Cancer Survivors Need Long-Term Follow-Up Care: Report
Customized, long-term follow-up care is needed for the 10 million cancer survivors in the United States, says an Institute of Medicine study released Monday.
The report said too few cancer survivors receive this kind of follow-up and called on oncologists to create a "survivorship plan" to guide the future health care of every cancer survivor, the Associated Press reported.
When a cancer patient's active treatment is completed, their special physical, psychological and social needs may be just starting, but these needs are largely ignored by doctors, researchers and patient advocacy groups, the report noted. That means that many cancer survivors are unaware of lingering health issues or have to deal with them on their own.
Potential lingering health problems caused by cancer treatments include: mobility or memory problems, nerve damage, infertility or sexual dysfunction, and impaired organ function, the AP reported.
Cancer survivors may also be distressed over changes in their appearance, face discrimination from employers, or have to contend with increased health insurance premiums.
WHO Official Warns of 'Incalculable Human Misery' in Flu Pandemic
If the world is unprepared for the next human flu pandemic, there will be "incalculable human misery," the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday in Geneva at the first major international coordination meeting on bird flu .
"We have been experiencing a relentless spread of avian flu," along domestic poultry and migratory birds, Lee Jong-wook said at the gathering of 600 health experts and planners. "It is only a matter of time before an avian flu virus -- most likely H5N1 -- acquires the ability to be transmitted from human to human, sparking the outbreak of human pandemic influenza."
"This is the time for every country to prepare their national action plan -- and act on it. If we are unprepared, the next pandemic will cause incalculable human misery -- both directly from the loss of human life and indirectly through its widespread impact on security," Lee added.
Mike Ryan, the WHO's outbreak response director, said about 60 percent of countries have pandemic preparedness plans but most of those are just a piece of paper. Ryan said those plans need to move off the paper and into exercise and rehearsal, the Associated Press reported.
The warnings came as the maker of the antiviral drug Tamiflu announced it will increase production to make 300 million treatments annually by 2007 in order to meet government orders.
Swiss manufacturer Roche Holding AG said the increase would mean a tenfold rise in production from 2004, when a decision was made to start boosting production of the drug scientists believe may help humans fight a mutated virus, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities ordered all live poultry markets in Beijing to close and officials went door-to-door seizing chickens and ducks from private homes as part of a major increase in the country's efforts to combat avian flu.
About six million birds have been slaughtered around the area of China's most recent outbreak of bird flu, authorities said Monday.
Health experts are especially concerned about the possibility of a bird flu outbreak among humans in China, which has a huge poultry industry (5.2 billion birds) and is also located along major wild bird migration routes.
Parasitic Worms May Aid New Asthma Treatments
Tiny parasitic worms called helminths could help researchers develop new ways of treating disorders such as asthma and hay fever, says an Edinburgh University study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Researchers found that helminths (such as roundworms and threadworms) can fool the human immune system so that it doesn't attack the worms. It's believe the worms release molecules that switch off the immune system response that would kill the parasites, BBC News reported.
The researchers said it may be possible to copy this helminth survival tactic in order to suppress allergic reactions and reduce the need for vaccinations or drugs.
Last year, U.S. scientists reported that helminths may help prevent the inflammatory bowel disorder Crohn's disease.
Pre-Diabetic Condition Affects About Two Million U.S. Youngsters
An estimated two million youngsters in the United States have an obesity and inactivity-related pre-diabetic condition called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) that puts them at risk for diabetes and heart disease, say federal government researchers.
IFG is characterized by abnormally high blood sugar levels after several hours without eating. A blood test is used to measure IFG.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health analyzed data from 915 youngsters ages 12 to 19 and found that one in 14 had IFG. Among overweight adolescents, the rate was one in six, the Associated Press reported.
Youngsters with IFG were more likely than other children with normal fasting glucose levels to have higher levels of bad cholesterol and blood fats called triglycerides, the study found.
The findings were published Monday in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The researchers said that lifestyle changes such as increased physical activity and healthier eating can help prevent pre-diabetes from progressing to diabetes in adults. They said the same is likely true for children, the AP reported.
Aspirin May Protect Against Skin Cancer
Aspirin may help reduce the risk of skin cancer, says an Australian study.
The 15-year study of more than 1,600 people in southern Queensland concluded that regular use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protected against skin caner and sunspots.
People who took two pills a week for more than five years had a 63 percent reduced risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. That risk decreased by 90 percent among people who took at least eight pills a week for a year, Agence France-Presse reported.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
"We found that people who regularly used aspirin and other NSAIDs had significantly lower risks of developing skin cancer than people who did not use them," researcher David Whiteman told AFP. "Moreover, we found that among people who had never had skin cancer, those who regularly used aspirin had significantly lower numbers of sunspots."
He said that aspirin and other NSAIDs inhibit an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase (COX), which allows some kinds of skin cancer to develop.
"Aspirin blocks the COX enzyme and it just so happens that these enzymes are involved in inflammation ... and these enzymes are also used by cancer cells to stimulate blood cells," Whiteman told AFP.
Food Fact:
Herbal essence.
Herbs add discreet flavor to a dish, if you handle them just right... When buying fresh parsley, basil, thyme or chives, the stem ends should look freshly cut, not dried out or wilted. Don't wash herbs until you're ready to use them. Store sturdier herbs in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. Delicate herbs such as cilantro and tarragon should be placed in a glass of water and stored on the counter for a couple of days. Except for parsley which is dreadful dried, you can substitute dried herbs for fresh, but remember that drying intensifies the flavor. In general use one-fourth to one-third of the amount of fresh herbs called for in the recipe.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Train your brain.
Exercise more than your muscles to stick to a fitness plan -- be a winner at the mental game. Preparing your mind along with your body is pivotal for accomplishing your goals. Try writing a personal mission statement and tape a copy to your refrigerator, the dashboard of your car, your computer -- anywhere you can see it during the day.
FAQ of the day:
What is a healthy level of body fat?
Healthy adult males' generally accepted range of body fat is from 15 - 22%; healthy women range from 20 - 25%. Elite athletes may lower their body fat through exercise, but they also tend to be genetically lean. Women who reduce their body fat by 1/3 or more through intense exercise and/or restricted eating may depress their estrogen production too far to sustain a normal menstrual cycle. Not only is this likely to cause infertility, it's known to cause bone loss and osteoporosis in young women.
No comments:
Post a Comment