Cancer

We've all probably had acid reflux, otherwise known as "heartburn," from time to time, perhaps after eating too much or eating certain types of food. However, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a serious, chronic disease for some individuals, and overeating is not the only cause.

According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House of the NIH, the causes of GERD remain unclear. Research shows that in individuals with GERD, the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes while the rest of the esophagus is working. In addition, anatomical abnormalities such as a hiatal hernia may also contribute and such hernias can occur at any age.

Other factors that may contribute are obesity, pregnancy, smoking and certain foods.

Chronic GERD that goes without treatment can cause serious complications such as damage, bleeding or ulcers on the lining of the esophagus or narrowing of the esophagus. Some people can develop Barrett's esophagus, in which the cells in the esophageal lining change and can eventually turn into esophageal cancer, which is usually fatal.

You do not need to have classic "heartburn" symptoms to have GERD; other symptoms include a dry cough, asthma symptoms or trouble swallowing. If you have been using antacids for more than two weeks, it's time to see a doctor.

Acid reflux is real and treatable. If you or someone you love experiences chronic heartburn, make sure you see your physician or a gastroenterologist for treatment.

Source: theCancerBlog

(NewsTarget) For the last several years, HPV vaccines have been marketed to the public and mandated in compulsory injections for young girls in several states based on the idea that they prevent cervical cancer. Now, NewsTarget has obtained documents from the FDA and other sources (see below) which reveal that the FDA has been well aware for several years that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) has no direct link to cervical cancer.

NewsTarget has also learned that HPV vaccines have been proven to be flatly worthless in clearing the HPV virus from women who have already been exposed to HPV (which includes most sexually active women), calling into question the scientific justification of mandatory "vaccinate everyone" policies.

Furthermore, this story reveals evidence that the vaccine currently being administered for HPV -- Gardasil -- may increase the risk of precancerous cervical lesions by an alarming 44.6 percent in some women. The vaccine, it turns out, may be far more dangerous to the health of women than doing nothing at all.

by Mike Adams

World cancer experts have finally declared what NewsTarget readers learned nearly four years ago: That processed meats cause cancer, and anyone seeking to avoid cancer should avoid eating all processed meats for life.

Hundreds of cancer researchers took part in a five-year project spanning more than 7,000 clinical studies and designed to document the links between diet and cancer. Their conclusion, published in the World Cancer Research Fund's report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective (2007), has rocked the health world with a declaration that all people should immediately stop buying and eating processed meat products and that all processed meat should be avoided for life!

(NewsTarget) Many people have heard the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. When it comes to cancer, this couldn’t be truer. To date several billion dollars, over 30 years have been spent on finding that elusive cure for cancer. What about cancer prevention? It is estimated that a woeful fraction of that amount of money has been spent on cancer prevention. The statistics from the Nutrition Journal state that cancer can be prevented in 30-40 percent of known cases through lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight. The 30-40 percent stated as preventable by the Nutrition Journal, many in fact, be a conservative estimate, as suggested by many wellness practitioners. Cancer costs the US 107 billion annually. Finding a cure is costing us a great deal, but lack of prevention is costing us more.

NewsTarget published a very interesting article regarding different factors that are damaging our health. 

Parents directly poison their children every day with products far more dangerous than Mattel toys.

 Read the full article below

Women who had their tonsils removed in childhood may be at increased risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer, according to University at Buffalo researchers.

Study leader Theodore Brasky said an apparent association may be related to the loss of protective function of the tonsils when they are removed.

Alternatively, tonsils that needed to be removed may have been markers for severe or chronic infections in childhood, and that such infections cause inflammation that may contribute to cancer, Brasky said.

Abortion and miscarriage do not raise the risk of breast cancer, according to a study published Monday by the US National Cancer Institute in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The 10-year study, performed on a sample of 105,716 US participants, rejects prior studies that suggested a link between prematurely terminated pregnancies and breast cancer.

The subjects were nurses aged 29-46 at the start of the study. They answered questions every two years via anonymous questionnaire about their medical history, including whether they had abortions, miscarriages and breast cancer.

"Among this predominantly pre-menopausal population, neither induced nor spontaneous abortion was associated with the incidence of breast cancer," said the study's authors from Brigham and Women's hospital and Harvard Medical School in the northeastern state of Massachusetts.

Scientists have pinpointed a set of common variations in human DNA that signal a higher risk for prostate cancer in men who carry them. Some of these variations are more common in African-American men, which may help explain why prostate cancer rates are higher in African Americans than in men of other races.

The findings, published in 3 separate studies, may lead to genetic tests that will help identify those most at risk for the disease. The findings may also help unlock the biological mysteries behind prostate cancer, which could speed up the discovery of new treatments.

The 3 studies focus on DNA variations located on chromosome 8 in some men. The variations may be linked to as many as 68% of prostate cancer cases in African Americans, 60% in Japanese Americans, 46% in Latinos, 45% in native Hawaiians and 32% in whites, the authors of 1 of the studies calculate.

CUTTING-edge technology to improve breast cancer detection rates by 30 per cent will be rolled out across the state under a package announced yesterday.

The $26 million hi-tech breast screening process will boost cancer discovery rates by introducing digital intelligence to replace standard X-ray films.

The 21st-century system is particularly useful for picking up breast cancers in younger women, whose breast tissue is usually too dense to be filmed accurately by the old machines.

Breast cancer expert Dr Wendy Vincent said the new equipment would provide instant images for both patient and doctor and would be invaluable in regional NSW.

Scientists surveying the human genome have found that many more gene mutations drive the development of cancer than previously thought.

The survey is reported in the journal Nature.

In the largest survey of its kind, an international team comprising over 60 scientists from the UK, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Belgium, USA and Australia, working for the Cancer Genome Project, examined more than 500 genes and 200 cancers and sequenced more than 250 million letters of DNA code.

They found about 120 new genes that drive the development of cancer cells.