Cancer-Fighting Foods | Cancer and its treatment |

Top cancer fighting food 

A healthy diet, brimming with nutrients and beneficial compounds, fortifies your body and its defense mechanism. With a strong immune system in place, your body has the capability to ward off potentially fatal diseases such as cancer. Cancer can be caused by several factors including toxin exposure and genetic elements. To reduce the risk of falling prey to cancer development, ensure that the following super-foods are a regular part of your diet.

Tomatoes (Tmater)

Tomatoes, with their rich color and succulent flesh, offer a powerhouse of nutritional compounds. They not only protect the body from cancer causing elements, but also offer a host of other impressive benefits. To learn more about tomatoes and their goodness, read Tomatoes; Juicy, Delicious and Beneficial

Green Tea (Chay)

This soothing hot beverage is popularly consumed for improved digestive functioning and weight loss. However, with its ample supply of catechins (a strong antioxidant), green tea is able to do a whole lot more than just help you shed a few pounds. Powerful antioxidants amp up the natural immunity of the body, ensuring that action taken against cancer causing agents is prompt and effective. To get more information about the wonders of green tea, read 5 Reasons To Go Green

Lentils, Beans and Peas (Goshaat)

If you are looking for a substitute for red meat and processed meat, these three food items are your answer. High proportions of protein, dietary fiber, and folate facilitate the process of strengthening the body as well as protecting it from DNA damage. The rich phytochemical content is also believed to play a significant role in the process of cancer fighting.

Cruciferous Vegetables (Sabzia)

This class of vegetables includes cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, kale, and broccoli (To learn more about broccoli, read Broccoli: Healthy, Nutritious and Delicious). Phytochemicals coupled with potent antioxidant compounds enable these vegetables to function as cancer-fighting foods. These foods are also rich in the all-important glutathione, an antioxidant that has been singled out for its immense cancer-fighting potential. Read This Is One Powerful Antioxidant for more information.

Dark Chocolate 

This variant of chocolate, in controlled portions, is an excellent addition to the list of cancer-fighting super-foods. Research has revealed that dark chocolate is an exceptional source of antioxidants and anti-depressant compounds. Antioxidants are needed to help the body fight off cancer cells while the anti-depressant compounds can effectively combat the despair that is often triggered by the disease. As far as dark chocolate is concerned, the higher the cocoa content, the healthier the chocolate. Obtain more information about dark chocolate at 10 health benefits of dark chocolate.body function optimally and enable it to steer clear of harmful diseases. These super-foods will fortify your body and not only reduce the risk of cancer, but also push your body to fight back if cancer is present. However, before you make any dietary modifications, be sure to consult your doctor.

Breast and its problem in urdu,Breast ka laj in urdu

What is the treatment for breast cancer?

Patients with breast cancer have many treatment options. Most treatments are adjusted specifically to the type of cancer and the staging group. Treatment options should be discussed with your health care team. Below you will find the basic treatment modalities used in the treatment of breast cancer. Treatment modalities are always changing and developing. It is important that you discuss the different options with your health care team.

Surgery:
Most women with breast cancer will require surgery. Broadly, the surgical therapies for breast cancer can be divided into breast conserving surgery and mastectomy.

Breast-conserving surgery:

This surgery will only remove part of the breast (sometimes referred to as partial mastectomy). The extent of the surgery is determined by the size and location of the tumor.

In a lumpectomy, only the breast lump and some surrounding tissue are removed. The surrounding tissue (margins) is inspected for cancer cells. If no cancer cells are found, this is called "negative" or "clear margins." Frequently, radiation therapy is given after lumpectomies.

Mastectomy:

During a mastectomy (sometimes also referred to as a simple mastectomy), all the breast tissue is removed. If immediate reconstruction is considered, a skin-sparing mastectomy is sometimes performed. In this surgery, all the breast tissue is removed as well but the overlying skin is preserved.

Radical mastectomy:

During this surgery, the surgeon removes the axillary lymph nodes as well as the chest wall muscle in addition to the breast. This procedure is done much less frequently than in the past, as in most cases a modified radical mastectomy is as effective.

Modified radical mastectomy:

This surgery removes the axillary lymph nodes in addition to the breast tissue.

Depending on the stage of the cancer, your health care team might give you a choice between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy. Lumpectomy allows sparing of the breast but usually requires radiation therapy afterward. If lumpectomy is indicated, long-term follow-up shows no advantage of a mastectomy over the lumpectomy.

Radiation therapy:

Radiation therapy destroys cancer cells with high energy rays. There are two ways to administer radiation therapy:

External beam radiation:

This is the usual way radiation therapy is given for breast cancer. A beam of radiation is focused onto the affected area by an external machine. The extent of the treatment is determined by your health care team and is based on the surgical procedure performed and whether lymph nodes were affected or not.

The local area will usually be marked after the radiation team has determined the exact location for the treatments. Usually the treatment is given 5 days a week for 5 to 6 weeks.

Brachy  therapy:

This form of delivering radiation uses radioactive seeds or pellets. Instead of a beam from the outside delivering the radiation, these seeds are implanted into the breast next to the cancer.

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy is treatment of cancers with medications that travel through the bloodstream to the cancer cells. These medications are given either by intravenous injection or by mouth.

Chemotherapy can have different indications and may be performed in different settings as follows:

Adjuvant chemotherapy: If surgery has removed all the visible cancer, there is still the possibility that cancer cells have broken off or are left behind. If chemotherapy is given to assure that these small amounts of cells are killed as well, it is called adjunct chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy: If chemotherapy is given before surgery it is referred to as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Although there seems to be no advantage to long-term survival whether the therapy is given before or after surgery, there are advantages to see if the cancer responds to the therapy and by shrinking the cancer before surgical removal.

Chemotherapy for advanced cancer: If the cancer has metastasized to distant sites in the body, chemotherapy can be used for treatment. In this case, the health care team will need to determine the most appropriate length of treatment.

There are many different chemotherapeutic agents that are either given alone or in combination. Usually these drugs are given in cycles with certain treatment intervals followed by a rest period. The cycle length and rest intervals differ from drug to drug.

Hormone therapy:

This therapy is often used to help reduce the risk of cancer reoccurrence after surgery, but it can also be used as adjunct treatment.

Estrogen (a hormone produced by the ovaries) promotes the growth of a few breast cancers, specifically those containing receptors for estrogen (ER positive) or progesterone (PR positive).

The following drugs are used in hormone therapy:

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex): This drug prevents estrogen from binding to estrogen receptors on breast cells.

Fulvestrant (Faslodex): This drug eliminates the estrogen receptor and can be used even if tamoxifen is no longer useful.

Aromatase inhibitors: They stop estrogen production in postmenopausal women. Examples are letrozole (Femara), anastrozole (Arimidex), and exemestane (Aromasin).

Targeted therapy:

As we are learning more about gene changes and their involvement in causing cancer, drugs are being developed that specifically target the cancer cells. They tend to have fewer side effects then chemotherapy (as they target only the cancer cells) but usually are still used in adjunct with chemotherapy.

Targeting HER2/Neu protein:

Monoclonal antibody: Trastuzumab is an engineered protein that attaches to the HER2/Neu protein on breast cancer cells. It helps slow the growth of the cancer cell and may also stimulate the immune system to attack the cancer cell more effectively.

It is given IV either once a week or every 3 weeks.

Drugs that target new tumor blood vessels

Tumors need new blood vessels to grow. The process of blood vessel growth is known medically as angiogenesis. New drugs are being developed to target this growth and fight certain cancers, including breast cancer.

Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against blood vessel cells. Newer study results seem to indicate that this drug slows the cancer growth in some patients but did not improve survival. The use of this medication should be discussed with your health care team.

Alternative treatments:

Whenever a disease has the potential for much harm and death we search for alternative treatments. As a patient or the loved one of a patient you want to try everything and leave no option unexplored. The danger in this approach is usually found in the fact that the patient might not avail themselves of existing, proven therapies. You should discuss your interest in alternative treatments with your health care team and together explore the different options.

Breast Cancer Symptoms in Women, What is the treatment for breast cancer?, Heart attack symptoms / Treatments and drugs

Breast Cancer Symptoms in Women

Breast Cancer Symptoms in Women  / What is Breast Cancer Symptoms 

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor (a collection of cancer cells) arising from the cells of the breast. Although breast cancer predominantly occurs in women it can also affect men. This article deals with breast cancer in women.

Breast cancer facts

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
• One in every eight women in the United States develops breast cancer.
• There are many types of breast cancer that differ in their capability of spreading (metastasizing) to other body tissues.
• The causes of breast cancer are not yet fully known although a number of risk factors have been identified.
• There are many different types of breast cancer.
• Breast cancer is diagnosed with physician and self-examination of the breasts, mammography, ultrasound testing, and biopsy.
• Treatment of breast cancer depends on the type of cancer and its stage (the extent of spread in the body).
• According to the American Cancer society:
• Over 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed each year.
• Nearly 40,000 women are expected to die of breast cancer in 2012.
• There are over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
• The recommendations regarding frequency and age when women should get screening mammography differ slightly between different organizations and task forces.
• Between 40 and 50 years of age, mammograms are recommended every 1 to 2 years (National Cancer Institute). After 50 years of age, yearly mammograms are recommended (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology).
• You should discuss with your health care professional the screening frequency that he or she recommends and what guidelines they follow.
• Patients with a family history or specific risk factors might have a different screening schedule including starting screening mammograms at an earlier age.

Breast Cancer Mammogram:

Importance of Mammograms

Early detection of breast cancer is important for the best outcome. Mammograms are X-rays of the breast that can detect tumors at a very early stage, before they would be felt or noticed otherwise. The American Cancer Societyrecommends that women at average risk have a mammogram every year starting at age 40. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Forcerecommends that women from 50 to 74 years of age have a screening mammogram every 2 years. It also suggests that women under age 50 consult with their doctor to determine the best screening schedule for their individual situation.

Breast Cancer Symptoms in Women, What is the treatment for breast cancer?, Heart attack symptoms / Treatments and drugs

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer may or may not cause symptoms. Some women may discover the problem themselves, while others may have the abnormality first detected on a screening exam. Breast pain is not a common symptom of breast cancer. Some of the possible signs and symptoms include:

• Non-painful lumps or massesK/li>
• Lumps or swelling under the armsK/li>
• Nipple skin changes or dischargeK/li>
• Changes in the feel, size, or shape of the breast tissue

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