Michelle Obama Highlights Breast Cancer Awareness
But thats where the Rockford, Ill., woman was Friday as she stood in a White House flower garden and shared her story of being repeatedly denied health insurance because of the cancer in her past.
In less than four minutes at the microphone, Lownsdale helped the Obama administration mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, more importantly, provide a flesh-and-blood illustration for why President Barack Obama wants to overhaul the system.
First lady Michelle Obama said the U.S. has come a long way from the days when people thought breast cancer was something to be ashamed of and kept a secret, when it [...]
Somers New Target: Conventional Cancer Treatment
—
NEW YORK (AP) - Suzanne Somers is at it again.
Less than a year after the former sitcom actress frustrated mainstream doctors (and cheered some fans) by touting bioidentical hormones on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” shes back with a new book. This ones on an even more emotional topic: Cancer treatment. Specifically, she argues against what she sees as the vast and often pointless use of chemotherapy.
Somers, who has rejected chemo herself, seems to relish the fight.
“Cancers an epidemic,” said the 63-year-old actress in an interview in a Manhattan hotel a day before Tuesdays release of “Knockout,” her 19th book. “And [...]
Merck, Glaxo Prepare For Hpv Vaccine Battle With U.s. Approvals
The Food and Drug Administration authorized sales of Gardasil to prevent genital warts in males ages 9 to 26 and Glaxos Cervarix to prevent cervical cancer in females ages 10 to 25, the companies said today in separate statements. Gardasil has been approved in the U.S. since 2006 and is part of routine vaccinations for school-age girls.
The shots target strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer and serious infections. Concerns about Cervarixs safety contributed to a regulatory delay [...]
Merck, Glaxo Prepare For Hpv Vaccine Battle With U.s. Approvals
The Food and Drug Administration authorized sales of Gardasil to prevent genital warts in males ages 9 to 26 and Glaxos Cervarix to prevent cervical cancer in females ages 10 to 25, the companies said today in separate statements. Gardasil has been approved in the U.S. since 2006 and is part of routine vaccinations for school-age girls.
The shots target strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer and serious infections. Concerns about Cervarixs safety contributed to a regulatory delay [...]
Robotic Prostate Surgery May Mean Large Trade-off
The results add to confusion around prostate cancer treatments, which sometimes lead to urinary and sexual problems. Its not clear that either kind of surgery is superior to radiation alone or watchful waiting, which means simply monitoring the prostate for changes.
Laparoscopic, or keyhole, surgery is increasingly chosen by men having a cancerous prostate removed. And often it involves the highly marketed da Vinci robotics system. Da Vincis popularity has been rising even though theres never been a rigorous head-to-head comparison between it and standard surgery.
“Theres been a rapid adoption of this relatively new technique,” said the studys lead author Dr. [...]
Lab-on-chip Uses Small Blood Sample to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
A prototype was developed by University of Toronto researchers who are looking for investors or partners to help commercialize it. The device can measure estrogen from blood or tissue samples at least 1,000 times smaller than is required for conventional tests, according to a pilot study published today in the first issue of a new journal, Science Translational Medicine.
The technology will soon be used to monitor estrogen levels in a study of 200 women being treated with estrogen-blocking drugs to prevent breast cancer, said Noha Mousa, [...]
Chip Measures Breast Estrogen With Just A Poke
Several years of study are needed before the experimental device could hit doctors offices, but the research published Wednesday opens the tantalizing possibility of easy, routine monitoring of various hormones. Doctors could use it to see if breast cancer therapy is working, tell whos at high risk, or for other problems, such as infertility - maybe even prostate cancer.
“Its thought-provoking to think, What could I do with a tool like this?” said Dr. Kelly Marcom, breast oncology chief at Duke University Medical Center, who wasnt involved with the new invention. “It opens up an avenue of investigation that without tools [...]
Texas Starts $3 Billion Quest to Cure Cancer
Texas is ready to try by investing $3 billion over the next decade in cancer research and prevention, which would make the state the gatekeeper of the second largest pot of cancer research dollars in the country, behind only the National Cancer Institute.
“I dont know anyone that would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with what theyre trying to do,” said Robert Urban, executive director of the Koch Institute for Innovative Cancer Research at MIT.
That gee-whiz impression is what Texas leaders sought in 2007, when the state created the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas through an ambitious bond measure approved by voters. [...]
Obesity Trend May Hurt Improvement In Breast Cancer Mortality
The mortality rate in the U.S. continued to drop 2 percent annually from 1996 to 2006, the most recent year with data available, according to the report released today.
Women may accelerate that decline by maintaining a healthy body weight, engaging in regular physical activity and minimizing alcohol intake, said Ahmedin Jemal, an epidemiologist with the group and a report co-author.
Failing to adopt that kind of lifestyle “could hurt progress in breast cancer [...]
Bayer, Onyxs Pill Doesnt Slow Breast Cancer In Second Study
The pill in combination with chemotherapy drug paclitaxel showed a “positive trend” toward helping women live longer without their disease getting worse, but the results werent statistically significant, the two drugmakers said in an e- mailed statement today. Bayer and Onyx didnt say how long it took the womens tumors to progress.
“These encouraging data warrant further investigation,” lead scientist William Gradishar, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University, said in the statement, adding that women with advanced breast cancer often lack treatment options. [...]