Stand Up To Cancer

This week Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery for early stage pancreatic cancer, once again drawing attention to the highly lethal disease. Pancreatic cancer is usually asymptomatic until it has reached the metastatic stage; Ginsburg's tumor, which measures about 1 cm, was discovered last month during an annual exam. Good luck, Ruth!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,488626,00.html

A new study indicates that most breast cancers in Latino women are discovered by self-exam, while only 23% are detected via mammography. But the same study shows that around half the women who found abnormalities themselves waited longer than a month to seek medical help, generally because of worries about inability to pay for costly exams and treatment without health insurance.
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/02/05/two-thirds-of-hispanic-women-discover-breast.html

But trouble paying for cancer care isn't limited to individuals without health insurance. According to a new report from the American Cancer Society, even people with insurance can be bankrupted by cancer. Among the 20 patients profiled in the report were people who lost their life savings or their jobs; some wound up filing for bankruptcy. "Two million cancer survivors today are forgoing care they need simply because that care is unavailable because they cannot afford it," said John Seffrin, CEO of ACS.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCall/story?id=6811555&page=1

On to more upbeat news: the US FDA just approved a new drug for the treatment of prostate cancer. Degarelix suppresses testosterone in patients, creating an inhospitable environment for the disease. The drug will be used to treat late-stage prostate cancers, which don't respond as well to radiation and chemotherapy.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29021326/

British researchers have found that around 40% of folks in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and West Asia are unaware of the link between obesity and cancer. Their report, "Cancer Related Beliefs and Behaviour," essentially found that people with bad habits like overeating or smoking exist in a state of denial, pretending to themselves that these lifestyle factors don't contribute to cancer risk.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/04/cancer.riskfactors/

Finally, a little food news - my favorite kind. Extra virgin olive oil has lots of great uses around the kitchen, and it contains the coveted omega 3 fatty acids ("good" fats) we all keep hearing so much about. Now there's evidence to suggest that EVOO can also help combat breast cancer, inducing "tumoricid effects" against the HER2 oncogene. (Translation: it helps cause cancer cell death.) Score one for the Mediterranean diet!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205113743.htm

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

--Cat