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Controversy over the benefits of screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer hit the headlines and the blogosphere when the New York Times reported that the American Cancer Society is planning to temper its proscreening message for breast and prostate cancers, and a prominent representative of the society denied it on his blog. By the end of the day, the society's chief medical officer, Dr. Otis W. Brawley, posted a firm statement that the ACS stands by its screening guidelines. “The bottom line is that mammography has helped avert deaths from breast cancer, and we can make more progress against...

LOS ANGELES – Dennis Hopper has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is canceling all travel plans to focus on treatment. Manager Sam Maydew says the 73-year-old actor and artist is being treated through a "special program" at the University of Southern California. Asked about Hopper's prognosis, Maydew said, "We're hoping for the best."

The American Cancer Society, which has long been a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate, have been overstated. It is quietly working on a message, to put on its Web site early next year, to emphasize that screening for breast and prostate cancer and certain other cancers can come with a real risk of overtreating many small cancers while missing cancers that are deadly... --snip-- The new analysis — by Dr. Laura Esserman, a professor of surgery and radiology at the University of California, San Francisco,...

Could a virus be the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome? A study published last week in the journal Science... --snip-- Further testing after the paper was written found the virus in nearly 98 percent of about 300 patients with the syndrome, Dr. Mikovits said. --snip-- The study received a mixed review from Dr. William C. Reeves, who directs public health research on the syndrome at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He called the research exciting but preliminary, and said he was surprised that a prestigious journal like Science had published it, because the researchers did not state the...

Prostate cancer pathogen may be behind the disease once dubbed 'yuppie flu'. A study on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has linked the mysterious and controversial disease to a recently discovered retrovirus. Just last month researchers found the same virus to be associated with aggressive prostate tumours.Chronic fatigue syndrome is seen as a serious but poorly defined disease.PUNCHSTOCK CFS is marked by debilitating exhaustion and often an array of other symptoms, including memory and concentration problems and painful muscles and joints. The underlying cause of the disease is unknown; it is diagnosed only when other physical and psychiatric diseases have been...

Petraeus Has Prostate Cancer By ERIC SCHMITT Published: October 5, 2009 WASHINGTON — Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American military forces in the Middle East, received a diagnosis of early-stage prostate cancer in February but has undergone “successful” radiation treatment to deal with the illness, according to a statement issued late Monday. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American military forces in the Middle East, at the Newseum in Washington last week. He received a diagnosis of early-stage prostate cancer in February. General Petraeus, 56, who as head of the United States...

Toronto researchers have developed a portable device they say will accurately diagnose prostate cancer in 30 minutes. The microchip technology, created by a pair of University of Toronto scientists, will be able to determine the severity of the tumours through a simple urine sample and produce quick diagnosis with no need for painful biopsies. Now heading into the engineering stage, a BlackBerry-sized device should be available for doctors' use within two to three years and eventually could be tuned to detect a broad range of cancers and infectious ailments, the researchers say. "The goal would be to produce a result...

A small molecule earlier found to have both anti-fat and anti-cancer abilities works as a literal turnoff for fat-making genes, according to a new report in the August 28th issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology, a Cell Press journal. The chemical blocks a well known master controller of fat synthesis, a transcription factor known as SREBP. That action in mice that are genetically prone to obesity causes the animals to become leaner. It also lowers the amount of fat in their livers, along with their blood sugar and cholesterol levels. "We are frankly very excited about it," said Salih...

Late last week, Conservative Member of the European Parliament, Daniel Hannan, appeared on Fox News. His statement that the US should not attempt to create a new health care system, based on the British model of the National Health Service (NHS), ignited a firestorm in England. On Friday morning, the British airwaves and print media, not to mention the blogosphere, went into overdrive with comments which amounted to a national self examination verging on a societal inquisition. Full marks to Steven Glover for his analysis in The Daily Mail. He wrote what most Brits would categorize as “the bleeding obvious.”...

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...

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...

August 07, 2009, 0:00 a.m. Government Medicine KillsThe U.K. and Canada prove it. By Deroy Murdock Imagine that your two best friends are British and Canadian tobacco addicts. The Brit battles lung cancer. The Canadian endures emphysema and wheezes as he walks around with clanging oxygen canisters. You probably would not think: “Maybe I should pick up smoking.” The fact that America is even considering government medicine is equally wacky. The state guides health care for our two closest allies: Great Britain and Canada. Like us, these are prosperous, industrial, Anglophone democracies. Nevertheless, compared to America, they suffer higher...

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Tuesday and was recuperating at a New York hospital. Dr. Peter Scardino of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center said the surgery was successful and Dodd was resting comfortably. "It is anticipated that he will be able to return to full activity within a few weeks," Scardino said in a statement released by Dodd's office. Dodd, 65, is expected to remain at the hospital for a few days before returning home to Connecticut. The five-term Democrat announced last month that he had been diagnosed with an early, treatable stage of cancer. He...

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...

Per MSNBC

U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer. Dodd is scheduled to undergo surgery during the Senate's August recess and said he expects to be back at work after a "brief recuperation" at home. "It's something that's very common among men my age,'' said Dodd, who is 65 and the father of two young daughters. "In fact, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their life.''

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.

News conference 2PM Eastern.

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

Two prostate cancer patients who had been told their condition was inoperable are now cancer-free as the result of an experimental therapy, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester announced today. “We were all pretty shocked,” says Dr. Eugene Kwon, an immunologist and urologist at Mayo and leader of the clinical trial in which the experimental therapy was being used. “These results were far beyond anything we ever envisioned.” The two patients had a particular subset of prostate cancer that is very aggressive and deadly. Unlike most prostate cancer, which grows slowly and usually remains confined to the prostate gland, aggressive forms...