This study investigated whether a Mediterranean diet is linked to better outcomes in men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

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The present study compared survivors of prostate cancer (PC) to patients of similar sexes and ages that have not had prostate cancer (non-cancer controls) based on the effects of prior treatments and treatment options on sexual, urinary, bowel and hormone functions. The main finding was that PC survivors had poorer sexual and urinary functions compared to non-cancer controls 10 years after diagnosis. 

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A cancer diagnosis is overwhelming.  So is the prospect of telling your children about a cancer diagnosis. Social media makes it possible for parents to share strategies and provide guidance to others facing this challenge.  Here are some insights. Insight 1:  Tell Your Children the News Parents protect. The natural inclination is to keep diagnoses of serious illness from your children.  If your child is away at college or on her own, you may think it is better to keep the cancer news to yourself.  But as Adrian McClenney @pinkhhstboots shared on #BCSM,  “My daughter was 9 and my son[ Read More ]

We are made of elegant, interacting, dynamic structures called cells.  The best estimate is that there are around 32 trillion cells in the human body.   Today 5th graders begin to learn about cells and cell biology.  But for the rest of us, who may be a bit rusty, or who aren’t as caught up with all the advances that have occurred in understanding cells in the last 30 years or so, this is where we have to start to understand oncology in 2016. The Old View of Cells Let’s look at what you may know.  Cells are made of cell[ Read More ]

In Oncology Basics 2016 part 1, we examined the elegance of the cells that make up our body.  In Oncology Basics 2016 part 2, we explored what holds the instructions for life--DNA--and the special processes of self-replication and transcription that are used to pass on and translate those instructions.  Now we will try to connect the dots. Recent scientific collaborations have increased our understanding of what makes humans human. One of these was the Human Genome Project. The Human Genome Project "A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. "  Genes are composed of DNA  and the[ Read More ]

Oncology Basics 2016 continues with a look at the immune system and immunotherapy.  As described in a previous post, one of the regulators of cell division and proliferation is the immune system.  Harnessing the power of the immune system to attack and destroy cancer cells is a promising area of oncology research. Immune System Cells Below is a graphic to help understand the basic components of the immune system.  The  first cell (the green stem cell) is in the bone marrow.  It can become either a lymphoid stem cell (blue) or a myeloid progenitor (yellow). Innate Immune System The first[ Read More ]

We are adding to the list of respite opportunities that are available for adults with cancer.  In addition to a couple of programs like the ones featured in Free Vacations for Adults affected by Cancer, there are a few foundations for adults with cancer that are much like the well-known Make-A-Wish Foundation (for children) which provide support for travel or other wishes.   Dream Foundation The Dream Foundation  provides wish fulfillment for adults with cancer who are terminally ill with a life expectancy of a year or less.  Travel or vacation wishes must be fulfilled within the US.  The vacation can[ Read More ]

The Central Dogma of Biology Doesn’t the title above sound imposing? Yet this central idea has moved biological science forward over the last 60 plus years. What we know about cells, genetics and cancer today relies on this "Dogma": DNA carries our hereditary information and transfers that information in a process called transcription. In 1869, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) was first discovered.  Still, it wasn't until 1944 when three researchers--Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty--transformed one type of pneumonia (that didn't cause illness) into another type of pneumonia (that did cause illness) that it was determined that DNA (and not proteins)[ Read More ]

"Nixon asked, 'Doctor, what do you consider the most pressing problem that medicine has today?'...My answer was simple: 'Cancer.' He said, 'I'm amazed. Why do you say that?' My reply was, 'I think every physician who is dedicated and sincere never goes on the floor of a hospital where he has cancer patients...-without feeling helpless. We always come away with the feeling that there is so little that we can do. Often, I dread going in the room to see someone I've known for a long time pitifully ill of cancer.  I think of the millions of hours and the millions of dollars spent on cancer research and[ Read More ]

Eating Together For many, being able to commune around a table--talking, laughing and eating--is a sign of health and well-being.  That's why, when someone is sick, and doesn't eat, conflict can result. Caregivers may feel enormous anxiety, guilt and hopelessness as their loved one loses weight. Yet, caregivers need to know what is really happening.  Cancer patient, Ann Silberman, in her blog, "Breast Cancer? But Doctor...I hate pink!"  explains, "This problem of being unable to eat is not a matter of will-power, nor is it in our [the patient's] control." What is going on? Cachexia There is a distinct metabolic[ Read More ]