Cancer researchers have known for years that it was possible in rare cases for some cancers to go away on their own. There were occasional instances of melanomas and kidney cancers that just vanished. And neuroblastoma, a very rare childhood tumor, can go away without treatment. But these were mostly seen as oddities – an unusual pediatric cancer that might not bear on common cancers of adults, a smattering of case reports of spontaneous cures. And since almost every cancer that is detected is treated, it seemed impossible even to ask what would happen if cancers were left alone. Now, though, researchers say they have found a situation in Norway that has let them ask that question about breast cancer. And their new study, to be published Tuesday in The Archives of Internal Medicine, suggests that even invasive cancers may sometimes go away without treatment and in larger numbers than anyone ever believed. Robert M. Kaplan, the chairman of the department of health services at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, [is] persuaded by the analysis. The implications are potentially enormous, Dr. Kaplan said. If the results are replicated, he said, it could eventually be possible for some women to opt for so-called watchful waiting, monitoring a tumor in their breast to see whether it grows. “People have never thought that way about breast cancer,” he added. Dr. Kaplan and his colleague, Dr. Franz Porzsolt, an oncologist at the University of Ulm, said in an editorial that accompanied the study, “If the spontaneous remission hypothesis is credible, it should cause a major re-evaluation in the approach to breast cancer research and treatment.”

Note: For reports from major media sources on many hopeful new developments in the battle against cancer, click here.
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Complementary therapy refers to treatments, techniques, or methods that are used along with standard or mainstream medicine. Some complementary therapies may help relieve certain symptoms of cancer or its treatment. An alternative therapy refers to an unproven therapy that is used instead of conventional medicine. Some alternative therapies are bogus, and some have dangerous or even life-threatening side effects. Still others scientists don’t know enough about.

To date, information on just how many patients actually use complementary and alternative methods and on which patient characteristics influence that use has been limited.
Popular Therapies

ACS researchers surveyed more than more than 4,000 survivors who were participants in the American Cancer Society’s Study of Cancer Survivors-I (SCS-I) and found that more than half used some type of alternative or complementary therapy.

“Many complementary methods are extremely popular among cancer survivors, who are spending a lot of their time, money, and attention on them,” said Ted Gansler, MD, Director of Medical Content at the American Cancer Society and co-author of the study. “For this reason, it’s important to determine which are helpful, not only for shrinking tumors and extending survival, but also for relieving symptoms and improving quality-of-life.”

The researchers looked at 19 different complementary methods — from acupuncture to Tai Chi. Survivors listed the following practices most frequently: prayer/spiritual practice (61.4%), relaxation (44.3%), faith/spiritual healing (42.4%), nutritional supplements/vitamins (40.1%), meditation (15%), religious counseling (11.3%), massage (11.2%), and support groups (9.7%). Hypnosis (0.4%), biofeedback (1.0%), and acupuncture/acupressure (1.2%) were among the least cited.

A Detailed Picture

Of the group, younger, more affluent, and more educated cancer survivors were more likely to use the therapies. Women were more likely than men to use energy techniques such as Tai Chi and yoga (10.1 vs. 1.9%) and manipulative body practices such as massage (16.9 vs. 3.9%), though both men and women were only somewhat less likely to use non-spiritual mind-body methods such as aromatherapy, hypnosis, and meditation (58.6% vs. 42.8%).

Breast and ovarian cancer survivors were more likely to use alternative and complementary therapies than survivors of other cancer types, even when the researchers controlled for factors such as gender, stage of disease, and other characteristics. More research is needed into why these groups are more likely to embrace the methods.

This is the first of several reports that will tap American Cancer Society’s Study of Cancer Survivors-I (SCS-I) data to further investigate the topic of complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer survivors.

“We need to learn more about why some people use certain complementary methods, why other don’t, what benefits users expect, and how effective various complementary methods are in improving survivors’ length and quality of life,” said Gansler.

For more information on this topic and to learn more about some of the therapies mentioned in this story, see the American Cancer Society’s guide to Complementary and Alternative Therapies. *CW note: Homeopathy is not listed in the ACS review of therapies, yet it has helped many people who turn to its use. In every therapy one should work with a qualified therapist.

Her blog has additional information on other cases in where Gardasil is implicated. We can keep her in our prayers.

Welcome to the Family Blog for Jenny.

Jenny is a 14 year-old girl who lives in Northern California.

Over the last year, she has gone from being a fully healthy 13 year-old to being nearly completely paralyzed. She retains movement only in her neck and mouth and faintly in her left hand.This rapid decline in motor ability has understandably shocked and concerned us [her family]. We have responded by working with the best doctors in the field, fighting continuously to reach a diagnosis and find treatments.

Despite the best efforts of an extremely talented array of medical professionals, we have not been able to stop her decline. Doctors don’t know for sure why Jenny got so sick but some think it may be connected to the Gardasil vaccinations she got (last one in March, 2007) and the weakening that seemed to start in spring and gradually built up. One sign was in April 2007 when everyone in her PE class laughed at her because she couldn’t jump a hurdle they considered really puny. It is hard to say when the weakening started but by summer she had a terrible limp.

One of the major things that would help her doctors figure out what to do is to find other people like Jenny (called “comparables”)–people that share her medical condition and perhaps have had luck with certain treatments.

We are creating this blog to aid us in our search for comparables. If you think you may know a comparable, we urge you to check out the comparable traits in the sidebar and email us at jenjensfamily@gmail.com. Even if you do not know a comparable, feel free to leave a comment of support or link to any information you think might be helpful for us.

Uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients were significantly more likely to present with advanced-stage cancer compared with privately insured patients. Also more African-Americans were found to receive a later stage diagnosis. This finding was most prominent for patients who had cancers that can potentially be detected early by screening or symptom assessment. (full study here)

What If You Are Uninsured?

If you are uninsured take advantage of free cancer screenings. Many hospitals and clinics offer free screening services throughout the year or at annual health fairs.

Make health an enthusiastic priority. Many cancers develop over a 10 -20 year period. An interesting fact about the body is that our cells renew every seven years.

Learn about the symptoms and behaviors that lead to cancer.

Be Well.

These common STDs include human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus and trichomoniasis, Forhan said.

Forhan announced the results as part of the CDC’s 2008 National STD Prevention Conference, in Chicago.

“These findings are really giving us a lot of pause about how we provide care to adolescent girls who are sexually active,” said Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City and chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Section of Adolescent Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “The numbers are really astonishing.”

Forhan noted that most of the burden of STDs falls on young African-American women. “Among African-American teenagers, about one in two were affected compared to one in five white teens,” she said.

In terms of the racial disparity, “it’s what we’ve always seen, which is very unfortunate,” Alderman said.

In the study, Forhan’s team collected data on 838 girls aged 14 to 19 who took part in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study did not include syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV, as earlier studies found very low prevalence of these diseases in this age group.

HPV and chlamydia are the most common STDs found among teenage girls, Forhan said. “Almost one in five overall had a strain of HPV associated with cervical cancer or genital warts,” she said.

“We need to be screening adolescent girls who are sexually active and providing them with HPV vaccine,” Alderman said. “The recommendations are to screen sexually active girls, but many girls don’t disclose to their health-care provider that they are sexually active, even when asked,” she said.

As for chlamydia, 4 percent of teenaged girls had this STD, Forhan said. “The majority of chlamydia infections do not have symptoms. If left untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which leaves these young women at risk for atopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain or infertility,” she said.

In addition, the study found that 2.9 percent of young women had trichomoniasis, and 2 percent were infected with genital herpes, Forhan said.

According to Forhan, about 50 percent of the teens reported having sex, and the prevalence of STDs in this group was 40 percent. “Even for young women with only one reported lifetime sexual partner, one in five had an STD,” she noted.

“If you choose to be sexually active, you need to protect yourself and be screened for these infections,” Alderman said. “And all girls between the ages of 11 and 26 should get vaccinated for HPV.”

Among women with an STD, 15 percent had more than one infection, Forhan added.

“These data provide a clearest picture to date of the overall burden of STDs in adolescent women in the United States,” Forhan said. “The study also underscores the importance of addressing racial disparities in STD rates among young women.”

Race itself is not a risk factor for STDs, Forhan said. However, factors such as limited access to health care, poverty, community prevalence of STDs, and misperceptions about individual risk are some of the reasons that STD rates are particularly high among African-Americans, she said.

Comments:

The female population in the United States ages 0-19 is estimated to be 40,328,895. This sample consisted of slightly over 800 girls. Who were they? What is their way of life? Based on this sample, it is recommended to vaccinate all girls. There are less risky ways to foster the health (if that is the goal) of young girls.

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women run a significant risk of acquiring human papillomavirus (HPV) from their very first sex partner, according to a new report.

Human papillomavirus or HPV is the cause of genital warts, as well as most cases of cervical cancer.

“HPV infections are common among newly sexually active young women, even in those reporting only one partner,” Dr. Rachel L. Winer told Reuters Health. Therefore, she pointed out, the new HPV vaccines will have the greatest impact when they’re given before young women become sexually active.

Winer, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues attempted to determine the risk of HPV infection in 244 young women enrolled in a study before or within 3 months of their first intercourse. They were followed for up to three years. Women who acquired a second sex partner during follow-up were excluded from the analysis.

Within 12 months of intercourse with their first sex partner, 29% of the women tested positive for HPV, the researchers report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. After 24 months, the cumulative rate of HPV infection increased to 39%, and at 36 months it was 49%.

The investigators found that the only factor associated with risk of HPV infection was the male partner’s number of previous partners.

“Our previous work has shown high rates of female HPV infection following sexual debut,” Winer said. “Therefore, it is not surprising to see a high risk of infection from a first male partner.”

She added, “It is important to encourage condom use with all new partners, and regular Pap smear screening.”

SOURCE: Journal of Infectious Diseases, January 15, 2008.