RightHealth Daily Dose » Cancer

Ask The Doctor

Steven — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:30:19 +0000

Hi Everyone,

We are excited to let you know about a new feature of RightHealth’s DailyDose blog. Starting today, every Monday will be “Ask the Doctor” day. In every Monday’s DailyDose post, I will respond to one of the questions posed by our readers. If you have a question about a personal health issue or want to learn more about health topic that you find interesting, please email it to dailydose@righthealth.com. Don’t worry, your identity will be kept confidential.

Please understand that we can’t answer all of your questions each week! But we’ll do our best to select the questions which have the broadest interest among you.

So let’s get started! This week’s question is from Mark V…

The cardiologist who recently examined President Obama, an admitted occasional smoker, told the Commander in Chief that although he received a clean bill of health, he’s still at risk for heart disease because he is a smoker in a high-stress job. Does smoking less frequently or just occasionally reduce the health risks for smokers?

Smoking accounts for over 400 thousand deaths annually in the United States, mostly in the form of lung cancer, stroke, and coronary heart disease. In fact, smoking increases every kind of cancer risk with 80% of lung cancers linked to smoking. It doesn’t matter if you smoke only one cigarette a day or one pack a day. The act of smoking will increase your risk of these diseases. We also know there is a clear link between second hand smoke and cardiovascular disease. Approximately 23 to 70 thousand premature deaths occur each year in the U.S. because of second hand smoke.

Does smoking less reduce health risks? The answer is yes. If you smoke three packs a day as opposed to one pack a day, you do have more of a risk for heart disease. But it’s not until you quit smoking do you see some amazing results. Here’s what we know:

At 20 minutes after quitting your blood pressure decreases and the body temperature of your hands and feet increase, due to improved circulation.
At 24 hours you begin to see a decrease in heart attack risk.
At 48 hours your senses of smell and taste improve and nerve endings actually begin to regrow!
After 1 year your risk of coronary heart disease drops by 50%.
After 5-15 years your stroke risk drops by 50%.
After 10 years your risk of lung cancer drops by 50%.
After 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease and death rate returns to the same level as those who never smoked.

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Paxil Decreases Tamoxifen Efficacy

Steven — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:17:14 +0000

The British Medical Journal is reporting on a new Canadian study which suggests that women who are taking the drug tamoxifen for treatment of breast cancer should not take the antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine). This is because Paxil is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that significantly inhibits an enzyme called cytochrome P450 2D6, which is needed to metabolize tamoxifen into its active form. This effect, however, was not seen with other SSRIs that were evaluated, including Celexa (citalopram) and Effexor (venlafaxine). It’s important to note that if you are currently takin Paxil, you should not abruptly stop the drug because it can cause serious withdrawal side effects. People who are currently taking Paxil and tamoxifen should talk with their doctors about changing their antidepressant. [via HealthDay]

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Prolonged Sitting Different From Lack Of Exercise

Steven — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:44:16 +0000

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute are embarking on a new paradigm in exercise physiology after publishing a paper in this month’s British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study authors argue that prolonged periods of sitting is an entity distinct from the commonly used terminology “sedentary behavior,” which means a general lack of exercise. Rather, they contend that the use of the term “muscular inactivity” more accurately describes a state of being in which people have prolonged periods when even light physical activity is not achieved. This is important because research shows that periods of prolonged sitting and lack of whole body muscular activity is strongly associated with the development of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, regardless of whether moderate or vigorous exercise was performed. This goes to show that maintaining an intermittent level of activity that involve total body muscle movement (climbing stairs, walking to run errands, taking a walking break during sedentary work) is just as important as incorporating moderate to vigorous exercise into your routine. [via Medical News Today]

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Vitamin D May Reduce Heart Attacks In Blacks

Steven — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:40:20 +0000

New research appearing in next month’s Annals of Family Medicine suggests that vitamin D deficiency may contribute to the disparity seen between whites and blacks in regards to rates of heart attacks and strokes. After looking at data from over 15,000 Americans the researchers found that vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher death rates among all subjects. However, blacks had a 38% higher risk of death than whites – this did not change even when taking into account socioeconomic status. The researchers also found that the risk of death decreased as vitamin D levels increased. It should be noted that this is only an observational study, not a controlled trial. But, given these findings further studies are warranted especially if vitamin replacement, which is relatively easy to do, could reduce the risk of death.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a chronic inflammatory state that is associated with heart disease and cancer. Since vitamin D is produced in the skin in a process involving sunlight, dark-skinned individuals may produce less of it because their skin pigment blocks the UV light needed for vitamin D synthesis. [via Medical News Today]

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Cancer Genetic Codes Cracked

Steven — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:12:23 +0000

Scientists report today in the journal Nature that the genetic codes of two of the most commons cancers – skin and lung – have been sequenced in their entirety. It was found that melanoma skin cancer contains more than 30,000 DNA errors, mostly due to sun exposure. Lung cancer contains more than 23,000 gene errors largely as a result of cigarette smoking. The identification of these genetic errors will allow us to develop new drugs which can potentially target each of these site specifically. As well it’s conceivable that blood tests can be developed to detect DNA patterns which are unique to each type of cancer. This landmark accomplishment is the first step in the effort lead by the International Cancer Genome Consortium to catalogue all the major cancer types. Scientists in Japan are working on decoding the sequence for liver cancer, India on mouth, UK on breast, China on stomach, and the US on brain, ovary, and pancreas. [via BBC]

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No Change In Mammogram Guidelines

Steven — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:02:47 +0000

Earlier this month the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of respected experts in primary care and prevention, caused an uproar when they presented evidence that routine mammogram screening for breast cancer should not begin until the age of 50. The group based their recommendation on evidence showing that the “additional benefit gained by starting screening at age 40 years rather than at age 50 years is small, and that moderate harms from screening remain at any age”. Essentially, the number of women we need to screen in order to extend one woman’s life is far higher for the group between the ages of 40 to 49 than for the group aged 50 to 59. However, current US Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, issued a statement yesterday stating that there will not be any changes to government policy on mammography: screening mammograms should continue to start at the age of 40. [via Medical News Today]

Additional USPSTF recommendations include:

Regular biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74.
No teaching of breast self-examination (BSE).
There is not enough evidence to assess whether clinical breast examination (CBE) does more harm than good, beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
Current evidence is not enough to assess whether digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would be better or worse than film mammography.

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Higher Risk Of Breast Cancer Recurrence In Women With Dense Breasts

Steven — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:14:47 +0000

The journal Cancer reports on a new study which shows that women previously treated for breast cancer have a higher risk of cancer recurrence if they have highly dense breasts. Women who were classified as having highly dense breasts had a 21% chance of cancer recurrence, compared to 5% among women with low-density breasts. Because of this the study authors suggest that women with highly dense breasts may benefit from additional therapies, such as radiation, after breast and lymph node surgery. [via Medical News Today]

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New HPV Vaccine Approved

Steven — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:25:40 +0000

The FDA recently announced the approval of a second HPV vaccine for the U.S. market. Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is the sole competitor to rival vaccine Gardasil, produced by Merck & Co. The vaccines differ in the strains of HPV they guard against, but both will fight the two most common strains that cause 70% of cervical cancers. At the same time, however, the FDA also granted approval for Merck’s Gardasil to be used in preventing genital warts (not genital cancer) in boys and men ages 9 through 26. But, do our children need yet another vaccine? You be the judge. Both vaccines are expected to net their respective companies over $1 billion per year in the coming years. [via ABC News]

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College Students On Medical Leave May Keep Health Insurance

Steven — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:43:10 +0000

A new law, which took effect last Friday, is allowing U.S. college students to take up to one year away from school for medical reasons while remaining on their family’s health insurance plan. “Michelle’s Law” is named after college student Michelle Morse who decided to remain a full time student, against the recommendation of her doctors, while undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer because she could not afford to be dropped from her parents’ health insurance policy. Previously, students between the ages of 19-24 could continue their health coverage under their parent’s policy as long as they remained as a full-time student (12 credits). If they became too ill to continue as a full time student they would either lose their insurance or could continue their coverage under the C.O.B.R.A. portion of the parent’s policy for an additional premium. By law C.O.B.R.A. can be as much as 102% of the premium for up to 36 months; many families cannot afford this expense. Michelle Morse was an aspiring teacher who died six months after she graduated from college at the age of 22. [via Businessweek]

Visit the official Michelle’s Law homepage and share your comments here.

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Teens And Tanning

Steven — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:39:03 +0000

Some researchers believe the popularity of indoor tanning among adolescent girls in recent years may be behind a recent increase in melanoma rates among U.S. women aged 15-39. Melanoma is a dangerous type of skin cancer. This has prompted the FDA to recommend to indoor tanning operators that teenagers be limited to three or fewer sessions in the first week of tanning. However, a new study published in the Archives of Dermatology shows that only about 11% of operators followed these guidelines, and 71% of tanning bed operators said they would allow a teen to tan seven days a week. “Exposure to UV radiation from indoor tanning lamps has been linked with both melanoma and squamous cell cancer, and first exposure before age 35 years may increase melanoma risk by as much as 75 percent,” said the study authors. [CBS News]

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