Throat Cancer - A Brief Overview

Throat cancer cases make up between 5 to 7 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States. The majority of throat cancer cases occur to people older than the age of 50. Twice as many men are diagnosed with throat cancer than women. Fortunately, the money spent on educating the public about throat cancer was well spent because the number of deaths due to throat cancer has been on the decline since the 1980s.

Throat cancer can develop anywhere in the throat such as the vocal cords or the glottis. The throat is a hollow tube that extends from the rear of the mouth to the esophagus. There are throat cancers that are more aggressive, depending on their location. Cancerous tumors that are located above or below the glottis spread more quickly than cancerous tumors located anywhere else. Throat cancer usually develops in the middle part of the throat, right behind the tongue. This area is called the oropharynx and is part of the pharynx. About 90 percent of throat cancers are squamous cell cancers. Squamous cells, such as skin and mucous membranes, are the surface cells that line the body. Squamous cell cancer is a form of cancer where tumors are located on squamous cells. These cancerous squamous cells can penetrate the deeper layers below the squamous layer and spread to other parts of the body. These cells can multiply and kill off healthy cells. If these cells are not prevented from multiplying, this condition can be fatal.

If you want to know whether or not you have throat cancer, you should familiarize yourself with some of the symptoms that might appear. If the symptoms are detected early enough, the throat cancer can be successfully treated. The purpose of the treatment will be to destroy the cancerous cells before they spread to the other parts of the body. The more common throat cancer symptoms include an enlarged lymph node on the outside of the neck, a persistent sore throat, difficulty swallowing or breathing, a change in the tone of your voice and a hoarseness in your voice. Other symptoms that you should look out for include blood in the saliva, a persistent earache or cough, nosebleeds and headaches. If the throat cancer spreads, the symptoms will get worse. A person facing this situation might have greater difficulties breathing or swallowing. This person might also lose their voice or ability to speak. His or her face might look disfigured and their skin might look deformed. At this stage, the throat cancer can be very difficult to treat.

Medical researchers have been unable to identify the precise cause of throat cancer. However, they have been able to determine that tobacco can cause damage to the cells in the lining of the throat. A tumor can form if enough of these damaged cells accumulate. They have also been able to determine that alcohol makes it easier for tobacco to damage these cells. This is why a person who both smokes and drinks is more likely to get throat cancer than someone who only smokes. Numerous studies also indicate that long-term exposure to asbestos, diesel fuel, or coal dust can also increase your chances of getting throat cancer.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Throat Cancer

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Cancer: Finding Reliable Medical Information On The Internet Five Tips To Help You

Cancer: Finding Reliable Medical Information On The Internet - Five Tips To Help You
By Glenn Sheiner

The medical environment has changed completely with the introduction of the internet and the proliferation of web sites offering free medical and healthcare information.

In todays world, more and more patients are using the internet to search for information about their diseases and for the latest treatment options. In fact, according to a recent Harris Interactive survey, more than 100 million adults in the U.S. are using the internet to search for health information.

Gone are the days when patients passively accepted the treatment offered by their doctors. Today, patients are partners in the decision making about their health.

So, the obvious question is How reliable is the medical information you find on these free medical web sites?

By the way, the fact that there are incredible free medical and healthcare information web sites on the internet doesnt necessarily make it easy to find good information.

For example, if you just enter the term Breast Cancer into Google a total of 130 million sites come up. Obviously, no one is going to look at all those sites in fact, most people rarely look beyond the sites listed on the front page or two.

As wonderful as the internet is as a resource, you must remember that there is a potential downside as well. In the healthcare market, just like in any other market, there are commercial entities trying to sell you a product. Some products may be legitimate but some may be scam cures just trying to take advantage of a cancer patients desperation.

And, since the internet is largely unregulated, there is little regulation of the marketing messages.

So here are five tips as you try to determine if the medical information web site youre visiting is reliable or not:

1. What Is The Ending Of The Website Name?

There are a number of sources of medical information on the internet which tend to be more reliable and trustworthy. These sources are more likely to be universities, hospitals, government agencies, and major public health and health advocacy organizations such as a national cancer society.

The ending of the web site can give you a clue as to the source. For example, the ending:

.gov means that the source is a government agency;.edu means that the source is a university or another educational institution;.com means that the source is run privately and very well may be a commercial enterprise);.org means that the source is a non-profit organization.

2. Who Is Responsible For The Site And What Is The Mission Of The Site?

Look to see if there is any information on who is responsible for the site and what the mission of the site is. On many web sites youll see a link, either at the top or bottom of the page, which says something like About US or Who We Are.

Click on the link and see what information you find.

3. Is The Medical Information Presented On The Site Scientific Or Anecdotal?

If medical information is presented on the web site then you should ask yourself is the information scientific or not. To be considered reliable, medical advances must be proven in scientific studies in which many patients are involved. Anecdotal studies of one patients response to a treatment are not considered to be reliable despite the fact that the stories may be extremely compelling. So, check out the web site. Are the medical facts presented as the results of documented studies or are anecdotal, undocumented stories of patients presented.

Also, check to see if references are presented if the results of studies are discussed. Are the studies from respected medical journals?

4. Who Are The Authors Of The Medical Information On The Site?

Check to see who the authors are. What are the credentials of the authors? If necessary, you can even search using the authors names to see how well known they are in their fields.

5. How Up To Date Is The Medical Information?

Medicine is a rapidly changing field and youll want to make sure that the health information at the site youre searching is updated frequently. If the information isnt updated regularly, they you may not learn about the latest developments.

The internet provides wonderful opportunities for patients to find the latest and best healthcare information. Using these tips can help you make sure the information you find is reliable and trustworthy.

Dr. Glenn Sheiner is a medical doctor and the author of the ebook and video tutorials Cancer Research Online Made Easy.. This downloadable package is available immediately and will help you find information you won't find on most cancer web sites. You'll quickly learn many sophisticated research techniques including how to find the latest medical articles on any type of cancer from around the world. And, how to find all the available clinical trials, including those from the world's most reknowned medical centers.

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Throat cancer Cancers of the mouth

Throat cancer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search. Throat cancer may refer to:. Head and neck cancer, a group of biologically similar cancers originating from the upper ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_cancer -


Throat cancer - MayoClinic.com
Throat cancer — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, treatment of pharyngeal cancer and laryngeal cancer.www.mayoclinic.com/health/oral-and-throat-cancer/DS00349 -

Cancers of the mouth and throat
However, the primary cause of mouth and throat cancer is smoking. ... The earliest symptoms of throat cancer are likely to resemble the same symptoms that ...www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/mouththroatcancer.htm

A Failed War Bad Strategy for Smart Cancer

A Failed War - Bad Strategy for Smart Cancer
By Chris Teo, Ph.D.

A friend sent me a newspaper cutting from Indonesia written by Bondan Winarno in memory of his dear friend Ken Sudarto, entitled Mimpi Tak-Mungkin (A Crashed Dream). The author related the story of Kens battle against cancer. Ken was the founder of an all-Indonesian advertising company after having been inspired by Joe Darions The Impossible Dream. In short, he was a successful businessman who built this empire from scratch after having dreamt a dream.

To dream the impossible dream,

To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with the unbearable sorrow,

To run where the brave dare not go.

Kens battle against the unbeatable foe started shortly after Chinese New Year 2004, when he suddenly fell ill. The doctors in his country did not know what had gone wrong with him. Ken and his wife went to Singapore and after two weeks of intensive investigations, Ken was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. It was said that this cancer was rather unique, since it only attacked his backbone leaving other organs intact. Ken underwent chemotherapy in Singapore and within six months he was said to have conquered his cancer. Cancer-free, Ken returned to his country feeling satisfied and grateful.

However, the victory was short-lived! Two months later Ken suffered a relapse and he needed his oncologist again. The next option for Ken was to undergo bone marrow transplant (BMT). He was made to understand that BMT is the state-of-the-art procedure the most modern of medical technology against cancer! Elated, Ken agreed and underwent a high-dose chemotherapy in preparation of his BMT. Unfortunately, the BMT did not cure him. Ken suffered a second relapse. The author said that Ken had to sell his first house to pay for his medical treatment in Singapore. A second BMT was recommended and Ken again agreed to it.

In early September 2004, the author had an opportunity to visit Ken in Singapore where he was still undergoing medical treatment. Ken invited the author to the Top of the M, a revolving restaurant in a famous hotel. At that time Ken was fitted with a state-of-the art chemo-pump which he carried around with him, Ken proudly told his friend: This is the mother of chemotherapy that he was wearing! While dining, Ken expressed his vision that one day, in the years to come, he would like to publish a bulletin giving information about how patients can fight this cancer war. Now that he had himself gone through this fight and had learnt a lot. Ken figured out that it would be of great help to others if he shared his experience. In this way, others too could follow his path.

Two days after this great and wonderful dinner at the posh restaurant, Ken had to be admitted to the CCU (critical care unit). Ken died soon afterwards.

Comments: The song above was only half sung. There are many more meaning lines to the lyrics.

To right the unrightable wrong

This is my quest, No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right without question or pause

To be willing to pass into hell for a heavenly cause

And the world will be better for this.

Ken went into battle against cancer seemingly to right the unrightable wrong, to fight the unbeatable foe. I dare suggest that he had been misled. To me, the metaphor used in this adventure was and is wrong. Take a pause and ask these questions: In any war, be it Vietnam or Iraq, who or where is the winner? Who died? What are being destroyed? What is the net result? Cancer that dwelled in Kens body is not a foe. Cancer is a process that tells us that something had gone wrong in our body over the years, possibly due to a constant, long-term abuse again, I say, it is never a foe. To right that unrightable wrong is not to fight with highly poisonous drugs or to use the killing technology of war. These are too destructive. At the end of it all, patients die because of the treatment rather than the cancer. This is not only true in the case of Ken, but also many numerous other cases which I know or have come across.

Randall Fitzegerald (in: The hundred-year lie) wrote: Effective natural-health solutions DO exist. But unfortunately for many people who grew up by and dependent on technology and the laboratory drugs of Western medicine, breaking free of that paradigm, requires a leap of faith. This is especially true with the many so called educated or rich. To them only science and technology have the answers to all human ills. In the book, Hope or Hype the obsession with medical advances and the high cost of false promises, Professors Richard Devo and Donald Patrick, of the University of Washington, USA, wrote: We develop our own blind trust in a medical establishment that preys on our deepest fear, all the while purporting to ride to our rescue with miracle cure. The combination of industry greed, media hype, political expediency and our own techno-consumption mindset is leading more and more often to a reliance on costly treatments that are marginally effective at best and sometimes downright dangerous.

Guy B. Faguet, medical doctor and researcher of 28 years and author of more than 140 peer-reviewed articles, wrote (in: The War on Cancer: An Anatomy of Failure A Blueprint for the Future): The objective analysis of cancer chemotherapy outcomes over the last three decades reveals that, despite vast human and financial expenditure, the cell-killing paradigm has failed to achieve its objective and the conquest of cancer remains a distant and elusive goal. The bullet of this war is inefficacious and highly toxic and its model is based on flawed premises with an unattainable goal. Cytotoxic chemotherapy in its present form will neither eradicate cancer nor alleviate suffering. Recurrent announcements of breakthrough in the War on Cancer is designed to impress the public but little progress has been made in the treatment of cancer since 1971.

Three doctors in Australia Graeme Morgan, associate Professor and radiotherapist at the Royal North Shore Hospital; Robyn Ward, senior specialist in Medical Oncology and Associate Professor of Medicine at St Vincents Hospital; and Michael Barton, Research Director Associate Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation, wrote this in the Journal of Clinical Oncology: The overall contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adults was estimated to be 2.3% in Australia and 2.1% in the USA. Chemotherapy has been OVER SOLD and the responses of the treatment have been EXAGGERATED.

Clifton Leaf, CEO of Fortune Magazine, suffered from Hodgkins Disease but fortunately survived the ordeal. In an article, The War on Cancer: changing the way we think about cancer (March 2004), he pointed out that the mass media all too often come out with reports of medical breakthroughs Avastin, Erbitux, Gleevec... these are touted as wonder drugs that fight cancer. The question is: are we truly winning the cancer war? Leaf said: We're not. We are far from winning the war against cancer.

A respected magazine in Germany, Der Spiegel of 4 October 2004, had this article: Giftkur ohne Nutzen (The Useless Poisonous Cures). This article said: Increasingly sophisticated and expensive cellular poisons are being given to seriously ill patients patients do not actually live a day longer.

Let not the death of Ken be yet another meaningless death. Let this message lives on and let us hope that many others who are in a similar situation can learn a lesson from the above episode, if at all they have eyes to see, ears to hear and brain to think. Cancer is better handled by a natural, holistic way of healing, not through waging a war! Is this not what righting the unrightable wrong is all about? The whole world needs to know this lesson.

For more information about complementary cancer therapy visit: http://www.cacare.com, http://www.NaturalHealingForYou.com, http://www.BookOnCancer.com

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Your Breast Cancer Treatment Team

Your Breast Cancer Treatment Team
By Michael Russell

Today, the majority of breast cancers are diagnosed by mammography. There cancers are small, often too small to be felt and surgeons usually rely on radiologists to localize these small cancers with a hook wire or some injected dye. The technology has changed drastically and we have entered a new era of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Because of the many elements that come into play in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, coordination is necessary among the team of physicians: surgeon, radiation oncologist, cancer pathologist, plastic surgeon, radiologist and medical oncologist.

Ideally, a woman with a recent diagnosis of breast cancer communicates with a primary physician who takes charge of developing a treatment plan with her and then coordinates its implementation. These team members can work at a single institution or be drawn from a wider geographic distribution and any of the cancer specialists can act as the coordinating physician. Often, it is the medical oncologist who coordinates the flow of information and treatment for the patient, but many surgeons and radiation oncologists take on this pivotal role as well.

It is important that breast cancer patients find a cancer specialist that she can communicate with and who will address her concerns. However, there are medical systems in which it may be difficult for the patient to connect with one physician who will act as her coordinating team leader. If you are in this situation, don't despair. You just need adequate information to get you the treatment you need and be your own team leader. It is possible to go through this process without a physician to spearhead your treatment plan and still get high quality health care.

The overall treatment plan revolves around two critical decisions. One deals with local control and the second with the need for systemic therapy. Often, cancer patients and their doctors cannot decide upon the issue of systemic therapy until all the information is available from the surgical procedure.

Since the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are done primarily on an outpatient basis, cancer patients may travel to various locations for different aspects of treatment. Some women may come to a breast cancer facility for the definitive surgery and then have radiotherapy at a facility closer to their home. If patients require various therapies, it is important to consider doing something similar in order to make treatment appointments as convenient as possible.

One of the key tools used in coordinating a woman's care is a treatment planning conference. This conference is a meeting of treatment team members to discuss the patient's case and to develop a coordinated treatment plan based on the patient's situation. The conference allows each of the team members to view a common history, the radiological breast images, the pathology report and pathology images. The patient is usually excluded from the treatment planning conference in order to allow an honest exchange of opinions between the team members. The treatment planning conference is very important in coordinating care. Each of the potentially treating physicians can, in one setting, agree on an overall treatment plan and their particular contribution to that plan. This united approach also guarantees that the physicians line up the sequencing of the different therapies correctly and in the manner that is most beneficial to the cancer patient.

Besides benefiting the woman with breast cancer, the nature of the conference itself promotes education and understanding on the part of various physicians involved. Women diagnosed in the future stand to benefit greatly from the shared pool of information that these conferences provide medical professionals in general.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer

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A CancerProne System

A Cancer-Prone System
By Michael Russell

Starting from the outside, the key elements in the female reproductive system are the vulva (or outer lips), the vagina (or birth canal), the cervix (a doughnut-shaped structure that is at the entrance to the uterus), the uterus, or womb (inside which a baby grows before birth), the fallopian tubes (along which fertilised eggs travel to the uterus) and the ovaries (where the eggs and various hormones are made). Not all of these organs and tissues are equally liable to cancer. For example, cancer attacks the fallopian tubes rarely; the vulva and vagina, more often; and the ovaries, the walls of the uterus (the endometricum) and the cervix most frequently. Each type of cancer requires specific diagnosis and treatment. Uterine cancer accounts for about four percent of all cancers in women; cervical cancer, for about three percent. Thanks to increased public awareness, early detection the death rate for cervical and uterine cancer has declined in recent decades.

It is not unusual for a serious disease to share the same symptoms with a relatively unimportant problem. This is especially true of cervical cancer and other cancers of the reproductive system. For example, two common symptoms of cancer of the vulva are itching and a burning pain, conditions that can also be caused by vulvar infections. A change in a vulvar mole or freckle, or any bump, growth or ulcer that does not heal within two weeks, may or may not, signal cancer. Cervical cancer is often symptomless, at least in its early stages, but in time, it causes abnormal vaginal bleeding or increased vaginal discharge. The discharge may begin as a watery discharge streaked with blood, but eventually the discharge will contain greater quantities of blood.

Having a symptom of gynaecological cancer does not necessarily mean that you have cancer. It does mean that you should see a doctor for a complete pelvic examination and further tests to rule out the possibility of cancer. Age seems to be the main factor that affects a woman's chances of developing cervical cancer or any other cancer of her reproductive organs. The danger years vary, but fall within the 40-65 year old age span. The years of greatest risk for cervical cancer appear to be between 40 and 49. The odds that a woman will develop any type of gynaecological cancer increase after menopause.

Each reproductive organ also has its own specific risk factors. Studies reveal that cancer of the cervix occurs more often in women who become sexually active early in life, who have contracted a sexually transmitted disease such as genital warts, who have had many sexual partners, whose sexual partners have had many sexual contacts, or who smoke. More cases of cervical cancer also occur among women who use oral contraceptives than among those who rely on a diaphragm, condoms or an intrauterine device (IUD).

Two routine screening examinations are available for women, the cervical smear test (Pap smear test) and the pelvic examination, which may detect gynaecological cancer - or conditions that may lead to it - long before a woman notices anything wrong. In the cervical smear test, a metal instrument called a speculum is used to open up the vagina and examine the cervix. With the speculum in place, the doctor uses a wooden spatula or cotton wool swab to rub off a sample of cells from the surface of the cervix; the sample is transferred onto a glass slide and sent to the laboratory for examination under the a microscope. The test is designed to detect the presence of abnormal (precancer) cells that in some cases may develop into cervical cancer. Even if such cells are found, it does not mean that you have cancer or will get it later; it does mean, though, that more tests and possibly treatment are necessary. If the cervix shows inflammatory changes or if you have had an abnormal smear, the doctor may also examine the cervix with a magnifying instrument called a colposcope. After examining the cervix, the doctor will do a pelvic examination by passing a gloved finger up inside the vagina while pressing down on the abdomen with the other hand. In this way he may be able to detect abnormalities in the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Depending on your age, your past and present sexual habits, whether you are at high risk for developing cervical cancer, will determine how often you should be examined. Generally, any factor that increases the risk of developing cancer increases the need for regular check-ups. Cervical cancer detected early can usually be cured without affecting a woman's ability to have children, but a more advanced cancer might require a hysterectomy - the surgical removal of the uterus and the cervix, which makes it impossible for her to have children.

Michael RussellYour Independent guide to Cervical Cancer

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A Brief History of Breast Cancer

A Brief History of Breast Cancer
By Michael Russell

Ancient Egyptians first noted and recorded the disease as tumors, or ulcers, of the breasts, concluded that there was no real cure and that the only form of treatment was cauterization with a tool called the fire drill. Since then, there have been many similar cases described by doctors throughout history that concluded that there was no cure; or really effective treatment.

When doctors started to understand the human circulatory system in the seventieth century, they also managed to establish a link between breast cancer and the lymph nodes in the armpits. Between the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, the French surgeon Jean Petit and Scotsman Benjamin Bell were the first ones to remove the lymph nodes, breast tissue and chest muscle in an effort to save woman from breast cancer.

By the 1880s, William Halsted started performing mastectomies. His procedure became known as the Halsted Radical Mastectomy and it remained a popular procedure in the fight against breast cancer right up to the 1970s.

Breast cancer is a cancer of the glandular breast tissue and is found in both male and female patients. Worldwide breast cancer accounts for almost 1% of all deaths, is the fifth most common form of cancer and the most common form found in women.

Although breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women in the United States, it is only the second most common cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer). U.S. women have a one in eight lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and an almost 3% chance of breast cancer causing their death. Due to our modern lifestyle the experts claim and have also noted, a significant increase in the number of cases since the 1970s.

The breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females. Therefore breast cancer also occurs in males, though it is less common. Although men have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, this risk appears to be rising. There seems to be an increased incidence of breast cancer in men with prostate cancer.

The notable point about male breast cancer is that the prognosis is worse in men than in women and treatment of men with breast cancer is similar to that of the treatment given to older women. Because the male breast tissue is confined to the area directly behind the nipple, treatment for males has usually been a mastectomy.

On a more positive note, most breast cancer symptoms do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. These normally turn out to be benign diseases of the breast and only represent the more common symptoms similar to breast cancer itself. However, any appearance of new breast symptom should be taken very seriously by patients and doctors; because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer that can develop at any age.

As with all types of cancer, the detection and treatment of breast cancer has a far greater chance of a positive outcome by detecting it earlier rather than later.

Michael RussellYour Independent guide to Breast Cancer

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