Only 5 to 10 percent of all cancers are strongly hereditary. Most have been linked to exposure to chemicals, radiation and cigarettes and to obesity and other lifestyle factors. “The new frontier in cancer prevention is nutrition and physical activity.”

“Mammography is the only screening test shown to reduce a woman’s incidence of dying from breast cancer.” Traditional 2-D mammography isn’t perfect (80 percent of abnormal mammogram readings turn out to be benign) and new 3-D mammography is promising but not ready for widespread use (twice the dose of radiation). “Screen according to your level of risk.” A woman who has a strong family history of cancer may be a good candidate for an MRI in addition to a mammogram. Ultrasound is is an option for women with dense breast tissue who have an immediate lifetime risk of breast cancer but who aren’t able to undergo a breast MRI.

Except for women with the BRCA gene mutation, women with cancer in one breast are at very low risk of developing breast cancer in their other breast, no greater risk than women in the general population. “In most women, their risk of having a second cancer in the other breast is somewhere between .5 and 1 percent a year.”

The screening test for prostate cancer remains controversial because it can lead to overtreatment of slow growing cancers. “Anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of the cancers found with the PSA don’t need to be treated.” A new screening for prostate cancer called the prostate health index is based on a new form of PSA called the pro-PSA. “It’s significantly more accurate than the PSA test and has a tendency to identify the more life=threatening prostate cancers.”

deltaskymag.com June 2013

Researchers suggest testosterone levels may be the hormone affecting both the prostate and thinning hair. Genetics is also likely a factor, since cancer and baldness can run in the family. This is the first research of its kind to show the specific link in African-American men, the group most affected by this type of cancer.

May-Jun 2013 CMA Today

May-Jun 2013 CMA Today

Some school have ‘no-nit’ policies that state children are not allowed to return until all nits are removed. Will be interesting to see if policies change. Warning children of the transmission methods is a good way to protect their scalps.

Nephrogenic DI occurs if the kidney becomes resistant to ADH’s urine concentrating properties and is less common. It is usually related to lithium use or hypercalcemia in adults.

The signs & symptoms are the same & include polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excessive urination, more than 3 L/day), decreased urine specific gravity & decreased urine osmolality. The individual may also show signs of dehydration, restlessness & agitation due to hypernaturemia. Treatment is aimed at identifying the underlying cause of the condition.

So, a few causes of central DI include neurotrauma, cerebral anneurysm; tuberculosis, syphilis, toxoplasmosis, encephalitis, meningitis; sarcoidosis; Wolfram syndrome, and anorexia nervosa. Nephrogenic DI may be caused by medications such as amphotericin B, phenytoin, corticosteroids, anticholinergics, rifampin and aminoglycosides; alcohol; hypercalcemia or hypokalemia; sickle-cell disease, multiple myeloma, polycystic kidney disease and others.

Interesting article in January Nursing 2010

A power of attorney is a designation that gives another party the ability to make both legal and financial decisions in the event that a person is unable to do so. Without this document, a spouse may not automatically be able to tap funds to pay for long-term care or sell a home that the couple owned jointly.

Advance health directives include a living will, a health proxy and a HIPPA release. The living will gives written instructions on the degree of life-sustaining measures that should be taken. A health proxy appoints another party to make health-related decisions in the event that a person is unable to do so. A HIPPA release is a document that allows another person access to someone’s medical records, which is useful for insurance claims.

Other decisions that people should make about their future include; having an authorized user on bank and investment accounts and thinking about long-term-care insurance.

March 2013 realsimple.com 

For thousands of years, we depended on the sun for required vitamin D. But for the past three decades dermatologists have been telling people to avoid direct sunlight because of skin cancer.  Add an increase in children playing indoors and you get a worldwide deficiency pandemic.

The minimum amount of vitamin D needed is 600 IU per day for an average adult.  The author of this article recommends 1500 to 2000 IU.

Most adults should assume they are deficient. The author advises that if you are obese, if on antiseizure medicines, have a gastrointestinal or intestinal-malabsorption problem or a granuloma disorder, you consult a provider prior to taking a supplement.

The vitamin D our body nmakes when it absorbs sunlight is a good source, so the author suggests sensible sun exposure in addition to taking supplements and eating food supplements with vitamin D. Ask yourself how long it takes you to develop a mild sunburn, then go outside for half that time two to three times a week between 10 and 3 during the warm months. Expose your arms and legs, but always protect your face. Skin pigment is a natural sunscreen, so those with dark-skin should stay out longer than fair-skinned people to absorb sunshine. For example Indian people tend to need two to four times more exposure and African Americans may need 5 to 10 times more.

April 2013 Realsimple.com

The majority of these rings cause no symptoms, and patients are unaware of their presence. When the opening of the esophagus becomes smaller as the diameter of these rings shrink, solid, poorly chewed food that stays in chunks can get caught at the level of the ring. This occurs when the diameter of the ring reaches approximately 1 cm. The patient then experiences chest pain, or sticking sensation in the chest with swallowing (dysphagia). If the chunk of food passes into the stomach, these symptoms subside quickly and the patient can resume eating. If the food does not pass into the stomach, some patients have to induce regurgitation of the food by sticking their finger in the back of their throat before they can resume eating.

medicinenet.com