Cancer Blog

If you’ve turned on the TV or read the news, chances are you’ve seen the bombshell for women’s health: a U.S. government task force has recommended that women wait until age 50 to begin routine mammograms. The U. S. Preventive Service Task Force, a panel of 16 physician experts, recommends against annual mammograms for women in their 40s who are not at high risk for the cancer, because of the “small” health benefit. 

The task force and other supporters of the new guidelines cite data that suggests mammograms put women in their 40s at undue risk, which far outweighs the benefits. These studies show a 50% increase in false-positives when breast detection begins at age 40. Rather than saving lives, the task force says, such screening leads to a domino effect of more x-rays, unnecessary biopsies and surgeries, as well as considerable stress and anxiety.

However, women who discovered their breast cancers early because of routine breast screening, and lived to tell about it, passionately counter that taking away a woman’s right to annual mammograms is what’s stressful—and downright dangerous—for women. They cite some data of their own: that routine mammograms for women ages 40-49 reduces the risk of breast cancer death by 15%. The American Cancer Society and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) agree, and have issued statements that they will continue to recommend mammograms beginning at age 40.

The worry is that insurance companies will take their cue from the panel’s recommendations and stop covering the procedure, leaving women to fend for themselves. One “worst-case scenario” estimate forecasts the number of annual mammograms could drop 58% from 37 million to 15 million, should the new recommendations be widely adopted.

While these recommendations are sure to spark debate for months, and perhaps years, to come, the task force provides some common sense advice that’s good medicine for all of us: Every woman should talk with her physician about when and how often to get mammograms, and decide what’s best for her.

New research supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) claims nicotine lozenges combined with nicotine patches provide the greatest benefit for smokers looking to kick the habit.

To date, this three-year project supported by NCI and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the largest study to compare smoking cessation therapies. The goal of the study was to compare smoking cessation methods to find which combination of these therapies is more effective.

Researchers compared the effects of various combinations of the nicotine patch, the nicotine lozenge and the oral medication bupropion on 1,500 smokers. The treatments lasted between 8 to 12 weeks. Study participants also received six one-on-one counseling sessions from trained case managers in addition to the medication.

Researchers found a nicotine lozenge paired with the nicotine patch was twice as effective for staying smoke-free six months after quitting.

According to a press release today from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), women should wait until age 21 to have their first Pap test to screen for cervical cancer.

Previously, ACOG recommended that young women begin cervical cancer screenings three years after first sexual intercourse or by age 21, whichever occurred first. The change in recommendation is to "avoid unnecessary treatment of adolescents which can have economic, emotional, and future childbearing implications."

In addition, ACOG says women over the age of 21 should be screened for cervical cancer less often than previously recommended. The private, non-profit group of physicians now recommends that women who are 21 to 30 years old get screened every two years instead of annually.

Women over the age of 30 should be screened for cervical cancer once every three years, as long as they have had three consecutive normal test results. This is also a new recommendation from ACOG.

The new guidelines will be published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Today marks the 34th annual American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. The event happens every year on the third Thursday of November and challenges smokers to smoke less or even mark this day as the beginning to a new, cigarette-free lifestyle.

As we point out on our Causes of Cancer page, smoking tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and regular exposure to tobacco smoke are responsible for one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States each year.

According to the American Cancer Society, the Great American Smokeout evolved from the state of Minnesota's Don't Smoke Day, which was spearheaded by Lynn R. Smith in 1974.  Two years later, the California Division of the American Cancer Society was able to get almost 1 million smokers to quit for the day. The ACS expanded the event to the entire nation in 1977.

If you're a smoker looking to quit for the day (or longer), the Great American Smokeout website offers lots of tips and resources to help smokers learn how to successfully quit the habit.

A new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association takes a closer look at how folic acid and vitamin B12 affect cancer risks.

Researchers in Norway studied more than 6,800 people with ischemic heart disease who were treated with folic acid plus vitamins B12 and B6, folic acid plus vitamin B12, vitamin B6 alone, or a placebo.

The researchers determined that treatment with folic acid plus vitamin B12 led to higher cancer rates, in addition to deaths from cancer and other causes.

Unlike many countries, including the United States, Norway does not enrich its food supplies with folic acid. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Norwegian researchers also pointed out: "Although the folic acid doses in the study were higher than what the typical American would consume through fortification alone, they were below the limits set by our Institute of Medicine."

The researchers say the study's results need confirmation in other populations.

Billionaire investor Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, has publicly announced he has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Employees of Vulcan Inc., Allen's Seattle-based investment firm, were notified of his diagnosis yesterday afternoon.

According to The New York Times Allen, 56, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 1983. He left Microsoft to fight the disease and ultimately succeeded, but never returned to day-to-day Microsoft operations. Since then Allen has been a major investor in technology companies.

According to a family member, Allen has begun chemotherapy.

Learn about the difficulties of living with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

New research suggests women are more likely to end up separated or divorced after a brain cancer or multiple sclerosis diagnosis than men who have a similar diagnosis.

During the U.S. study, 515 patients were divided into three diagnostic groups: those with a malignant primary brain tumor, those with a solid brain tumor with no central nervous system involvement, and those with multiple sclerosis. Nearly half of the patients were women.

The study revealed that female gender was the strongest predictor of separation or divorce in each of the patient groups, with women patients nearly 7 times as likely to become separated or divorced as men. Divorce rates jumped to nearly 21% when the woman was sick, compared to about 3% when the man was the patient.

Men may have a harder time adapting to caregiver duties on top of looking after the home and family, which researchers say could explain why they leave their spouses.

The study was published in the journal Cancer.

The British government is reportedly moving forward with legislation to keep kids 18 years old and younger from using tanning beds, according to an article in Guardian.co.uk.

The article cites new research published in today's British Medical Journal, which shows that more than 250,000 English children aged 11-17 are thought to use sunbeds.

Medical researchers believe that frequent sunbed use can boost the risk of malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.

According to the Guardian article, the International Agency for Research on Cancer recently declared ultraviolet radiation exposure, including radiation from tanning beds, to be "carcinogenic to humans".

A 300% rise in malignant melanoma cases since the 1970s has been directly linked to a British tanning craze, according to The Sun.

Share your thoughts on our Skin Cancer Message Board.

Moderate exercise - the equivalent of three to six hours of walking per week - may help lower a man's prostate cancer risk, reports Reuters.

New research found that among 190 men who underwent biopsies for possible prostate cancer, those who exercised moderately were less likely to be diagnosed with the disease. In addition, these men were two-thirds less likely to have their biopsy return positive than men who remained sedentary.

The findings, which were reported in the Journal of Urology, do not prove that exercise helps prevent prostate cancer, reports Reuters. What they do provide is more incentive for men to become more active.

During this recent study, Dr. Stephen J. Freeland and his colleagues found that among the 111 sedentary men participating, half were diagnosed with cancer after biopsy. That compared with 27% of those men who got the equivalent of three to six hours of walking each week.

Among men diagnosed with prostate cancer, 51% of sedentary patients had more aggressive cancers, versus 22% of those who had been mildly active.

Exercise remained linked to lower risk of prostate cancer even after researchers accounted for a number of factors, including age, weight and race.

Visit our Prostate Cancer Information section for additional information about the disease.

If you're a cancer patient or survivor, chances are you've wondered: Should I get the H1N1 flu vaccine? Anyone with a compromised immune system may be more susceptible to infections like the flu. But the information about the swine flu vaccine has been everything from reassuring to confusing, leaving many of us wringing our hands with worry.

The CDC recommends the H1N1 vaccine  for anyone between the ages of 25-64 with a compromised immune system. Donna Peach, a blogger and survivor with metastatic breast cancer, wrote that she went back and forth about whether or not to get the vaccine. She ultimately did and has experienced no side effects.

In an article from the MDS Beacon, Dr. Bart Scott, an MDS specialist at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, recommends that people with impaired immune systems get the H1N1 shot, but not the nasal spray, which contains a live version of the virus and can cause the flu. (Myelodysplastic syndromes [MDS] are a collection of blood and bone marrow disorders, and can be a side effect of chemo or radiation treatment.)

On the other side of the fence are the researchers and everyday folks who question the effectiveness of a flu vaccine of any kind—and wonder if the potential side effects are worth it, especially for immune-compromised people. Recent research in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine casts doubt on the commonly held assumption that the flu vaccine significantly reduces the number of deaths from flu-related pneumonia. Rather, it may be the "healthy-user effect"—meaning that people with healthier habits choose to get the vaccine in the first place and those habits, not the vaccine, are why they stay healthy.

In the end, the decision about whether or not to vaccinate is a personal one that people should discuss with their doctors and their families. What do you think? Is the H1N1 vaccine a do or a don't for cancer patients?

Tips to Prevent Swine Flu

American Cancer Society prevention tips
Centers for Disease Control vaccination recommendations