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CDC Announces Decrease in New Lung Cancer Incidence Rates

In the January of 1964, the Surgeon General made its first report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer. Yesterday, the CDC announced a new triumph in the war against lung cancer by announcing that the rate of new lung cancer cases have decreased among men and women in the United States since 2005. Lung cancer incidence rates decreased 2.6% per year among men, and 1.1% per year among women. While, generally, this is a significant victory, the differing rates between men and women are troubling.

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Focus on Family

Luke blogBelow is a guest post from Luke Tripodi on the importance of family during his cancer journey.  We thank him for taking the time to guest post and wish him continued health!

By Luke Tripodi

My story starts off the same way so many others’ do.  It starts with a diagnosis.  The shock, sadness, and fear of the unknown.  Then comes selecting a doctor, a hospital and a treatment plan.  And finally your treatment either works or it doesn’t…or it does but then the cancer comes back so really it didn’t work, and then you think it worked but the cancer comes back again so really it didn’t work…

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Staying Warm and Healthy in the Windy City

At this point, Chicagoans are celebrating the end of the Polar Vortex, which caused temperatures as low as -40 degrees (with the wind-chill) in our windy city. But, extreme shifts in temperatures can mean extreme health concerns to be aware of. Respiratory problems, the rise of the common cold, frostbite, and hypothermia are just some health problems that can arise in extreme weather changes.

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Hot Flashes More Frequent and Severe in Cancer Survivors

From perimenopause through postmenopause, the most common symptoms include irregular menstruation, hot flashes, and night sweats. Every woman will experience these menopausal symptoms differently. However, research shows that women who survive cancer, in particular, have more frequent, severe, and bothersome hot flashes than other women with menopausal symptoms. Women who survive cancer also report better emotional and social well-being, compared to women without cancer.

A large scale study including 934 cancer survivors and 155 female participants without cancer assessed hot flashes and other menopause-related symptoms and sexual function. 90% of the cancer survivors were afflicted by breast cancer. The study took place in Western Australia and used standard questionnaires.

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Effects of Hormone Levels on Cognition after Menopause

Do hormone levels in postmenopausal women affect cognitive function? New research sheds light on the postmenopausal brain.

In a recently published study, researchers found that estrogen levels after menopause may have no impact on cognitive skills, but progesterone levels might. Progesterone had some association with global cognition and verbal memory among newly postmenopausal women.

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Hypertension during Pregnancy May Mean Hot Flashes later

New research shows that women with high blood pressure during pregnancy may be at higher risk of having troublesome menopausal symptoms in the future. A research study from the Netherlands examined the relationship between hypertensive diseases and hot flashes and night sweats.

Investigators looked at 853 women who regularly visited a cardiology clinic. Among these women, 274 had a history of high blood pressure during their pregnancy, such as preeclampsia. Participants were classified as having hypertension (high blood pressure) if her systolic blood pressure was 140 mmHg or higher, if her diastolic was 90 mmHg or higher, or if she took antihypertensive medication.

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Hormones affecting Quality of Life during Menopause

Women undergoing menopause experience symptoms including hot flashes, sleeplessness, depression, joint pain, and poor concentration, to name a few. Hormone therapy has proven to improve some of these symptoms in menopausal women, but new research shows that treatment may only improve quality of life in those who undergo a significant number of hot flashes.

A recently published study done in Finland, looked at use of hormone therapy in women who had recently gone through menopause. 150 women were divided into two groups, those with seven or more moderate to severe hot flashes per day, and those with three or fewer mild hot flashes per day. In each group, half the women used hormone therapy and half received only a placebo.

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Saving Fertility Not Priority at Most Cancer Centers

Lack of policies to protect cancer patients’ fertility at top cancer centers

Best health blogs 2013Infertility is consistently listed as one of the most distressing long-term side effects of cancer treatment for adolescents and young adults. Yet the leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers — which should be leaders in fertility preservation — aren’t doing an adequate job of helping patients protect their fertility, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

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Why do we need young people in the health marketplace?

As enrollment statistics in the new health insurance marketplaces start to become available, there is a growing focus on whether the enrollment of so-called “young invincibles” will be sufficient to keep insurance markets stable according to the Kaiser Family Foundation excerpted below.

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