CANCER NEWS

Cancer (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize. Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not. The branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is oncology.

Cancer affects people at all ages with the risk for most types increasing with age.[1] Cancer causes about 13% of all human deaths in 2007[2] (7.6 million).
[3]Cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells.[4] These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly occur through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers is usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome.

Genetic abnormalities found in cancer typically affect two general classes of genes. Cancer-promoting oncogenes are typically activated in cancer cells, giving those cells new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of respect for normal tissue boundaries, and the ability to become established in diverse tissue environments. Tumor suppressor genes are then inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in the loss of normal functions in those cells, such as accurate DNA replication, control over the cell cycle, orientation and adhesion within tissues, and interaction with protective cells of the immune system.

Definative diagnosis requires the histologic examination of a biopsy specimen, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptomatic or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer. There has been significant progress in the development of targeted therapy drugs that act specifically on detectable molecular abnormalities in certain tumors, and which minimize damage to normal cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is most influenced by the type of cancer, as well as the stage, or extent of the disease. In addition, histologic grading and the presence of specific molecular markers can also be useful in establishing prognosis, as well as in determining individual treatments.

Signs and symptoms:
Roughly, cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:

* Local symptoms: unusual lumps or swelling (tumor), hemorrhage (bleeding), pain and/or ulceration. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as jaundice (yellowing the eyes and skin).
* Symptoms of metastasis (spreading): enlarged lymph nodes, cough and hemoptysis, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), bone pain, fracture of affected bones and neurological symptoms. Although advanced cancer may cause pain, it is often not the first symptom.
* Systemic symptoms: weight loss, poor appetite, fatigue and cachexia (wasting), excessive sweating (night sweats), anemia and specific paraneoplastic phenomena, i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as thrombosis or hormonal changes.

Every symptom in the above list can be caused by a variety of conditions (a list of which is referred to as the differential diagnosis). Cancer may be a common or uncommon cause of each item.

Causes

Cancer is a diverse class of diseases which differ widely in their causes and biology. Any organism, even plants, can acquire cancer. Nearly all known cancers arise gradually, as errors build up in the cancer cell and its progeny (see mechanisms section for common types of errors).

Anything which replicates (our cells) will probabilistically suffer from errors (mutations). Unless error correction and prevention is properly carried out, the errors will survive, and might be passed along to daughter cells. Normally, the body safeguards against cancer via numerous methods, such as: apoptosis, helper molecules (some DNA polymerases), possibly senescence, etc. However these error-correction methods often fail in small ways, especially in environments that make errors more likely to arise and propagate. For example, such environments can include the presence of disruptive substances called carcinogens, or periodic injury (physical, heat, etc.), or environments that cells did not evolve to withstand, such as hypoxia[5] (see subsections). Cancer is thus a progressive disease, and these progressive errors slowly accumulate until a cell begins to act contrary to its function in the animal.

The errors which cause cancer are often self-amplifying, eventually compounding at an exponential rate. For example:

* A mutation in the error-correcting machinery of a cell might cause that cell and its children to accumulate errors more rapidly
* A mutation in signaling (endocrine) machinery of the cell can send error-causing signals to nearby cells
* A mutation might cause cells to become neoplastic, causing them to migrate and disrupt more healthy cells
* A mutation may cause the cell to become immortal (see telomeres), causing them to disrupt healthy cells forever

Thus cancer often explodes in something akin to a chain reaction caused by a few errors, which compound into more severe errors. Errors which produce more errors are effectively the root cause of cancer, and also the reason that cancer is so hard to treat: even if there were 10,000,000,000 cancerous cells and one killed all but 10 of those cells, those cells (and other error-prone precancerous cells) could still self-replicate or send error-causing signals to other cells, starting the process over again. This rebellion-like scenario is an undesirable survival of the fittest, where the driving forces of evolution itself work against the body's design and enforcement of order. In fact, once cancer has begun to develop, this same force continues to drive the progression of cancer towards more invasive stages, and is called clonal evolution.[6]

Research about cancer causes often falls into the following categories:

* Agents (e.g. viruses) and events (e.g. mutations) which cause or facilitate genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer.
* The precise nature of the genetic damage, and the genes which are affected by it.
* The consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell, and in facilitating additional genetic events which lead to further progression of the cancer.


Medicinal Herbs (http://www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/medicinal-herbs.html)
The medicinal applications of herbal supplements

From the beginning of time societies have used medicinal herbs to treat all kinds of ailments and afflictions. However, in the last few decades there has been a resurgence of interest in medicinal herbs as an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs and medications.

Herbs have been used for centuries to treat everything from depression to high blood pressure to cancer. But it wasn't until recently that doctors and other medical professionals have started realizing the importance of these medicinal herbs and their potential for treating and curing a wide variety of ailments.

At Herbal Supplements Guide, we have researched hundreds of medicinal herbs uses. On this site you will learn the therapeutic applications of these herbs..some are beneficial to overall health and general wellbeing...others can be effective as herbal medicine for preventing, treating and even curing specific health conditions.

If you are interested in high quality herbal supplements containing many of the medicinal herbs we discuss on this herbal supplement directory, just click the link above or continue reading below.

To begin learning about the limitless health benefits of medicinal herbs, and how they may be a safer alternative to prescription medications, choose an option in the navigation bar to the left or click on an herb/herbal extract below:

Aloe Vera Juice Benefits - popular herb for treating wounds, skin conditions and fighting infection.

American Ginseng Powder - herbal tonic for increasing energy and helping cope with stress.

Benefits of Ginger Root - a digestive aid that can lower cholesterol and treat nausea and motion sickness, among other medicinal herb uses.

Benefits of Red Clover - treats the many symptoms of menopause and also fights off cancerous growths.

Benefits of Spirulina - a blue-green algae with a high concentration of important nutrients with many health benefits.

Bilberries - one of the most important herbs for vision improvement as well as aiding in digestion.

Bitter Orange Extract - popular herb for increasing metabolism and facilitating weight loss.

Black Cohosh Side Effects - an essential herb for women, black cohosh helps alleviate menopause symptoms and balance hormones.

Bloodroot Paste - an astringent found in many toothpastes and oral rinses, as well as skin medications.

Benefits of Bromelain - a protein-digesting enzyme from the fruit and stems of pineapple used to treat a variety of conditions but most widely used for gout, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract - an anti-inflammatory as well as an immune system booster.

Bromelain Dietary Supplement - an anti-inflammatory used to treat sports injuries and arthritis symptoms.

Burdock Root Oil - used for various herbal medicine skin conditions such as eczema and acne, as well as a detoxifying agent.

California Poppy Seed - a mild sedative helpful in treating behavioral disorders such as ADD and ADHD.

Chinese Herbal Medicine - learn about traditional Chinese herbal remedies and how they can be a safer alternative to modern prescription medications.

Chinese Herbal Teas - discover the healing power of Chinese herbal teas, an ancient decoction used to treat a variety of health conditions, prevent illness and promote general wellness.

Cinnamon Health Benefits - long used as a digestive aid, cinnamon may be helpful in treating diabetes.

Echinacea Side Effects - one of the most popular herbs, echinacea treats colds and flu, and boosts the immune system.

Ephedra Dangers - learn about ephedra problems and side effects which caused this herb to be banned.

Evening Primrose Oil Benefits - medicinal herb uses include treating symptoms of menopause as well as skin conditions.

Fenugreek Seed Uses - ancient herb with many applications including increasing milk production, lowering blood sugar and reducing cholesterol.

Fertility Herbs - learn about the best natural medicinal herbs for fertility, including black cohosh, dong quai, red clover and wild yam.

Flax Seed Oil Benefits - contains Omega 3 fatty acids for heart strength and circulatory function.

Garlic Benefits - a powerful herb, garlic is an antioxidant, an antibiotic and can help prevent heart disease.

Ginkgo Biloba Analysis - improves memory and mental alertness and also a strong antioxidant.

Ginkgo Biloba Herbal Remedy - learn about the benefits of ginkgo for memory, lowering blood pressure and fighting disease.

Gotu Kola Facts - treats a variety of skin conditions and improves circulation to the brain.

Green Tea Benefits - an all-powerful herb, green tea can lower cholesterol, guard against cancer and promote weight loss.

Holy Basil Plants - used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, holy basil has shown some promise in treating high cholesterol and diabetes.

Kelp Health Benefits - provides a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals that may help treat various conditions.

Medicinal Capsaicin - an extract of chili pepper (cayenne) usually in cream form that can help treat pain associated with arthritis.

Milk Thistle Benefits - good for detoxifying and strengthening the liver, as well as for its antioxidant abilities.

Naringin - powerful citrus extract with bioflavonoids that have antioxidant properties.

Negative Effects of Garcinia - ingredient in many weight loss supplements, evidence of its efficacy is lacking.

Noni Juice Benefits - an alternative treatment for many different health conditions, the medicinal herb uses of noni juice may be more hype than cure-all.

Oat Straw Herbal - known as avena sativa, oat straw can increase libido and energy, as well as aid in drug and alcohol detoxification.

Red Panax Ginseng Extractum - also called Asian ginseng, a powerful tonic and stress reliever.

Research on Valerian - research on this medicinal root shows that it may be effective in treating insomnia and depression, without the side effects of prescription medications.

Saw Palmetto Side Effects - can prevent enlargement of the prostate, a condition which affects millions of men.

Senna Natural Laxative - a powerful natural laxative that could cause serious side effects.

Side Effects of Kava - a popular anti-anxiety herbal remedy, the side effects of kava can be quite troubling.

Stevia Side Effects - a powerful natural sweetener hundreds of times sweeter than sugar that has met with some controversy in the United States.

Tea Tree Oil Uses - used for the treatment of infections, vaginitis and acne and other herbal medicine, tea tree oil is a strong topical supplement.

Turmeric Benefits - very important herb for lowering cholesterol, improving blood flow and guarding against cancer.

Uses of Damiana Leaf - an herbal aphrodisiac, damiana can increase libido and strengthen the nervous system.

White Kidney Bean Extract - the main ingredient in carb blocker diet pills, can be hazardous to your health.

Yohimbe Cream - a controversial herb used to treat erectile dysfunction and stimulate sex drive.


Outside of our Herbal Supplements Directory, we also discuss a variety of other medicinal herbs and herbal medicine under our General Health and Specific Health Conditions sections.

Here's to your health!