23 Apr 09 CANCER: COLORECTAL CONCERNS
No site is very pleasing for a tumor, but the notion of a cancer taking up residence in your bowel is extra queasy. Why, of all places, is it there?
For one thing, this is a place with a high cell turnover rate, so the likelihood of cancer developing is increased. Another reason is that the colon is full of bacteria that produce carcinogens. Cancers in either of those two bowel parts are usually lumped into the “colorectal” category. About 54,900 deaths from colorectal cancer were predicted for 1997, about 10 percent of all cancer deaths.
But actually, people are getting less colorectal cancer these days. The total incidences dropped from about 149,000 new cases in 1994 to an estimated 131,200 cases in 1997. This may be due to adopting healthier lifestyles, says Dr. Wurzelmann.
Early detection and removal of precancerous polyps are also likely playing a role. “I’m not seeing the big, bulky, extensive cancers that I used to 15 or 20 years ago,” and the reason is early detection, says Bruce Wolff, M.D., professor of surgery at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota, and a member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.
If you want to increase your odds that there won’t be anything to detect-early or later-doctors recommend taking these steps.
Ask for aspirin. Popping a baby aspirin once a day seems to help with a lot of things, including colorectal cancer. According to Dr. Wurzelmann, aspirin increases the rate at which cancer cells kill themselves off. Some doctors are reasonably concerned about stomach bleeding or discomfort from daily aspirin doses. But, says Dr. Wurzelmann, “if you can tolerate aspirin, it may be a reasonable way to prevent cancer. Further research is needed, however, before final recommendations can be made.” Check with your doctor before you start popping aspirin.
Cool it with the booze. Heavy drinking has been connected with esophageal cancer, but it also increases the likelihood of the polyps that are precursors to colorectal cancer. “People who drink a lot can get more polyps,” Dr. Wurzelmann says. “Several different studies support that connection.”
Bulk up with fiber. The verdict is in on high-fiber diets, and it’s a good one for colorectal cancer prevention. Canadian researchers, looking at 13 studies involving more than 15,000 people, found that adding 13 grams of fiber a day to your diet could reduce your risk by 31 percent. The National Cancer Institute suggests that you increase your fiber intake to between 20 and 30 grams a day.
Embrace brassicas. For colorectal cancer, there is convincing proof that vegetables decrease risk. It’s a kid’s nightmare. Eat lots of different vegetables but be sure to include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. All are members of the brassica vegetable family, and they could be a grown-up guy’s salvation. They contain chemicals that appear to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. “Eat as much as you can enjoy,” suggests Dr. Wurzelmann.
Do calisthenics for your colon. One of the more proven ways to reduce colon cancer is to get moving. No, not that kind of moving. We’re talking physical activity here-exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Even if that exercise is divided into 10-minute segments, it’s enough to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
*6/36/5*
Tags: Cancer
23 Apr 09 FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO SNORING
We have been concerned thus far with a picture of the normal upper airway, discussing its susceptibility to collapse given the compliant nature of the pharynx and the destabilizing effect of sleep. In fact, most people’s airways remain open during sleep and they experience neither the audible evidence of partial collapse nor a disastrous total collapse. So what makes snorers different?
The shape of the upper airway
In many instances the cause of snoring is plainly visible on a simple examination of the throat. Looking through the mouth into the oropharynx, one is often confronted with a pendulous and swollen soft palate and uvula which quite plainly has the effect of narrowing the entrance to the upper airway. Inflammation or reddening of this tissue is further evidence of upper airway trauma caused by snoring. Some patients present with a good history of snoring but with no remarkable physical features to account for the symptoms, and it is these patients who impress on us the fact that snoring can be brought about by very subtle changes in the shape of the upper airway.
Using a technique known as acoustic reflection (in principle, not unlike a sonar) several studies have demonstrated that the cross sectional area of the pharynx in heavy snorers is less than that of non snorers. In other words snorers tend to have a narrower pharynx in the awake state even before other factors come into play such as the loss of muscle tone during sleep. Not surprisingly, the soft tissue around the narrowed airway vibrates under the added strain of each inspiratory manoeuvre. Careful analysis of the size and position of facial bones, particularly the jaw, has shown that heavy snorers often have slight changes in the alignment of these structures which again favours collapse of the upper airway.
Although most snorers will have a narrow pharynx or some degree of mal-alignment of the jaw there are sometimes more conspicuous findings which tip the scales dramatically in favour of the repetitive airway obstruction which is often associated with heavy snoring. Any condition, and there are many, which effectively restricts the flow of air through the upper airway by narrowing the pharynx will promote snoring.
Obesity
Obesity certainly contributes to the incidence and severity of snoring. The relationship between excessive weight and sleep disorders is under active investigation and there is evidence to suggest that fat deposits in the tissue surrounding the pharynx play a role. Weight loss, even for the mildly overweight, has been shown to be effective in reducing the severity of snoring.
Other impediments
There are several structural anomalies of the upper airway which can interfere with the normal flow of air such as enlarged adenoids and tonsils, a large tongue, malformations of the jaw or an abnormally long or fleshy soft palate. The list is incomplete but serves to show that some changes to the anatomy of this critical part of the airway will favour snoring.
*6/51/5*
Tags: General Health
23 Apr 09 BREAST CANCER: INVESTIGATIONS AND DIAGNOSIS
Asking questions
Always ask questions if you are unsure about anything. Never feel embarrassed or foolish, and never go away not having understood something; it will only cause you to worry. Almost all your questions can be easily answered with simple explanations, but if answers are not known, your doctor should be able to discuss with you the reasons.
People tend to forget what they had wanted to ask until they are at home again. It may therefore be a good idea to write your questions down as you think of them, and be prepared with a list next time you talk to your doctor. Uncertainty and confusion cause anxiety which, in most cases, is unfounded, and any good doctor will be happy to answer all your questions, no matter how trivial you think they may seem.
Being told you have breast cancer
Do not be afraid to speak frankly to your doctor. Some doctors avoid mentioning the word ‘cancer’, and feel the need to shield patients from any unpleasant truths. Some will not tell you unless you ask, believing that you would ask if you wanted to know. Most breast care nurses have experience of women who, having been told their diagnosis by the specialist, express relief at discovering that they have a ‘tumour’, and not cancer. Although a tumour is strictly any abnormal swelling, some doctors use the word when they actually mean a malignant tumour -a cancer.
If you are anxious about a lump or do not understand what you are being told about it, it is best to be frank: ‘Is it cancer, doctor?’ should elicit a direct and truthful answer, although it is a question many people will find difficult to ask.
Women who have been told that they have breast cancer will need – and should expect – to talk to a breast care nurse. Coming to terms with this disease is easier if you are given accurate information by a sympathetic, informed professional.
Help and counseling for women with breast cancer and for their families are also available from a variety of organizations. The breast care nurse, your GP or consultant will be able to give you information about these services.
*8/39/5*
Tags: Cancer
23 Apr 09 SOME HISTORICAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
It is all too easy in our cosy world to forget just how hostile life was as recently as a century ago and so to belittle what preventive medicine has achieved so far. A hundred years ago, only six babies out of ten survived to adulthood and the life expectancy of a British boy born between 1871 and 1880 was 41 years, and that of his sister 45 years. If they managed to survive the first year of life this improved to 48 and 50 years respectively. Today this has totally changed-mainly because of preventive rather than curative measures. Generally speaking we all accept that when we have a baby it will be born alive and will survive to see old age-but this is a very recent assumption in the history of the human race. Childbirth itself was extremely hazardous for both a mother and her child only a century ago and then the child had to survive all the childhood infections, in addition to smallpox and ÒÂ. Nutrition in Victorian England was so poor that children’s resistance was low and they were likely to pick up anything that was going. The majority of the population of Victorian England lived in urban slums, water was often unsafe and few houses had piped water at all. In the environment of cities diseases spread and took hold of whole communities, causing thousands of deaths in any one epidemic. Over the last hundred years, though, the death rates from ÒÂ, enteric fever and the main infectious diseases of childhood have been reduced by more than 99 per cent.
In western countries mortality in every age group up to the age of 35 is now one tenth or less of what it was a hundred years ago and among children aged 1-9 it is now one twentieth of what it was then. In fact mortality has fallen by 88 per cent.
*6/72/41*
Tags: General Health
23 Apr 09 KEFIR BATH (FERMENTED MILK) FOR YOUR SKIN
It’s quite interesting to look back in history and to read that the beautiful queen of Egypt bathed in fermented milk and that her skin was so beautiful that we still talk about it. Milt baths are a great treat for thirsty pores. You will be saturated with a calcium covering which will give you firmer, beautiful and softer skin
The following recipes are a guide how to make your own bath care products with kefir.
Kefir relaxing and moisturising bath: 1 cup kefir, 2 tbsp. wheatgerm oil, 5 drops lavender essential oils. Mix all ingredients. Add to bath and relax for fifteen minutes.
Kefir revitalising bath: 1 cup kefir, 1 tbsp. Epsom salts, 2 tbsp. almond oil, 3 drops pine essence oil, 2 drops orange essential oil. Mix all ingredients and add to the bath. Relax for fifteen minutes.
Apricot & Kefir oil for the bath: 2 tbsp. melted butter, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. cider vinegar, 2 tbsp. witch hazel, juice of three apricots (use a blender), 100 g kefir, 2 beaten eggs, 300 ml milk. Mix the butter and the olive oil and allow to sit for one hour. Mix in cider vinegar, witch hazel, apricot juice and the kefir. Stir well. Add the eggs and half the milk and put the mixture into a blender. After it is thoroughly blended add the remaining milk. This mixture can be kept in the refrigerator in a sealed bottle. It is enough for six baths, use only a cupful to each bath.
*203\81\8*
Tags: Skin Care
