Articles

Radiation-induced Lumbo-sacral Plexopathy

rvance — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 06:27:28 -0700

The first radiation series was to the area of my fifth cervical vertebra.

I underwent radiation therapy three times during the period of my conventional myeloma therapy from my original diagnosis through October of 1997. The first radiation series was to the area of my fifth cervical vertebra. The next radiation therapy was to my iliac crest area and nine months later, a radiation series to my sacrum or tailbone. No discussion of the possibility of nerve damage ever took place. I began to notice my legs weakening in 98 and 99 and went to a neurologist for some explanation of what might be happening to my legs. He told me that I had peripheral neuropathy.

Multiple Myeloma Survivor

rvance — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:19:34 -0700

You’ve Just Been Diagnosed With Multiple Myeloma – 10 Things To Do

When I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1994, I wish that I had read the article below before I doing anything else. The article below, "You've Just Been Diagnosed..." is written by the multiple myeloma survivor who edits the mma listserv, Chris Hollyer, a knowledgeable, warm and genuinely helpful person who has experienced a great deal and who is a tremendous resource.

AstraZeneca Provides $10 Million to American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:03:08 -0800

AstraZeneca and the American Cancer Society announced a collaboration to significantly extend the reach the ACS Patient Navigator Program

Newswise — AstraZeneca and the American Cancer Society today announced a strategic collaboration to significantly extend the reach of the Society’s innovative Patient Navigator Program – an initiative to assist individual cancer patients in negotiating the health care system. With major support from AstraZeneca, the American Cancer Society will accelerate development of at least 50 new Patient Navigator Program sites over the next five years in communities throughout the United States. The first three sites to launch are Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle, Washington; Helen F.

Cancer hurts caregivers

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:03:06 -0800

New research suggests caring for patients with cancer is as stressful as looking after someone with Alzheimer's.

Frances Hornback rushed her husband to the emergency room in June after he began coughing up blood. It was only then, 18 months after her husband first began having respiratory problems, that he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

About a week later, the couple was back in the ER. But this time, it was Frances who was ill.

Cancer hurts caregivers, too

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:03:08 -0800

New research suggests caring for patients with cancer is as stressful as looking after someone with Alzheimer's.

About a week later, the couple was back in the ER. But this time, it was Frances who was ill.

Cancer care often uncoordinated

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:03:04 -0800

Many cancer patients were confused about prescriptions.

When doctors diagnosed Andrew Colletti with leukemia at age 41, they gave him a 1-in-10 chance of survival. Saving his life would require multiple rounds of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant — and the full-time attention of his wife.

New Drug Points Up Problems in Developing Cancer Cures

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 11:56:09 -0800

Despite promising discoveries and multibillion-dollar investments, cancer research is quietly undergoing a crisis.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - Despite promising discoveries and multibillion-dollar investments, cancer research is quietly undergoing a crisis. Federal drug regulators will soon announce several initiatives that they hope will help salvage the field.

DVT and Pulmonary Embolism: Part II. Treatment and Prevention

rvance — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:07:37 -0800

Treatment goals for deep venous thrombosis include stopping clot propagation and preventing the recurrence of thrombus

FDA Committee Supports Simple DNA Tests When Patients Are Prescribed Coumadin (Warfarin)

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:19:54 -0800

The FDA committee points out that genotyping by DNA testing can help to reduce potentially fatal and serious adverse reactions to the drug.

A blue-ribbon advisory committee to the FDA has recommended genotyping patients at the beginning of Coumadin (generic name warfarin) therapy to allow patients to be more quickly stabilized at safe and effective dosage levels. The FDA committee points out that genotyping by DNA testing can help to reduce potentially fatal and serious adverse reactions to the drug.

Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:38:27 -0800

Statement of the Right Consumers have the right and responsibility to fully participate in all decisions related to their health care.

Statement of the Right Consumers have the right and responsibility to fully participate in all decisions related to their health care. Consumers who are unable to fully participate in treatment decisions have the right to be represented by parents, guardians, family members, or other conservators

In order to ensure consumers' right and ability to participate in treatment decisions, health care professionals should:

Code of Medical Ethics

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:43:48 -0800

The medical profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient.

Preamble

The medical profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient. As a member of this profession, a physician must recognize responsibility to patients first and foremost, as well as to society, to other health professionals, and to self. The following Principles adopted by the American Medical Association are not laws, but standards of conduct which define the essentials of honorable behavior for the physician.

Principles of medical ethics

Medical Ethics Terms

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:57:32 -0800

In ethics, the principle that one has a duty to convey benefits or to help others farther their important and legitimate interests.

Advance Directive: Instructions from a person capable of making decisions regarding future medical treatment in the event that he or she becomes incapable of making those decisions. An advance directive may specify medical treatment the individual consents to or refuses (a treatment directive), may designate a surrogate decision maker (a proxy directive), or both. See also Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions and Living Will.

Anatomical gift: a donation of all or part of a human body to take effect upon or after death.

Code of Ethics for Pharmacists

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:07:00 -0800

Pharmacists are health professionals who assist individuals in making the best use of medications.

Preamble

Pharmacists are health professionals who assist individuals in making the best use of medications. This Code, prepared and supported by pharmacists, is intended to state publicly the principles that form the fundamental basis of the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists. These principles, based on moral obligations and virtues, are established to guide pharmacists in relationships with patients, health professionals, and society.

Principles

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Cancer drug damage 'gets worse'

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:36:00 -0800

Anti-cancer drugs such as anthracylines are known to damage the heart - but Dutch researchers have shown that damage gets worse over the years.

Anti-cancer drugs such as anthracylines are known to damage the heart - but Dutch researchers have shown that damage gets worse over the years.

They followed up 22 children and young adults treated with the drug doxorubicin for bone tumours.

The University of Groningen researchers say people who take the drugs should be given life-long cardiac monitoring. The study appears in Annals of Oncology.

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A New Approach to Growing Heart Muscle

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:36:07 -0800

It looks, contracts and responds almost like natural heart muscle – even though it was grown in the lab.

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Exercise helps beat cancer

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:55:55 -0800

Exercise not only helps patients recover and feel better, it also increases the chances of survival, according to research at Edith Cowan

Exercise not only helps patients recover and feel better, it also increases the chances of survival, according to research at Edith Cowan

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Exercise Amount More Important than Intensity

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:00:24 -0800

A study shows that the amount of exercise a person engages in per week may be more important than the intensity of the exercise.

Newswise — The amount of exercise a person engages in per week may be more important than the intensity of the exercise. A study in the October issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that adults who participate in mild exercise, such as walking briskly for 12 miles or exercising for 125 to 200 minutes a week at moderate intensity can significantly improve their aerobic fitness and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

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The Shape of Health to Come

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:02:27 -0800

While millions of Americans place fitness as one of their top New Year's resolutions to improve shape, muscle tone and overall appearance, cancer survivors have another priority - life.

Newswise — While millions of Americans place fitness as one of their top New Year's resolutions to improve shape, muscle tone and overall appearance, cancer survivors have another priority - life.

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Individualizing Treatment for Multiple Myeloma Patients

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:24:18 -0800

Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in cooperation with industry partners, have, for the first time, identified tumor specific alterations in the cellular pathway by which the multiple myeloma drug bortezomib (Velcade) works

Newswise — Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in cooperation with industry partners, have, for the first time, identified tumor specific alterations in the cellular pathway by which the multiple myeloma drug bortezomib (Velcade) works, and they have identified nine new genetic mutations in cancer cells that should increase a patient’s chance of responding to the agent.

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Glaxo Chief: Our Drugs Do Not Work on Most Patients

rvance — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:59:42 -0800

A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them

A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.

Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them.

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Immune Cells Help to Maintain Cognition & Cell Renewal

rvance — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:47:10 -0700

A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department, has come up with new findings that may have implications in delaying and slowing down cognitive deterioration in old age.

Newswise — A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department, has come up with new findings that may have implications in delaying and slowing down cognitive deterioration in old age. The basis for these developments is Schwartz's team's observations, published today in the February issue of Nature Neuroscience, that immune cells contribute to maintaining the brain’s ability to maintain cognitive ability and cell renewal throughout life.

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A Fork in Memory Lane: The Hippocampus and Recognition

rvance — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:49:45 -0700

Recollection and familiarity are both elements of recognition memory and both, new research suggests, are functions of the brain’s hippocampus

Newswise — Anyone who has recognized a person but then struggled with the particulars – “I know I know her, but how…?” – can also appreciate the distinction between “familiarity” and “recollection.”

Recollection, as defined by memory specialists, is the ability to call up specific details about an encounter, while familiarity is simply knowing that someone or something has been encountered before. Both are elements of recognition memory and both, new research suggests, are functions of the brain’s hippocampus.

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The Mind-Altering Benefits of Exercise

rvance — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:53:17 -0700

Research indicates that exercise may encourage brains to work at optimum capacity

Research indicates that exercise may encourage brains to work at optimum capacity, by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage.

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Brain Still Developing in Middle Age, Scans Show

rvance — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:57:32 -0700

While the rest of the body stops growing long beforehand, the brain seems to keep on developing into middle age

While the rest of the body stops growing long beforehand, the brain seems to keep on developing into middle age, new research suggests. The findings could prove important in the prevention of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The brain is much more like a muscle than we ever thought. That is, the brain's structure does change over time and it may be possible to, in essence, "bulk up" the brain throughout much of adulthood.

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Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Reduces the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

rvance — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:17 -0700

A new study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that moderate red wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease

Newswise — A new study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that moderate red wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The study entitled “Moderate Consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon Attenuates ?-amyloid Neuropathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease” is in press, and will be published in the November 2006 issue of The FASEB Journal. The breakthrough study will also be presented at the "Society for Neuroscience Meeting” held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 14-18, 2006.

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