Prostate cancer screening after age 70
Q: I just celebrated my 70th birthday and am due for my yearly doctor visit. How does a man decide whether to continue PSA testing for prostate cancer? A: While some guidelines suggest stopping prostate cancer screening after age 70, the decision to continue depends on your general health and life expectancy. The reason: Most prostate cancers are low-grade and will not shorten a... READ MORE
Experiment shrinks tough-to-treat cancer
In a novel experiment, a woman with advanced pancreatic cancer saw her tumors dramatically shrink after researchers in Oregon turbocharged her own immune cells, highlighting a possible new way to someday treat a variety of cancers. Kathy Wilkes isn’t cured, but said what’s left of her cancer has shown no sign of growth since the one-time treatment last summer. “I knew that... READ MORE
Ways to overcome the effects of chemo
Some of the most common symptoms experienced by cancer patients are memory problems, difficulties with multitasking, and reduced attention and concentration. Historically, cancer patients with these symptoms were often diagnosed with depression. Research over the past decade has revealed that many cancer patients experience these symptoms as a consequence of specific damage to the brain... READ MORE
Better, gentler cancer drugs are helping
Doctors are reporting success with newer drugs that control certain types of cancer better, reduce the risk it will come back, and make treatment simpler and easier to bear. Gentler drugs would be a relief to patients like Jenn Carroll, a 57-year-old human resources director from New Hartford, Connecticut, who had traditional IV chemotherapy after lung cancer surgery in 2018. “It... READ MORE
Blood test can detect some early cancers
For the first time, a blood test has been shown to help detect many types of cancer in a study of thousands of people with no history or symptoms of the disease. The test is still experimental. Even its fans say it needs to be improved and that the recent results are not ideal. Yet they show what benefits and drawbacks might come from using these gene-based tests, called liquid... READ MORE
Study finds no baby powder/cancer link
U.S. government-led research found no strong evidence linking baby powder with ovarian cancer in the largest analysis to look at the question. The findings were called “overall reassuring” in an editorial published in January together with the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The analysis involving 250,000 women isn’t definitive, but more conclusive... READ MORE
Doctors safely edit genes to fight cancer
The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have had it so far, but it’s too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported in November. The doctors were able to take immune system cells from the patients’ blood and alter them genetically to help them recognize and fight cancer, with... READ MORE
Five things to do before cancer treatment
If you just found out you need cancer treatment, there are ways to prepare yourself. Being ready will help you overcome the uncertainty and anxiety that so often goes along with starting treatment. No matter what, remember who’s in charge: you! Too many people don’t realize that they — not their doctors — are in charge of their own health. Here are five things you should do to ... READ MORE
Over 40? Screen for breast cancer
Q: I heard October is breast cancer awareness month. Do both men and women need to check for breast cancer? A: October is indeed breast cancer awareness month, and it is important to take your health into your own hands (literally and metaphorically) by keeping up with annual breast cancer screenings. Although more common in females, breast cancer can develop in men, too. Therefore,... READ MORE
More should get breast cancer gene test
More women may benefit from gene testing for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, especially if they’ve already survived cancer once, an influential health group recommended in August. At issue are genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. When they’re mutated, the body can’t repair damaged DNA as well, greatly increasing the chances of breast, ovarian and certain other cancers. Gene... READ MORE
