Some Answers To Colon Cancer Questions

Some Answers To Colon Cancer Questions
By Groshan Fabiola

1.What is colon cancer?

Cancer is a disease which can affect cells from all organs. The colon cancer affects the cells of the colon, determining them to proliferate in an uncontrollable way. This mass of abnormal cells will form a tumor inside the colon. The cancer of the intestine is quite frequent and two thirds of this type of cancer is situated in the colon.

2.Who can develop colon cancer?

You are at risk of developing colon cancer if you drink a lot of alcohol and you are obese. Also if other members of your family had colon cancer or breast cancer you could inherit some genes that make you more sensible to cancer. If you have polyps on your intestine and you leave them untreated for a long time, they can transform into malign polyps, meaning that cancer had occurred.

3.Is my diet involved in cancer development?

Following a diet which is rich in fats and proteins could expose you to cancer. If you eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and high fiber foods you can prevent colon cancer from occurring.

4.Does colon cancer come with any symptoms?

There are some symptoms which could announce that cancer is installing, but they also appear in other diseases. Some of the symptoms are: seeing blood in your bowels, alternation of diarrhea with constipation, and low abdominal pains.

5.How does the doctor know that I have cancer?

The doctor will perform a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy to examine the insides of the colon. Also x-rays of the colon will be performed. These methods will see if tumors are present inside the colon. In order to stage colon cancer CT and ultrasound will be used.

6.Can colon cancer be treated?

Generally the most indicated procedure in trying to treat colon cancer is surgery. By surgery the doctors will remove the tumor from the colon. If the cancer spread, giving metastasis, the doctors will recommend you chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These are hard bearable due to their side effects like nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, fever, and tiredness.

7.Is the treatment effective or not?

If the colon cancer was diagnosed in its early stages and it has not spread to other organs the treatment will be 90% effective and patients will survive even five years after. If the cancer has given metastasis the treatment will not be so effective any more and half of the diagnosed patients will live less that five years.

For greater resources on colon cancer or especially about colon cancer symptoms please visit this link http://www.colon-cancer-center.com/colon-cancer-symptoms.htm

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Discover How Breast Cancer Awareness Can Benefit You

Discover How Breast Cancer Awareness Can Benefit You
By Jon Arnold

You have undoubted run across many of the breast cancer awareness days and sessions that appear around the country sporadically. These are usually put on by a local group, a church, or sponsored by the American Cancer Society to promote breast cancer awareness in the community.

You might be wondering why your breast cancer awareness level should be raised and what benefit that represents for you, but all you need to do is look at the statistics about the reported cases of breast cancer. The reported cases of breast cancer has been rising steadily year after year, and for the coming year, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 200,000 diagnosed cases. Even scarier is that they also estimate that more than 40,000 of those cases of breast cancer will die from it.

Here is an even scarier fact for you -- did you know that breast cancer is not limited to women? Yes it is true. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 1600 cases of breast cancer in MEN this year, and that about 400 of them will die. So are you starting to see where breast cancer awareness is starting to be important to you and your health? With statistics like this, it is no wonder that they want to promote breast cancer awareness as much as possible.

Many people do not take this disease seriously, even despite these statistics. Although it is difficult to believe, there are many people who have not had a checkup or medical exam in the past 4, 5, or 10 years or more. How can you possibly take your health seriously if you do not have regular checkups and exams from your doctor or medical professional? One way is of course to raise your breast cancer awareness level since that is a disease where there is currently not a known cure.

Your best option for fighting breast cancer is to get early detection and early diagnosis. When breast cancer is detected early, your chances of being able to cope with it, to fight it, and via treatments like chemo, there are many documented cases of people who have beat it. But if it had not been detected and diagnosed early, those would almost certainly be different stories with radically different outcomes. What about those people who have not had a medical examination in the past 4 or 5 years? If they have developed breast cancer in that timeframe, it will certainly not be considered an early diagnosis and could even mean another fatality from breast cancer.

You need to become knowledgeable about the typical symptoms of breast cancer, and if you detect any of those symptoms at home, you should schedule a checkup with your doctor as soon as possible. For women of ages 18 to about 40, you should plan to schedule a checkup with your doctor once about every 2-3 years. For women over 40, that checkup should be not less than annually. Although breast cancer has not conclusively been determined to be hereditary, you might want to consider having checkups even more often is there is a history of cancer in your family tree. Keeping these statistics in mind, your level of breast cancer awareness should be raised where these regular checkups should be at the forefront of your mind.

Raise your breast cancer awareness levels and get those checkups. Be aware of the symptoms and if you see any of them, be sure to get an exam soon. Remember, the best chances for beating breast cancer are early detection and early diagnosis.

Jon is a prolific writer with expertise in a number of areas. Find out more information about Breast Cancer Awareness at his web site, http://breast-cancer-explained.com/breastcancerawareness.php

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7 Stages of Cancer Development

7 Stages of Cancer Development
By Siew Yin Gark

You must have heard of this statistic that out of every 3 of us, one of us will get cancer. But do you know that back in 1901, only 1 in 8,000 got cancer? Our body actually tries in so many ways to give us all the warnings and symptoms to tell us that something is not right and we need to do something about it!

Let us see from the Holistic Health Science point of view how cancer develops in 7 stages.

First stage, Enervation.
It is not recognized as a disease yet. Most people will just feel tired, exhausted and worn-out at this stage. The best way to recover from enervation is to get enough sleep as sleep is the greatest energy charger! Inadequate sleep and rest are the main causes of enervation.

Second stage, Toxemia or intoxication.
Toxemia is a state where toxins saturate our body. This happens when we fail to observe our capacities and ignore the symptoms of enervation. We continue to overwork, sleep late and are under great stress.

Third stage, Irritation is when we feel itchy and uncomfortable, or when we have irritating but not painful areas.
Irritation results from toxic substances being sensed by our nervous system. Our body is giving us signal to move away from this condition.

Fourth stage, Inflammation.
Its only at this stage that doctors recognize it as disease as it involves pain. Maybe youve experienced this before: you completely lost your appetite; and you don't feel hungry at all even youve not been eating for the whole day, all you want to do is just to sleep and rest! Sounds familiar? The area becomes inflamed due to the continuous irritation of toxic substances. Appendicitis (appendix), tonsillitis (tonsils), hepatitis (liver) and nephritis (kidney) are all inflammation but in different areas.

Fifth stage, Ulceration.
Our body use ulcer as a way to drain toxic built-up, it will heal if causes are stopped. Cells and tissue structures are being damaged due to our bodys inability to live in increasing toxin.

Sixth stage, Induration, or often called tumor formation.
Induration is the process where our tissue hardened so that ulcer and toxic materials can be kept inside and sealed off by the hardening of the tissue around them. This is a way of quarantining the toxins. This shows how our body tries so hard to protect us even at this stage! However, if we continue with our destructive lifestyles and diet patterns, our body will eventually dissolve the hard tissue when the toxin level is so high and it can no loner take it! This means the toxins will leak and circulate to other parts of the body, and that leads to cancer...

Final stage, Cancer.
Our cells have become parasitic at this stage. Cancer is usually fatal, it can ONLY be reversible with the condition of us stopping the causes and indulge in healthful practices, as healthful practices are the universal panacea!

Siew Yin Gark's philosophy has always been that there are no quick fixes to staying healthy. She believes that we can attain health only through proper diet, exercise, sleep and rest and the results will be long term. You can get her latest tips and sharing on health for FREE at her blog: http://www.greathealthandus.com

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Ovarian Cancer Prognosis

Ovarian Cancer Prognosis
By Eddie Tobey

Epithelial carcinoma of the ovary or Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecologic diseases. It is serious and has a very high mortality rate. It is the fifth most frequent cause of cancer death in women. It is most common in women above fifty years of age. The cancer can appear in younger women too. It is seen that women having genetic predisposition are at greater risk. Clinical statistics also show less cases of this malignancy in women using contraceptive medication. Women who have had early pregnancy or have more children also seem to be at a lower risk factor.

Prognostic factors are used to predict the likely course of ovarian cancer. Stage is the only unanimously acknowledged prognostic factor for patients with ovarian cancer. In case of advanced stage patients, volume of residual disease is considered as a diagnostic factor. To begin a prognosis and establish treatment, the physician needs to know the cell type, stage, and grade of the disease. Other factors that may be important include the patient?s age, histopathologic grade, DNA ploidy, Peritoneal fluid cytology and CA125.

The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), has created standards for the staging of gynecological cancers. Both surgical and pathological findings are taken into account, hence it is called surgicopathologic.

Most ovarian cancer symptoms are seen only in the late stages of the disease. Ovarian cancer is treated with surgery to remove the cancerous cells. This is followed by chemotherapy. It is recommended that people experiencing vaginal bleeding, uncharacteristic period cycles, or intestinal problems should see a physician right away, so that such cases can be detected at the earliest.

Unfortunately, like most of the cancers, the exact cause of ovarian cancer is not known. It is also difficult to find precise information due to contradictory studies.

Ovarian Cancer provides detailed information on Ovarian Cancer, Ovarian Cancer Symptoms, Ovarian Cancer Treatments, Ovarian Cancer Stages and more. Ovarian Cancer is affiliated with Mesotherapy Before And After.

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Breast Cancer Causes Symptoms and Treatment

Breast Cancer - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
By Sushma Jain

Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) growth that begins in the tissues of the breast. Over the course of a lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is a cancer of the breast tissue, which can occur in both women and men. Breast cancer may be one of the oldest known forms of cancer tumors in humans.Worldwide, breast cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer). Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer. Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be a result of damage to DNA. How this mechanism may occur comes from several known or hypothesized factors (such as exposure to ionizing radiation, or viral mutagenesis). Some factors lead to an increased rate of mutation (exposure to estrogens) and decreased repair (the BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53) genes. Alcohol generally appears to increase the risk of breast cancer.

Breast cancer can also occur in men, although it rarely does. Experts predict 178,000 women and 2,000 men will develop breast cancer in the United States. There are several different types of breast cancer. First is Ductal carcinoma begins in the cells lining the ducts that bring milk to the nipple and accounts for more than 75% of breast cancers. Second is Lobular carcinoma begins in the milk-secreting glands of the breast but is otherwise fairly similar in its behavior to ductal carcinoma. Other varieties of breast cancer can arise from the skin, fat, connective tissues, and other cells present in the breast. Some women have what is known as HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2, short for human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, is a gene that helps control cell growth, division, and repair. When cells have too many copies of this gene, cell growth speeds up.

Causes of Breast Cancer

Simply being a woman is the main risk for breast cancer. While men can also get the disease, it is about 100 times more common in women than in men. The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Nearly 8 out of 10 breast cancers are found in women age 50 or older. About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are linked to changes (mutations) in certain genes. The most common gene changes are those of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. The relatives can be from either the mothers or fathers side of the family. Woman with cancer in one breast has a greater chance of getting a new cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast. This is different from the first cancer coming back Many experts now believe that the main reason for this is because they have faster growing tumors. Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer. Certain types of abnormal biopsy results can be linked to a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.Women who have had radiation treatment to the chest area (as treatment for another cancer) earlier in life have a greatly increased risk of breast cancer

Some pregnant women were given the drug DES (diethylstilbestrol) because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby. Recent studies have shown that these women (and their daughters who were exposed to DES while in the uterus), have a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Use of alcohol is clearly linked to a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Women who have 1 drink a day have a very small increased risk. Those who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1 times the risk of women who drink no alcohol. The American Cancer Society suggests limiting the amount you drink.Being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially for women after change of life and if the weight gain took place during adulthood. Also, the risk seems to be higher if the extra fat is in the waist area. Breast-feeding and pregnancy: Some studies have shown that breast-feeding slightly lowers breast cancer risk, especially if the breast-feeding lasts 1 to 2 years. This could be because breast-feeding lowers a womans total number of menstrual periods, as does pregnancy. Women who began having periods early (before 12 years of age) or who went through the change of life (menopause) after the age of 55 have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

1.Lumps.

2.Rash.

3.Breast Pain.

4.Cysts.

5.Nipple Discharge.

6.Inverted Nipple.

Treatment of Breast Cancer

1.Hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen).

2.Chemotherapy.

3.Radiotherapy.

4.Surgery.

Sushma writes health articles for health care guide.

She also writes articles for women health.

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What Not To Say When Your Loved One Tells You She Has Breast Cancer

What Not To Say When Your Loved One Tells You She Has Breast Cancer
By Diana Rivers

Your best friend just told you she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. You have been friends for years, but now you dont know what to say. Your mind goes into overdrive, suddenly thinking up and casting off all kinds of remarks and platitudes. So, what exactly do you say and how do you say it?

This scenario is being played out every day across the country. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 213,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. With numbers like that, it is critical that women get the support they need right from the beginning.

What a breast cancer patient wont tell you is that those first reactions and subsequent comments made early in her diagnosis have a huge impact on her state of mind throughout her cancer journey. Not all comments are helpful, and in fact, many well-meaning statements can actually be hurtful.

The first thing to keep in mind is that a newly-diagnosed person is not her usual self. Her sense of who she is has just been turned upside down. Theres no way to sugar-coat it: she has just been told she may be dying. She experiences panic, dread, fear, depression, despair, hopelessness, and other emotions, often from one minute to the next. Her grounded world has fallen away leaving her brittle and vulnerable.

Later on her the cancer journey, a survivor may become acclimated to a new identity of a woman with breast cancer and a different sort of normalcy will start to form. It doesnt take the place of that once-secure reality, but it allows life to go on.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on a cold January morning via the telephone. Yes, thats right: by telephone. I then called family and friends for support. Heres a few of the first reactions people had to the news of my breast cancer. I like to call this, What NOT to say to a woman who just told you she has breast cancer.

You will be OK. I promise! (Lets be real. No one can promise you that you will be OK. Youre already not OK.) While a lot of women are successfully pushed breast cancer out of their lives, some will die. You dont have to say anything about that, but just remember that the woman knows she faces a journey of the unknown, so dont lie. Just simply say you will be there for her every step of the way.

There are so many things medicine can do these days. The treatments are so much better than they used to be. While that sounds encouraging, my mother, who died of breast cancer in 1979, was treated with surgery, chemo, radiation, which was exactly what I was treated with last year. If you arent an oncologist, avoid statements about what treatments can and cannot do these days. Support her choice of treatment even if you dont like it.

You got it early, didnt you? Dont ask this question! OK, first, what if she didnt get it early? Do you want to make her feel worse about that? Secondly, what if it was detected early, but early detection doesnt save her? In spite of what you may think, not all women survive cancer with early detection. Dont push her to tell you the stage at which her cancer was detected. Keep your curiosity to yourself. If she wants to talk about it, she will.

You have to keep a positive attitude. It helps you heal. What a load of malarkey. Lets be real: if being positive was all it took to have a good medical outcome, we could wish away all our illnesses. The American Cancer Society notes that although optimism has been promoted by some as a path to longer survival for cancer patients, in reality the scientific evidence of its true role has been (at best) mixed. So dont dump that extra burden on her. What if she doesnt feel positive, but instead feels sick, fatigued, puffy, depressed, angry, or drugged? Negative feelings are entirely appropriate under the circumstances. Let your friend express her feelings around you without the pressure to be a Pollyanna. Thats you being a real friend.

Having said that, dont become Debbie Downer either. Since most people are just plain frightened by the topic of death, they react to cancer in ways to make themselves, not the cancer patient, feel better. Bad news dredges up memories of surgeries, emergencies, and/or traumas for some people, and they just cant seem to stop themselves from sharing all about those experiences, usually in vivid detail.

If the urge is there to tell a newly diagnosed woman about your sisters breast cancer, please repress it. Dont blab about other traumas to an already-worried person. Hospitals, doctors, needles, procedures, the euphemistic discomfort are not areas that she needs to dwell on right now. She could be on her last nerve and have no more resources to absorb these stories. Trust me; you are not the only one telling her. The accumulation of such tales over the course of a day would send the strongest of us to hide under the covers.

In my breast cancer support group we joke that we could make big money making smiley-face tee-shirts for breast cancer patients that say: Thank you for NOT being compelled to tell me your (or other person you have known) disease, surgery, illness, death, dying, trauma, injury, loss, or similar story. Talk less and listen more.

Show her she has real, tangible help. If you are close enough, offer to go with her as her as an advocate through the medical and/or insurance system. Take notes for her at doctor appointments. Make meals for her and her family so she doesnt have to cook. Buy loungewear sets so she can rest without being in t-shirt and pajama pants all the time. Run the vacuum on Tuesdays. Read to her or tape her favorite shows. Tune in to her likes and needs. Send her chocolates if she likes them; peanut brittle if she doesnt.

And most of all, dont make a big show of concern in the beginning of her cancer journey and then forget about her over the subsequent months or years. Yes, being a support person for someone with cancer isnt easy, but you can find great joy in it, too.

Help the woman you know with breast cancer by laying a foundation of support and love that she can return to in her mind over and over again. Heres one of my favorites: You are an exceptional, irreplaceable person in my life. You are rare and matchless. I want you to be as healthy and happy as you can possibly be, and I plan to do whatever I can to make that happen for you. You can count of me. Im not going anywhere.

Diana Rivers is a free-lance author and breast cancer survivor living in Appleton, Wisconsin with her husband and three cats.

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Your Lifestyle and Your Risk for Bladder Cancer

Your Lifestyle and Your Risk for Bladder Cancer
By Jon Stout

Each year more and more research is conducted on how to reduce your risk of developing cancer. For some forms of cancer, its fairly simple to understand how to reduce risk. For example, we know that most lung cancer victims are smokers, and that many cases of skin cancer are caused by unprotected over exposure to the sun.

For other cancers, understanding how to reduce our risk is not so simple, because we dont really understand what causes them.

Even in cancers that we dont fully understand, scientists are working to determine how our lifestyle might increase our risks. For example, a study was conducted in Nagoya, Japan to help better understand the lifestyle factors that might contribute to the development of urinary bladder cancer.

The study also evaluated lifestyle habits that actually reduce your risk of bladder cancer. The findings were interesting, and can help us make lifestyle choices that can protect our health.

This study examined the following lifestyle habits and their ability to increase or reduce risk for urinary bladder cancer:

Cigarette Smoking Cigarette Smoking was found to increase the risk of developing urinary bladder cancer. The increased risk was more significant in women than men.

Drinking cocoa Interestingly enough, drinking cocoa was associated with an elevation in risk of urinary bladder cancer in men, but not in women.

Hair Color Women who used hair color had a slightly elevated risk of developing urinary bladder cancer if they also smoke. However, non smoking women had no significant risk factor if they used hair color.

Drinking coffee- Coffee drinking showed no elevated risk but it showed no benefit, either.

Drinking alcohol No significant risk was associated with alcohol intake.

Drinking sodas No significant risk was associated with drinking sodas.

Drinking fruit juice- Fruit juice was associated with a decreased risk in developing urinary bladder cancer in men. No risk or benefit was notable in women.

Drinking Tea Women who drank black tea and powdered green tea showed a reduced risk of developing urinary bladder cancer. The figures for men showed no increase or decrease of risk.

Whats So Great About Tea and Fruit?

This study echoes the findings of many other studies, indicating that tea and fruit are of benefit in preventing cancer. Scientists are now fully beginning to understand how important these substances are to protecting our health. But, why are they so important? Well, the answer is in anti-oxidants.

Anti-oxidants have the power to combat free radicals. Free radicals are produced naturally by our body during the process of converting the food we eat to energy. These free radicals speed up the aging process, and can cause clogged arteries, cancer and other disease by damaging our cells and DNA.

Fruits, vegetables and tea are filled with anti-oxidants. A diet rich in these foods, therefore, help rid our bodies of the free radicals that put our health at risk. Some foods and beverages have more potent anti-oxidants than others. Doctors recommend that we make these super foods part of our everyday life.

Fruits

All fresh fruits are rich in anti-oxidants. However, the ones that are the most potent include blueberries, pomegranates, strawberries and cranberries.

Vegetables

Again, fresh vegetables supply a good dose of anti-oxidants. Tomatoes, which contain lycopene, are one of the best vegetables you can eat. However, artichokes and red beans are also very good anti-oxidant sources.

Tea

Tea is a simple way to get your anti-oxidants. Tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant. There are many types of tea on the market, but all tea comes from the same plant.

The difference between green, white and black tea comes from the way the tea is processed. Black tea is fermented; white and green are not. Green and white tea have been found to be better sources of anti-oxidants because they fermenting that black tea goes through changes the anti-oxidants into compounds that are not as healthy.

The study quoted above found that black tea had the same benefits as green tea in preventing urinary bladder cancer in women. However, most other studies conducted on the benefits of tea have concluded that green tea is better.

Green tea began gaining attention because of the significantly lower incidence of cancer and heart disease in Asian culture. Even though Asians are more likely to smoke than Americans, they have lower incidence of cancer and heart disease even lung cancer. It appears that their high consumption of green tea protects their health in a way that other dietary habits do not.

Research has even suggested that green tea may be effective at treating patients who already have cancer. Several studies, on different forms of cancer, have shown that traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, are more effective when green tea is administered along with the treatment. Green tea seems to increase the concentration of the drugs in the cancerous cells and slows down cancer progression, perhaps even preventing metastasis.

Much of the research that has been performed has been on mice or in-vitro, though the study outlined above was performed on humans. The next step in truly understanding how foods, including tea, can protect our health, preventing cancer and other disease, is to conduct more human trials. The results could take years, because human trials on prevention require following subjects over a long period of time.

Preventing cancer is a national health concern. Certainly, much more study is required before we can gain true understanding of how to protect our health. One things for sure, however; a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and tea is a good start!

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea, white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea) and chai. Visit goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.

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The Value Of Radiation Therapy And Chemotherapy After Surgery For Pancreatic Cancer

The Value Of Radiation Therapy And Chemotherapy After Surgery For Pancreatic Cancer
By Carol Kornmehl

Pancreatic cancer, which generally has a very poor prognosis, is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths. It killed greater than 32,000 Americans last year. Therefore, researchers are investigating methods to improve the outlook.

A large study recently demonstrated that patients who underwent surgical removal of the pancreas, who were given both radiation therapy and chemotherapy afterwards, derived improved survival.

When radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy are administered to a person who has undergone an operation to remove all the visible cancer, it is termed adjuvant therapy. An example of the routine use of adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy is that of a woman who has had a lumpectomy to remove a malignant breast tumor.

Investigators reviewed the records of 472 people who had complete surgical removal of the pancreas. All had negative margins, meaning a rim of normal tissue surrounded the cancer cells. Patients whose disease spread beyond the pancreas or whose disease could not be removed entirely were excluded from the study. Also excluded were patients who had a slow growing variant of pancreatic cancer.

At the end of the review, the records of 454 patients were eligible for analysis. A comparison was then made of those who received adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy concurrently after surgery versus those who did not.

Over half of the patients received adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy (274 out of 454 patients). 50 percent of these survived two years and 28 percent went on to live at least five years.

This data was in stark contrast to one-third (180 out of 454 patients) who received no additional therapy after surgery and whose survival was significantly less; 39 percent at two years and 17 percent at five years, respectively.

In addition, patients who received further chemotherapy after their course of adjuvant concomitant radiation therapy and chemotherapy seemed to have even better survival; 61 percent and 31 percent at two and five years, respectively. However, only 28 of 454 patients received this regimen, so it is premature to draw conclusions from this limited sized population.

Nonetheless, the findings of this study suggest a significant improvement in survival rates for those who undergo adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy after complete removal of pancreatic cancer. More good news is that the incidence of pancreatic cancer has decreased over the past few years.

Dr. Kornmehl is a board certified radiation oncologist at Passaic Beth Israel Regional Medical Center, Passaic, NJ and author of the critically acclaimed consumer health book, The Best News About Radiation Therapy (M. Evans, 2004). Her website is http://www.RTSupportDoc.com

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