Many don't get follow-up after colon cancer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Many colon cancer patients aren't getting the screenings recommended after surgery to make sure the disease hasn't returned, new research shows.

Colorectal cancer accounts for 15 percent of cancer deaths.

Only about 40 percent of the 4,426 older patients in the study got all the doctor visits, blood tests and the colonoscopy advised in the three years after cancer surgery, according to the results released Monday by the journal Cancer.

While nearly all made the doctor visits and almost three-quarters got a colonoscopy, many didn't get the blood tests that can signal a return of colon cancer, according to the researchers at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Whether doctors didn't offer the tests or patients failed to get them isn't known, said Dr. Gregory Cooper, who led the study. He said perhaps the follow-up care was being provided by doctors who aren't specialists and who aren't familiar with the guidelines.

"I would probably put most of the blame on the providers," said Cooper, a gastroenterologist at the hospital.

Colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in an estimated 149,000 Americans this year. Survival after five years varies from 90 percent for cancer that hasn't spread to 10 percent for advanced cases.
Cooper and his colleagues used a federal database of cancer cases and Medicare records for patients to see whether the guidelines were being followed. They focused on those 66 and older with less advanced cancer who had surgery that could cure them. Continue Reading >>

Cancer Survival Depends on Where You Live

(HealthDay News) -- Your odds of surviving cancer depend on which country you live in. And, in the United States, it also depends on whether you're black or white, a new study finds.

Economic differences among countries, access to health care, and the availability of cancer treatments feed the disparities in survival, the report said.

"There is a very wide global range in the odds of survival after a cancer diagnosis," said lead researcher Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Great Britain. "Some of the range is understandable on the basis of the relative wealth of these countries," he added.

The study also confirms the disparity in cancer survival among blacks and whites in the United States, Coleman said. "The differences are large across the U.S.A., and even in different metropolitan areas," he said.

Coleman believes the differences among countries -- and within regions of countries -- is directly related to access to health care. "This is not a question of the competence of doctors in any particular country," he said. "This is an issue of the overall effectiveness of health services."

The report was published in the July 17 online edition of The Lancet Oncology.

For the study, called the CONCORD study, Coleman's team collected data on 1.9 million cancer patients in 31 countries. Using cancer registries from each country, the researchers compared the five-year survival rates for breast, colon, rectal and prostate cancer.

The United States has the highest rates of survival for breast and prostate cancers, while Japan has the highest survival rates for colon and rectal cancers among men. France has the highest survival rates for colon and rectal cancer among women, the report found.

In addition, Canada and Australia also have very high survival rates for most cancers. The lowest rate of survival among both men and women was seen in Algeria.

In the United States, the lowest survival rates are in New York City, except for rectal cancer in women, where Wyoming scores worse. The best survival rate for cancer in the United States is in Hawaii, the researchers found.

Idaho also has a high survival rate for rectal cancer, and Seattle has the highest survival rate for prostate cancer.

But, there's a big disparity in cancer survival rates between whites and blacks in the United States, and it favors whites. The differences range from 7 percent for prostate cancer to 14 percent for breast cancer. This disparity is most likely due to differences in the stage of cancer when it is diagnosed, the researchers said.

There's also a significant difference in cancer survival rates between the United States and Europe, with survival rates 10 percent and 34 percent higher in the United States for breast cancer and prostate cancer, respectively, the study found.

In Europe, France has the highest survival rate for rectal and colon cancers. Sweden has the highest survival rate for breast cancer, and Austria has the highest survival rate for prostate cancer.

The worst performing European countries are Poland and Slovakia.

Coleman said he hopes that political leaders will use the findings to provide better cancer diagnosis and treatment.

"Where the system is either slow in diagnosis, has too few doctors, has very few radiotherapy machines or in some countries, none, you would expect differences in outcome, and that's what these overall survival estimates are helping us provide," he said.

Dr. Elmer Huerta, president of the American Cancer Society's National Volunteer Board of Directors, said the study provides evidence for what has long been suspected -- namely, that where you live plays a role in cancer survival.

"The world needs to wake up to the fact that cancer is the second leading cause of death all over the place," he said. "Policymakers don't really put the weight to cancer care."

Huerta thinks more emphasis needs to be placed on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

"The world needs to smell the coffee and realize cancer can be prevented, and cancer can be cured if found early," he said.

More information
For more on cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

Roshini Raj, MD, Explains Common Flu Symptoms on the "Today" Show

"Health" contributor Dr. Raj on the "Today" show Feb. 13, discussing tips on fighting the flu
by Ross Weale

In the following segment, Roshini Raj, MD, of Health magazine describes flu symptoms and talks about whether you can still get that shot.



DR. ROSHINI RAJ
Roshini Raj, MD, a Health magazine contributor and part of the magazine's Health Expert Network, is board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine with degrees from the New York University School of Medicine and Harvard University. Currently Dr. Raj is an attending physician at NYU Medical Center's Tisch Hospital in New York City. She also serves as an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, and she has a special interest in women's health and cancer screening. She has also published several research articles on colon-cancer screening.

Dr. Raj has discussed health topics on numerous television outlets including NBC's Today show, ABC's Good Morning America, CNN, FOX News, and Discovery Health. She has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Men's Health, Women's Health, and Fitness on the state of health care and other health news of the day. Dr. Raj is often called upon to explain and demystify complicated health topics.

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Earlier Colon Cancer Screens Urged for Smokers

(HealthDay News) -- Smokers and people with significant exposure to secondhand smoke should start getting screened for cololon cancer five to 10 years earlier than the current recommended age of 50, a new study says.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York analyzed the cases of 3,450 colon cancer patients and found that current smokers were diagnosed with the cancer an average of 6.8 years earlier than people who never smoked, while former smokers who'd quit less than five years before were diagnosed 4.3 years earlier than people who never smoked.

People who'd quit more than five years before were the same as never-smokers.

People who started smoking before age 17 and those who were heavy smokers (one pack or more a day) were most likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer at a younger age.

The study also found that people exposed to secondhand smoke, especially early in life, tended to be younger when they were diagnosed with colon cancer.

The findings were published online in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology.
"The message for physicians and patients is clear: When making decisions about colon cancer screening, you should take into account smoking history as well as family history of disease and age," study author Luke J. Peppone, a research assistant professor of radiation oncology, said in a prepared statement.

Smoking has long been recognized as a major risk factor for many kinds of cancers, but it's only been recently that researchers have linked smoking with colon cancer, which is one of the most common kinds of cancer in the United States.

More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colorectal cancer screening.

Terriers Join Fight Against a Killer Disease in Humans

(HealthDay News) -- A feisty breed of terrier could stop scientists from barking up the wrong tree as they research a deadly lung disease in humans.

The illness, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), affects 128,000 Americans, is typically fatal within three years of diagnosis, and kills more than 40,000 people in the United States annually -- a death toll equivalent to that of breast cancer.

A fatal condition that looks remarkably like IPF also strikes the diminutive West Highland White terrier ("Westie"), however. And recently, medical scientists from the human and veterinarian worlds met for the first time to share information and pool resources against a mysterious killer.

"People may be a little startled at first to learn about this idea -- 'You're kidding me, you actually think there's promise in studying this dog to help my Dad with this disease?' And the answer is -- 'Yes'," said Mark Shreve, chief operating officer of the patient advocacy group Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, based in San Jose, Calif.

Because the Westie is so tightly bred, and because the illness progresses faster in dogs than humans, it is conceivable that dog-based research might yield valuable clues to the genetics or environmental factors that trigger pulmonary fibrosis in both species, experts explained.

"And if it transpires that it is the same disease, then obviously the options are limitless as to how we can look at information from dogs and use it to understand the disease in humans and vice versa," said Dr. Brendan Corcoran, director of the Hospital for Small Animals at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a pioneer in researching pulmonary fibrosis in Westies.

According to Shreve, most people find it hard to believe that a disease like IPF even exists amid the wonders of modern medicine.

"We are dealing here with one of the few diseases left on the planet for which there are no proven causes and no treatments," he said.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis occurs spontaneously, although certain factors -- such as smoking or exposure to airborne toxins -- do raise risks for the illness. "IPF is a progressive scarring process in the lungs that gradually robs a person of the ability to breathe," Shreve explained.

Some sort of signaling seems to go awry at the cellular level, he said, converting normal, expansive lung tissue into stiff, fibrotic scar tissue.

"Once it starts in patients with IPF, your body just never sends a signal to stop that scar tissue from being produced," Shreve said. "This scar tissue is obviously not lung tissue that is able to process oxygen."

There have so far been very few promising leads in discovering the root causes of IPF, said Dr. Jesse Roman, one of the country's leading researchers in the disease and a professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.

"Studies do suggest very specific [cellular] pathways, and there's a number of molecules that everybody is tuned into," he said. "But how you block them and how they relate to what happens in humans, that's less clear."

So, scientists are turning to creative new ways of looking at IPF.

Cross-talk between scientists worldwide led to the first-ever summit on the disease that included both veterinary and human medical researchers. The meeting was held in October on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and was attended by Corcoran, Roman and others. It was sponsored by the Westie Foundation of America and the American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Health Foundation.

Westies, which grow to just under a foot in length, are described by the AKC as "courageous and self-reliant, but friendly."

"They're a very popular pet because of their size and their nature," Corcoran said.

However, pulmonary fibrosis does pop up in the breed with regularity, first revealing itself as excessive panting and shortness of breath. The illness also tends to develop in the terriers' late middle-age (about eight or nine years), mimicking its typical onset in humans at about age 50 to 60.

Westies inevitably succumb to the lung fibrosis about a year and a half after their diagnosis, Corcoran said.

Still, "there's still the contentious issue of whether this is the same disease as occurs in humans," he said. The exact prevalence of the disease among Westies is also unclear, he added. That means the first aim of Westies-centered research will be epidemiological -- studying disease prevalence and gathering a core of dogs and their owners that researchers might follow going forward.

Getting postmortem samples of canine lung tissue will also be crucial to a better understanding of the causes of the disease, Corcoran said. But that has its own challenges, he added.

"Getting owners to volunteer their dogs for necropsy is always problematic," he said. In fact, it's often "harder in many instances to get lung pathology samples from dogs than it is from humans," Corcoran said.

"However, one of our plans is to try and build up a group of concerned owners who will volunteer to donate their dog when that day arrives. We've been having some discussions on that already with our colleagues in America," Corcoran said. "Hopefully, the more publicity that we get with this condition, the more we may get owners coming forward and volunteering their dogs for research."

Corcoran and the other experts said that a cure for IPF is definitely not around the corner -- the disease has been as tenacious in keeping its secrets as, well, a terrier.

But Westies may be just the foe in the fight against IPF requires. Corcoran pointed out that the dogs' tight breeding means genetic research could yield important clues. And their shorter lifespan -- a seventh of that of humans -- means scientists can watch the disease in "fast-forward," which might also speed research.

Westies are also free of certain confounding factors, such as smoking, that often muddle human research. "The dogs might turn out to have a very pure form of the disease that allows you to investigate the disease itself and not worry about other factors," Corcoran noted.

Given all of this, "why wouldn't you look at a Westie and research how the disease progresses?" said patient-advocate Shreve.

"We think it's a very creative approach to trying to help out humans," he said, "and our patients don't really have the patience to hang around waiting for a miracle.

More information
To learn much more about IPF, visit the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

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Cancer Killed Almost 8 Million Worldwide in 2007

(HealthDay News) -- Cancer continues to cut a deadly swath across the globe, with the American Cancer Society reporting 12 million new cases of malignancy diagnosed worldwide in 2007, with 7.6 million people dying from the disease.

The report, Global Cancer Facts & Figures, finds that 5.4 million of those cancers and 2.9 million deaths are in more affluent, developed nations, while 6.7 million new cancer cases and 4.7 million deaths hit people in developing countries.

"The point of the report is to promote cancer control worldwide, and increase awareness worldwide," said report co-author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, director of the society's Cancer Occurrence Office.

The number of cancers and cancer deaths around the world is on the rise, Jemal said, mostly due to an aging population. "There is increasing life expectancy, and cancer occurs more frequently in older age groups," he noted.

Lifestyle may be another reason for the rise in malignancies in developing countries, Jemal said, as people adopt Western behaviors such as smoking, high-fat diets and less physical activity.

The best way to stem the increasing number of cancer cases and deaths is prevention, especially in poorer countries, the expert said. In many developing nations, the health-care infrastructure simply isn't there to offer cancer screening and treatment for most people, Jemal added.

In developed countries, the most common cancers among men are prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. Among women, the most common cancers are breast, colorectal and lung cancer, according to the report.

However, in developing countries the three most common cancers among men are lung, stomach and liver, and among women, breast, cervix uteri and stomach.

Worldwide, some 15 percent of all cancers are thought to be related to infections, including hepatitis (liver cancer) and human papilloma virus (cervical cancer). But the incidence of infection-related cancers remains three times higher in developing countries compared with developed countries (26 percent vs. 8 percent), according to the report.

In addition, cancer survival rates in many developing countries are far below those in developed countries. This is mostly due to the lack of early detection and treatment services. For example, in North America five-year childhood cancer survival rates are about 75 percent compared with three-year survival rates of 48 percent to 62 percent in Central America, the report notes. The report estimates that 60 percent of the world's children who develop cancer have little or no access to treatment.

The report also includes a section on the toll tobacco use takes around the world. In 2000, some 5 million people worldwide died from tobacco use. Of these, about 30 percent (1.42 million) died from cancer -- 850,000 from lung cancer alone.

Jemal believes smoking is a key culprit.

"Smoking prevalence is decreasing in developed countries. So, as tobacco companies are losing market in developed countries they are trying to expand their market in developing countries," he said.

In China alone, more than 350 million people smoke. "That's more than the entire population of the United States," Jemal said. "If these current patterns continue, there will be 2 billion smokers worldwide by the year 2030, half of whom will die of smoking-related diseases if they do not quit," he added.

In the 20th century, tobacco use caused about 100 million deaths around the world. In this century, that figure is expected to rise to over 1 billion people. Most of these will occur in developing countries.

One expert agreed that many cancer deaths can be avoided through lifestyle changes.
"What is most provocative here is not the total global burden of suffering and death cancer causes, dramatic though that may be, but the variations in cancer occurrence around the world, and the insights provided about how much of the cancer burden need not occur at all," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.

In developing countries, cancer of the uterine cervix is a leading cause of death in women, Katz noted.

"Yet this infection-related cancer is now preventable by vaccine, and long treatable when detected early using the Pap smear. As a result, death from cervical cancer in developed countries is dramatically lower. Its toll in the developing world is testimony to missed opportunities to apply our resources effectively, and equitably," he said.

Cancer of the liver, often related to hepatitis infection, is a leading cause of death in developing countries, but not so in developed countries. "Again, an infection preventable with vaccine is causing death because of inequities in the distribution and use of existing resources," Katz said.

Prostate and colon cancers are more common in wealthier countries, where they are likely related to poor diet and obesity, Katz said. "Unnecessary suffering and death are occurring in affluent countries due to dietary excesses," he said.

Katz also noted that tobacco-related cancer is largely preventable. "The toll of tobacco-related disease, including lung cancer, is an appalling example of a global willingness to tolerate preventable suffering and death for the sake of profit," he said.

These data show both developed and developing countries how to move toward the lower rates of specific cancers, Katz said.

"It will be a tragic failure for public health if instead of applying these lessons developed countries continue to export tobacco and dietary transgressions so that the developing world adds to its current cancer burden ours as well," he said.

More information
For more information on cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

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Cancer Patients Gain From Reporting Symptoms Online

(HealthDay News) -- Having cancer patients report to doctors on their symptoms and side effects online may improve their care, a new study finds.

Even the sickest cancer patients are willing and capable of reporting their symptoms online, says a team from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

"Cancer care has become increasingly complex, causing office visits to become more compressed. This makes it challenging for the clinician to comprehensively assess each patient's symptoms in that brief window of time," study author Dr. Ethan Basch, a medical oncologist, said in a prepared statement.

"Because cancer therapies can be highly toxic, early detection of symptoms and timely treatment is vital. What is exciting to us about online self-reporting is that patients can alert clinicians to crucial symptoms in real time," Basch said.

The study included 107 lung cancer patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy who had access to a secure Internet patient reporting system developed by Basch and his colleagues. The patients were able to access the Symptom Tracking and Reporting (STAR) site using computers in waiting room kiosks and at home to report cancer symptoms and chemotherapy-related side effects.

The patients were followed for up to 16 months and 40 visits. All of the patients used the waiting room kiosks at some or all of their office visits, and an average of 78 percent logged onto the system at any given office visit. Patients were more likely to use STAR if they had prior computer experience.

The study found that 98 percent of patients found STAR easy to use, 90 percent said it was useful, and 77 percent believed it improved the quality of their discussions with clinicians.
The study appears in the Dec. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about coping with cancer.

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Prostate Cancer Treatments Often Compound Existing Health Problems

(HealthDay News) -- More than a third of prostate cancer patients may receive treatments that are inappropriate because of problems they are already having with urinary, bowel or sexual function, a new study suggests.

These mismatches might occur, because patients don't give enough information to their doctor or because their doctor favors a particular type of treatment, according to the report in the Nov. 26 online edition of Cancer.

"We found an awful lot of patients whose treatment seemed to be contraindicated by urinary, bowel or sexual problems they had before they got treated," said lead researcher Dr. James Talcott, from the Center for Outcomes Research at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston. "That's pretty good evidence that information wasn't transmitted or didn't factor in with the treatment decision."

Unlike other cancers, there are several treatment options for prostate cancer. The treatment that is best for an individual patient is based on several factors, including stage at which the cancer is diagnosed, age of the patient, and existing problems with urinary, bowel or sexual function that the patient has.

Treatments include external radiation therapy; brachytherapy, in which tiny radioactive particles are implanted into the prostate gland, and the surgical removal of the prostate gland.
Although these treatments are effective, each has a different set of side effects. External radiation can lead to bowel dysfunction, brachytherapy can cause urinary problems, and surgery can damage nerves involved in sexual function.

Treating patients who already have problems in these areas with a procedure that could exacerbate their problem is usually not recommended.

For example, treatment designed to preserve normal functions, such as nerve-sparing, prostate-removal surgery, is not appropriate for patients who have already lost sexual function, Talcott said.

To find the extent of treatment mismatches, Talcott's team collected data on 438 prostate cancer patients. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires that included questions about urinary incontinence and other urinary problems, and bowel and sexual dysfunction.

The researchers found that 89 percent of the patients had some level of urinary, bowel or sexual problem before starting treatment. Among these patients, 34 percent of those with one serious symptom had a mismatched treatment, as did 37 percent who had a less serious symptom. Moreover, 40 percent of those who had several symptoms also received contraindicated therapy.

In addition, among patients with significant dysfunction in all three areas for whom no treatment would be recommended, only 5 percent chose watchful waiting. In this strategy, patients are not treated but are followed closely.

These mismatches appear to occur because doctors and patients don't communicate well. Patients are often reluctant to talk about urinary, bowel and sexual problems, Talcott said. "And, sometimes patients override their doctor's recommendation," he added.

Talcott also thinks that physicians can be wedded to a particular treatment at the exclusion of others. "Surgeons believe in surgery, and radiation oncologists believe in radiation," he said. "That may be part of the problem."

To counterbalance physician bias, patients should get another opinion, Talcott said. "Patients should always get a second consult," he said. "It's a good idea to talk with a surgeon, a radiation oncologist and possible a medical oncologist."

One expert thinks that patients need to make an informed decision about which treatment is best.

"The kind of doctor that you see often predetermines the treatment you receive," said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colorectal cancer at the American Cancer Society. "Urologists are much more likely to have a surgical solution, and those who see a radiation oncologist are more likely to have radiation."

Patients need to be well-informed about their condition and the possible treatments and their side effects, Brooks said. "Patients need to arm themselves with as much information as possible about what their treatment options are, and what some of the contraindications of particular treatments are," he said.

Men also need to know what all the treatment options are, Brooks said. "Men need to be aware that, in some cases, depending on their overall medical condition and the stage of their cancer, that it is, at times, appropriate not to have any active treatment," he said. "Watchful waiting is a legitimate option in a significant proportion of men."

"In addition, doctors need to work with their patient to choose the best treatment option, Brooks said.

"If one takes the time to have a discussion, educate the patient and not rush them into a decision, then you may be able to allow them to get past their emotional response and make a more educated, logic-based response," Brooks said.

Brooks noted that because there are so many treatment options in prostate cancer, patients may insist on a particular treatment even though it's not the best choice for them.

"Where treatments are contraindicated in other places in medicine, doctors don't provide a treatment for a patient just because that's what they say they want," Brooks said. "You explain that that treatment is simply the wrong treatment for you, and therefore, we are not going to take that approach."

More information
For more on prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

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Experts Offer Tips on Lung Cancer Prevention

(HealthDay News) -- People, especially smokers, should not rely on vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent lung cancer, say members of the American College of Chest Physicians in their second annual guide to lung cancer prevention, care and treatment.

The new evidence-based guidelines also include a strong statement opposing the use of low-dose CT scans for the general screening of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. More people die from lung cancer than from colon, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer combined.

"Each year, great strides are made in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, allowing patients with the disease to live longer and increase the quality of their lives. However, the real culprit behind lung cancer is tobacco," Dr. Mark J. Rosen, president of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), said in a prepared statement. "Avoiding tobacco is the key to preventing most forms of lung cancer. Until we eliminate tobacco use completely, we will continue to deal with its devastating health consequences."

Published as a supplement to the September issue of the college's journal Chest, the guidelines note there is little evidence to show lung cancerscreening changes the outcome for patients, including those considered to be at high risk.

"Even in high-risk populations, currently available research data do not show that lung cancer screening alters mortality outcomes," Dr. W. Michael Alberts, chairman of the ACCP lung cancer guidelines, said in a prepared statement. "We hope that, one day, we can find a useful and accurate tool for general lung cancer screening but, at this time, the evidence does not support the use of LDCT screening."

This is the second edition of Diagnosis and Management of Lung Cancer: ACCP Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines. The guide contains 260 recommendations, including a review of complementary and integrative therapy for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer.

Due to the lack of supporting evidence, the guidelines recommend against the use of LDCT, chest X-rays or single or serial sputum cytologic evaluation for lung cancer screening in the general population, including smokers or others at high risk. The exceptions are for patients in well-designed clinical trials.

"Population screening for lung cancer is not recommended and may, ultimately, put the patient at risk for further complications," Dr. Gene L. Colice, vice chairman of the ACCP lung cancer guidelines, said in a prepared statement. "Nodules are commonly found during screening; however, to determine whether they are cancerous requires additional testing, which is fairly invasive and extensive. This may cause the patient needless risk, both physically and psychologically."

In terms of prevention, the guidelines recommend against the use of several common supplements and medications in at-risk patients or those with a history of lung cancer.

Beta carotene tops the list of supplements that the ACCP recommends against. According to the data, there is a actually a higher incidence of lung cancer in people who use these supplements.

Other supplement recommendations:
Vitamin A, including isotretinoin, has not been shown to decrease the number of second tumors and actually increases the risk of early death for current smokers.

Vitamin E is not recommended for lung cancer prevention, as studies show that there is no difference in the occurrence of lung cancer between people taking vitamin E and those who are not.

Aspirin has been shown in some studies to play a protective role, but the guidelines do not recommend aspirin for preventing lung cancer. Studies show aspirin does not decrease the risk of death or lung cancer incidence.

This is also the first edition of the guidelines to include recommendations on techniques that can help reduce the anxiety, mood disturbances and chronic pain associated with cancer.
Massage therapy is recommended as a way to reduce anxiety and pain.

Acupuncture is recommended for patients experiencing fatigue, dyspnea and chemo-induced neuropathy. Acupuncture is also recommended for people whose nausea, vomiting or pain is poorly controlled.

Electrostimulation wristbands are not recommended for managing chemo-induced nausea or vomiting. Studies show they do little to delay nausea or vomiting.

A multidisciplinary group of 100 pulmonologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, thoracic surgeons and other health professionals reviewed the 260 recommendations.

More information
To learn about lung cancer, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Periodic Health Checkups Boost Cancer Screening Rates

(HealthDay News) -- For people age 50 and older, getting a checkup every year or two may improve the likelihood they'll get the cancer screenings experts recommend, a U.S. study finds.

"Because people go to the doctor anyway when they feel sick or have a medical problem, some authorities have questioned whether preventive, or general, health examinations are worth the extra time and effort," study lead author Joshua Fenton, assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, Davis, said in a prepared statement.

"Our study suggests they are. If people over 50 have checkups every year or two, they're more likely to go ahead and get the cancer screenings they need," Fenton said.

The two-year study, published in the March 26 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, included over 64,000 patients, ages 52 to 78, who were eligible for breast, colon or prostate cancer screenings. Patients who had a regular checkup during that time were more than three times as likely to get a colon or prostate cancer screening than those who didn't have a checkup. Women who had a checkup were also more likely to be screened for breast cancer.

This difference in screening rates persisted, regardless of how many "illness" visits patients made to doctors during the study. This suggests that doctors may not have time to promote cancer screening when they're assessing a sick patient.

Fenton noted that a recent survey found that 97 percent of primary care doctors said they recommend appropriate cancer screening tests to patients during checkups, but few doctors discuss cancer screening during other types of patient visits.

"The preventive health exam may be an auspicious time to promote cancer screening. These visits may afford primary care physicians the opportunity to discuss and recommend cancer screening when indicated, and physicians' recommendations have been consistently associated with timely cancer screening," Fenton said.

More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about cancer screening.

Suicide Risk Rises for Cancer Patients, Especially Advanced Stage

By Judith GrochReviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Oct 19, 2006

Physicians and other health-care professionals are urged to be aware of the potential suicide risk for cancer patients and to offer support to high-risk patients and their families.

Be aware that the suicide risk for male cancer patients far exceeds that of female patients.

OTTAWA, Ontario, Oct. 19 -- Cancer patients in the U.S. are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as the general population, with the rate for men nearly five times that for women.

The composite picture for suicide risk was that of a white man, with a new diagnosis of either head-and-neck cancer or myeloma, widowed, with widely disseminated and perhaps high-grade disease, limited treatment options, or maybe a history of other cancers.

So revealed an analysis of 1.3 million U.S. cancer cases diagnosed from 1973 to 2001 and recorded in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry, Wayne Kendal, M.D., of the Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Center here. reported online in the Oct. 19 issue of Annals of Oncology.

The analysis found that 19 of every 1,000 male cancer patients and four of every 1,000 female patients took their own lives.

This amounted to 265 women and 1,307 men, reflecting 0.04% for women and 0.19% for men, he said. The overall hazard ratio (HR) for male suicide was 6.2 (95% confidence interval 5.4-7.1).

At around 24 suicides per 100,000 cancer patients a year, the rate was two to 2.5 times that of the general American population (10.6 per 100,000 per year, including the cancer population), This almost fivefold greater rate for men parallels the male-female ratio for suicide in the general population, Dr. Kendal added.

However, the smaller number of women in this cohort and the resulting lower statistical power could account for the findings, Dr. Kendal said. It is also possible that women, as in the general population, were less likely to react with self-directed violence.

The risk of suicide varied according to gender, prognosis, disease stage, type of cancer, ethnicity, and family status, Dr. Kendal said. Of all the risks, not surprisingly, advanced-stage cancer was a major suicide risk factor, with a higher risk for men even with intermediate-stage disease, Dr. Kendal added.

Analyzed according to sex, the women fared better. The suicide rates were similar for most cancer sites, except for colorectal (P = 0.01) and cervical cancer; depression played a role in many of the suicides in this study.

Using the SEER data, Dr. Kendal said, it was not possible to differentiate between suicides associated with affective illness or substance abuse and those motivated by a desire for relief from terminal illness or the avoidance of being a burden to others.

This high-risk picture, he said, might be associated with substance abuse, poor quality of life, or psychological issues in the context of poor family and cultural support, as well as a poor cancer prognosis, he added.

In contrast, for decreased risk, one might envision a woman of African-American heritage, with colorectal or cervical cancer, localized disease, and living with her spouse.

In the general population, mental illness and substance abuse figure prominently as high risk factors, noted Dr. Kendal. However, in this study, it was not possible to differentiate, on the basis of the SEER data, between suicides associated with affective illness or substance abuse and those motivated by the desire for relief from terminal illness or the avoidance of being a burden to others.

To help people cope with their cancer, Dr. Kendal concluded, oncologists and allied health-care workers should be alert to the risk of suicide in cancer patients, particularly those with high-risk factors such as poor social support, substance abuse, and a history of mental health problems.
(C) 2006 MedPage Today LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Do You Need These Tests?

Q: Do You Need These Tests?
Can you tell me what tests we all should have as we get older? Which ones do you recommend?

A: As we get older, a variety of medical tests can warn of impending problems, with hearts, bones and other chronic disorders. As long as you're in good health and have no unusual symptoms, I don't necessarily recommend an annual physical exam. But here's a list of the tests I do think everyone should have periodically as they age:

Cholesterol: This simple blood test can give you an idea of your heart disease risk. Have your cholesterol tested every five years beginning at age 20 and have your HDL ("good") cholesterol and LDL ("bad" cholesterol) checked if your total cholesterol is over 200. You should also request measurement of serum homocysteine and C-reactive protein, other indicators of heart disease risk.

Bone density: Any woman at high risk of osteoporosis (because her mother had it or because she is light boned and fair-skinned) should have this DEXA scan to determine her bone mineral density and keep track of how it is declining over time.

All women age 65 and older should have at least one DEXA scan to gauge the condition of their bones. We have good drugs to halt and reverse osteoporosis and reduce risk of hip fractures in old age. You should know, however, that DEXA tests also identify bone weakness (osteopenia) that is nowhere near the range of osteoporosis.

As a result of these findings, women may be put on the same strong drugs used to treat osteoporosis - not a wise move, in my judgment.

PSA: This test for prostate specific antigen, a protein produced by prostate cells, can warn men of prostate cancer.

However, false positives are common, and even when the test does detect cancer, it provides no information about how aggressive it is or how likely it is to spread. Until we have a reliable follow-up test to show whether or not a tumor is aggressive, I doubt the wisdom of using PSA as a screening tool, except for men at high risk of prostate cancer on the basis of family history or lifestyle. A newer test, the pro-PSA, may do better.

Discuss prostate screening with your physician.

Mammogram: Every one to two years for all women over 40 to detect early (and curable) breast cancer. Women with a positive family history of breast cancer may want to start screening earlier.

Colonoscopy: A test for early signs of colon cancer; every 10 years starting at age 50, earlier if there is a positive family history.

Blood pressure: Every two years after the age of 18 as long as your blood pressure is normal.
Eye exams: Every two to four years between ages 40 and 65; every one to two years after age 65. If you wear glasses or contacts, you should have your eyes checked annually, regardless of age.

Dental exams: Everyone, regardless of age, should have a dental check-up once or twice a year.
Full body skin exams: Check yourself monthly for moles; an annual skin exam by a physician regardless of age; follow your doctor's recommendations for more frequent exams if you've had any type of skin cancer.

Thyroid tests: All adults, particularly women, should be screened for thyroid disorders at the age of 35 and every five years thereafter.

Pap smears: Women need Pap smears to detect abnormalities that may precede cervical cancer every one to three years.

Diabetes screening: Fasting blood sugar and insulin levels should be checked if you are overweight or have a positive family history.


Weil, M.D.

Avastin Sanctioned as Lung Cancer Treatment

(HealthDay News) -- The Genentech drug Avastin (bevacizumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the most common lung cancer, the agency said Thursday.
The drug was sanctioned -- in combination with a standard two-drug chemotherapy regimen -- to treat unresectable, locally advanced, non-squamous, non-small cell Lung cancer.
In studies involving 878 patients, the addition of Avastin improved average survival time to 12.3 months from 10.3 months among people who received only the other two drugs, carboplatin and paclitaxel, the agency said in a statement.
Non-small cell lung cancer will account for three-quarters of the 174,000 U.S. cases of lung cancer to be diagnosed this year, the agency said. Lung cancer is the nation's leading cause of cancer death among both men and women.
Avastin was first approved in 2004 to treat colorectal cancer.

More information
To learn more about lung cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Low Folate Levels Could Cut Colon Cancer Risk

(HealthDay News) -- Conventional wisdom has indicated that high levels of folate cut risks for colorectal cancer, but a new study suggests low levels may do the trick, too.

Folate is a B vitamin found in fruits such as bananas and oranges, leafy green vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, liver, and many types of beans and peas.

Outside experts called the findings intriguing but preliminary, stressing that caution needs to be exercised when interpreting the conclusions.

"In a lot of ways, it's counterintuitive, but it may have validity," said Dr. Howard Manten, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "We need confirmatory studies."

"It's an interesting study, but with relatively small numbers of patients," added Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La.

This advice does not necessarily pertain to pregnant women, he added, since there is good evidence that extra folate in the diet greatly cuts the risk for having children with neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

Indeed, folic acid has long been known for its effect on reducing certain birth defects when taken in sufficient quantities by pregnant women. That was the rationale behind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 1998 order for folic-acid fortification of enriched grain products such as cereals and breads. Canada made fortification mandatory that same year.

According to the study, which appears in the April 25 online issue of Gut, there are also initiatives now in Europe to fortify food with folate.

Previous research had found that folate might protect against colorectal cancer. But many of those studies had looked at dietary intake rather than how much folate was circulating in the body, the authors stated.

In the current study, the biggest-ever prospective look at circulating levels of folate and colorectal cancer risk, researchers at Umea University, Sweden, looked at 226 people with colon cancer and 437 controls from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort.

Participants completed questionnaires on lifestyle, including diet, and also submitted blood samples for analysis.

People with either the lowest or highest levels of circulating folate were the least likely to develop bowel cancer, the researchers found. Those in the middle were almost twice as likely to develop the disease.

People with a common mutation in the MTHFR gene, which lowers a person's circulating folate levels, also had a lower risk of developing the cancer.

There was no apparent link between homocysteine, an amino acid which may play a role in atherosclerosis, and folate. B vitamins, including folate, tend to keep homocysteine levels down.
If nothing else, the findings should make people think twice before they supplement their diet with large amounts of any one nutrient.

"The study shows us that before we start adding extra things into our diet, we may want to really study them carefully, as we may be doing more harm than good," Brooks said.

More information
To learn more about folic acid, visit the American Dietetic Association.

Celebrex Has 'No Role' Against Colon Cancer

(HealthDay News) -- The final word on whether the cox-2 painkiller Celebrex might be used to prevent colon cancer is a definite "no," according to the long-awaited results of two major studies.

Both of the three-year trials found that the drug reduced the occurrence of precancerous polyps called adenomas in people at risk for colon cancer, but it more than doubled patients' risk for heart attack and other serious cardiovascular events.

"The message is that celecoxib [Celebrex] has no role as a chemotherapeutic agent -- in people with adenomas or in people among the general population. The risks far exceed the potential benefits," said Dr. Bruce Psaty, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and health services at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Psaty co-authored an editorial on the two studies, both of which were expected to be published in the Aug. 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Both studies received funding from Pfizer Inc., the maker of Celebrex.

Cox-2 inhibitors are part of a class of analgesics called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which also include widely used medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen (Aleve). Prescription medications such as Celebrex were originally developed because they are safer on the stomach than other NSAIDs.

However, Celebrex is the only cox-2 inhibitor left on the market. Two other related drugs -- Vioxx and Bextra -- were withdrawn in 2004 and 2005, respectively, following reports of heightened cardiovascular risks.

As mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Celebrex now carries a special "black box" warning that advises consumers of the potential heart dangers.

Cox-2 inhibitors work by blocking cyclooxygenase enzymes, which are produced by the body in response to inflammation and are also produced in precancerous tissues.

The latter fact left cancer researchers pondering whether or not long-term use of Celebrex might cut risks for colon cancer.

These two latest trials try to answer that question. The biggest study, called the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) trial, was led by Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. It tracked the incidence of polyps called adenomas in more than 2,000 patients with a prior history of these precancerous growths.

"Adenomas are a precursor of colon cancer -- you could consider them a proxy for colon cancer in the context of this trial," explained co-researcher Dr. John Saltzman, director of endoscopy at Brigham and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Patients in the trial were divided into three groups: a third received a dummy placebo, a third got 200 milligrams of Celebrex twice daily, and the remaining third received 400 milligrams of the drug twice a day.

The team then had patients come in for regular colonoscopies over the next 3 years.
Celebrex did help bring down the rate of adenoma recurrence, the researchers reported.

While more than 60 percent of those on placebo developed these potentially malignant polyps, that number fell to about 43 percent for those on lower-dose (400 mg/day) Celebrex, and 37.5 percent for those taking the higher dose of Celebrex (800 mg/day).

There was a definite downside to the long-term use of Celebrex, however.

"Compared with placebo, celecoxib was associated with approximately a doubling of the cardiovascular event rates," Psaty noted. Specifically, patients taking lower-dose Celebrex for three years had 2.6 times the rate of serious cardiovascular events -- such as fatal or nonfatal heart attack and/or heart failure -- compared to those taking placebo. That risk more than tripled for those on the higher-dose regimen, the researchers added.

A second three-year study involving nearly 1,600 patients -- this time led by Dr. Bernard Levin of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston -- found similar results.

The Prevention of Colorectal Sporadic Adenomatous Polyps (PreSAP) trial compared patients who took a placebo to those who received 400 milligrams/day of Celebrex.

It found that the drug cut the rate of adenomas by 36 percent after three years. However, long-term use also significantly boosted patients' risk for cardiovascular trouble.

According to Psaty, the take-home message from both trials is that the cardiovascular risks "far outweighed even the most optimistic projections about the drug's cancer-prevention properties."

Saltzman agreed, adding that heart risks associated with Celebrex probably apply to Vioxx and Bextra as well. "My presumption is that it's a class effect," he said.

However, other NSAIDs might still help lower the odds of colon cancer for patients at high risk, the experts said.

"Low-dose aspirin has been looked at already and does show some chemopreventive effects, with about a 20 percent reduction of recurrent adenomas," Saltzman noted. "And certainly low-dose aspirin is used by doctors everywhere to help the heart."

Even though aspirin's anti-cancer benefits aren't as great as those attributed to Celebrex, "I think it is not an unreasonable thing for people to pursue," he said.

The new findings probably won't change the status quo when it comes to the marketing of cox-2 inhibitors, the experts said, since much of the side-effect data had been published before.

"I don't think this gives new or additional information that will help with the determination of whether these drugs should stay on the market," Saltzman said.

More information
There's more on cox-2 inhibitors at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Is Vitamin D Another Anti-Cancer Vitamin?

Q: I've seen a number of articles recently suggesting that vitamin D protects against cancer. What do you think?-- Anonymous

A: Vitamin D has been getting a lot of press lately as more and more studies link it with reduced rates of a number of types of cancer (18 at last count) as well as with lower risks of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Some experts estimate that thousands of cancer deaths could be avoided in the United States each year if everyone got enough vitamin D.

The connections between vitamin D, cancer and other diseases stem from observations that certain disorders, including some forms of cancer, occur much less frequently in areas with sunny warm climates than they do in places where the sun doesn't shine brightly throughout the year. For example, in 1980 a team of epidemiologists found that rates of colon cancer were much higher in populations that were exposed to the least amount of light (especially in major cities and in high-latitude rural areas).

Bear in mind that our bodies make vitamin D in response to exposure to the ultraviolet B rays of the sun ("B" lightwaves are medium-length, as opposed to the long "A" waves). If you live in an area where the sun isn't strong year round or if you rarely venture outside or always put on sunscreen when you do, you could be shortchanged on vitamin D unless you take supplements.

It isn't easy to get enough from your diet. The best sources are fortified milk and cereals, eggs, salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines. (Unfortunately, most fortified foods provide vitamin D2, a form which is much less well utilized by the body than D3.)

Recent research has suggested that vitamin D regulates cell proliferation and can hold in check the sort of wild cell growth that leads to cancer. A number of studies have shown that some cancer patients diagnosed in the summer or fall when vitamin D levels are high as a result of sun exposure have higher survival rates than patients diagnosed in the winter.

We've long known that multiple sclerosis is rare at the equator and becomes much more frequent at high latitudes. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston who followed a group of more than 185,000 nurses for 19 years, getting updated nutritional information from them every four years, found that those with the highest intake of supplemental vitamin D had a 40 percent lower risk of developing MS compared to women who didn't take supplements. The study was published in the January 13, 2004, issue of the journal Neurology. In Iowa, researchers who followed a group of more than 29,000 women for more than 11 years found that those with the highest intake of vitamin D had the lowest risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Here, vitamin D may be protective via effects on the immune system.

This is a fascinating and fast-growing area of research. As you may know, in 2005 I raised my vitamin D recommendation from 400 IU daily to 1,000 IU because of the accumulating body of evidence showing that vitamin D is more important than we once thought, not only for our bones (it promotes calcium absorption) but for the protection it provides against many serious diseases. Most experts now agree that 1,000 IU is the amount of vitamin D we all should be getting daily. Look for supplements that provide D3 (choleciferol) rather than D2 (ergocalciferol). And there is no concern about toxicity at this dose even though vitamin D is fat soluble. In fact, as more evidence about the benefits of vitamin D are forthcoming, some researchers are already suggesting that 2,000 IUs is a more sensible dose. Stay tuned.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

–Author of:

• Eight Weeks to Optimum Health


• Spontaneous Healing


• The Natural Mind


• The Marriage of the Sun and Moon


• Health and Healing


• Natural Health, Natural Medicine


• From Chocolate to Morphine (with Winifred Rosen)

Diet and Exercise: The Real Fountains of Youth

You can take every pill and rue your parents for passing on their genes, but if you want to live long and well there are two things you must do -- eat right and exercise.

And while there are no guarantees in life, adopting these healthy pursuits can enhance your chances of vitality as you reach your 60s, 70s, 80s -- and beyond, experts say.
But a new report by the nonprofit Center for the Advancement of Health says that's not always easy for older people in a society that has built its streets for drivers, not walkers, and put convenience -- think fast foods -- for the young over possibilities for the old.

With 35 million Americans aged 65 and older -- a number expected to double during the next 25 years -- seniors and government must both make healthy choices, said Nancy Whitelaw, director of the National Council on the Aging's Center for Healthy Aging, which funded the report.

When it comes to nutrition and activity, "people know the message," she said. "The challenge is to make it operational in our daily lives."

People who get regular exercise, eat healthfully and avoid tobacco have a lower risk of chronic diseases that lead to premature death, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers. They also have reduced rates of disability, better mental health and cognitive function, and lower health costs.

Conversely, individuals who are physically inactive are almost twice as likely to develop heart disease as active people, according to the report. Inactivity is also linked to the development of diabetes and colon cancer, and can result in loss of muscle strength and mass, which can lead to frailty and lethal falls.

Yet, approximately one-third of persons age 65 or older have not engaged in any leisure-time physical activity within the past month, including the majority of those over the age of 75, according to the study.

Just 30 minutes of activity five days a week can make the difference, said Whitelaw. The idea is to get your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes, and participate in activities that build balance, strength and flexibility. Recommended exercises include walking, swimming and bicycling. Doctors also endorse strength training two days per week.

But, the right kind of activity
>> Read Full Story

The Dosage and Aplication is very important in the ozone procedure

The dosage is everything!!! Theophrastus Bombastus von Hoheim (better known, as Paracelsus)

First, our Integrated Medical School is located in the same city which goes trough the news-, in Chiang Mai, but we have nothing to do with Mr. Satori ( same as "Dr." Suchada, which goes trough our student newsletters with a lot of complaints - she is a Thai female and claimed she is "natural doctor" educated from Canada, she doesn't saw at all Canada ( after a newsmagazine research), in reality- she works for the Faculty of Agriculture (has no medical, more less Ayurveda background - at all) when she nobody wants to tell who she is - so she has deep sense of privacy - and we are distancing us from all her actions and her advertisements. We have nothing to do with her. She is only focused on financial benefits.

Our priority is always safety and education of the patients and students. Our main intention is to educate and to protect, not to hurt. I'm aware of it, there are in Asia, especially in the Ayurveda section, here in Chiang Mai, which claim and advertise knowledge in that way ( and have no education at all) this is quiet danger -as the fellow example shows. They tourists know about this kind of treatments from Europe or north America, okay I will try it, but in the end of the day after they get aware of it - this is the scam.

We are get many complaints in that way, because we are teaching this here in Asia, and there is not yet a quality management. But it seems only if some people get killed, we are listen the news and questions the treatments. What is about the colon infections, fractures during the massage, heavy metal and full of fungus poisoned supplements?

Is this really the treatments? Or is this the missing education? I this there is no watch dog here in Asia? I'm aware in Europe and north America, since 10 years - we are talking about quality management, how we can control it, how we can improve it? I guess in Thailand so far, we don't have it, I couldn't read about in English newspapers. or I miss it.

We are getting tons of emails and everybody asking the same questions, how safe is ozone treatment?

It is very safe, when you don't make this non-sense, what Mr. Sartori made. Everyone understand when you inject a pure gas (any gas!) in a human vessel this is very dangerous and life threatening, but this is not what us the German studies proved - in the procedures guide. So don't associate so much Mr. Sartori with legal ozone applications, like here:

Wednesday July 12, 03:42 PM
Mixed views on radical oxygen treatment
Many terminally-ill patients have turned to radical alternative oxygen treatment in a last ditch attempt to prolong, or even save, their lives.

Ozone therapy is a German healing practice praised by dozens of natural health advocates worldwide for more than five decades.

But the controversial treatment has met with harsh criticism from medical specialists who claim there is no evidence it is effective.

Ozone is in the spotlight after police in Thailand charged Austrian national Hellfried Sartori with fraud and practicing medicine without a license in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
They allege he injected foreigners with dangerous chemicals, and that he has already been convicted and jailed in the United States for illegally administering his so-called "ozone treatments".

But Sartori insists the injections are not linked to the deaths of some of his patients, many of whom hoped it might save them from cancer.

One Australian cancer patient, Kathleen Preston, sought a cure from the so-called Dr Ozone but died in hospital last July following the treatment.

Websites supporting ozone therapy claim oxygen can be used to treat and often cure hundreds of conditions, including cancer and HIV/AIDS.

The practice is legal in 16 countries excluding Australia. Several states in the US have passed legislation to ensure that such alternative therapies are available to consumers.
It is most commonly administered through intravenous injection, in water or as a low-pressure gas fed through the ear or rectum.

Oxygenation therapists believe that disease is caused by the absence of oxygen and loss of cellular ability to use oxygen for "good energy" metabolism, detoxification, and immune system function.
The therapy therefore restores the body's ability to produce "good" energy, "detoxify" metabolic poisons, and to kill invading organisms, they claim.

Several organizations and companies worldwide have dedicated themselves to promoting the practice, which a 1980 German study found to be safe and effective with few side effects.
But the medical community says there is no evidence the therapy works.
At the heart of the criticism is that ingestion, infusion, or injection of oxygen or hydrogen peroxide cannot re-oxygenate the tissues of the body as claimed.
Yahoo news

The are many things are unknown here in Asia, and the USA as well (maybe in Australia too). I met only few doctors they understand what ozone / oxygen does, but for sure there is a relationship, between cancer, blood and a lack of oxygen, but for sure the solution is not - to put liquid or as a gas pure ozone in any vessel in the human body.

This is non-sense - and I'm not sure Mr. Satori - didn't know this. If you read more in detail the news, I'm not sure they patients really died from the ozone applications (or the high dosage of potassium? Why this?).

There is really not so much details in the news. But who come in the bad news is ozone/ oxygen treatments, and they have nothing to do with news.

What is happen here, Mr. Satori, hungry for money, claims some non-sense procedure, the people understand, he promise - he can treat cancer in a short time, that’s why he asking for his short time effort for US$ 50.000 (in 1! week).

I don't understand anyone who can pay this for 1 week, but I guess the are in a last hope - and he abuse a treatment, which are helped many people - not in one week, not in his way - but in a safe way - which can improve so many things: the blood, the live quality, and on and on. In this case, we are recommend again, please educate your self, before you make any treatment. Please consult at least 3 doctors to get your own opinion, and don't believe and pay a fake illusion and promise.

For that reason our website shows many different sites to help you, to educate your opinion.

Nutrition & Cancer

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What is macrobiotics? How can change in diet affect one's risk of developing breast and colorectal cancer? These and related topics are addressed in this video of the September 16, 2004, lecture by Lawrence H. Kushi, Sc.D.*, with an introduction by Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., director of the Integrative Medicine Program:

Food & Nutrition in the Prevention & Treatment of Cancer: A Personal & Professional Odyssey

*Dr. Kushi is associate director for etiology and prevention research, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, and internationally renowned for his research in nutritional epidemiology. Dr. Kushi is the second son of Michio and Aveline Kushi, known for over 30 years as the primary proponents of the macrobiotic approach to health and healing.

What should you eat during cancer treatment? What foods will help to build your immune system? Dena Reagan, MS, RD, LD, clinical dietition in the Department of Clinical Nutrition at M. D. Anderson, discusses nutrition as it relates to cancer treatment, and addresses patients' most frequently asked questions. In addition, patient and caregivers talk about their personal experiences. (17:34)

Nutrition & Cancer

What Are The Health Benefits Of Fiber?

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Fiber is helpful to the body in many ways:

Relieving constipation and hemorrhoids

Preventing certain diseases

Keeping weight under control

Avoiding And Relieving Constipation
Fiber can absorb large amounts of water in the bowels, and this makes stools softer and easier to pass. Anyone starting a higher-fiber diet will notice the difference in stool bulk.

• In almost all cases, increasing fiber in the diet will relieve constipation within hours or days.
• Because stools are easier to pass, less straining is necessary, and this can help relieve hemorrhoids.

Need To Know:
Constipation can have other causes, however, so you should consult your doctor if it is not relieved by increased fiber.

Nice To Know:
On average, it takes 39 hours in women and 31 hours in men for food to pass through the colon and out of the body. This time varies a lot from person to person, depending on personality, state of mind, and fiber intake. Usually, the effect of fiber is to speed up this process.

Preventing Certain Diseases
Getting enough fiber in the diet can lower the risk of developing certain conditions:

Heart disease. Evidence is now growing to support the notion that foods containing soluble fiber (such as oats, rye barley, and beans) can have a positive influence on cholesterol, triglycerides, and other particles in the blood that affect the development of heart disease. Some fruits and vegetables (such as citrus fruits and carrots) have been shown to have the same effect.

• Cancer. The passage of food through the body is speeded up when fiber is eaten. Some experts believe this may prevent harmful substances found in some foods from affecting the colon and may protect against colon cancer. (However, a recent study conducted by Harvard University concluded that eating high-fiber food did not appear to protect people from colon cancer.) Other types of cancer that are linked with overnutrition and may be prevented by a fiber-rich diet include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer.
• Diabetes. Adding fiber to the diet helps regulate blood sugar levels, which is important in avoiding diabetes. In addition, some people with diabetes can achieve a significant reduction in their blood sugar levels and may find they can reduce their medication.
  Diverticular disease. Diverticular disease is a condition in which small pouches, called diverticula, develop in the wall of the colon. In a small percentage of people, these diverticula become inflamed or infected, a condition known as diverticulitis. Diverticular disease can cause pain, diarrhea, constipation, and other problems.
• Gallstones and kidney stones. Rapid digestion leads to a rapid release of glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream. To cope with this, the body has to release large amounts of insulin into the bloodstream, and this can make a person more likely to develop gallstones and kidney stones (in addition to diabetes and high cholesterol).

Keeping Weight Under Control
Foods containing plenty of fiber have more bulk than low-fiber foods. If taken in the right form at the right time and at sufficient quantities, fiber can sometimes slow the onset of hunger.

Nice To Know:
To help control your weight with fiber:
·Always try to take fiber in the natural form. For example, instead of sprinkling bran over your food, choose foods naturally high in fiber.
·Avoid foods that have been made easier to eat and digest by removal of fiber, especially sugars (including fruit juices).
·Choose foods that satisfy hunger without providing many calories, mainly vegetables and most fruits, which are rich in fiber.

Need To Know:
Some individuals claim that fiber alone can cause weight loss without the need to diet. But in fact, the only effective and safe way to lose weight is to:

• Reduce calorie intake to a safe level
• Get enough exercise to burn off excess calories

However, fiber can be a useful aid in reducing calorie intake.

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