LATEST CANCER INFORMATION
from Johns Hopkins
AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY
AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY …
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do
not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few
billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer
cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are
unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the
detectable size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.
3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be
destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental,
food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells
and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,
gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver,
kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation
do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and
radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence
the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and
become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer
cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiple.
What cancer cells feed on:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it
cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note:Sugar
substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with
Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka
honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a
chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg’s
aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially
in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off
milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will
starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A
meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little
chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock
antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful,
especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains,
seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline
environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh
vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach
down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells.
To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice
(most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2
or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F
(40 degrees C).
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green
tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties.
Water–best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins
and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining
from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein
walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the
cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence,
Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the
body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like
vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the
body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded
cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive
and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.
Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and
acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn
to relax and enjoy life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment.
Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the
cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy
cancer cells.
https://wausaunews.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/big-hospital-finally-telling-the-truth-about-cancer-johns-hopkins/
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Pepsi's Caramel Coloring Causes Cancer
Find this article at:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/07/03/watchdog-group-finds-carcinogen-in-pepsi-products/
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/07/03/watchdog-group-finds-carcinogen-in-pepsi-products/
An environmental group said Wednesday that the caramel coloring
used in Pepsi still contains a worrisome level of a carcinogen, even
after the drink maker said it would change its formula.
In March, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. both said they would adjust their formulas nationally after California passed a law mandating drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens come with a cancer warning label. The changes were made for drinks sold in California when the law passed.
The chemical is 4-methylimidazole, or 4-Mel, which can form during the cooking process and, as a result, may be found in trace amounts in many foods.
Watchdog group The Center for Environmental Health found via testing that while Coke products no longer test positive for the chemical, Pepsi products sold outside of California still do.
Pepsi said its caramel coloring suppliers are changing their manufacturing process to cut the amount of 4-Mel in its caramel. That process is complete in California and will be finished in February 2014 in the rest of the country. Pepsi said it will also be taken out globally, but did not indicate a timeline.
Meanwhile, the company said the FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world consider Pepsi's caramel coloring safe.
Coca-Cola said it has transitioned to using a modified caramel in U.S. markets beyond California that does not contain Mel-4, so it wouldn't have to have separate inventory of products for different locations. It also said all of its products, whether they have the modified caramel or not, are safe.
The watchdog group Center for Environmental Health said it commissioned Eurofins Analystical laboratory in Metairie, La., to test Coke and Pepsi products from California in May and from across the country in June.
The lab did not find the chemical in California products. And it found no 4-Mel in nine out of 10 Coke products outside of the state. But it found levels of 4-Mel that are 4 to 8 times higher than California safety levels in all 10 Pepsi products purchased outside California, according to the Center for Environmental Health.
Trace amounts of 4-Mel have not been linked to cancer in humans. The American Beverage Association said that California added the coloring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats.
The Food and Drug Administration has also said that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for almost 90 percent of the soda market, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.
In March, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. both said they would adjust their formulas nationally after California passed a law mandating drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens come with a cancer warning label. The changes were made for drinks sold in California when the law passed.
The chemical is 4-methylimidazole, or 4-Mel, which can form during the cooking process and, as a result, may be found in trace amounts in many foods.
Watchdog group The Center for Environmental Health found via testing that while Coke products no longer test positive for the chemical, Pepsi products sold outside of California still do.
Pepsi said its caramel coloring suppliers are changing their manufacturing process to cut the amount of 4-Mel in its caramel. That process is complete in California and will be finished in February 2014 in the rest of the country. Pepsi said it will also be taken out globally, but did not indicate a timeline.
Meanwhile, the company said the FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world consider Pepsi's caramel coloring safe.
Coca-Cola said it has transitioned to using a modified caramel in U.S. markets beyond California that does not contain Mel-4, so it wouldn't have to have separate inventory of products for different locations. It also said all of its products, whether they have the modified caramel or not, are safe.
The watchdog group Center for Environmental Health said it commissioned Eurofins Analystical laboratory in Metairie, La., to test Coke and Pepsi products from California in May and from across the country in June.
The lab did not find the chemical in California products. And it found no 4-Mel in nine out of 10 Coke products outside of the state. But it found levels of 4-Mel that are 4 to 8 times higher than California safety levels in all 10 Pepsi products purchased outside California, according to the Center for Environmental Health.
Trace amounts of 4-Mel have not been linked to cancer in humans. The American Beverage Association said that California added the coloring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats.
The Food and Drug Administration has also said that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for almost 90 percent of the soda market, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Is Talapia a Potential Source of Carcinogens?
There have been numerous reports over the past year or so of Chinese raised Tilapia being raised on animal feces. But what is more concerning is the fact that, according to a recent report, certain potentially carcinogenic antibiotics have been used in fish farms. MSN reports:
"Eisenman wrote that as far as her agency is concerned, the only food-safety issue specific to Chinese seafood has been the types and levels of antibiotics used on the fish. An official FDA "Import Alert" was issued on June 27, 2013, that names China as having frequently used potentially carcinogenic antibiotics on its fish farms. The alert vows that the agency will stop any shipments of fish that contain antibiotics like malachite green, nitrofurans, fluoroquinolones, and gentian violet."
(http://news.msn.com/rumors/rumor-imported-chinese-tilapia-are-often-raised-on-feces )
The Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch also comments on this subject:
"Chinese farms do discharge the water without relevant treatment, however, and there is evidence that some banned chemicals - including antibiotics and fungal
treatments (nitrofurans and malachite green ) - are still used in Chinese tilapia production."
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=195
So, although the FDA typically bans imports that contain potentially harmful chemicals/bacteria upon inspection, it seems logical to assume that some of these tainted products have slipped through at one time or another before they were on the FDA radar, and there is evidence that some of these chemicals are still being used.
The Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch lists Talapia as an acceptable fish source now after some changes in production habits, but list Talapia from the US or Equador as a better choice.
(http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=195)
Tilapia from China is commonly sold in supermarkets in the US, including Aldis and Walmart. For more information on FDA import alerts on seafood, go to their website:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_27.html
When considering nutritional value, Tilapia is low in Omega 3 and fish oil, and aside from cost effectiveness and taste, it is not the healthiest type of fish to eat. Be careful, though, because many other fish contain other harmful substances such as mercury. For more detailed information on various fish, again, the Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has great information on all types of fish and their potentially harmful substances at this website:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org//cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=49
"Eisenman wrote that as far as her agency is concerned, the only food-safety issue specific to Chinese seafood has been the types and levels of antibiotics used on the fish. An official FDA "Import Alert" was issued on June 27, 2013, that names China as having frequently used potentially carcinogenic antibiotics on its fish farms. The alert vows that the agency will stop any shipments of fish that contain antibiotics like malachite green, nitrofurans, fluoroquinolones, and gentian violet."
(http://news.msn.com/rumors/rumor-imported-chinese-tilapia-are-often-raised-on-feces )
The Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch also comments on this subject:
"Chinese farms do discharge the water without relevant treatment, however, and there is evidence that some banned chemicals - including antibiotics and fungal
treatments (nitrofurans and http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=195
So, although the FDA typically bans imports that contain potentially harmful chemicals/bacteria upon inspection, it seems logical to assume that some of these tainted products have slipped through at one time or another before they were on the FDA radar, and there is evidence that some of these chemicals are still being used.
The Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch lists Talapia as an acceptable fish source now after some changes in production habits, but list Talapia from the US or Equador as a better choice.
(http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=195)
Tilapia from China is commonly sold in supermarkets in the US, including Aldis and Walmart. For more information on FDA import alerts on seafood, go to their website:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_27.html
When considering nutritional value, Tilapia is low in Omega 3 and fish oil, and aside from cost effectiveness and taste, it is not the healthiest type of fish to eat. Be careful, though, because many other fish contain other harmful substances such as mercury. For more detailed information on various fish, again, the Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has great information on all types of fish and their potentially harmful substances at this website:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org//cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=49
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Healthy Lifestyle May Referse Cell Aging
Here's an article that gives evidence supporting the idea that healthy lifestyles, including healthy eating, can actually reverse the aging process in cells, and reduce the risk of cancer:
Healthy Lifestyle Changes Might Reverse Cell Aging, Study Suggests
Eat whole foods. Exercise. Meditate. Rely on supportive family and friends. All of these things have been linked, whether independently or together, with better health. And now, a new study shows it's never too late to start reaping the benefits of changing to healthy lifestyle -- and that those changes could even reverse cell aging.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, shows that healthy lifestyle changes can have an impact on aging and age-related diseases on a cellular level, by increasing the length of telomeres. Telomeres are the "caps" that protect the ends of chromosomes, similar to how shoelaces have plastic caps to stop them from fraying.
Shorter telomeres have been linked in previous research with cell aging and increased risks of age-related diseases like cancer and dementia, as well as premature death.
"We know from earlier studies that eating an unhealthy diet, smoking cigarettes, being under chronic emotional stress, loneliness and depression may shorten telomeres. But this is the first one we can actually increase the length of them," study researcher Dean Ornish, M.D., told HuffPost. Ornish is the founder and president of the Preventive Medical Research Institute, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and medical editor at HuffPost. He's also conducted extensive research throughout his career evaluating the effects of lifestyle changes on coronary heart disease.
For the study, Ornish and colleagues assigned 35 men with low-risk prostate cancer, who were not being treated for their cancers but were undergoing active surveillance, to one of two groups. One group of 10 men was instructed to make lifestyle changes -- including eating a plant-based, vegan diet of whole foods, exercising moderately, receiving social support, and practicing stress-management strategies such as mindfulness and yoga -- for five years, while the other group of 25 men was not instructed to make any lifestyle changes. All of the study participants' telomeres were measured at the start of the study.
Researchers followed up with the men after the study period, when they again measured their telomeres. They found that telomere length actually increased among the men who were assigned to undergo the lifestyle intervention, by an average of 10 percent. Meanwhile, telomere length decreased by an average of 3 percent among the men not assigned to a lifestyle intervention.
They also found that the amount telomeres lengthened was linked with the degree to which the men implemented the healthy lifestyle changes, with those making more changes experiencing greater lengthening of their telomeres.
Telomere research is still young, and more research is needed to understand what exactly a 10 percent average increase in telomere length translates to in terms of disease and death risk. But the findings do tell us that "our genes are predisposition, but not our fate," Ornish said. "To the extent we're wiling to make changes to diet and lifestyle, we can change things that were once thought to be impossible."
Healthy Lifestyle Changes Might Reverse Cell Aging, Study Suggests
Eat whole foods. Exercise. Meditate. Rely on supportive family and friends. All of these things have been linked, whether independently or together, with better health. And now, a new study shows it's never too late to start reaping the benefits of changing to healthy lifestyle -- and that those changes could even reverse cell aging.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, shows that healthy lifestyle changes can have an impact on aging and age-related diseases on a cellular level, by increasing the length of telomeres. Telomeres are the "caps" that protect the ends of chromosomes, similar to how shoelaces have plastic caps to stop them from fraying.
Shorter telomeres have been linked in previous research with cell aging and increased risks of age-related diseases like cancer and dementia, as well as premature death.
"We know from earlier studies that eating an unhealthy diet, smoking cigarettes, being under chronic emotional stress, loneliness and depression may shorten telomeres. But this is the first one we can actually increase the length of them," study researcher Dean Ornish, M.D., told HuffPost. Ornish is the founder and president of the Preventive Medical Research Institute, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and medical editor at HuffPost. He's also conducted extensive research throughout his career evaluating the effects of lifestyle changes on coronary heart disease.
For the study, Ornish and colleagues assigned 35 men with low-risk prostate cancer, who were not being treated for their cancers but were undergoing active surveillance, to one of two groups. One group of 10 men was instructed to make lifestyle changes -- including eating a plant-based, vegan diet of whole foods, exercising moderately, receiving social support, and practicing stress-management strategies such as mindfulness and yoga -- for five years, while the other group of 25 men was not instructed to make any lifestyle changes. All of the study participants' telomeres were measured at the start of the study.
Researchers followed up with the men after the study period, when they again measured their telomeres. They found that telomere length actually increased among the men who were assigned to undergo the lifestyle intervention, by an average of 10 percent. Meanwhile, telomere length decreased by an average of 3 percent among the men not assigned to a lifestyle intervention.
They also found that the amount telomeres lengthened was linked with the degree to which the men implemented the healthy lifestyle changes, with those making more changes experiencing greater lengthening of their telomeres.
Telomere research is still young, and more research is needed to understand what exactly a 10 percent average increase in telomere length translates to in terms of disease and death risk. But the findings do tell us that "our genes are predisposition, but not our fate," Ornish said. "To the extent we're wiling to make changes to diet and lifestyle, we can change things that were once thought to be impossible."
Superfoods may help prevent and treat prostate cancer
I recently read this article in Cure magazine (Fall 2013, Vol 12, No. 3, p. 18) which shows the benefits of superfoods and their effects on cancer outcomes.
This article shares the results of a study in the U.K. in which men with early-stage prostate cancer saw a decrease in prostates specific antigen levels by 63 % when taking a super food supplement "Pomi-T", which contains the super foods pomegranate, green tea, turmeric and broccoli.
Here is the article from curetoday.com
http://www.curetoday.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/article.show/id/2/article_id/2168
Dietary supplement Pomi-T seems to lower biomarker levels associated with
prostate cancer, while delaying the time between diagnosis and active
treatment.
A U.K.-based study involving 203 participants found that men with early-stage prostate cancer who took Pomi-T, which contains pomegranate, green tea, turmeric and broccoli, saw their prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels decrease 63 percent when compared with men who took a placebo. The median age of participants in the trial was 74.
Most of the participants were on active surveillance for prostate cancer, but some had been treated for the disease and had experienced a PSA increase.
Robert Thomas, a consulting oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals and lead researcher for the six-month study, considered the study a success.
Participants in the Pomi-T group were able to remain on active surveillance longer than men in the placebo group, something Thomas calls “particularly exciting,” considering one alternative, hormone therapy, can have uncomfortable side effects. “In the early stages, men were not taking any other treatments—so it is easier to attribute the effect on the cancer to the actual Pomi-T,” Thomas says.
The next step for the research team will be to organize a study of men who are at high risk of relapse and those with metastatic disease who are on hormone therapy. Pharmaceutical companies have also offered to sponsor more research.
“We will also be looking eventually at individuals with other slow-growing tumors, which have risen from other parts of the body, including breast, bowel, bladder and ovary,” Thomas says.
This article shares the results of a study in the U.K. in which men with early-stage prostate cancer saw a decrease in prostates specific antigen levels by 63 % when taking a super food supplement "Pomi-T", which contains the super foods pomegranate, green tea, turmeric and broccoli.
Here is the article from curetoday.com
http://www.curetoday.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/article.show/id/2/article_id/2168
Superfoods Study Keeps More Men on Active Surveillance
A U.K.-based study involving 203 participants found that men with early-stage prostate cancer who took Pomi-T, which contains pomegranate, green tea, turmeric and broccoli, saw their prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels decrease 63 percent when compared with men who took a placebo. The median age of participants in the trial was 74.
Most of the participants were on active surveillance for prostate cancer, but some had been treated for the disease and had experienced a PSA increase.
Robert Thomas, a consulting oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals and lead researcher for the six-month study, considered the study a success.
Participants in the Pomi-T group were able to remain on active surveillance longer than men in the placebo group, something Thomas calls “particularly exciting,” considering one alternative, hormone therapy, can have uncomfortable side effects. “In the early stages, men were not taking any other treatments—so it is easier to attribute the effect on the cancer to the actual Pomi-T,” Thomas says.
The next step for the research team will be to organize a study of men who are at high risk of relapse and those with metastatic disease who are on hormone therapy. Pharmaceutical companies have also offered to sponsor more research.
“We will also be looking eventually at individuals with other slow-growing tumors, which have risen from other parts of the body, including breast, bowel, bladder and ovary,” Thomas says.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
5 Signs You'll Get Cancer
Here's a link to this interesting video by Dr. Brownstein:
http://w3.newsmax.com/newsletters/brownstein/video_cancer.cfm?p=n&PROMO_CODE=1269A-1&gclid=CJqiif-ywLYCFQr0nAodSFkAsA
http://w3.newsmax.com/newsletters/brownstein/video_cancer.cfm?p=n&PROMO_CODE=1269A-1&gclid=CJqiif-ywLYCFQr0nAodSFkAsA
Friday, November 30, 2012
Celiac Disease and Risk of Stomach Cancer
I haven't blogged on this blog for about two years. Almost 2 years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Needless to say, my life has changed dramatically. I have to admit, I've been a little distracted with this and other life changes I've been through, but I'm back on.
As I have researched Celiac Disease, I have become aware of the potential increased risk of cancer. Here is a good article on the subject from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness:
What is intestinal cancer?
Cancer of the small intestine is a rare form of cancer typically caused by four types of tumors or classifications. The most common type of small intestine cancer is adenocarcinoma. Other, less common types are: carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and lymphomas.
Celiac Disease and Small Intestinal Cancer:
If a person with celiac had the disease undiagnosed for a long period of time, or fails to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle after diagnosis, the chance of developing small intestinal cancer increases. Those with celiac disease are especially more likely to develop lymphomas in the small intestine because of their compromised immune system. In the past the increased risk of celiacs developing lymphomas was quite high, 40-100% more likely. However, more recent studies have shown that the risk of lymphoma is slightly higher than the normal population—much less than previously believed—and that this risk reaches unity with the normal population after a gluten-free diet has been maintained for several years.
Types of Intestinal Cancers:
Symptoms tend to be vague and unspecific. Complaints are often for pain throughout the body, not just focused in the digestive tract area. Abdominal pain and unexplained weight-loss are the two most common symptoms of intestinal cancer. Other symptoms include, but are not limited to, pain or cramping in the middle of the abdomen, a lump in the abdomen, blood in the stool, nausea, bloating, iron deficient anemia and jaundice.
Screening and Diagnosis of Intestinal Cancer
If your doctor suspects intestinal cancer they might order a barium contrast study, an upper GI tract endoscopy, an ultrasound or a colonoscopy depending on what type of cancer is suspected and the likely location. If tumors are found a biopsy will be performed to confirm that the cells are cancerous.
Treatment of Small Intestinal Cancer
The most common method of treatment of small intestinal cancer is surgery. The doctor will remove all of the visible tumor and some of the surrounding healthy area to ensure that all cancer has been removed. With lymphomas, the most common treatment is radiation therapy.
Celiac Disease and Other Malignancies
Although cancers of the small intestine might seem to be the only related malignancy with celiac, other studies have shown relations with other types of cancer. There is some evidence that patients with celiac have an increased risk of esophageal and pharyngeal carcinomas, a Swedish study found celiac 2.3 times more likely to develop these carcinomas. The same study also found an increased risk for colorectal cancer (SIR=1.5), however an English study found NO patients with celiac disease and colorectal cancer. Celiacs also seem to have an increased risk of developing primary liver cancer. Breast cancer, on the other hand, is seen at a much lower frequency in celiacs than among the general population. This is possibly related to a lower frequency of smoking or lower body weight in celiacs.
The development of malignancies is rare, and although celiac disease does appear to coincide with increased frequencies of certain cancers it is by no means a common occurrence. If you suspect that you might have cancer, or are worried about developing cancer in the future, please discuss your concerns with your physician.
References:
Coeliac disease and lymphoma,
European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2006 18:131-2.
Kumar, Parveen.
Revolution Health
Healtwise/WebMD
Retrieved from: http://www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Disease/Related-Diseases/Intestinal-Cancer/46/
As I have researched Celiac Disease, I have become aware of the potential increased risk of cancer. Here is a good article on the subject from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness:
What is intestinal cancer?
Cancer of the small intestine is a rare form of cancer typically caused by four types of tumors or classifications. The most common type of small intestine cancer is adenocarcinoma. Other, less common types are: carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and lymphomas.
Celiac Disease and Small Intestinal Cancer:
If a person with celiac had the disease undiagnosed for a long period of time, or fails to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle after diagnosis, the chance of developing small intestinal cancer increases. Those with celiac disease are especially more likely to develop lymphomas in the small intestine because of their compromised immune system. In the past the increased risk of celiacs developing lymphomas was quite high, 40-100% more likely. However, more recent studies have shown that the risk of lymphoma is slightly higher than the normal population—much less than previously believed—and that this risk reaches unity with the normal population after a gluten-free diet has been maintained for several years.
Types of Intestinal Cancers:
-
Adenocarcinoma: A type of cancer that begins in the
lining of the small intestine, usually the duodenum. Adenocarcinomas
make up 40-50% of all small intestinal cancers.
Who Gets Adenocarcinoma?
This type of intestinal cancer occurs most often in men later in life, the average age being 60 years. People with Crohns Disease and certain other inherited conditions—such as familial adenomatous polyposis and Peuts-Jegherssyndrome are at a higher risk of developing adenocarinomas.
-
Carcinoid Tumors: Occurs when neuroendocrine cells
grow abnormally, carcinoid tumors may also be refered to as
neuroendocrine tumors or less aggressive neuroendocrine cancer.
Carcinoid tumors often cause symptoms throughout the entire body, rather
than just in the affected organ.
Who Gets Carcinoid Tumors?
People with a family history of multiple endocrine neoplasia—a rare inherited disease that causes increased risk of getting tumors in certain glands, or those with a family history of neurofibromatosis. Carcinoid tumors are more common in women and among African Americans. People with certain diseases that damage the stomach and reduce the amount of stomach acid have an increased risk of developing carinoid tumors.
-
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: These are fairly
rare tumors that are now believed to start in the interstitial cells of
Cajal (ICCs) in the walls of the GI tract. Some stromal tumors are
benign.
Who Gets Stromal Tumors?
There are very few known risk factors that cause stromal tumors, it is believed that a family history of neurofibromatosis or familial gastrointestinal stromal tumor syndrome will increase a person's risk of getting stromal tumors.
-
Lymphomas: Cancer of the lymphatic system that begins in the lymphoid tissue.
Who Gets GI Lymphomas?
Most patients have no known risk factors, old age seems to be the greatest factor in developing lymphomas. Some genetic risks factors that cause abnormal function of the immune system can also lead to lymphomas, as well as a diet high in animal fat and low in fruits and vegetables. Exposure to radiation and certain chemicals can increase the risk of lymphomas. Immune deficiencies—from organ transplants, etc, autoimmune diseases, and some infections can also increase the likelihood of a lymphoma developing.
Symptoms tend to be vague and unspecific. Complaints are often for pain throughout the body, not just focused in the digestive tract area. Abdominal pain and unexplained weight-loss are the two most common symptoms of intestinal cancer. Other symptoms include, but are not limited to, pain or cramping in the middle of the abdomen, a lump in the abdomen, blood in the stool, nausea, bloating, iron deficient anemia and jaundice.
Screening and Diagnosis of Intestinal Cancer
If your doctor suspects intestinal cancer they might order a barium contrast study, an upper GI tract endoscopy, an ultrasound or a colonoscopy depending on what type of cancer is suspected and the likely location. If tumors are found a biopsy will be performed to confirm that the cells are cancerous.
Treatment of Small Intestinal Cancer
The most common method of treatment of small intestinal cancer is surgery. The doctor will remove all of the visible tumor and some of the surrounding healthy area to ensure that all cancer has been removed. With lymphomas, the most common treatment is radiation therapy.
Celiac Disease and Other Malignancies
Although cancers of the small intestine might seem to be the only related malignancy with celiac, other studies have shown relations with other types of cancer. There is some evidence that patients with celiac have an increased risk of esophageal and pharyngeal carcinomas, a Swedish study found celiac 2.3 times more likely to develop these carcinomas. The same study also found an increased risk for colorectal cancer (SIR=1.5), however an English study found NO patients with celiac disease and colorectal cancer. Celiacs also seem to have an increased risk of developing primary liver cancer. Breast cancer, on the other hand, is seen at a much lower frequency in celiacs than among the general population. This is possibly related to a lower frequency of smoking or lower body weight in celiacs.
The development of malignancies is rare, and although celiac disease does appear to coincide with increased frequencies of certain cancers it is by no means a common occurrence. If you suspect that you might have cancer, or are worried about developing cancer in the future, please discuss your concerns with your physician.
References:
Coeliac disease and lymphoma,
European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2006 18:131-2.
Kumar, Parveen.
Revolution Health
Healtwise/WebMD
Retrieved from: http://www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Disease/Related-Diseases/Intestinal-Cancer/46/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/healthy-lifestyle-telomeres-lengthen_n_3916235.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living