from Discovery Health

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from the American Cancer Society:

Study Links Breast Cancer Decline to Quitting Hormones
"The new findings show that breast cancer rates stabilized at that new lower level between 2003 and 2004 -- as did use of HRT. Moreover, the decline in breast cancer incidence was seen only in women 50 or older (those most likely to have used hormone therapy) and was greater for estrogen-receptor-positive tumors (the kind fueled by hormone therapy) compared to those with no estrogen receptors.
This suggests that declining hormone use was the primary factor behind the drop in breast cancer, according to lead researcher Peter Ravdin, PhD, MD, and his colleagues."

from the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology:

Cancer Patients Relying More on Friends, Family for Treatment Advice
"Making treatment decisions with the help of family and friends is on the rise, as people widen their sources of information beyond the advice of their doctors and increasingly use the Internet and other public sources of data. In 2003, 56 percent of cancer patients and their families made their decision based upon the advice of their oncologist and 45 percent said they made their decision with the help of their primary care physician. However, in 2007, only 50 percent relied on the advice of their oncologist and 41 percent said they relied on their primary care doctor."


from Reuter's Health:

Yoga shown to help women with breast cancer
"Women with breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast may benefit from participating in a tailored yoga program that includes gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, and meditation, new research suggests."


from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center:

Researchers uncover mutated genes involved in lung cancer; one affects nonsmokers
"Lung cancer patients who have never smoked are more likely than smokers to harbor one of two genetic mutations that researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have now linked to the disease. "This study describes the first known mutation to occur in lung cancer patients who have never smoked," said Dr. Adi Gazdar, professor of pathology in the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research and senior author of the study in today's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 'These findings may help explain why certain lung cancer patients respond dramatically to a specific form of targeted therapy while others have little or no response.' "

from the American Cancer Society:


American Cancer Society Report Finds Signs that Cancer Progress Could Stall
"An annual report from the American Cancer Society finds that despite recent declines in cancer death rates, there are worrisome signs that progress could stall."

Many Women Undertreated for Ovarian Cancer
"The study of hospital data from nine states found that women who were over 70, of African American or Hispanic race, or insured by Medicaid, were at greatest risk for undertreatment."


from National Public Radio:

Podcast from Journalist, Leroy Shievers, entitled My Cancer
"Leroy Sievers has spent a long career as a journalist covering war, genocide and natural disasters. Now after decades of observing other people's deaths, he is forced to contemplate his own. He's fighting cancer."

from the American Cancer Society:

American Cancer Society Issues Recommendation on MRI for Breast Cancer Screening
"An expert panel convened by the American Cancer Society has developed new recommendations for the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for women at increased risk for breast cancer, and recommends annual screening using MRI in addition to mammography for women with a 20-25 percent or greater lifetime risk of the disease."


from the Mayo Clinic:

Cryoablation -- A New Treatment Option for Some Kidney Tumor Patients
"Mayo Clinic researchers report that freezing kidney tumors through percutaneous cryoablation shows promise for patients who are not good candidates for surgery. Their early findings showing short-term success in more than 90 percent of selected patients are published in this month's issue of Radiology."


from the White House:

April is Cancer Control Month
"Cancer Control Month is an opportunity to educate all Americans about cancer, to raise awareness about treatments, and to renew our commitment to fighting this deadly disease."


from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
"Adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium protocols have better outcomes than published results from other studies, according to a report in the March 1st issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology."