A new study seems to give us one of those “I knew that” kind of feelings. As bad as cancer is to those affected, often they are preventable. A new study out today shows that things like smoking, bad diet, lack of exercise, dangerous environment can all lead to cancers that are preventable

About 80 percent of all cancers are diagnosed in the elderly, and more than 80 percent of known risk factors are potentially preventable, U.S. researchers say.

Igor Akushevich of Duke University in Durham, N.C., said the primary purpose of the study was to develop an approach to estimate the contributions of measurable risk factors to cancer risk among the elderly.

“So far, we have not come to the stage where we are able to make specific recommendations regarding risk factors,” Akushevich said in a statement. “However, we can confirm several of them which are known. As expected, we see associations of cigarette smoking with lung cancer.”

The researchers said they were surprised at some of the findings. Cancer risk was not associated with alcohol consumption, as reported in other studies. A possible explanation may be that those age 65 or older tend to drink moderately. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: American Association for Cancer Research, breast cancer, breast cancers, cancer, cancer prevention, Cancer Research, cancers, Duke University in Durham, Durham, Igor Akushevich, lung cancer, lung cancers, North Carolina, United States

Exercise is good for more than just your waistline. A recent study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman’s overall risk of cancer – but only if she gets a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise’s cancer prevention benefits.

“Greater participation in physical activity has consistently been associated with reduced risk of cancer incidence at several sites, including breast and colon cancers,” said James McClain, Ph.D., cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study. “Short duration sleep appears to have opposing effects of physical activity on several key hormonal and metabolic parameters, which is why we looked at how it affected the exercise/cancer risk relationship.”

Even though the exact mechanism of how exercise reduces cancer risk isn’t known, researchers believe that physical activity’s effects on factors including hormone levels, immune function, and body weight may play an important role. The study examined the link between exercise and cancer risk, paying special attention to whether or not getting adequate sleep further affected a women’s cancer risk. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Association for Cancer Research, breast cancer, breast cancers, cancer, cancer prevention, Cancer Research, colon cancer, colon cancers, James McClain, lead author, National Cancer Institute, physical activity energy expenditure

The four-year study out of Creighton University in Nebraska found that women who regularly took vitamin D3 had a 60 per cent reduction in cancer infections compared to a group taking placebos.

The study followed 1,179 healthy, women 55 years and older from rural eastern Nebraska between 2000 and 2005. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 1400-1500 mg of calcium alone, or supplemental calcium plus 1,100 IU vitamin D3, or placebo.

The researchers studied only vitamin D3, which comes from animal sources and seems to be more active than vitamin D2, which is derived from plant sources.

Among the 288 women taking placebo, 20 developed breast, colon, lung or another form of cancer. Among the 445 women taking just calcium, 17 developed cancer. But among the largest group — the 446 women taking vitamin D daily — just 13 developed cancer.

“What we found is that a vitamin D supplement decreased the cancer incidence in postmenopausal women by about 60 per cent,” lead investigator Joan Lappe, an associate professor of both medicine and nursing at Creighton University

This is not the first time that researchers have noted the health benefits of vitamin D. In February, two studies found that the vitamin was linked to lower rates of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. The “sunshine vitamin,” as it’s sometimes called, has also been shown to kill some cancer cells in laboratory experiments.

“There’s a lot of evidence out there that populations in first world countries are deficient in vitamin D and if you give them more, we can prevent cancers and other diseases that have been reported to be prevented with vitamin D,” said Lappe.

Humans can absorb vitamin D when ultraviolet rays from the sun trigger vitamin D synthesis in our skin. But because of our short summers in Canada and our latitude, most Canadians don’t get anywhere near enough of it all year long.

Because of the growing body of evidence about vitamin D, for the first time, the Canadian Cancer Society is recommending a specific amount of supplementation for Canadians to consider taking. The Society is now recommending that:

-Adults living in Canada should consider taking vitamin D supplementation of 1,000 international units (IU) a day during the fall and winter.

-Adults at higher risk of having lower vitamin D levels should consider taking vitamin D supplementation of 1,000 IU/day all year round. This includes people who are older; with dark skin; who don’t go outside often, and who wear clothing that covers most of their skin.
At this time, the Canadian Cancer Society does not have a recommendation for vitamin D supplementation for children.

“The evidence is still growing in this area, but we want to give guidance to Canadians about this emerging area of cancer prevention based on what we know now,” said Heather Logan, director of Cancer Control Policy with the Canadian Cancer Society.

“We’re recommending 1,000 IUs daily because the current evidence suggests this amount will help reduce cancer risk with the least potential for harm,” said Logan.

“As we find out more we will update our recommendation.”

Logan cautions Canadians about relying too much on getting vitamin D through exposure to sunlight.

“It’s not a good idea to rely solely on the sun to obtain vitamin D,” said Logan. “For some people, it’s possible that just a few minutes of unprotected sun exposure every day could increase skin cancer risk.”

Tags: associate professor, associate professor of both medicine and nursing, breast cancer, Canada, Canadian Cancer Society, cancer, cancer prevention, cancers, colorectal cancer, Creighton University in Nebraska, D, director of Cancer Control Policy, first world countries, Heather Logan, Joan Lappe, lead investigator, Nebraska, placebos, professor of both medicine, skin cancer, Vitamin D

The second-most fatal cancer for men after lung cancer, prostrate cancer may well be tamed by the humblest of juices, suggests a new study published in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that tested the efficacy of the red pomegranate juice on mice. The gaining in popularity health drink was found to deter prostate cancer cells successfully in lab dishes and mice, suggesting a potential cure for the cancer.

The pomegranate juice that is known for its rich source of antioxidants, that give it the deep color and act upon chemicals that damage cells and tissues to cause cancer, were found to shrink human prostrate tumors in mice. Dr. Hasan Mukhtar of the University of Wisconsin Medical School who led the study said, “Our study, while early, adds to growing evidence that pomegranates contain very powerful agents against cancer, particularly prostate cancer. He suggested that the results of the study provided a good reason, to test this fruit in humans, both for cancer prevention and for treatment”.

Technorati Tags:pomegranate, nutrition, cancer,
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: America, Asia, cancer, cancer prevention, cancers, chemicals, Hasan Mukhtar, lung cancer, Middle East, National Academy of Sciences, prostate cancer, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tumors, University of Wisconsin Medical School