Archive for July, 2010

Benefits of Alternative Cancer Treatments For Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, occurs in the wall and lining of the stomach. According to the American Cancer Society, about 21,500 new cases of stomach cancer were reported in 2008. Stomach cancer was once a leading cause of cancer deaths, but has recently become less common.
There is no specific reason for the decline in the number of new cases; however, doctors believe it may be linked to refrigeration use for storage of food. Before refrigeration, people preserved food by smoking, salting, or pickling. Large amounts of nitrates and nitrites are found in these types of preserved foods, and these nitrates and nitrites can be converted into cancer-causing compounds in the stomach. Humans infected with the bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are at higher risk for developing stomach cancer as well. H. pylori lives in the stomach’s mucous layer and has only recently been linked to stomach cancer. Because of this, doctors are still studying the ways the bacteria are transmitted to humans as well as the reasons for its association with stomach cancer.
The development of stomach cancer tends to be slow, occurring over many years. Many early-stage symptoms go unnoticed and undetected. However, when the cancer is advanced, there are several signs and symptoms including:
- weakness and fatigue
- unintended weight loss
- lack of appetite
- general discomfort in the abdomen
- abdominal discomfort, especially after eating
- feeling full after meals, even when eating is normal
- nausea
- vomiting, with or without blood
There are different types of stomach cancer.
Adenocarcinomas account for 95 percent of all stomach cancers. It is found in the stomach’s innermost lining. Lymphoma is an aggressive stomach cancer found on the immune system tissues in the stomach wall. Carcinoid tumors account for a small percentage of stomach cancer and originate in the hormone-producing cells of the stomach. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors, also called GISTs, are rare tumors that can develop in other places besides the stomach; however, the most common location for GISTs is indeed the stomach.
The doctors at New Hope Medical Center will work to create an alternative cancer treatment for patients with stomach cancer. More than 50 years of experience has helped the team at New Hope develop the New Hope Treatment Method, an alternative cancer treatment focused on individualized care. A specialized regimen allows for optimum patient care. The staff at the New Hope alternative cancer treatment center carefully evaluates a patient before an alternative cancer treatment is suggested. Several alternative cancer treatment options are included in the overall plan, including but not limited to changes in diet and nutrition, immune system enhancement, physical therapy, homeopathic medicines, acupuncture, ozone therapy, and stress management.
The entire staff at the New Hope Medical Center works hard to help cancer patients who are looking for alternative cancer treatments that are effective and non-invasive. The knowledgeable and friendly staff provide a warm environment for cancer patients. The New Hope Medical Center doctors, nurses, oncologists, and nutritionists strive to meet individual alternative cancer treatment needs.

Archived under Cancer Comments

Ease in Taking Liquid Nutritional Supplements

Consumers have taken vitamins for years in pill dosages that were very tedious to dispense. When liquid nutritional supplements were placed on the market people were skeptical about the amount of nutrition they would be getting if they changed to this thoroughly modern method of vitamin enrichment. Liquid nutritional supplements were considered hype by the older generation, until they started taking them on a regular basis.
Nutritional supplements are fashioned to meet the needs of the elderly and the strenuous demand of energy that an athlete might need on a daily basis. Some people have referred back to oriental customs and begun to drink Green Tea because of the results of several studies. The noticeable health improvements made some drinkers of liquid supplements hooked for life because the vitamins, minerals and other healthy enzymes in these products did improve health.
Business people must maintain busy schedules at times that do not allow them to eat nutritious foods. The helpful packaging of some liquid nutritional supplements allows people with busy schedules to take some nutritional backup with them into meetings, conferences and hotel rooms when they are traveling on business. With the help of the ingredients in some liquid supplements, people can ensure that all nutritional needs are met.
Parents often try to prepare nutritious meals at home but the cooking process will remove many vitamins and minerals. Children in that family can be given liquid nutritional supplements at any time of the day to ensure that the right amount of vitamins and minerals are in place to allow them to grow up with strong bones. The supplements that children enjoy are those that resemble a milkshake. There would rarely be any left in the glass when it tastes like chocolate or vanilla smoothies that Mom buys every week.
People have developed a new style of diet plans with the help of liquid nutritional supplements in easy to open cans. As a meal replacement, people have found that eating a meal can be done anywhere as long as they have a nutritional drink with them. Dieters know that every meal counts while dieting and one that is enriched with whole food supplements is one that will help them lose weight and a considerable amount of body fat.
The formulas for all nutritional supplements include an intensive amount of vitamins and minerals and pregnant women rely on them during pregnancy and for many weeks following delivery because they want to drop the weight they gained during the pregnancy safely. The nutritional value of powders, shakes and liquid nutritional supplements which are canned will allow people of all lifestyles to get more out of life because the vitamins and minerals will produce more energy.
Some people drink liquid supplements when they are cramming for exams. The liquid energy sensations have been included in bottles and cans by name brand soda manufacturers to allow young people to access them at any time of the day. Liquid energy drinks are filled with vitamins and minerals designed to give bursts of energy garnered by safe ingredients at a safe dosage. These convenient liquid nutritional supplements will come in very handy at times when fatigue could cause a scholar to not be alert during an exam.

Archived under Nutrition Comments

Age And Physical Risk Factors In Breast Cancer

Age is likely the most important overall factor associated with breast cancer risk.  Breast cancer risk increases in the older post-menopausal population.  For this reason, all breast cancer screening recommendations are based primarily on age.  Obesity, however, may be the single most preventable risk factor associated with breast cancer.  With the dramatic increase in obesity in the U.S., this may be the number one reason for a persistently high incidence in breast cancer.  Other physical factors also play some roles in breast cancer risk.  These include height, body shape, breast size, and mammographic density.  These physical factors are summarized below.

Body Weight and Breast Cancer:  A woman’s body weight does affect her risk of breast cancer but the effect is different for premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer.  Most studies have found that heavier women (weighing more than 175 pounds) have a lower risk of breast cancer before menopause and higher risk of breast cancer after menopause, compared to thinner women (weighing less than 130 pounds).  Since 80% of breast cancers occur after menopause, the negative effects of obesity far outweigh the beneficial effects.  The results are the same whether body weight is examined directly or if body mass index is used to adjust for the effects of height on body weight.

Body Shape and Breast Cancer:  Several human studies have found that women who carry more of their body fat on their stomach (apple shaped) have higher rates of postmenopausal breast cancer compared to women with more of their body fat around their hips (pear shaped).  This seems to be true regardless of women’s body weight.  The relationship of the location of fat on the body and premenopausal breast cancer risk has not been clearly determined

Height and Breast Cancer:  A woman’s height has been associated with breast cancer risk in many studies.  Taller women (5′ 9″ or taller) have a small increase in risk of both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer compared to shorter women (5′ 3″ or shorter).  A person’s height is determined by the interaction of genetics and nutrition.  How height might affect breast cancer risk is unclear.  

Breast Size and Breast Cancer:  There is a popular belief that small breasts are at lower risk of breast cancer.  This theory has been used to explain why women with breast implants have a smaller risk of breast cancer.  However, most studies have found no association between breast size and breast cancer risk.  One study, however, did find an increase in the risk of breast cancer among lean women with larger breasts.  In this study, more than 4,000 women were grouped according to their bra size before childbirth.  Women who were lean (chest size less than 34 inches) and had larger breasts (size B, C or larger cups) were at higher risk of post menopausal breast cancer relative to women of the same chest size with an A or smaller cup size.  Women with other chest sizes had no association between breast cup size and breast cancer risk.  More studies are needed to confirm these results

Mammographic density:  Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that breast density as measured on mammograms is a significant risk factor for breast cancer.  The risk of breast cancer associated with the highest category of density has been estimated to be much greater than in the lowest density category.  Mammographic density appears to be predictive for developing invasive cancer after DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ).  Increasing density is associated with increasing breast cancer risk in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, with the effect persisting for ten years after mammography.  Mammographic density has also been shown to be a risk factor for breast cancer in women with a family history of the disease.  Mammographic density is probably important even in patients who are BRCA gene positive.  In fact, mammographic density may actually have a substantial heritable component.

Archived under Cancer Comments