Cancer Prevention

BREVAgen

Personalized medicine is an up and coming approach, by which individual's risks and factors are taken into account to prescribe therapy. Genetic tests are a part of the approach. BREVAGen evaluates 7 breast cancer-associated factors. Risk is calculated by multiplying the product of the individual risks by the Gail model risk The Gail model is the first of several proposed ways to calcucalte an individual's riask for breast cancer.  BREVAGen has

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Capsule Endoscopy

Capsule Endoscopy(CE) is a procedure in which a capsule with a miniature camera is swallowed and it transmits images as it goes through the gastrointestinal tract. It has advantages and disadvantages. While easier on the patient, it does not allow for a biopsy, and if it shows a suspicious findings, full endoscopyto perform a biopsy will still be required. A recent European guideline says that patients at high risk for CRC, because of symptoms or

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Medicaid on CT surveillance of bladder cancer after radical cystectomy – pro

CMS requires that the CT scan be reasonable and necessary based on the literature and opinion.  Reasonableness and opinion is expressed by guidelines, After radical cystectomy, NCCN recommends: Urine cytology, liver function tests, creatinine, and electrolytes every 3 to 6 mo for 2 y and then as clinically indicated Imaging of the chest, upper tracts, abdomen, and pelvis every 3 to 6 mo for 2 y based on risk of recurrence and then as clinically

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Tamoxifen and endometrial cancer – pro

Tamoxifen is a venerable drug that revolutionized breast cancer care when it was first introduced. More recently, it has been largely supplanted by aromatase inhibitors(AI), but tamoxifen is still useful in pre-menopausal women, in whom AIs do not work. Tamoxifen has a variety of bothersome side effects, related mostly to forced early menopause. In addition, a rare complication of tamoxifen is uterine lining overgrowth, which can proceed to endometrial

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Prophylactic mastectomy and oophorectomy for BRCA mutation carriers – pro

Prophylactic bilateral mastectomy is the surgical removal of both breasts to help prevent breast cancer. Prophylactic mastectomy is a controversial procedure among members of the medical community. Based on recent scientific findings that show prophylactic mastectomy to be effective at preventing breast cancer, some physicians think that it is  sometimes recommended even without evidence of genetic causation.  According to the American Cancer Society

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Why exercise is important?

  Medical science has found that regular mild exercise has many positive health benefits. Mainstream media has brought this message to the broad public. Yet, exercise need not be hard work. A sedentary individual can benefit even from adding just a few physical activity routines to his or her day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during work  breaks. It is not all that difficult to incorporate

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All You Ever Wanted To Know About Smoking But Were Afraid to Ask

By Dr. Mark Levin When Columbussailed  from Spain in search of spices and gold, he hardly expected that among his most treasured finds would be… tobacco. On October 12, 1492, Columbuslanded on an island in the Bahamaswhich he named San Salvador, and on October 15 the natives brought him gifts of, as he wrote in his journal, “fruit, wooden spears, and certain dried leaves which gave off a distinct fragrance.” Not knowing what these leaves wereColumbus

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