The genetic information encoded in DNA molecules is not the only carrier of biological inheritance: epigenetics also influences the transmission of traits and diseases.

So says a research team of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health “(Canada) in an article published today by the British science journal Nature Genetics. …read the rest of this entry»

People with diabetes appear more likely to develop cancer. This is indicated by a study in Japan. Supposedly the organs most affected would be the pancreas and liver.

According to a study in the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, diabetic patients were 27% more likely to develop cancer than those without diabetes. The study was made on a base of 98,000 people.

…read the rest of this entry»

In a study at the University of Stony Brook in New York and the University of Connectiva obesity indicated that the main risk factor for developing colorectal cancer in women.

The research was based on a population of 1,525 women who underwent Fibro Colonoscopy; hence they are classified by age, smoking history, family history of colorectal cancer and body mass index. Obesity was established as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. …read the rest of this entry»

The group of health professionals working together to treat and assist patients with cancer is called “team against cancer.” Among the members of this team can find some or all health professionals listed below:
Physicians. …read the rest of this entry»

The growing of cells outside of living organisms. With mammalian cell culture, we can replace animal testing with cell testing when evaluating the safety and efficacy of medicines. Plant cell culture provides an environmentally sound and economically feasible option for obtaining naturally occurring products with therapeutic value, such as the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel, a compound found in yew trees and marketed under the name Taxol®.

Something which causes cancer to occur. Chemicals (hydrocarbons in tobacco smoke, industrial byproducts, inorganic compounds such as asbestos) and radiation sources (ultraviolet light, x-rays) are common carcinogens. Carcinogens are usually mutagenic i.e. they cause changes in a cell’s DNA.

A term describing a broad range of diseases, all characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. Cancer is always caused by a malfunction in an organism’s genetic material. This malfunction could be caused by an inherited genetic mutation or by a somatic cell genetic mutation (i.e., a genetic mutation acquired during an individual’s lifetime).

Michael Samuelson:
Hello, and welcome to CareCast, brought to you by the Cancer Survivors Network, a free service from your American Cancer Society. I’m Michael Samuelson, your host. Today we’ll be discussing cancer pain, and joining me by phone we have four guests, all survivors and/or family caregivers.

Now, as a cancer survivor myself, I’m looking forward to this evening’s discussion. First let me briefly introduce our guests, and then I’ll open up the discussion as we talk about things such as barriers to pain relief; advocating for yourself and for family members; how pain affects quality of life. We’ll also talk about the myths and the facts about pain relief and the issue that’s growing more and more, and that’s the issue of under-treatment of pain.

Our first guest is Susan, a caregiver from Connecticut. Susan is married. She is 58 years old and has five adult children. Welcome to the program, Susan.

Susan:
Thank you, Michael. It’s great to be here.

Michael Samuelson:
Great! Susan, reading from this and taking a look at the information you provided us, your brother was living close to your family. You were a very, very good friend and he was diagnosed with melanoma and had surgery for it back in 1995, and at that point the outcome was relatively positive. However, on a check-up in 1998, he found a freckle under his fingernail and unfortunately it was another melanoma. They amputated the tip of the finger, but about a month later realized that the cancer had spread to his lungs. Your brother was involved in several clinical trials, but unfortunately they didn’t work, and during this time his biggest fear, understandably, was pain. In the fall of 1998, in Florida, the cancer spread to his brain. He had emergency surgery and you returned with him to a hospital in the northeast, and while he was there he began having one pain problem after another. You continually advocated for better pain control, but apparently the staff did not seem interested, and unfortunately that’s a story that’s often told. Your sister joined you in the hospital where you spent the last five or six weeks of your brother’s life with him. You were able, through constant advocacy, to eventually get adequate pain control for your brother. Your brother finally seemed relatively comfortable the last weeks of his life, and you’re a nurse, an American Cancer Society staff member, and a charter member of the Cancer Pain Initiative, and I thank you so much for joining the program, Susan.

Susan:
Thank you.

Michael Samuelson:
Our next guest is Yvette, a cancer survivor from Maryland. Yvette is 46 years old and single. Welcome to the program, Yvette. …read the rest of this entry»

Symptom and Description An indwelling urinary catheter is a tube that continuously drains urine from your bladder into a collection bag. Some persons need a catheter after certain surgeries. Others may have a catheter placed because it is too difficult or impossible to use the bathroom or because urine leakage cannot be controlled.

Management

Equipment

• Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling the catheter, tubing, or bag.

• Use a leg bag during the day and the larger bedside bag at night or if you will be resting in bed more than 2 hours. Any drainage bag must be kept below the level of the bladder. Hang the larger bag on the bed or place it on a low stool. Do not lay the bag on the floor. Check the tubing for kinks that might stop the flow of urine.

• Empty the leg bag at least every 2 hours and the bedside bag at least every morning. After emptying, clean the end of the drainage tube with a cotton ball and povidone-iodine (Betadine) or 70% alcohol.

• When you change from the one type of drainage bag to the other, follow these directions to clean the bag that is not being used. If you are not using both a leg bag and a bedside bag, change or clean the drainage bag about once a week.

1. Rinse the bag with cold water; wash with warm, soapy water; and rinse very well with cold, clear water.

2. Then fill the bag with a solution of one part vinegar to four parts water and soak for 30 minutes.

3. Empty the bag and let it air dry.

• If your indwelling catheter is permanent, talk with your nurse about using bleach to disinfect the bags.

• Store any green or blue protection caps in a container of 70% alcohol.

Drinking fluids

• It is important to keep your bladder flushed with plenty of fluids. Drink at least 2 quarts of water (64 ounces or 8 cups or about 2 liters) each day.

• Ask your doctor or nurse about drinking more or taking drinks that will make your urine more acid. If you are not at risk for irritative bladder symptoms, you may be able to avoid problems with bladder infections by drinking certain juices.

Hygiene and washing yourself

• You may take a shower or any kind of bath with the catheter in place. Also wash the genital area with a soapy washcloth and dry well twice a day.

• Women should wipe the length of the catheter with the washcloth, starting where the catheter enters the body. Then wipe the genital area from front to back, starting where the catheter enters the body, cleaning the folds around the vagina as well.

• Men should wipe the length of the catheter with the washcloth, starting where the catheter enters the body. Uncircumcised men should pull back the foreskin and wash the end of the penis; then wash the penis, scrotum, and groin areas.

Follow-up

Talk to your doctor or nurse about bacteria and infections related to the catheter. People with an indwelling catheter often have some bacteria in their urine. An actual urinary tract infection occurs when enough bacteria grow to cause symptoms, such as fever or blood in the urine. Call your doctor or nurse right away if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Low back pain or stomach pain

• Cloudy, bad-smelling urine

• Material (sediment) in the urine

• Blood in the urine

• Fever or chills

This guide will help you understand how to receive feedings through your veins (parenteral feedings). There are two schedules commonly used to provide feedings by vein. These are:
Continuous: The amount of solution for the day will be given slowly over the 24-hour period using a pump to ensure a steady rate.
Cyclic: The amount of solution for the day will be given over an 8–12-hour period.

Symptom and Description When weight loss or lack of appetite becomes severe, nutrition can be given by vein. This allows you to get the nutrients and calories your body needs for energy. This special nutrition solution can be given into an implanted port, a tunneled catheter, or any other long-term catheter placed in a large vein.

Preventing Problems The intravenous feeding is important for giving you the nutrients you need. When care is taken to give the solution safely, many problems can be avoided. Such as:

1. High blood sugar: Your blood sugar level may become high as a result of the amount of sugar in the solution. You will need to have blood tests to monitor this level as often as the doctor thinks is necessary, usually two to three times per week.

• Special medication called insulin may be added to your nutrition solution.

• The type of solution may need to be changed.

2. Low blood sugar: Your blood sugar will become low if there is an interruption in the infusion of the nutrient solution.

• Infuse the solution with the rate that you have been instructed to use.

• Do not stop or interrupt the solution without calling the doctor first.

• Blood tests will be done to measure your blood sugar levels.

3. Infection: Clean the catheter daily as follows.

• Use only sterile technique when changing the dressing of the catheter or hooking up the solution.

• Wash hands.

• Remove old dressing, being careful not to pull tube or dislodge needle.

• Using a circular motion, begin cleaning next to catheter with the cleaning solution recommended by your doctor or nurse, working outward to push bacteria away from catheter. Using a circular motion, clean same area a second time with povodine iodine (Betadine) (or the recommended solution), working outward to push bacteria away from catheter.

• Check for redness, soreness, or drainage.

• Put antibacterial ointment around catheter or needle.

• Place new gauze to cover catheter or needle, and tape.

• Do not use the nutrient solution if it looks cloudy or has particles in it. Call the doctor or pharmacist for instructions.

Management

• Have blood tests for sugar level drawn as directed.

• Should low blood sugar occur, drink one or two glasses of juice or eat several pieces of hard candy. Symptoms should resolve quickly. The symptoms are sweating, nervousness, shaking of hands, hunger, weakness, irritability, numb-ness of tongue or lips, headache.

• Self-administer insulin as you have been instructed or call doctor immediately if symptoms of high blood sugar occur: dry, hot flushed skin; thirst; fatigue; frequent urination; upset stomach.

• Call doctor for any temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.

• Do not adjust rate of nutrition solution without talking with your doctor.

Follow-up

1. Discuss any difficulties with solution infusion with your doctor, nurse, or dietitian.

2. Notify your caregiver if any of the following occur:

• Temperature of 100.4°F or higher

• Chills

• Tenderness, redness at catheter site

• Swelling of neck or arm

• High blood sugar: dry, hot, flushed skin; thirst; fatigue; frequent urination; upset stomach

• Low blood sugar: sweating, nervousness, shaking of hands, hunger, weakness, irritability, numbness of tongue or lips, headache