Stand Up To Cancer

In Tuesday's speech to the joint sessions of Congress, President Obama vowed to "launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American, including me, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time." That coupled with the inclusion of $10 billion in new funding for the NIH in the stimulus package suggests that we're in for an exciting four years when it comes to cancer research in this country. But it also puts the government in the position many Americans have been in for years now - i.e., how are we going to pay for all this progress?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2548079320090225

I loved this article, which looks at Jekyll-and-Hyde pharmaceuticals. Remember when it turned out that aspirin was good for more than just curing a headache? Well, this piece highlights eight drugs with similar "alter-egos," including finasteride, which is usually associated with hair loss treatment, but can also be used to prevent prostate cancer.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=6959196&page=1

The medical community has gone back and forth on the issue of whether calcium can lower colon cancer risk. Now a new study of half a million people may have finally ended the debate: the research indicates that older men and women who consumed large amounts of dairy foods were indeed at a reduced risk of developing various digestive cancers, including colon cancer. Pass the brie, please!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/health/25cancer.html?ref=health

More good news from the food world: the so-called "French fry chemical," acrylamide, has been cleared of all charges that it increases the risk of breast cancer. Which is reassuring even if you're not big on fast food, because acrylamide also appears in potato chips, crackers, peanut butter and a personal favorite of mine, sweet potatoes.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,500692,00.html

If you're a big sunbather like me, you should definitely be sure to slather on the SPF 30 before hitting the beach. And, as it turns out, you should probably also slather on the coffee. Sounds weird, sure, but new research shows that caffeine kills off human cells that have been damaged by UV light. Meaning one day you might be seeing caffeine cream pop up next to the aloe gel in your local drug store.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29409056/

Results of a new study indicate that a full third of cancer cases could be prevented with lifestyle changes. A full third! Quitting smoking is obviously a big one, but eating better, exercising more and maintaining a healthy weight are all important - as is reducing alcohol intake. The researchers acknowledge that estimating cancer preventability is always a tricky proposition, but also note that the government could do a lot to help people live healthier with such quick fixes as adding bicycle lanes to public roads or banning junk food from vending machines.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/26/earlyshow/health/main4830367.shtml

Finally, here's a dispatch from the Disturbing Department: research out of Australia indicates that mouthwash - ordinary, toilet-cleaner-looking mouthwash - ups the risk of developing oral cancers by a whopping 900%. The guilty ingredient seems to be the alcohol, which the body breaks down into a carcinogenic compound; when people swish around mouthwash, the compound may be accumulating in their oral cavities. Yikes! The more you know . . .
http://www.naturalnews.com/025729.html

That's it for this week, but check back next Thursday for more!

--Cat