Dec 8, 2005

Watch Out For Other Cancers And Leukemia

It is unusually cold here for the time of the year. December has only just started, and it has been snowing heavily as if to put the whole year's worth of snow in one week. Lying in my bed I can hear the sound of wind blowing outside and the temperature outside 10 below with the wind-chill. They say we have a crazy weather because it could be warm on one day, but can transform to below zero within the matter of hours. It's one thing for the temperature to change gradually, but when it changes so rapidly it is difficult to get adjusted. If I have a choice I would like to I like to hibernate when it is cold like that, but then I may have to wait until the weekend.

As I was taking my breakfast this morning, thinking about the topic for today, this news item about increased risk of other cancers in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer came to my attention. It is not a surprising finding, given the fact that these women are subjected to the double torments of chemotherapy and radiation. Also it is possible that these women are genetically susceptible to other cancers in addition to breast cancer. Women who are carriers of BRCA mutations have increased risk of a host of other cancers including ovarian cancer. As I have written in one of my previous blogs, one in about 500 women who received chemotherapy for breast cancer may develop leukemia.

The study I am talking about is a huge Danish study, involving 525,527 patients with breast cancer in 13 cancer registries in Europe, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

This study found an almost 6-fold increase in the risk of developing cancers of the connective tissue of the thorax and upper limbs, suggesting toxic effects from past radiation. Incidence of leukemia was higher, and so was the risk of endometrial cancer. While it is known that tamoxifen increases risk of endometrial cancer, the current study suggests that the increased incidence may not be entirely related to tamoxifen, because this risk was high even before 1975, when tamoxifen was rarely used.

Colorectal, kidney and postmenopausal breast cancer appear to share obesity as a risk factor, while ovarian cancer and breast cancer seem to have a genetic predisposition in common. The study found an excess of ovarian cancer already within one year of breast cancer diagnosis, along with an increased risk of breast cancer after ovarian cancer.

Sherin      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Breast cancer
Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer ranks second as the leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Until recently breast cancer topped the list of leading causes of cancer deaths in women, but lately lung cancer has claimed the top position. If skin cancer is excluded, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among American women.