I work in a cancer research group at MIT that investigates the development of gastrointestinal cancers in particular. Consequently colorectal cancer is just one such type of this disease that has become a regular part of my everyday work life. This deadly condition, however, is anything but routine.pp

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What Is Colorectal Cancer?
This form of cancer develops in the large intestine. The colon is the first 4-5 feet of the large intestine, and represents the largest portion of it – it is divided into ascending, descending, and sigmoid regions. The rectum comprises only the last few inches of the large intestine.

The colon acts to remove water and nutrients from partially digested food that enters the colon from the small intestine, turning the remainder into waste material. This waste material is the stool that passes through the colon into the rectum, then leaving the body via the anus.

Collectively, cancers arising at either location are known as colorectal cancer. Cancer begins when cells lining these regions of the large intestine are transformed and begin to grow abnormally and out of control. These abnormal cells continue to proliferate, and eventually form a mass of tissue that we know as a tumor. A tumor can be benign or malignant. The adenomatous polyps that can arise in the large intestine are typically benign. They can, however, progress to become malignant (cancerous) if they are not removed.
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Incidence Of Colorectal Cancer
It is estimated that in 2011, over 140,000 people in the USA will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and at least 49,000 of them will die as a result of the condition. This is the 3rd most common type of cancer in this country, and represents the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Over the past 20 years, however, the death rate from colorectal cancer has been decreasing, largely due to increasing use of established diagnostic screening techniques, among other factors.

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This month is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, representing an opportunity to promote and encourage screening for, and therefore aid early detection of breast cancer. p

What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor of the breast. It arises in the tissues of the breast, most commonly in the ducts that drain milk to the nipple, as well as the milk-producing cells. Approximately 1 in 8 women in this country will develop breast cancer – it is the second most common form of cancer in women, with skin cancer leading the list.

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Warning Signs
It is important to remember that breast cancer may have no signs or symptoms, and may not be painful, especially in its early stages. Any changes in the breast should be reported immediately to a physician, including findings such as:

  • A lump in the breast or underarm region
  • Any changes in the skin covering the breast
  • Pain in any region of the breast
  • Any change in breast shape or size
  • Abnormal discharge from the nipple
  • Nipple inversion

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Screening Guidelines

  • Breast Self-Examination: Women in their early 20s should practice this regularly in order to become familiar with how their breast tissue and underarm regions feel. This may enable early detection of some abnormalities that can be immediately reported to a physician.
  • Clinical Breast Examination: In addition to breast self-examination, a breast exam by a physician should also be incorporated into an annual physical examination.
  • Mammography: The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin receiving an annual mammogram starting at 40 years of age. Although not perfect, mammography is an extremely accurate means of detecting breast cancer. This low-dose x-ray procedure can detect up to 90% of cases of breast cancer that occur in women without any symptoms.

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How Can You Help Yourself?
Unfortunately there is currently no way to prevent breast cancer, which is why regular screening mammograms remain important for early detection. Thanks to this, as well as improved treatments, however, the news isn’t all bad for patients diagnosed with breast cancer. And in fact, millions of women now survive breast cancer, living longer than ever after a diagnosis. And although we can’t totally prevent breast cancer developing, we can take steps to keep the risks low as possible by not smoking, eating nutritious food, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising routinely, and limiting alcohol.

All in all, you have a much better chance of surviving breast cancer if it’s detected early. So if you haven’t done so already, talk to your physician about your risk for this disease, especially if breast cancer or ovarian cancer runs in your family.  Your doctor will be able to help you decide when to have a mammogram, and also how frequently you should be screened.

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How Can You Help Others?
If you literally have $2 to spare (or more!), please consider donating to the Susan G. Komen “3 Day For The Cure” – Cathy Miller is about to embark upon her 8th of these walks in the fight against cancer.  She still needs a wee bit more by way of donations to allow her to undertake the walk, so dig around under the sofa or in that old never-used-teapot! Any spare few dollars that you can find will be massively welcomed! Visit her page to make a small donation today. Your few dollars will make a world of difference.

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Image credit Free Digital Photos.

A third of us are infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can be transmitted to us by animals. Cats represent a major source of this organism, and are therefore a common route of infection for us since they continually shed the parasite. Consequently we can become infected with Toxoplasma gondii if we come into contact with anything that is contaminated with the organism as a result of a cat’s shedding. Some ways include:

  • Contaminated soil  (when gardening in an area where cats have defecated)
  • Cleaning the cat litter box
  • Contaminated water
  • Undercooked meat (lamb, pork, and venison especially – these animals are infected by cats in the same way as we are)
  • Cooking utensils coming into contact with undercooked, infected meats

Although many people are infected with this parasite, most are unaffected by it, and show no clinical symptoms since the immune system effectively prevents it from causing disease; however, clinical toxoplasmosis can be a real problem for people with weakened immune systems, such as:

  • HIV infected patients
  • Chemotherapy patients
  • Organ-transplant recipients

Additionally, it poses a particular risk for unborn babies. A  woman who comes into contact with the organism for the first time during her pregnancy may transmit it to the fetus in utero, resulting in birth defects or even infant fatalities. Transmission of the parasite to an unborn baby, however, is less likely if the woman has previously come into contact with the organism at least six months or more, prior to becoming pregnant.

Links With Brain Cancer?

Interestingly, a recent study reports a correlation between rates of infection of Toxoplasma gondii, and the incidence of brain cancer. Global data on brain cancer in people from 37 countries was collected and compared with the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in those regions. The research group reported that brain cancer rates increased in countries where the parasite was more prevalent.

This ecological study, however, merely points to a correlation between the two events – it does not imply that the parasite actually causes brain cancer in people. And certainly the opposite could be true – it’s not impossible that brain cancer could be the driving factor behind Toxoplasma gondii infection.

So as it stands, this report does not prove cause and association, but is predominantly hypothesis-generating, and does provoke scientific curiosity. In the words of one of the authors:“These were the best data available and we felt they were sufficient to take the first step. Working with actual brain cancer patients is an obvious next step, but it would be an expensive proposition.  It is a lot easier to justify the second, expensive step when you have some evidence for the hypothesis. We are hoping that our results motivate others in the field to do further studies.”

Thomas, Lafferty, Brodeur, Elguero, Gauthier-Clerc & Misse. 2011. Incidence of adult brain cancers is higher in countries where the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is common. Biology Letters

 

A recent study indicates that being married might actually improve the likelihood of survival for patients with colon cancer.

Researchers studied the medical records of 127, 753 patients and determined that married people with colon cancer were 14% less likely to die than unmarried patients with the disease. Interestingly, the benefit of marriage was almost identical in both men and women. The study also found that married patients were typically diagnosed at earlier stages of colon cancer, and opted for more aggressive treatment – similar to findings from studies of other types of cancer.

Although the reason for these findings isn’t totally clear, the researchers suggest that the support and caregiving from spouses may result in improved cancer management, and better disease outcomes as a result.

Colon cancer is the 3rd most common type of cancer in the USA, and represents a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The death rate from this type of cancer, however, has been decreasing over the past 20 years. One reason for this is likely the increased use of screening techniques to diagnose colon cancer – this in turn allows polyps to be detected and removed earlier before they can become cancerous. It also allows colon cancers to be detected at earlier stages when the disease is actually easier to treat and potentially cure.

Consequently there are currently over one million survivors of colorectal cancer in the USA.

Li Wang et al. Marital status and colon cancer outcomes in US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registries: Does marriage affect cancer survival by gender and stage? Cancer Epidemiology, 2011 DOI: http://bit.ly/ig0pCz