Recently in General Cancer News Category

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

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

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.

A gene that prevents cancer also controls the skin's suntanning machinery, researchers report in the March 9, 2007 issue of the journal Cell.

"The p53 tumor suppressor is commonly mutated in human cancer," explained David Fisher, director of the Melanoma Program in Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Now, we've found that it plays a role in the skin's tanning response."

The researchers also linked the p53-driven process to other instances of skin darkening not associated with the sun

People at average risk for colon cancer shouldn't take aspirin or painkillers like ibuprofen to try to prevent the disease, a federal task force advises, because of the risk of bleeding and other potential health problems.

The recommendation for the first time by the US Preventive Services Task Force includes those with a family history of colorectal cancer.

The panel said that potential risks of taking more than 300 milligrams a day of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen - brand names include Motrin, Advil and Aleve - include a higher risk for stroke, intestinal bleeding or kidney failure.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc is preparing for a "renaissance" of its oncology business, led by Tykerb, a novel pill that is expected to win U.S. regulatory approval for breast cancer next month.

Oncology head Paolo Paoletti said Monday's launch of a Phase III study in head and neck cancer underlined Tykerb's potential in more tumor types, while four additional cancer medicines could win a marketing green light by 2010.

"We have five drugs that can be approved in the next few years," Paoletti said in an interview.

"If you compare that with the leaders in the field, Roche and Novartis, they have each had four drugs approved in 10 years.

Self healing does occur for people with cancer. It doesn’t yet happen as often as it does with the cold or with the flu, but it can. Remember that the same flu which kills an elderly person may be shaken off and healed in a younger person. Cancer is very different than the flu, but numerous cases exist of cancer being shaken off in the same way.

There are a number of practices that can be quickly and easily instituted into your life which will help to increase you capacity for self healing of any disease, and in particular cancer. The concepts of self-healing are both accepted and rejected by the Western medical establishment. This means that they accept it in some cases, such as the common cold or the flu but don’t accept it in other cases, like cancer.

Science Daily — There is an urgent reason to study stem cells: stem cells are at the heart of some, if not all, cancers. Mounting evidence implicates a clutch of rogue stem cells brandishing ‘epigenetic’ marks as the main culprits in cancer. Wiping out tumours for good, some biologists believe, depends on uprooting these wayward stem cells.

A team in the Netherlands has uncovered a key protein that could stop these stem cells from becoming malignant. “This is a hot topic in the cancer field,” Maarten van Lohuizen of The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam told participants at a EuroSTELLS workshop, held in Montpellier, France, 23-24 January. “To be successful in cancer therapy you need to target these stem cells: they are intrinsically resistant to chemotherapy.”

Polycomb proteins have emerged as key players in cancer pathogenesis. They are powerful epigenetic regulators that normally silence genes without altering the cell’s DNA. Compounds that regulate polycomb could result in novel anticancer drugs that shrink malignant tissue, and prevent cancer recurrence, a common problem with most chemotherapies.