Posts Tagged ‘women’

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide with about 450,000 annual deaths. For the most part, awareness campaigns focus on early breast cancer detection. Seldom do they draw attention to those who currently have the disease. This is contrary to the results of a new Oxford University pubic opinion study, which found that the majority of women living with metastatic breast cancer (late stage), despite the negative impact the disease has on their lives, still enjoy living and desire more public attention be drawn to this aspect of their experience. Drawing attention to women with metastatic breast cancer and getting the pubic to talk about the disease can not only relieve the sense of isolation felt by some women, it can also help us understand how best to support and care for them.

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Are men and women truly different at heart? Perhaps, when it comes to heart transplants. A new Johns Hopkins University study finds that cardiac transplant patients have better odds of survival and a lower risk of rejection if they receive organs from donors of the same sex. Doctors think that heart size is an important factor. Men’s hearts are bigger and have more pumping capacity than women’s. Researchers believe that hormonal and immunologic differences between the sexes may also play a role. However, at this time it is not feasible for every person in need of a heart transplant to be paired with a perfect match – approximately 2,700 Americans are waiting for a heart, but only 2,200 heart transplants are performed annually.

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A new Dutch study suggests that younger women who have survived breast cancer may have 3 to 4 times  the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast as a consequence of radiation therapy.  Women treated with radiation before they turned 45 had a slightly increased risk of a new tumor in the other breast, while women receiving radiation before they were 35 had a 78% increased risk. It is as yet unclear why this is the case. Radiation therapy is usually used after a lumpectomy to destroy any remaining cancer cells that were not removed by surgery. Today’s radiotherapy techniques aim to reduce the amount of radiation delivered to the remaining breast.

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Flu season is here again, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is reminding pregnant women to get their annual flu vaccine because pregnant women have higher rates of illness and death from the flu. If you’ve previously had severe reactions to flu vaccines, an allergy to eggs (flu vaccines are made from chicken eggs), developed Guillan-Barre Syndrome within 6 weeks of receiving the flu vaccine, or currently have a fever, you should speak to a physician prior to receiving the vaccine. What’s your perspective on vaccinations? Share your opinion. Read more.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is one of the most common types of sexually transmitted diseases – approximately 50% of sexually active women aged 20 to 24 have it. This is why the 2006 approval of the Gardasil HPV vaccination was met with excitement in the US, especially since some HPV types can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina and vulva. The FDA originally approved Gardasil for the prevention of cervical cancer, but it has now expanded its use for the prevention of vaginal and vulvar cancers as well in girls and women ages 9 to 26. The vaccination is ideally given to women who have not yet become sexually active. However, even those who are sexually active can benefit from the vaccine because it protects against the four most common HPV strains that account for 70% of cervical cancers.  Full story.

New research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology finds that the current computer models used to determine breast cancer risk appears to underestimate the true risk in Asian women. Oncologists use computer models to identify women who might have certain genetic mutations which increase their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Those women deemed by the models to be likely carriers of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are then referred for genetic testing of these genes. The researchers found that the models were highly accurate in predicting the presence of mutations in white women, but falls short when it comes to Asians. It’s yet unclear why this is the case. They suspect that inheritance patterns common in white women may be different in the Asian population. The researchers emphasize the need for further investigation into the genetic variability of different ethnic groups. Full story.