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One of the earliest chemotherapy drugs appears to work against a genetic fault that can trigger bowel and other cancers, UK researchers say. In laboratory tests methotrexate, first administered in the 1940s, was found to destroy cells containing the damaged MSH2 gene. This raises the hope of targeted treatments for those whose cancer is driven by the faulty gene. Patient trials have already begun, EMBO Molecular Medicine reports. The genetic condition HNPCC leaves people with a propensity to develop certain forms of cancer: some 90% of men and 70% of women will have developed bowel cancer by the time they...

Most people north of the equator have an observable suntan by August. Ironically, a desire to be outside is often coupled with another strong desire to get out of the sun, as indicated by sales of sun umbrellas and other types of sunshades. From a biological standpoint, energy from the sun always needs to be controlled. This means that there is complex biological machinery in place to manage sunlight in some way. The machinery itself would not exist without information in DNA prescribing its materials, manufacture, and operation. Suntans result from this special biological machinery and function like the skin's...

The recent health care debate has sparked a lot rhetoric from both sides. In the interest of full disclosure, I am vehemently against the proposed government take over of our health care system for a number of reasons. Primarily due to overwhelming, documented reduction in the quality of care patients receive under such a system. The state of Oregon has the type of system that Congress is proposing for the entire country. Barbara Wagner, a resident of Salem in the state of Oregon, and lung cancer survivor, was prescribed Tarceva by her oncologist. Tarceva is a drug that has shown...

Richard Egan, the billionaire co-founder of EMC Corp. and the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, died today of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head, police and other sources confirmed. Egan, 73, a resident of the Four Seasons condominiums on Boylston Street, had been battling terminal cancer, sources said. He had a visiting nurse attending to him while he underwent treatments. Both the nurse and his wife were in the condominium this afternoon when Egan died at home, sources told the Herald.

The furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber intensified today over the medical advice given to the Scottish government on how long he has to live. It emerged that the prognosis that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi had a life expectancy of only three months or less was supported by an unnamed doctor who had no expertise in terminal prostate cancer. The final report on al-Megrahi’s condition which went to Kenny MacAskill was drawn up by Dr Andrew Fraser, director of health and care with the Scottish Prison Service. The three-month time limit is important because Scottish Prison Service guidance...

By Richard Knox In his full-bore battle against brain cancer, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy resorted to treatment many consider experimental -- proton beam radiation therapy. Sen. Kennedy returns to Senate last year after treatment for brain cancer. Medicare pays for it. But his death leaves open a slew of questions about the costly treatment, which delivers high doses of radiation to tumor cells while largely sparing healthy tissue from damage. Did it do him any good? Should Medicare (or private insurers) pay for the unproven treatment? And most politically fraught, should Kennedy's legacy issue -- universal health care -- include...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – In new animal research done by investigators at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, scientists have discovered a treatment effective in mice at blocking the growth and shrinking the size of lung cancer tumors, one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world. The study, recently published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, is the first to show that treatment with a specific peptide, angiotensin-(1-7), reduces lung tumor growth by inhibiting blood vessel formation. "If you're diagnosed with lung cancer today, you've got a 15 percent chance of...

Sources close to Iraqi Shi'ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim say the cleric has died. Hakim was being treated for lung cancer at a hospital in Iran, and those close to the man said his health was deteriorating. A family member and an aide to Hakim, speaking on the condition of anonymity, separately told reporters Wednesday that he had suffered a setback. Hakim was known for his close links with Iran, and he led the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite groups. In June, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani visited Hakim in Tehran, where the ailing cleric was...

I sat at a picnic table listening to various mothers discussing their hectic schedules trying to keep up with teenage daughters, all on the same sports team. When one mother told of squeezing in an appointment that morning to get her daughter the HPV shot that her doctor recommended, the conversation turned to the necessity to "protect" their girls in such troubling times. I stayed quiet, hoping to learn the values guiding these parents' decisions. Predictably, they had not thought through the issues, nor did they know the facts. Those mothers were merely following doctors' recommendations and that of all...

Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother who was left to head the family's political dynasty after his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, has died at age 77.

Well, folks, I wish to send a bit selfish / maudlin post out to you. I apologize in advance if I have chosen the wrong forum, or if I offend anyone. I do believe that, although I will continue "lurking", this will be my final post here, although not by choice. I have been on FR for over a decade, and seen ups and downs. The forum truly represents one of the basic principles that I hold dear, specifically "Question Authority". I turn to FR for the news that gets submerged in the spin; the large Christian component has also...

MUMBAI: Sagarbai Bakshi is nothing short of a medical marvel. Not just because she’s 103 or has survived cancer for the second time — but because she fiercely refuses to be dependent on anyone. At an age when most have given up, the feisty senior citizen does all her work herself and even pays her own medical bills. On July 24, Sagarbai underwent a successful surgery on her right breast at Bombay Hospital. Five years earlier, cancer had struck her left breast which was also operated on. ‘‘When Sagarbai came to me in July, she herself knew she had cancer,’’...

Does convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard L. Madoff have cancer, as two newspapers are reporting, or not, as the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is stating? Under the headline "Bernie's Cancer Cell," the New York Post reported Monday that Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years in prison for swindling investors out of as much as $65 billion, wrote: "Bernie Madoff had little to lose by confessing to masterminding the world's biggest Ponzi scheme -- he's dying of cancer, sources told The Post." The story goes on to say that Madoff, 71, has been telling fellow inmates that he doesn't have long...

When Albina Duggan of Bourbonnais, Ill., was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, it had spread from her liver to her spine and lymph nodes. "[The doctor] told me I had three years — if lucky, five — to live," she said. Having endured four surgeries and intensive radiation treatment, Duggan enrolled in clinical trials as a last resort. Five years later, the 41-year-old mother of four has defied expectations: Her tumors have shrunk by half and doctors no longer are setting limits on her life expectancy. Duggan attributes her new hope to an unusual cancer treatment being tested at the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff has told fellow prison inmates that he is dying of cancer, the New York Post reported Monday, citing unnamed prison sources. Madoff, 71, who since June has been serving a 150-year sentence at a North Carolina federal prison, has been telling inmates that he does not have long to live, the newspaper said, citing the unofficial and unusual sources. One inmate at the Butner (North Carolina) Medium Federal Correctional Institution said Madoff was taking "about 20 pills a day" and "not doing very well," the Post wrote. Federal Bureau of Prisons...

Bernie Madoff had little to lose by confessing to masterminding the world's biggest Ponzi scheme -- he's dying of cancer, sources told The Post. Madoff, who is serving 150 years at a North Carolina federal lockup after pleading guilty to swindling more than $65 billion, has been telling fellow inmates he does not have much longer to live. "He's been taking about 20 pills a day for his cancer," said one inmate. "He talks about it all the time. He's not doing very well." There's been much speculation as to why Madoff took the entire fall for the scheme --...

Pilot Lee Taylor of Eagle’s Nest Ventures of Diamondhead gives flying instructions to Sean Peneguy, 13, before their flight Friday. Sean was excited and a little nervous before his first airplane ride last Friday. He had a chance to take the controls during mid-flight. After spending most of last year checking in and out of hospitals battling cancer, one middle school student got a thrill of a lifetime. Sean Peneguy, a 13-year-old from Bay St. Louis, was diagnosed with bone cancer a year ago. Since then, he has been in chemotherapy and had surgery to remove a tumor from...

My heart goes out to Massachusetts senior Senator Ted Kennedy as he battles fatal brain cancer. No one should have to suffer slowly toward their demise. That said, Kennedy's latest--and perhaps his last--major act as a senator constitutes nothing short of blatant political corruption. Usually, politicians try to keep their wrongdoings shrouded from view in darkened rooms. It's easier to get away with what you want when the lights are off. For example: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford went to Argentina to have an affair. John Edwards fathered a child out of wedlock while his wife had cancer and convinced...

Popcorn could help prevent cancer, research suggests. Scientists discovered the snack food contains 'surprisingly large' levels of health-boosting antioxidants called polyphenols. Polyphenols in fruit and vegetables are thought to help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The U.S. study was led by the chemist Dr Vinson from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. It is the first to establish that snack foods and some wholegrain breakfast cereals are a good source of polyphenols. He said: 'We really were surprised by the levels of polyphenols we found in popcorn. I guess its because it's not processed. You...

Finnish researchers recently concluded that, if you wish to ward off lung or gastrointestinal cancer, you might want to spend your leisure time jogging instead of picking berries, mushroom gathering or fishing. In the study, published in late July on the Web site of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, scientists studied the health of a group of 2,560 middle-aged Finns over the course of about 17 years. The subjects, all men living in eastern Finland, kept diaries of their daily activities for a year and then went about them. At the start of the study, none had cancer. By...

Cancer-stricken Sen. Kennedy asks state leaders for speedy process to replace him in Congress BOSTON (AP) — A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has written a poignant letter to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in Congress. The note to Gov. Deval Patrick and the state's Senate president and House speaker acknowledges the state changed its succession law in 2004 to require a special election to fill any vacancy. At the time, legislative Democrats were concerned Republican Gov. Mitt Romney would be able to fill any vacancy created as Sen. John...

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, one of the nation’s most influential journalists, who relished his “Prince of Darkness” public persona, died at home here early Tuesday morning after a battle with brain cancer. “He was someone who loved being a journalist, love journalism and loved his country and loved his family, Novak’s wife, Geraldine, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. Novak’s remarkable and long-running career made him a powerful presence in newspaper columns, newsletters, books and on television. On May 15, 1963, Novak teamed up with the late Rowland Evans Jr. to create the “Inside Report” political column, which became the...

The so-called death panel clause may have been dropped from the House of Representatives health care reform bill, but Americans must be very vigilant to make sure it doesn’t come back in another form. Because it will. How can it not? If you vow to cover everybody who isn’t covered, but not raise taxes, or increase the deficit, or cut Medicare, there’s only one way to pay for everything: convince people – in the most genteel “do your civic duty” way possible – to die earlier. And it will work. You will realise some savings, maybe even enough to cover...

The chart above shows the estimated number of new cancer cases in 2008 for gender-specific cancers, using data from the American Cancer Society. For men most of the cases were for prostate cancer, and for women it was mostly new cases of breast cancer, but also cervical and ovarian cancer. The ratio of new gender-specific cancers in 2008 was 1.32 new female cases of cancer for every one male case. What about government funding for gender-specific cancers? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate that they will spend $4,446,000,000 in 2009 for female-specific cancers (breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer,...

Drug found that kills breast cancer stem cells.PunchstockA new approach for identifying drugs that specifically attack cancer stem cells, the cellular culprits that are thought to start and maintain tumour growth, could change the way that drug companies and scientists search for therapies in the war against cancer."We now have a systematic method that had not been previously known that allows us to find agents that target cancer stem cells," says Piyush Gupta of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and first author of the study, published online today in Cell1.Applying the technique, Gupta...

Dirty bombs are one of the biggest threats to the world's urban populations. Now an American molecular biologist has developed a drug that may protect against the effects of radioactivity. Military officials are thrilled, and the discoverers could make billions. On Friday afternoons, as the Sabbath approaches and the sun hangs low in the sky over the Mediterranean, the Restaurant Turquoise north of Tel Aviv is a carefree oasis. Every seat in the place is taken, and the crowd is in high spirits. Only one patron, Yacov Reizman, seems serious as he glances at a stack of documents -- a...

Huge variations in funding mean that cancer sufferers' chances of being given life-extending drugs, surgery, and specialist care vary wildly from one part of the country to another. While the average amount spent on a cancer sufferer in some parts of London is almost £15,000 a year, in Leicestershire it is less than £5,000. Cancer experts said the research, carried out by The Sunday Telegraph, exposed a "grotesque lottery" in which life-and-death decisions were routinely being made by bureaucrats who were "unelected, unaccountable and unqualified" to make the rulings. The figures obtained by this paper give the most detailed picture...

Researchers have discovered a way to identify drugs that can specifically attack and kill cancer stem cells, a finding that could lead to a new generation of anticancer medicines and a new strategy of treatment. Many researchers believe that tumor growth is driven by cancerous stem cells that, for reasons not understood, are highly resistant to standard treatments. Chemotherapy agents may kill off 99 percent of cells in a tumor, but the stem cells that remain can make the cancer recur, the theory holds, or spread to other tissues to cause new cancers. Stem cells, unlike mature cells, can constantly...

Charities warned that patients with less common forms of cancer were being discriminated against, while others condemned the system as a “scandal”. Patients and their doctors can appeal for the NHS to pay for drugs not currently licensed for that type of the disease. But one in three applications were turned down in the last three years, leaving patients having to pay up £20,000 for the medication themselves. The Rarer Cancers Forum, who obtained the figures, said that patients in France were up to 55 per cent more likely to get so-called “near-label” treatment, drugs licensed for a similar disease,...

Knocking out genes with a role in cancer prevention helps produce stem cells.Switching off the p53 pathway helped researchers to make stem-like cells.Wikimedia Commons Specialized adult cells made 'immortal' through the blockade of an antitumour pathway can be turned into stem-like cells quickly and efficiently.The findings — which should make it easier to generate patient-specific cells from any tissue type, including certain diseased cells that have proved difficult to transform — suggest that cellular reprogramming and cancer formation are inextricably linked.Since 2006, when Shinya Yamanaka of Japan's Kyoto University first created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells1 — which can develop...

More than two decades ago, Life Extension called attention to the over-the-counter heartburn drug cimetidine—more commonly known by its brand name, Tagamet®—as a complementary cancer treatment. Although cimetidine was developed to relieve heartburn, acid indigestion, and sour stomach, numerous studies demonstrate that this readily available medication may offer powerful support in the fight against cancer.Unfortunately, many cancer patients and even oncologists remain unaware of the compelling evidence demonstrating its efficacy. Snip... An Unexpected Anti-Cancer Agent The first studies to hint at cimetidine’s effectiveness against cancer were published in the late 1970s. Although scientists initially thought that cimetidine worked by enhancing...

Conventional cancer therapies do not always eradicate the cancer, leading patients to seek out adjuvant therapies that may confer additional benefits. More than two decades ago, Life Extension called attention to the over-the-counter heartburn drug cimetidine—more commonly known by its brand name, Tagamet®—as a complementary cancer treatment. Although cimetidine was developed to relieve heartburn, acid indigestion, and sour stomach, numerous studies demonstrate that this readily available medication may offer powerful support in the fight against cancer.Unfortunately, many cancer patients and even oncologists remain unaware of the compelling evidence demonstrating its efficacy.By preventing cancer metastasis (spread), slowing or halting tumor growth,...

Reform: If the world's most famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, is a shining example of British health care, how is it that others in the U.K. are repeatedly denied critical care and medicine?In commenting on efforts to overhaul American's health care system, we have tried to pull back the curtain and pay attention to those trying to clone the systems of Canada and Britain. But supporters of government-run health care frequently ignore some of the less-pleasant facts. Much has been made of this statement in one of our Aug. 3 editorials: "People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance...

The number of people in their forties diagnosed with mouth, tongue and lip cancer has increased by a quarter in the past decade. According to figures today from Cancer Research UK, oral cancer is "largely preventable", with smoking and drinking alcohol among the main risk factors. However, experts believe the increase is down to alcohol consumption, as they say cancers caused by smoking often take 30 years to develop, and smoking rates have gone down while drinking has gone up. Researchers also point to diets low in fruit and vegetables and the sexually transmitted infection human papillomavirus (HPV) as reasons...

Why do the British lag behind American survival rates? Screening standards are different. In the United States, internists recommend that men 50 and older get screened for colon cancer; in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, screening begins at 75. And British patients wait much longer to see specialists. A Clinical Oncology study of British lung cancer treatment found in 2000 that 20% "of potentially curable patients became incurable on the waiting list." Novel drugs offered here often aren't available there; for instance, Avastin, a drug for advanced colon cancer, is prescribed more often in the U.S. than...

Men and women who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and began regular use of aspirin had a lower risk of overall and colorectal cancer death compared to patients not using aspirin, according to a study in the August 12 issue of JAMA. Numerous prospective, observational studies demonstrate that regular aspirin use is associated with a lower risk of colorectal adenoma (a benign tumor) or cancer. Aspirin is likely, at least in part, to prevent colorectal neoplasia (tumor growth) through inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2; an enzyme), which promotes inflammation and cell proliferation, and is overexpressed in the majority of human colorectal...

My brother has just been diagnosed with stage 4 tonsil cancer. He's going in for the full analysis tomorrow, so we'll know more about the planned course of treatment in a couple of days. First - we need prayers...please! Second - does anyone have any experience with this that they can share? Thanks so much for any support. My brother is one of the most decent, smartest people I know. Thanks, Rob

Health Care: There might not be a "death panel," as Sarah Palin described it, but federal bureaucrats will be making end-of-life decisions. That's why state-run medicine is a leading cause of death in Britain and Canada.A post on the former Alaska governor's Facebook page has caused a stir by discussing openly what many privately fear and something we have written about. End-of-life counseling and efforts to measure cost-effectiveness of treatment will combine in a perfect storm to ration care in a way that lets the government decide who lives and who dies. "The America I know and love is not...

Grinding Up a Rancid Review A 2007 review of previous studies (that is, a study of studies) conducted by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute of Cancer Research claimed that a pattern of research showed a link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer. The review recommended that people limit their intake of red and processed meats. Slam dunk, right? Not so fast. A nonprofit research organization confirms that the review omitted a major study on meat consumption and cancer. And this week, the review’s own author is admitting that it doesn’t have much meat on its...

Scientists say they have made a discovery that may help explain the racial gap in cancer survival, providing clues to why white patients often outlive blacks even when they have what appear to be the same cancers. The insights come from research at the University of Maryland into throat cancer and squamous-cell cancers of the head and neck, which have been increasing sharply in recent years, apparently because of the human papillomavirus — the same sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer and is the target of a vaccine for girls. The virus can also be spread through oral sex,...

Fifteen years ago when we were going through Cancer with my father, this book would have been wonderful. Interspersed with prayers and suggestions, this book gives both the patient and their loved ones lots of insight on dealing with this disease. Dealing with it from a spiritual side as well as medically, is so important for everyone. It's sometimes hard to know what to say to someone who's going through a cancer diagnosis and this book helps you to understand the emotions that person is going through. This small book covers numerous topics such as guilt, frustration, etc. and has...

Connecticut Democrat reveals he's been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, will undergo surgery in early August. "It's not about me -- it's about people without health care or who are under-insured." Watch video above.

News has broken today that Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, Acting Chairman of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer. Our best wishes and hopes for speedy treatment and a successful recovery of course go out to him. We wonder, though, how Senator Dodd, who is 65 years of age, would fare under provisions contained within several of the health care “reform” proposals or bills currently circulating in the halls of Congress. We also wonder if he would be willing to subject himself to the vagaries and outright mandates already outlined...

WASHINGTON – Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer and intends to have surgery early in August, his office said Friday. Dodd intends to be back at work when Congress reconvenes in September, according to an e-mail his office circulated to fellow senators. The AP obtained a copy. Aides also said the diagnosis would not affect Dodd's plans to seek a sixth term in 2010.

POLITICO Breaking News: ----------------------------------------------------- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has told the Hartford Courant that he has early-stage prostate cancer. For more information...http://www.politico.com

People who get divorced are more likely to suffer health problems including heart disease and cancer, even if they go on to remarry, a study has shown. Divorce and widowhood have a long-term negative effect on physical wellbeing that is only marginally ameliorated if the person finds a new partner. The stress and financial uncertainty of separation can continue to take their toll on our bodies decades after the Decree Absolute comes through, the research indicates. Divorced people have 20 per cent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer than married people, according to the study...

Former Florida Senate President Jim King, who sometimes fought Gov. Jeb Bush and his own Republican Party over the Terri Schiavo right-to-die battle in 2005, died Sunday after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, a family spokeswoman said. He was 69

MUMBAI: For 15 years, Rakesh Singh (name changed) went about his high-pressure job as a senior engineer in a central government firm with a transplanted kidney. Daily, he would pop immuno-suppressant pills to prevent his body from rejecting the donated organ. Then, about 18 months ago, he was struck by an "explosive" form of cancer called multiple myeloma — big cysts erupted across and within his body, impairing his ability to sign and speak. Singh's disease put doctors in the city's Jaslok Hospital in a bind about what line of treatment to follow: reducing the immuno-suppressants to let his body...

AMMON - The woman responsible for creating an online fraud involving the Livestrong foundation has been found dead in her car. Meet 15-year-old Jonathan Jay White. A young boy from Ammon, Idaho fighting for his life against brain cancer. The boy blogs of his optimism and strength, having swooned the hearts of many across the world including donations of generous funds. The world now knows him as 24-year-old Melissa Rice. The woman behind the cancer, the blogs, and all the lies. Recently Lance Armstrong, the boy's major contributor with the Livestrong Foundation, received disturbing news. Rice confessed there was no...

The suit, by a group that promotes a meat-free diet, seeks to require cancer-risk labels on processed meats. Nutrition experts say foods that go along with the hot dog may be more dangerous.