the heart muscle, a condition known as heart failure, it said.

Other therapies could also affect the heart arteries and cause the development of coronary artery disease or blockages, the study added.

Prompting attention to the fact that during treatment not only ones breast health, but also general health, including that of the heart, should be considered, the researchers suggested.

"Any patient who is going to undergo breast cancer treatment, whether they have heart disease at the beginning or not, should be aware of the potential effects of the treatments on their heart," said an Prof.

However, it should not deter or scare patients from undergoing the cancer treatment, instead allow them to make informed decisions with their doctor on the best option available, the Prof. added, in the statement published recently.

In some cases, post cessation of the treatment and/or the addition of heart medicines can improve heart function.

Administering Doxorubicin -- a chemotherapy drug -- used in breast cancer therapy can also lead to the damage of heart cells, but, giving the drug slowly, rather than all at once, may lower the risk of heart failure.

Doctors were also developing more-targeted radiation to reduce risks, the statement said.

Adherence to a number of ideal heart health behaviours including being physically active, achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight could help.

Besides, eating a healthy diet, avoiding tobacco, maintaining healthy levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar may help prevent or minimise the damage.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.    

PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                      
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                        

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS
HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Treating breast cancer patients with chemotherapy and radiation may increase their risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, the American Heart Association has warned.

With the advances in treatment, there has been a growing number of breast cancer survivors. However, survivors above the age of 65, were more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer, the new study showed.

Targeted therapies for breast cancers like HER-2 could cause weakening of the heart mus ..

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/62766511.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst