It's been a confusing week for women.
The new mammogram recommendations out earlier this week caused quite an uproar. Now comes another change in screening tests for women -- this one for cervical cancer.
Young women should have their first Pap test no sooner than age 21, regardless of when they become sexually active, say new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Earlier screening for cervical cancer may lead to unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments for an increasingly rare cancer, according to ACOG, the leading U.S. professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists.
A government task force says women in their 40s don't need annual mammograms, but Sara Fought would beg to differ: She says she's alive today because a routine mammogram found cancer when she was 42.
A vacation to Washington nearly a decade ago led to a life-changing revelation for Kathi Cordsen. Passing by a breast cancer awareness event, her mother blurted it out: Her doctor had just confirmed that she had breast cancer.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, more than 25 years after he was treated for Hodgkin's disease, a spokesman at his company Vulcan Inc. told CNN on Monday.
Almost half of women who have breast cancer surgery still have pain or numbness two to three years later, according to a new study. Women younger than 40 who receive lumpectomies are at the greatest risk.
The retired Laker center is being treated for chronic myeloid leukemia
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest college and professional basketball players of all time, says he has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.
Most people know that healthy cholesterol levels can help protect your heart. But new research suggests another potential benefit: a lower risk of developing some types of cancer.
It's been a confusing week for women.
The new mammogram recommendations out earlier this week caused quite an uproar. Now comes another change in screening tests for women -- this one for cervical cancer.
Young women should have their first Pap test no sooner than age 21, regardless of when they become sexually active, say new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Earlier screening for cervical cancer may lead to unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments for an increasingly rare cancer, according to ACOG, the leading U.S. professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists.
A government task force says women in their 40s don't need annual mammograms, but Sara Fought would beg to differ: She says she's alive today because a routine mammogram found cancer when she was 42.
A vacation to Washington nearly a decade ago led to a life-changing revelation for Kathi Cordsen. Passing by a breast cancer awareness event, her mother blurted it out: Her doctor had just confirmed that she had breast cancer.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, more than 25 years after he was treated for Hodgkin's disease, a spokesman at his company Vulcan Inc. told CNN on Monday.
Almost half of women who have breast cancer surgery still have pain or numbness two to three years later, according to a new study. Women younger than 40 who receive lumpectomies are at the greatest risk.
The retired Laker center is being treated for chronic myeloid leukemia
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest college and professional basketball players of all time, says he has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.
Most people know that healthy cholesterol levels can help protect your heart. But new research suggests another potential benefit: a lower risk of developing some types of cancer.
More than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat, according to a report released Thursday in Washington.
My husband just completed six cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy for his non-Hodgkin's diffuse large B cell lymphoma in his upper stomach. Compared with what we've heard others have endured, his side effects were relatively mild. However, he continues to have a strained, raspy voice. His oncologist didn't seem too concerned or aware of what might be causing this. Is this a "typical" chemo side effect?
Rick Lyke was diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was 47. His response was to set up "Pints for Prostates," an organization that uses the universal language of beer to reach men with its message about the importance of prostate cancer screening.
At 32 years old Doug Ulman is president of cancer-support charity the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He has also survived three separate cases of cancer.
My son is not a hugger. He's almost 2 years old, and I can count on one hand the times he's squeezed his chubby arms around my neck (they all involve my husband running the vacuum). I'm okay with this because on the rare occasion when I do get a hug, I get very emotional. I imagine most moms experience these my-heart-might-burst moments when a seconds-long embrace makes them feel like the luckiest person in the world. But for me, it's a little different. A little sweeter. And I am a lot luckier. See, I wasn't supposed to have a baby. I'm a cancer patient. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a slow-moving form of blood cancer. I'm in remission, thanks to a medication I take every day that states right smack on the bottle: Do not get pregnant while taking this drug. But I did. Then I stopped my lifesaving medication and endured nine long months of what-ifs: What if the brief exposure to the drug affects the baby? What if my cancer comes back? What
I have basal cell carcinoma. I have had two surgeries on my face. I have had a few frozen off as well. Was to go back to the doctor to get a checkup on the ones he has frozen off. I have canceled every appointment since then. I am just tired of always getting cut on and things frozen off. I always seem to get bad news every time I go. Now, I have noticed a new light brown spot on my face. It looks like a freckle. Yes, I do have them and also am a redhead. I'm 35. So I don't think I'm still getting freckles. I used to tan seven days a week 365 days a year. I always went 25-30 minutes a day. I was just wondering what that spot might be. It's the size of a pencil eraser. Can this cancer spead to my organs'? I told my husband that I would listen to you! He's very TICKED at me for not listening. Thanks for your time.
Hannah Powell-Auslam of La Mirada, California, had surgery this month to check her lymph nodes, just in case the breast cancer had spread.
Three years ago, Anne Willis mentioned to the man she was dating that she didn't know about her fertility, since she had undergone cancer treatment as a teenager. His response --"Oh, so you don't know if you're going be able to have kids?" -- was off-putting.
Less than an hour before her mastectomy was scheduled to begin, Eve Wallinga's surgeon gave her the bad news: Because of unforeseen complications, doctors wouldn't be able to reconstruct a new breast for her immediately after removing her cancerous breast as planned. She was told she'd have to wait another day for the plastic surgery.
Less than an hour before her mastectomy was scheduled to begin, Eve Wallinga's surgeon gave her the bad news: Because of unforeseen complications, doctors wouldn't be able to reconstruct a new breast for her immediately after removing her cancerous breast as planned. She was told she'd have to wait another day for the plastic surgery.
A year after beating breast cancer, Peter Criss, a founding member of the rock band KISS, calls himself "the luckiest man in the planet."
The Food and Drug Administration approved a second vaccine intended to protect against cervical cancer.
I was 18 when I first felt a lump in my breast. Of course, I was convinced that I was going to die. This was three decades ago -- back when we knew far less about breast cancer. A general surgeon removed the lump, which, thank goodness, wasn't malignant.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, has been treated for early stage prostate cancer and says recent screening tests have delivered "very positive" news.
Walk into Lisa Nasser's kitchen most evenings and you're greeted by rich aromas that indicate an exceptional cook is at work on a delicious creation.
"We are an army," says Andrea Ivory of the group gathered with her early on a Saturday morning.
A new drug for melanoma has been shown to rapidly shrink malignant tumors in an early trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York.
When Josephine Hathcock of Newark, Delaware, went in for gallbladder surgery, she never dreamed she'd wake up an ovarian cancer patient. Neither did her doctors, who found the cancer accidentally while she was on the operating table. To make matters worse, the cancer was stage 3, aggressive and had spread to her abdomen.
Men with prostate cancer who were previously infected with the sexually transmitted germ Trichomonas vaginalis are more likely to have an aggressive form of the cancer, compared with men who never had the STD, a new study says.
Boys may soon be able to get Gardasil, the vaccine given to girls and young women to prevent infection by four types of human papillomavirus.
More than one million American men may have been unnecessarily diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer since widespread use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test began in 1987, a new study says.
It's Saturday night. Three young women are dressed to the nines at a trendy bistro on Rush Street in downtown Chicago. They're having drinks outside on the kind of summer night that makes you fall in love with the city.
When cancer invades the brain, the prognosis is usually grim. Despite his treatment at highly regarded medical centers, Edward "Ted" Kennedy, who served as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts for nearly 47 years, died just over a year after his surgery.
We received hundreds of questions from you for The Clinic live Webcast, hosted by Dr Sanjay Gupta on August 23. Here are the best questions and the all important answers from our panel of cancer experts.
They're ready to sting, and they know where they're going.
One in four American girls ages 13 to 17 have been given at least one shot of Gardasil, the human papillomavirus vaccine that is heavily marketed as a way to prevent cervical cancer.
When Raffi Darrow brought in her two daughters, Wendy and Alice, for their annual back-to-school checkups this week, for the first time in her career as a mom, Darrow decided to be a rebel.
Women with a family history of breast cancer may have a new weapon against the disease: breast-feeding. In a new study of more than 60,000 women, nursing a baby for at least three months cut the risk of breast cancer in half for those who had a family history of the disease.
Dan Neumann was a 14-year-old struggling against cancer when he came across an unexpected ally in his battle.
What exactly does a routine Pap smear screen do? Does it screen for human papillomavirus, cancers or both? Since I have no risk of sexually transmitted diseases because my spouse and I have had sexual contact only with one another, is a Pap smear a pointless procedure, for me in particular? Can a Pap smear detect cancers other than those caused by HPV or other STDs? What other reasons, if any, are there for me to get a Pap smear, and what other tests or procedures should a healthy, monogamous 27-year-old have at the OB/GYN? And how often should she have them?
Sunbeds pose a similar cancer risk as cigarettes and asbestos, according to an international cancer research agency.
For Dr. Lisa Newman, a 16-hour trip over two days from Michigan to Ghana in Africa is just part of the journey in uncovering clues about a rare form of breast cancer.
Who knew that fighting breast cancer for the third time in seven years would reveal my purpose in life.
For 12 years, Georgia Dunston and Dr. Chiledum Ahaghotu have been trying to figure out why African-American men develop prostate cancer at an earlier age and are twice as likely to die from it than any other group in the United States.
Women who use hormone therapy after menopause may be at a higher risk of ovarian cancer, and the risk remains elevated for up to two years after women stop taking estrogen, a new study says.
The news that one of America's TV icons is suffering from cancer brought sadness. Learning the type of cancer she had made some squeamish.
When Linda Campbell of Lexington, North Carolina, started to lose her vision in winter 2000 she knew something was wrong. After a diagnosis of ocular melanoma, a rare cancer, she went through numerous treatments to save her eye. Despite one recurrence, by 2007 Campbell was pretty sure she had beaten the odds. That was until last year, when her doctors found lesions on her liver. Her melanoma had spread.
A cancerous tumor in 13-year-old Danny Hauser's chest has shrunk significantly since he was ordered by a court last month to resume chemotherapy treatment, a family spokesman said.
If breast cancer is caught in a very early stage, and a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy show no metastasis, can an HER-2 positive type of breast cancer appear later in the lungs, bones, liver, etc.? That is, spread to other parts of the body without any metastasis from the breast tissue itself?
Think that vitamins can only help--but never hurt--a condition? Although that's true in many cases, some vitamins can be harmful to certain people or under special circumstances.
A 13-year-old Minnesota boy who has cancer has resumed chemotherapy treatments and is not responding well, a family spokesman said Friday.
The death rate due to cancer has declined in the United States in recent years, largely due to better prevention and treatment. In fact, 650,000 lives were spared from cancer between 1990 to 2005, according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society.
When Tiffany Wilson noticed a small growth on her left hip, she didn't think much of it.
A Singapore man undergoing treatment for cancer was detained for four hours by U.S. immigration officials after the drug he was taking caused his fingerprints to disappear.
What are the best diets and supplements to prevent and treat prostate cancer? What about tomatoes? Or vitamin E? Or antioxidants?
Women with breast cancer in the United States have an average age of 63 when they are diagnosed, and the disease is more common in older women than younger.
Do men who frequently smoke pot have a higher risk of testicular cancer than those who do not? It's possible, according to a new study. However, the researchers say the link is currently a "hypothesis" that needs further testing.
Cancer patients may be able to fight chemotherapy-induced nausea using a common pantry spice -- ginger.
Myriad Genetics, a Utah-based company, vowed Wednesday to "vigorously defend" itself against a legal challenge to its patents on two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers, its attorney told CNN.
My daughter-in-law has had a diagnosis of follicular lymphoma. She has had several blood transfusions and chemo. What is available for this young woman? We are very concerned for the future.
Is Gardasil vaccination reliable? I've heard plenty of ugly things about this vaccination. I have a 17-year-old daughter and her doctor recommends that she get this vaccine. I am very confused because of the negative and positive information. Would you be able to clarify?
Stephanie White is a skin cancer expert. At 41, she's had all three types of the condition: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
Variations within women's genes could predict risk for ovarian cancer, a new study has found.
A self-described health nut, Andrew Traver takes vitamins, runs, lifts weights, scorns red meat and got tested for prostate cancer at age 40.
Cancer screenings are up, as are hits on the disease's U.K. Web site
Should men age 50 and older have an annual PSA test for prostate cancer? One of the hottest topics in medicine ratcheted up a few degrees last week when the New England Journal of Medicine released results of two large studies. They presented a mixed picture.
A decade-long study following more than 75,000 men found that prostate cancer screenings led to more diagnoses but did not reduce the number of deaths from the illness.
Over the past 20 years, my research interests have focused on prostate cancer. An important question that has plagued us is, "Does prostate cancer screening save lives?" Prostate cancer screening is extremely controversial and is an emotional issue. Two studies published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine address the question: These two studies may not end the controversy, but clearly provide needed information. Perhaps I can provide some prospective given my experiences.
David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" films, has revealed he is suffering from prostate cancer but is still feeling "fantastic."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg plans to undergo a "precautionary" course of chemotherapy following her surgery last month for pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court announced Tuesday.
Pancreatic cancer patients who are obese may be 12 times more likely to have cancer that's already spread to their lymph nodes at the time of surgery than similar cancer patients who weigh less, according to a study released Monday in the Archives of Surgery.
Radio host Don Imus has prostate cancer.
Attention red wine drinkers: Drinking moderate amounts of any kind of alcohol (including wine, beer, and liquor) is associated with a slightly increased breast cancer risk -- and the rosy-hued beverage is no exception.
President Obama's pledge to conquer cancer "in our time" is a great goal, but one of America's top cancer experts isn't sure he'd use the word "cure."
Gilles Frydman wasn't ready to see his friend Dr. Doreen Kossove in her condition: tethered to an oxygen tank, hardly able to speak, living with only one lung, her tiny, frail body ravaged by cancer and barely visible under her blankets.
Attention, libation lovers: Middle-aged women who indulge in just a few alcohol-containing drinks each day may have a higher risk of cancer than those who drink less often, according to a report released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A new British study has discovered that the highest rates of cervical cancer are found in some of London's most deprived areas.
Terminal lung cancer patients are living longer thanks to the world's first registered lung cancer vaccine, a leading Cuban scientist says.
Consumer advocate Clark Howard revealed to listeners of his radio show on Wednesday that he has prostate cancer.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released Friday from a New York hospital, eight days after undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is rare and extraordinarily lethal, experts say.
Cancer was once assumed to be a death sentence because the disease was often incurable, but a new survey suggests the crisis for many today is paying for available treatments.
U.S. breast cancer cases have dropped in women aged 50 to 69 in recent years because many women have stopped taking hormone therapy, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine.
When Maria Rubeo closed her arm, she felt something "very big -- like a lemon."
Greek physician Hippocrates was the first to use the words "carcinos" and "carcinoma" in 400 BC to describe tumors, which led to the term "cancer" being coined.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly in developing countries.
There are around 200 known types of cancers. Some are far more widespread than others.
A new study by Canadian researchers, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that colonoscopies are still very effective in detecting colorectal cancer, but they're only good at doing so in cancers found on the left side of the colon, not on the right side.
Previous studies suggested that taking certain vitamins might lower the risk of getting prostate cancer. However, two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that men taking these supplements were just as likely to develop prostate cancer as those who weren't taking them.
More than 25,000 American men will die from prostate cancer this year. But prostate cancer can be treated successfully if the disease is caught early. A blood test that can detect whether a man is at high risk for developing prostate cancer is on the horizon. The study was published in the February 28, 2008, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Go out in the hot sun, take a magnifying glass and focus concentrated sunbeams on your lips. That's what some dermatologists claim you're doing when you apply shiny lip gloss and go into the sun. The consequence may be an increased risk of skin cancer on your lips. Skin cancer of the lips accounts for 10 percent of all skin cancer cases, and 3,500 new cases of skin cancer of the lips are diagnosed each year.
Sen. Edward Kennedy announced in May 2008 that he was suffering from a brain tumor, a malignant glioma, in his left parietal lobe. He had surgery at Duke University in June 2008.
A staggering 99 percent of all cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), according to the American Cancer Society. For 50 years, the Pap test has been the gold standard for detecting cervical cancer. But there's a new kid on the block: the HPV DNA test.
Genital human papillomavirus, or HPV, which infects the skin and mucous membranes, is the most common sexually transmitted disease. About 20 million Americans have the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer, which kills about 250,000 women worldwide each year. In the United States, cervical cancer will be diagnosed in about 12,000 women this year, and 4,000 will die, the CDC says. Women get Pap smears to detect cervical cancer and now have the option of preventing it with a vaccine. Gardasil, developed by Merck, works to protect against four strains of HPV, including two connected to 70 percent of cervical cancers.
The chances of surviving ovarian cancer appear to vary dramatically depending on the levels of two tumor proteins, suggesting that this type of cancer may have a more nuanced outlook than the grim statistics indicate.
Two of the most common diseases in the United States -- cancer and diabetes -- are not often linked together in the public mind. But they may have a stronger link than most people think. Cancer patients who already have diabetes have a greater chance of dying of the disease than cancer patients who do not have the blood-sugar disorder, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Women at high risk for breast cancer are generally advised to have one mammogram and one magnetic resonance image scan every year, and they usually schedule them around the same time, along with a hands-on examination by a doctor. The idea is to get three different views of what's going on in the breasts.
Estrogen therapy is about the last thing you'd expect a doctor to prescribe for a woman with breast cancer: The hormone is famous for coaxing tumors to grow, not shrink. But in a new study, one out of three postmenopausal women with advanced cancer who were given a daily dose of estrogen saw their tumors slow to a stop, and in some cases, even get smaller.
Men who want to reduce their prostate cancer risk shouldn't bother popping antioxidant vitamins and supplements, according to two of the largest trials ever conducted on vitamins and cancer prevention.
Rates of new cancer diagnoses and deaths for U.S. men and women have fallen for the first time, according to a new report from leading cancer and medical research organizations.
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