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Showing posts with the label blood test

Understanding Prostate Cancer: Diagnosis and Stages

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Being told that you have prostate cancer can be a frightening experience. When you are told of your condition, it's common to be so overwhelmed that you neglect to ask important questions, only to think of them once you've gotten home. Understanding your illness is often the first step on the road to recovery. Here's what you need to know about your diagnosis and how the cancer is staged: 1.Diagnosing Stages Once a man has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his physician will perform one or more additional tests to determine the stage of cancer. These tests may include a digital rectal examination, a blood test, an MRI of the prostate or skeleton, a CT of the pelvis and abdomen, or a surgical procedure to examine lymph nodes. While not all men will need each test, most men will undergo at least one of these tests in order for their physician to better stage the cancer. 2.Stage I If you are diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer, this means that your cancer is mi

Skin cancer vs vitamin D

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REMEMBER when we used to lie out in the sun for hours covered in coconut oil? If you can, you're pre-skin cancer warnings now appear regularly on our TV and billboards. Slip, slop, slap is the message we've being given. But, with vitamin D deficiency more common, many people are also wondering if the sun protection message is affecting their health in other ways. The sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation is both the major cause of skin cancer and the best source of vitamin D, according to the Cancer Council Australia. "We need to balance the risk of skin cancer from too much sun exposure with maintaining adequate vitamin D levels," it says. "Sensible sun protection does not put people at risk of vitamin D deficiency." Why we need vitamin D and how we get it Vitamin D keeps bones and muscles strong, as well as keep our immune system robust. Low blood levels of the vitamin have been associated increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cognit

Avoid ovarian cancer tests

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Tests commonly recommended to screen healthy women for ovarian cancer do more harm than good and should not be performed, a panel of medical experts said Monday. The screenings -- blood tests for a substance linked to cancer, and ultrasound scans to examine the ovaries -- do not lower the death rate from the disease, and they yield many false-positive results that lead to unnecessary operations with high complication rates, the panel said. "There is no existing method of screening for ovarian cancer that is effective in reducing deaths," said Dr. Virginia Moyer , chairwoman of the expert panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. "In fact, a high percentage of women who undergo screening experience false-positive test results and consequently may be subjected to unnecessary harms, such as major surgery." The advice against testing applies only to healthy women with an average risk of ovarian cancer, not to those with suspicious symptoms or those at h