Hot MedFax

Want to avoid ovarian cancer ?  Stay close to your ideal weight. That's the conclusion of a new study out of two cancer centers, which found that obesity is linked to ovarian cancer.  Several studies have been done on this, but this is the first time the suspicion has been confirmed.  One of the most deadly cancers a woman can get, ovarian cancer is diagnosed in over 22,000 women a year, over 14,000 of whom die. The reason it's such a killer is that it's a hard disease to detect.  No exact diagnosis tool can tell when you might be developing it, like breast, leading to early treatment and cure.  Most often it's found in an advanced stage, because the symptoms  can mimic many other illnesses (bloating, indigestion, nausea, feelings of pressure in the pelvis or lower back, fatigue).  By the time the cancer is diagnosed, it's often too late to treat successfully. So how heavy is too heavy?  Experts say a body mass index (BMI) of over 25 ind...

It's one of the most feared diseases.   The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013, about 22,240 new cases of it will be diagnosed and 14,030 women will die of it in the United States. We're talking about ovarian cancer and it's so deadly because it's most often diagnosed at a late stage, when it may already have spread to other organs.   But what if there were something simple you could take every day to try to prevent this disease? What if it were something that's also supposed to ward off heart attacks and colon cancer, too? It's the miraculous aspirin .   According to newswise.com, w omen who take aspirin daily may reduce their risk of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to a study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.   "Symptoms associated with this disease can mimic more common conditions, such as digestive and bladder disorders, so for this reason and others, it is ofte...

You might have heard this before but I still think it's incredible.  Dogs can sniff out cancer . A new study in Pennsylvania has found that dogs can actually smell ovarian cancer.  Sounds scary (and kind of gross), but "Researchers trying to develop a diagnostic tool for ovarian cancer are hoping dogs' keen sense of smell will lead them down the right path," according to an AP story. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania's Working Dog Center have developed a simple test using blood and tissue samples donated by patients, then training three canines to "sniff out the signature compound that indicates the presence of ovarian cancer." If the animals can isolate the chemical marker, scientists at the nearby Monell Chemical Senses Center will work to create an electronic sensor to identify the same odor, the Kathy Matheson at the AP reports. "Because if the dogs can do it, then the question is, Can our analytical instrumentation do it? We ...