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Thread: Cancer sucks

  1. #726
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Women who used chemical hair straightening products were at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers found no associations with uterine cancer for other hair products that the women reported using, including hair dyes, bleach, highlights, or perms.

    The study data includes 33,497 U.S. women ages 35-74 participating in the Sister Study, a study led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, that seeks to identify risk factors for breast cancer and other health conditions. The women were followed for almost 11 years and during that time 378 uterine cancer cases were diagnosed.

    The researchers found that women who reported frequent use of hair straightening products, defined as more than four times in the previous year, were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products.

    “We estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70; but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%,” said Alexandra White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group and lead author on the new study. “This doubling rate is concerning. However, it is important to put this information into context - uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer.”

    Uterine cancer accounts for about 3% of all new cancer cases but is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, with 65,950 estimated new cases in 2022. Studies show that incidence rates of uterine cancer have been rising in the United States, particularly among Black women.

    Approximately 60% of the participants who reported using straighteners in the previous year were self-identified Black women, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Although, the study did not find that the relationship between straightener use and uterine cancer incidence was different by race, the adverse health effects may be greater for Black women due to higher prevalence of use.

    “Because Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at earlier ages than other races and ethnicities, these findings may be even more relevant for them,” said Che-Jung Chang, Ph.D., an author on the new study and a research fellow in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch.

    The findings are consistent with prior studies showing straighteners can increase the risk of hormone-related cancers in women.

    The researchers did not collect information on brands or ingredients in the hair products the women used. However, in the paper they note that several chemicals that have been found in straighteners (such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde) could be contributing to the increased uterine cancer risk observed. Chemical exposure from hair product use, especially straighteners, could be more concerning than other personal care products due to increased absorption through the scalp which may be exacerbated by burns and lesions caused by straighteners.

    “To our knowledge this is the first epidemiologic study that examined the relationship between straightener use and uterine cancer,” said White. “More research is needed to confirm these findings in different populations, to determine if hair products contribute to health disparities in uterine cancer, and to identify the specific chemicals that may be increasing the risk of cancers in women.”

    This team previously found that permanent hair dye and straighteners may increase breast and ovarian cancer risk.

    Chemical Relaxers and Hair-Straightening Products: Potential Targets for Hormone-Related Cancer Prevention and Control | JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute | Oxford Academic
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  2. #727
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Breast cancer vaccine shows promise in early trial

    An experimental breast cancer vaccine has been shown to safely generate anti-tumor immunity in patients with advanced stages of the disease.

    Data from the phase I trial indicate the vaccine could one day be used to treat different kinds of breast cancer.

    The trial was conducted by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and findings were published in JAMA Oncology.

    “Because this was not a randomized clinical trial, the results should be considered preliminary, but the findings are promising enough that the vaccine will now be evaluated in a larger, randomized clinical trial,” said lead investigator Mary L. Disis, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington and director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute, in a statement.

    Around 42,000 women die of breast cancer each year in the United States, according to the CDC, while around 264,000 cases are diagnosed in women annually.

    The vaccine was developed to specifically target the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein.

    High levels of the HER2 protein — which helps cancer cells grow more quickly — are present in around 15 to 20 percent of breast tumors, while HER2 positive cases tend to be more aggressive and are more likely to recur after patients undergo treatment.

    However, the overproduction of HER2 can also trigger cytotoxic — or cell-killing — immunity. Patients who have this type of immune reaction are less likely to have their cancer recur and tend to have longer overall survival than those without the reaction.

    The DNA vaccine created by researchers stimulates this response in patients.

    A total of 65 patients completed the trial which took place over the course of a decade; patients were followed up with for a median of 10 years. All patients received three injections of the DNA vaccine at varying doses (10 mcg, 100 mcg, or 500 mcg).

    The strongest immune response was seen in patients who received the 100 mcg dose. Immunity persisted after the end of vaccinations and the vaccine was able to stimulate the response without triggering severe side effects, researchers said.

    “The results showed that the vaccine was very safe,” Disis said. “In fact, the most common side effects that we saw in about half the patients were very similar to what you see with COVID vaccines: redness and swelling at the injection site and maybe some fever, chills and flu-like symptoms,” she added.

    The trial was not designed to assess the vaccines’ efficacy in preventing or slowing breast cancer. However, the patients have done much better in the years following participation than what would be expected for those with similar disease stages, researchers said.

    Under normal circumstances, around half would have died within five years of treatment. Eighty percent of participants are still alive after 10 years.

    Some patients were receiving trastuzumab, a cancer drug, at the time of injection which may have influenced results.

    The vaccine is currently being investigated in a randomized phase II trial and if results are positive “it will be a strong signal for us to rapidly move forward to a definitive phase III trial,” said Disis. Treatments that are successful in phase III trials are eligible for FDA approval.

  3. #728
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    An old friend of the gf was sick in hospital so we travelled to Udon Thani Hospital on Saturday. The friend was in a public ward, women only. They pack them in, it was a sea of very poorly looking women. The friend is about 50, looked about 80, skin and bone. It seems she had some kind of intestinal cancer. I had to say a polite hello and a polite goodbye, I felt completely out of place amongst all those ailing women and bedpans so went to wait outside. The gf stayed for a long chat. The friend passed away on Monday. Cancer sucks.

  4. #729
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Sorry to hear that.

    Those public wards in Thai hospitals are heartbreaking. A “sea” of poorly looking women describes well what it looks like when you enter that huge room.

    Hope you never have to do that again.

  5. #730
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shutree View Post
    An old friend of the gf was sick in hospital so we travelled to Udon Thani Hospital on Saturday. The friend was in a public ward, women only. They pack them in, it was a sea of very poorly looking women. The friend is about 50, looked about 80, skin and bone. It seems she had some kind of intestinal cancer. I had to say a polite hello and a polite goodbye, I felt completely out of place amongst all those ailing women and bedpans so went to wait outside. The gf stayed for a long chat. The friend passed away on Monday. Cancer sucks.
    I had a similar experience a few years ago in Maharat hospital in Korat, but in a men's ward. It was horrible.

  6. #731
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Alas, my turn to post on this thread.

    Hubby, who was looking forward to joining me in Chiang Mai this fall after years of covid restrictions, may not make it to retirement.

    For the last few months he has been having bouts of anemia as well as suffering a small stroke. After scads of tests it turns out he has malignant lymphoma in his small intestines which was bleeding. It hasn’t been staged. That will happen in a couple of weeks when he is moved to a more specialized hospital to start chemotherapy.

    Prognosis: poor.

    Cancer sucks.

  7. #732
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    That really sucks. Sorry to hear the bad news MK.

  8. #733
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neverna View Post
    I had a similar experience a few years ago in Maharat hospital in Korat, but in a men's ward. It was horrible.
    Should my detestation of Thai society weaken I need only to venture into a public hospital and witness the Boschian horrors that prevail there whilst the fat pig Thai Chinese and their lickspittles enjoy the fruits of their exploitation of the masses and get their sweaty flabby arses pampered by flocks of pristine white clad nurses straight out of Central Casting tending to their every whim.

    The staff in public hospitals try their best but the sheer pressure of numbers, the lack of modern equipment, the rationing of modern drugs and the woeful lack of doctors means that care is invariably second rate, if that.

    Up-country many families ensure that their sick are accompanied by one relative who in effect will be responsible for their nursing bed care involving the provision of comfort in addition to bathing, feeding and attending to their other toiletry needs. Nurses are solely there as a function of medical care. Pressure on space is critical with patients in corridors and the relatives are often reduced to resting under the bed of their loved one.

    The complete absence of any bedside manner from doctors who rarely if ever deign to communicate directly with patients about their therapy and prognosis is almost psychopathic.

    The fundamental tenet of Thai Buddhism is of course that the physical manifestation of our life force is but a corrupt husk to be shuck off in an almost eternity of transformation and the disgrace of public hospitals in Thailand is simply evidence of this whereas the expensive private hospitals conform to the Western expectations, naturally.

    As in life, it is in death, Thai hypocrisy and societal neglect prevails.

  9. #734
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Alas, my turn to post on this thread.

    Hubby, who was looking forward to joining me in Chiang Mai this fall after years of covid restrictions, may not make it to retirement.

    For the last few months he has been having bouts of anemia as well as suffering a small stroke. After scads of tests it turns out he has malignant lymphoma in his small intestines which was bleeding. It hasn’t been staged. That will happen in a couple of weeks when he is moved to a more specialized hospital to start chemotherapy.

    Prognosis: poor.

    Cancer sucks.
    So sorry to hear that misskit.

  10. #735
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Alas, my turn to post on this thread.

    Hubby, who was looking forward to joining me in Chiang Mai this fall after years of covid restrictions, may not make it to retirement.

    For the last few months he has been having bouts of anemia as well as suffering a small stroke. After scads of tests it turns out he has malignant lymphoma in his small intestines which was bleeding. It hasn’t been staged. That will happen in a couple of weeks when he is moved to a more specialized hospital to start chemotherapy.

    Prognosis: poor.

    Cancer sucks.
    Damn. Very sorry to read that MK.

  11. #736
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Prognosis: poor.

    Cancer sucks.
    Very sorry to hear that MK

  12. #737
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Hubby,.....

    After scads of tests it turns out he has malignant lymphoma in his small intestines which was bleeding.

    Prognosis: poor.
    Heartbreaking

  13. #738
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Thank you, guys.

  14. #739
    Isle of discombobulation Joe 90's Avatar
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    Sorry to hear that news MK.

    Heartbreaking, all the best.

  15. #740
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    44% is a good number. Watching the market news this morning and this news came across the screen…….




    Shares of Merck and Moderna jumped Tuesday after the drugmakers said a potential skin cancer vaccine they are developing using the same technology behind COVID-19 preventive shots fared well in a small study.

    The drugmakers said a combination of the vaccine and Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda led to a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival time in patients with phase three or four melanoma who had tumors removed in surgery.

    That combination was compared with Keytruda alone in a mid-stage clinical trial of 157 patients. Patients received either the combination or Keytruda after surgery to remove the tumors.

    The treatments continued for about a year in both groups unless the disease came back or side effects became severe.

    The patient group that took the potential vaccine and Keytruda saw a 44% reduction in the risk of death or the cancer returning, the companies said.

    Merck and Moderna expect to start a phase 3 study of the combination next year, and the companies say they intend to “rapidly expand” their approach to other tumor types. Phase 3 is generally the last and largest clinical study before a drug is submitted to regulators for approval.

    The potential vaccine aims to train a patient’s immune system to recognize and respond specifically to mutations in the DNA of the patient's tumor. Keytruda, Merck’s top seller, primes the body’s immune system to detect and fight tumor cells.

    Regulators have approved it to treat several types of cancer.

    Merck and Moderna established an agreement to work together in 2016, and the companies plan to share costs and profits in their collaboration. Merck also paid Moderna $250 million.

  16. #741
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Knife that ‘smells tumours’ can detect womb cancer within seconds

    Exclusive: iKnife can reliably diagnose endometrial cancer and help thousands of healthy women get all-clear quicker

    A revolutionary surgical knife that “smells tumours” can diagnose womb cancer within seconds, researchers have found in a breakthrough that could enable thousands of healthy women to get the all-clear quicker.

    The disease is the fourth most common cancer in women and affects about 9,000 a year in the UK, but only about 10% of those with suspected symptoms who undergo a biopsy are found to have it.

    Now experts at Imperial College London have discovered that the iKnife, a device that is already used to treat breast and brain cancers, can accurately detect the presence of endometrial cancer.

    “The iKnife reliably diagnosed endometrial cancer in seconds, with a diagnostic accuracy of 89%, minimising the current delays for women whilst awaiting a histopathological diagnosis,” the team of researchers wrote in the journal Cancers. “The findings presented in this study can pave the way for new diagnostic pathways.”

    The iKnife uses electrical currents to differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissue by analysing the smoke that is emitted when the biopsy tissue is vaporised, after it has been removed from the womb.

    The researchers said its effectiveness was proved using biopsy tissue samples from 150 women with suspected womb cancer, and the results compared with current diagnosis methods. The team plans to launch a major clinical trial, which could lead to its use becoming widespread.

    Athena Lamnisos, the chief executive of the Eve Appeal cancer charity, which funded the research, said: “Waiting for test results is stressful – especially if that test is to find out whether or not you have cancer. When you hear that the ‘c’ word is even a possibility, the days can’t pass quickly enough until a clinician gives you the all clear.

    “Womb cancer has one ‘red flag’ symptom of postmenopausal bleeding that should always get checked out on a two-week referral from your GP. To wait a further two weeks for the results can be really hard for patients.

    “There are many reasons for abnormal vaginal bleeding after the menopause – womb cancer is just one of them – the ability to provide a diagnostic test that rules cancer in or out immediately, and with accuracy, could make such a positive difference.

    “This Eve-supported research has the potential to create a step change in faster diagnosis, and for the 90% of women with postmenopausal bleeding that isn’t cancer, a really effective way to put their minds at ease. We know how important this is for patients.”

    Alison, a 57-year-old from west London who had symptoms of womb cancer earlier this year but eventually got the all-clear, said the iKnife would have made a huge difference to her experience.

    “Thankfully, I was one of the people with postmenopausal bleeding lucky enough to find out it wasn’t caused by cancer. It was really frustrating waiting for the results, which was almost three weeks for me.

    “I was asked to go in person to receive the results too, which to me was a clear indication that it was bad news and I did have womb cancer. It was terrifying.

    “It would have made such a difference to know straight away that I didn’t have cancer and not have to wait three weeks.”

    Prof Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami, who led the research at Imperial College London, said getting a diagnosis within seconds could enable women confirmed to have cancer to start treatment sooner, while those deemed healthy would avoid weeks of anxiety.

    “The iKnife has the potential to completely revolutionise the way we manage people seen in the rapid-access clinics with significant abnormal vaginal bleeding who have been referred for potential diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

    “With its high diagnostic accuracy of 89% and positive predictive value of 94%, one could immediately reassure the person of the very low likelihood of having cancer if the iKnife result is negative and expedite further tests and scans and treatment for people whose biopsies indicate presence of cancer. This could happen whilst awaiting confirmation from standard pathology, which can take up to two weeks.”

    Cancers | Free Full-Text | Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer Using the Surgical Intelligent Knife (iKnife)—A Prospective Pilot Study of Diagnostic Accuracy

  17. #742
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Update here. Mr.MK was denied chemotherapy treatment because of comorbidity, kidney failure. They quickly proposed surgery but are now dragging their feet on even that because the doctors say he is at high risk of stroke. He is having a blood transfusion every couple of weeks and is as weak as a kitten. At least he is home.

    It feels like the doctors are just postponing telling us his case is hopeless.

    I am just sick and miserable this is happening to him.

  18. #743
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    I am just sick and miserable this is happening to him.
    Really feel for you MK. In times like these you just want a clear understanding and decisive recommendations for good or bad, getting pissed about in what is a terrible time is awful.

  19. #744
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Update here.
    Hope you both are able to find the strength to get you through. I don’t know how anyone does.

  20. #745
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Update here. Mr.MK was denied chemotherapy treatment because of comorbidity, kidney failure. They quickly proposed surgery but are now dragging their feet on even that because the doctors say he is at high risk of stroke. He is having a blood transfusion every couple of weeks and is as weak as a kitten. At least he is home.

    It feels like the doctors are just postponing telling us his case is hopeless.

    I am just sick and miserable this is happening to him.
    Jesus MK. I am so sorry. You really have just been through this...

  21. #746
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    Gosh, how terrible. At least you are there and not stuck in Georgia. Best of wishes to you, MK.

    Fuck Cancer!

  22. #747
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    It feels like the doctors are just postponing telling us his case is hopeless.
    Sorry to hear MK. My Dad is getting the same type of feedback about my Mom who has stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. They are never transparent about it all.

    Best to you in these tough times.

  23. #748
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stumpy View Post
    stage 4 Pancreatic cancer.
    .
    Stage 4 anything does not end well I am afraid.

  24. #749
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    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg View Post
    Stage 4 anything does not end well I am afraid.
    Honestly Nid, It is just time. Her quality of life is completely gone. Its just waiting......waiting.....waiting......and my Dad is in denial and keeps holding on. This is why I am not a proponent of modern medicine. Sure it prolongs life, but at what cost? I came to terms with it when they said Stage 3. After a few chemo visits and the aftermath of the visits and how she was incapable of food and took endless meds making her even worse. I prayed that she would just move on for the mental health aspect for my Dad and other family members. But NOPE......Keep doping her up. Sad really.

  25. #750
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Update here. Mr.MK was denied chemotherapy treatment because of comorbidity, kidney failure. They quickly proposed surgery but are now dragging their feet on even that because the doctors say he is at high risk of stroke. He is having a blood transfusion every couple of weeks and is as weak as a kitten. At least he is home.

    It feels like the doctors are just postponing telling us his case is hopeless.

    I am just sick and miserable this is happening to him.
    Just read this thread and very sorry to hear misskit.

    My grand niece has been in hospital since Christmas day. They are giving her daily radiation therapy on the last few small tumours the chemo didn't clear. It is expected to take a month, so I may not see her again before I go back to Germany.

    I have been failing red blood cell count for the last year now. Count is below minimum but at the same level. I'll check again next week.

    You have scared me a little misskit, I should get more tests done...

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