Cancer Remains Leading Cause of Death for American Hispanics

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates heart disease as the leading cause of death for the American population as a whole. With an estimated 611,105 deaths attributed to this cause in 2013 alone, it outpaces cancer, respiratory disease and even accidents and strokes. That’s not the case, however, for America’s Hispanic population. Cancer in this racial/ethnic group is hands down, the number one killer, researchers say.

A recently released study on the issue showed that cancer overtook heart disease for this group back in 2009. Its prevalence remains strong with certain forms of the disease much more likely in the Hispanic population. Researchers found the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer in Hispanic men were prostate, colorectal, lung and bronchial. For women, breast, thyroid and colorectal topped the list. Lung cancer, however, remains the most deadly form of the disease for Hispanic men. Breast cancer tops the list of most deadly forms of the disease for Hispanic women. It’s followed closely by lung cancer and colorectal.

All told, researchers anticipated that 125,900 new cancer cases would be reported in the Hispanic population in 2015 alone. While all cancers are a concern, thyroid cancer rates are of particular concern. This form of cancer tends to have an earlier diagnosis age and its diagnosis is increasing rapidly among both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women within America.

As cancer overtakes other causes of death in the Hispanic population, people can take steps to lower their risks. Eating right, exercising and making smart lifestyle choices can help reduce overall cancer risks. it’s also important to understand family history and other risk factors that may play a role. People who are concerned about cancer are urged to speak with their healthcare providers. A personal physician can assist patients in determining risk factors for cancer and may offer insights on how to lower those risks.

Aromatase Therapy May Lessen Contralateral Breast Cancer Risk

Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer may find their risk for developing the disease in their healthy breast rises. While prophylactic mastectomies are sometimes recommended, a different form of therapy may offer hope for those who wish to avoid this eventuality. Researchers have found that aromatase inhibitors may help reduce the risk of contralateral breast cancer in women who carry very specific genetic mutations.

To arrive at those findings, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston tracked women who were BRCA mutation carriers and who had been diagnosed with hormone-positive breast cancer. These women opted against prophylactic mastectomies.  While researchers found that women with BRCA 1 and 2 mutations were more likely to develop contralateral breast cancer, the risk fell in those who received aromatase inhibitors.

The findings, researchers say, may help women who are BRCA 1 or 2 positive prevent the development of contralateral breast cancer. While more research is needed to confirm the findings, the study indicates this form of therapy could hold promise for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and wish to avoid double mastectomies.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in American women. Women are urged to speak with their healthcare providers for information on early detection and to gauge their specific risk. Women who carry the BRCA gene mutations may be at higher risk for developing this disease. Routine self-examinations, clinical exams and mammograms can help in the early detection of this disease should it present.

Should breast cancer be diagnosed, women should explore all the facts related to their case. While aromatase therapy may lower the risk for contralateral breast cancer, it may not be advised in all cases. Prophylactic mastectomies may still offer the best chance for avoiding complications down the road.

SBRT May Improve Lung Cancer Survival in Elderly Patients

Helping elderly patients diagnosed with a certain type of lung cancer enjoy a longer survival rate might be possible with the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT for short. New researcher indicates this treatment commonly used in medically inoperable cases can also have a positive benefit on the elderly.

SBRT has been proven very helpful in treating elderly patients who have early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To arrive at these findings, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta conducted a study on patients age 70 or older. While the current protocol for patients age 70 or older with NSCLC is observation, SBRT showed strong results, researchers found.

The study involved a total of 3,147 patients all age 70 or older. The patients had been diagnosed with NSCLC.  Out of the main group, 258 patients underwent SBRT treatments while another 2,889 patients received no treatment at all. The study showed that patients in the SBRT group had a 36 percent lower risk of death than patients who were not treated.

Lung cancer is a very serious disease that often leads to mortality. When patients are of more advanced age, doctors often seek to provide support care rather than expose patients to treatments that may present with severe side effects. Patients age 70 or older, however, may find that SBRT may offer them a ray of hope for leading a longer, fuller life, making potential risks worth the possible reward.

Patients of any age who are diagnosed with lung cancer are urged to carefully discuss all their treatment options with their healthcare providers. It is important to carefully weigh the potential rewards of treatment against the likely risks. The best course of action often centers entirely on the unique case, patient preference and the likelihood of a positive outcome.

2nd Cancers Rising in America

While overall new cases of cancer diagnosed in America are showing a downward trend, the rate of diagnosis for second cancers is on the uptick. Second cancers are not recurrences or spreading of the original disease. They are a new type of cancer or a new site of disease that is diagnosed in someone who has previously undergone treatment.

The shock of being diagnosed with a brand new type of cancer after having faced down the disease in the past can be incredibly difficult for patients to endure. This is, however, becoming a rather common occurrence as researchers say nearly one in five new cases reported in the United States is actually a patient who has had cancer before. The rise of second cancers has been sharp over the past two decades, researchers note. Back in the 1970s, second cancers accounted for only about 9 percent of all reported new cases. Now, that number has climbed to 19 percent with some people facing third, fourth or even more cancer diagnoses over the course of their lifetimes.

Treating second cancers can be traumatizing for patients and difficult for doctors, researchers say. For patients there’s a sense of disbelief that is quickly followed by a grim understanding of the treatments that are yet to come. For doctors, options for treatment may be problematic. For example, radiation often cannot be given to the same basic region of the body two times. Some highly effective cancer-fighting drugs may also have lifetime dose limits, complicating matters more.

As the number of second cancer cases continue to rise, doctors do stress that a new diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world. Oftentimes, if the new cancer is caught early enough, doctors can devise effective treatment plans. That means people who have faced cancer before are urged to not neglect screenings for other cancers. They are also urged to go in for routine follow-ups.

People who have been diagnosed with cancer in the past are advised to speak with their healthcare providers about their risks for other forms of the disease. The best screening recommendations will come from healthcare providers that understand the patient’s unique case.

New Rules Mean Those at Lung Cancer Risk May Receive Annual Screening

Lung cancer, like many other forms of this often devastating disease, is generally easier for medical professionals to tackle when it is caught as early as possible. Early detection, however, has sometimes been hampered by a lack of access to more advanced screening procedures to find this disease in earlier stages. All of that is beginning to change.

Courtesy of studies that have demonstrated higher survival rates for patients whose cancer is found early, Medicare has announced that it will cover low-dose computed tomography (CT) screenings on an annual basis for some at-risk patients. While the rules may vary somewhat based on the specific insurance a person has, the door for better screening has been opened.

Understanding the ins and outs of the new rules is important not only for medical professionals, but also patients who may find themselves asked to report for yearly exams. Under the new rules, those at highest risk for lung cancer development will be provided access to CT screening exams.

Medicare defines higher risk patients as those who are current or former smokers age 55 to 77, and sometimes up to age 80. People eligible for yearly exams must have smoked what amounts to about a pack a day for 30 years or more. For those former smokers, they need to have quit within the previous 15 years to be considered eligible. It’s also important to note that eligible screening candidates should have no current respiratory symptoms.

The reason for the change in the rules is simple: CT scans can lead to more effective early interventions. The National Lung Screening Trial found that CT scans can reduce the mortality rate of heavy smokers by 20 percent by leading to faster, more effective interventions. The increase in effectiveness is compared to standard X-ray exams.

People who are at high risk for lung cancer are urged to talk with their medical professionals about reducing their risks. Depending on age and length of habit, more aggressive early screening options may be available.

Radiation Therapies Have Improved by Leaps and Bounds

Radiation therapy for cancer treatment has long been proven to be beneficial. This type of treatment, however, presented some potential pitfalls in its application. While high-energy radiation is known to damage DNA so completely that cancer cells die, the cells around a tumor can also be harmed in the process.

Practitioners say advancements in this technology have combined to make radiation treatments safer today than they’ve ever been before. New technologies in the treatment of different types of cancer have enabled doctors to better pinpoint these therapies to eradicate cancer while sparing as many other cells as possible. Here are just a few of the advancements that have been made to make radiation treatment safer:

• Better positioning for breast cancer patients – A simple change of patient positioning during radiation treatments has proven incredibly beneficial for producing safer results. Rather than have a patient lie on the back, doctors are finding a facedown position pulls radiation away from the heart and lungs while reducing the amount of tissue irradiated in the right breast by 86 percent and 91 percent in the left.

• Prostate cancer spacer gel – This new technique enables a spacing gel to be placed between the prostate and the rectum that effectively moves the rectum out of the way during treatment. This can spare the rectum from taking collateral damage.

• Better insights – Image-guided radiation therapy has enabled doctors to better see a tumor before and during treatment. This, in turn, improves precision and accuracy of treatments.

• Reduced treatment requirements – Some forms of cancer, such as lung, liver and spine, are now requiring fewer treatments courtesy of stereotactic body radiation therapy. This can limit collateral exposure while still proving effective in treatment.

• Better access – Technological advances, such as proton-beam therapy, have enabled doctors to target hard-to-reach tumors better with lower doses of radiation.

Radiation therapy has come a long way in recent years. Thanks to advances, doctors are often able to spare nearby cells while still ensuring effective tumor shrinkage.

The Cancer Notebook: Why You Need One?

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, chances are pretty strong you have a lot of questions on your mind. Unfortunately, it’s also likely these questions are coming so fast and furious you can’t sort them well enough to speak a coherent sentence let alone carry on a serious conversation with your doctor.

It’s OK! Just breathe, give yourself some time to process what you’ve been told and grab a notebook. That’s right, a notebook!
Your notebook doesn’t have to be fancy to be beneficial – a basic ring design will work fine. As you square off to fight the disease, this notebook can come in handy for such things as:

•    Jotting down questions for your doctor – Following the initial diagnosis, you’ll have lots of questions about treatment options, what to expect, how long the process should take and so on. Dedicate a portion of your notebook specifically for questions you need to ask your doctor. Be sure to leave space so you can write down notes as he or she answers, too.

•    Recording your thoughts – Cancer treatments can be scary and it sometimes helps to simply write down your thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears. This can help you get through long night when sleep just won’t come and it can also assist while you’re waiting on appointments you’d rather not be at.

•    Keeping a record of side effects – While side effects and many cancer treatments do go hand in hand, that’s not always the case. Err on the side of caution by writing down all symptoms for review by your doctor at your next appointment. Remember, if symptoms are severe, it’s best to call right away and not wait for that appointment.

Facing off with cancer is no easy task and neither is keeping all the questions in your mind straight as you prepare for battle. A “cancer notebook” can help you make sure the questions that need to be asked are.

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