Posts Tagged ‘disease’

Thyroid Cancer – The Four Types

Thyroid cancer (cancer of the thyroid gland) comes in four types: papillary, follicular, medullary and anaplastic. Papillary and medullary are slow-growing and occasionally return, but respond well to therapy in patients under middle age.

Medullary also responds well to therapy, if it has not already spread. Anaplastic developes rapidly and responds badly to therapy. The extent of these types of cancer is not uniform throughout the world, but is roughly: 78% for papillary; 17% for follicular; 4% for medullary and 1% for anaplastic.

Usually, the first symptom of a problem is the growth of a nodule or nodules in the neck in close proximity to the thyroid gland. However, only 5% of these are malignant. Sometimes an early warning sign is discomfort or even pain; sometimes, the lymph nodes swell, the voice alters or there is hypo- or hyper- thyroidism.

Diagnosis usually takes place after a nodule is discovered during a (routine) physical examination. The patient is then referred to an endocrinologist or a thyroidologist, who will arrange an ultrasound test or a biopsy. Using a thin needle enough cells can be taken to perform an accurate test on the precise state of the thyroid and whether the nodules are cancerous.

Papillary thyroid cancer more frequently occurs in women and often in the 30-40 year old age group and is frequently characterized by bulging eyes. If the growth is less than 1cm in size a partial thyroidectomy or hemithyroidectomy would probably be recommended.

Greater than 1cm and a full thyroidectomy is favoured. Some surgeons would rather a full thyroidectomy anyway because the cancer cannot come back then.

Follicular thyroid cancer is more common in women over 50 years of age. Therapy is most often full thyroidectomy as the threat of recurrence of this aggressive form is quite big for partial surgery.

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) starts in the cells that produce the hormone calcitonin. Increased degrees of calcitonin in the blood are a realistic indication of MTC, although these elevated levels of calcitonin are probably not harmful in themselves.

Changes in the DNA concerned in cell growth and development are responsible for nearly all cases of hereditary or familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Hereditary medullary thyroid cancer is inherited as a 50/50 likelihood from every affected parent. DNA analysis makes it possible to identify children who carry the mutant gene.

Surgical removal of the thyroid in children who carry the mutant gene is effective if the whole thyroid gland is removed at an early age, before there is a spread of the tumor. Hereditary MTC accounts for around 25% of all cases of MTC. The other 75% of cases are known as sporadic MTC and normally occur in older patients.

Frequently the disease is well advanced in these cases as there has been no screening as in hereditary MTC. The first sign is frequently diarhoea. The likelihood of surviving MTC seem to be related to the rate at which the patient?s post operative calcitonin levels double.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is extremely aggressive and likelihood of survival are virtually nil. It is resilient to all known cancer treatments and invades nearby tissue rapidly.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on quite a few topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

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Is There A Link Between Birth Control And Cervical Cancer?

Birth control is a large topic, there is no doubt about that and women are more aware than ever that having children is not a compulsory outcome of having sex. They are also aware that having children at the wrong time can ruin their careers and they are also conscious that passions or alcohol get in the way of safe sex using condoms very frequently.

This results in women taking care of the vast majority of birth control by taking ‘the pill’. The contraceptive pill caused an uproar in the Sixties with the Establishment and the Churches predicting the downfall of society and morality. And after a fashion, they were correct. But what happened was to sweep away a lot of social barriers and privileges that previously merely the rich (and men) had had. The ‘old order’ lost a bit of ground.

The problem with the way that women took control of their sex lives was or is twofold: firstly, men leave ‘that type of thing’ to the woman and secondly, taking the pill can lead to cervical cancer. The chances of getting cervical cancer from taking the pill are small (15,000 Americans a year, of which a third dies), but they do exist.

However, there are no recorded cases of men developing cancer from using a condom.

Women usually contract cervical cancer from having sex. They pick up the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Most of the time, the woman’s immune system will prevent that virus from causing cancer, but research has shown that women who take the pill for over five years in a row have a higher risk than women who have not.

Consequently a condom would be useful here.

Regrettably, there are no indications in the early stages of cervical cancer, but later on, there might be heavier losses of blood, pain after sexual intercourse and even unpleasant smells. Periods could also last a great deal longer than ‘usual’.

The difficulty with studies is that, there often comes another study to prove something else and this is true here as well. Some studies have shown that the use of the contraceptive pill lessens the incidence of ovarian cancer.

It is like old sayings, there is always a opposite, as in: ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’.

If you listen to the ‘experts’, you would be in a permanent state of dilemma. Therefore, the only actually safe course to take is to go for regular tests or screenings – at least once a year, unless your doctor or gynecologist tells you different and if he or she does, query it.

The pharmaceutical companies have been promising a male contraceptive pill or implant for decades. In fact, the pill might even be there. But that is not the point usually. The problem is normally men. The majority of men cannot be depended upon to supply sufficient contraception while they are concerned in casual relationships.

As long as this state of affairs continues, women will continue to take risks so that they are not bogged down by a family of 10 kids like their great-grandmothers were.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on quite a few topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

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High Blood Pressure In Adolescents

High blood pressure, which is also known medically as hypertension, is a state where the pressure of the blood coursing through your arteries is considerably higher than standard. Most medical practitioners will state that the beginning point for people over eighteen years of age is 120/80. However, there are causes that could render those numbers not normal. Age is one of them.

The first number is the systolic arterial blood pressure, which means that it is the pressure read when the heart contracts, beats or pumps out blood. The second number is when the heart sucks in blood, ready to pump it out again.

These statistics are given in millimetres of mercury and are written as mmHg. Higher readings of either of these figures can indicate a difficulty. One thing to make patent here is that it is impossible to guess or estimate the pressure of your blood without using either a sphygmomanometer ( the one your physician uses in the surgery), which is the gold standard for blood pressure monitoring devices or a home blood monitoring machine.

Blood pressure can become affected by numerous things such as: time of the day, age, weight, height, mood, fitness, diet, degree of activity and stress, which may or may not be part of ‘white coat syndrome’ amongst others. ‘White coat syndrome’ is the anxiety experienced by some people while they have to be examined by a physician. This applies to children more than to any other age group.

Blood pressure also changes during the day, so in order to acquire an accurate reading, it is necessary to take several all at the same time of day. It is also prudent to wait 45 minutes after drinking caffeine or ten minutes after arriving before taking a reading.

So, what is standard? The real answer, although it is annoying, is that only a medical doctor can tell you, but for an adult, they say that it is 120/80, for an adolescent it is 110/70 and for an infant it is 80/45.

However, whilst measuring and evaluating the blood pressure of adolescents, you have to remember that age, sex and height matter. Therefore, an adolescent is said to have high blood pressure if the blood pressure is over that of ninety percent of people of his/her age, gender and height.

The causes of hypertension are classified as primary or secondary. Primary means that it is all your body’s fault and secondary means that the reason is something else, say, medication. Hypertension can also be caused by race or other hereditary reasons. Males of African descent are especially at risk.

One of the things you can buy to keep you knowledgeable about your family’s blood pressure concerns is a home blood pressure monitor. These devices are quite cheap yet are very accurate, so buy an automatic digital monitor and take it to your physician to make sure that it is accurate and get the readings that are applicable to all the members of your family.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several of topics, but is currently involved with work on the cause of high blood pressure. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

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How To Shop Online For An Air Purifier

Have you decided that you would like an air purifier for your home? You may think it is a good concept if the air in your home is ‘unclean’ in any way or even if it is damp and fausty. There are many reasons why a home and its inhabitants can benefit from an air purifier especially if you live on a busy road or near a factory. Too many hairy pets can also become a cause of allergies which can get cleared up by the use of an air purifier.

If you do choose to get one, there are several different kinds to choose from and various cost levels. You can also shop on or off line. In fact, the price of these devices is frequently lower on line because the vendor does not have the overheads of a bricks and mortar shop front, although you will have to keep in mind to add postage and package and any local taxes that may be appropriate. It is still usually cheaper to purchase on line rather than in the shopping mall.

However, both ways of shopping have their advantages and disadvantages, so we will take a closer look at these next. Really what you ought to do is compare both ways of shopping and see which is best for you. The way that I do that is by going on line and typing something like ‘air purifiers for sale’ into a search engine.

The results that come up will be many, almost certainly well over 100,000, so choose a dozen or so and do some research. Amazon is usually a decent place to read users’ reviews. Make notes on brand names, prices, features and capabilities. Then take these notes to the Mall and go searching for air purifiers.

With your newly discovered information of these devices, you can question sales personnel and compare prices. Write more notes and do some comparisons.

Do not forget to add postage and packing and local taxes to the on line prices. Another thing that you should take into account is the warranty. What happens if the purifier breaks down? Will you have to send it hundreds of miles away to be repaired? Who will pay for that?

It is always easier to claim on a warranty if it can be done locally. However, what are the chances of it breaking down anyway? It depends on the length of the guarantee really.

Some of the functions that you should come across whilst researching your prospective air purifier are whether it uses an air filter or not, whether it can cool air or not and whether it can dehumidify or not. These three features are convenient for different conditions, but there is no point paying for something that you will never use – the dehumidifier for instance.

Some individuals prefer a machine that does not need an air filter or which has a washable filter, but this is normally because of laziness and false economy. There are many different kinds of filters for different pollutants so they are more flexible and ultimately far better.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioner prices. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

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What Are Systemic Yeast Infection Symptoms?

Yeast infection is a fungus disease which causes irritation, inflammation, soreness, redness, rash and discharge from genital areas of people. Yeast infection is not harmful under normal conditions, but when it gets severe it may prove to be lethal for the patient. Systemic yeast infection is a severe type of normal yeast infection. In systemic yeast infection fungus overruns in bloodstream, urinary tract and liver of the patient. Hence, it is imperative to know systemic yeast infection symptoms before fungus overruns in deeper parts of body.

Systemic yeast infection is categorized in three major types. These types are categorized on the basis of severity and symptoms of yeast infection. First type, which is seen in more than seventy percent of people, is called occasional yeast infection. This type is not lethal or severe if it remains under control and does not get complicated.

Second type is known as chronic yeast infection. This infection is little more complicated and severe than occasional yeast infection. In this type of yeast infection a patient might suffer from low immune system or more precisely immune system in this infection is compromised. Third type, which is the most severe and complicated type of yeast infection, is called systemic opportunistic yeast infection.

Systemic yeast infection symptoms may take account of white coated tongue, irritation in genital area, depression, eye pain, anxiety, dizziness, sleepiness, lack of sleep at nights, sore throat, frequent urination, painful urination, painful joints, skin rashes, acne, dandruff, anemia and irregular heartbeat. Several are the systemic yeast infection symptoms so it is always lucrative to keep a check on your health.

Yeast infection may affect your genital area, mouth, throat, skin and other body parts as well. However, systemic yeast infection causes infection in bloodstream and liver. In case systemic yeast infection has got worse it may cause other dangerous diseases as well. Commonly, systemic yeast infection causes diseases like arthritis, asthma, allergy, eczema, hives, acne, gout, dandruff, acid reflux, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and roscea. These lethal diseases are caused only when yeast infection gets worsen.

If you are diagnosed with systemic yeast infection symptoms, do not be despondent because treatments are accessible. Your physician or doctor can certainly treat your infection. Many people say that patients of systemic yeast infection must take balance diet and avoid sugary products, which is true. But balance diet doesn’t mean you have to chuck out all beneficial nutrients out of your diet. Foods like soy, fruits, dairy products and coconut oil are extremely beneficial for systemic yeast infection patients.

Learn more about yeast infection. Stop by Hazel Mccoy’s site where you can find out all about Yeast infection no more review and what causes a yeast infection.

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