Archive for the 'Colon Cancer' Category

In the early 2000s, the FDA forbade the further use of cascara and aloe in supplements targeted at people with constipation. This FDA directive reduced the herbal laxative market to senna. The herb senna comes from a plant native to many regions around the world, but historically has been associated with the East African continent as well as what has come to be known as the Middle East. It’s a mediums-sized, unobtrusive shrub-like plant.

The word senna itself has an interesting history rooted in the Semitic languages, as befitting its origins. It’s also known by another equivalent name, cassia. Both are commonly used. It’s active ingredient is a chemical or a class of chemicals known as the anthraquinoids. Anthraquinones are found in other types of laxatives. They have the effect of stimulating movement in the intestinal tract.

It’s quite plausible given what we know about senna’s etymological and geographical origins that its use actually goes back centuries. It was used in an unprocessed, essentially raw, form in times past. Nowadays, advanced manufacturing processes allow the herb to be bought in capsule or tablet form. Consumers can also opt for the tea formulation.  Read more...

One of the more aggressive and destructive forms of cancer is neuroendocrine carcinoma of colon. The worst part of this disease is that more often than not it is detected late into the advanced stages at which time it is more difficult to make treatments.

As the symptoms of neuroendocrine colon cancer take form only in the most advanced stages the chances of survival drops at an alarming rate. The polyps or tumours of the colon are always malignant, and mostly detected with distant metastases. In several surveys, the reports have revealed that most of the cases of neuroendocrine cancer end with the death of the patient.

Although the possibilities of neuroendocrine carcinoma in colon are very rare, if one is affected the health of the patient becomes worse than those who are suffering from adenocarcinoma.

Research reveals that the end results of this form of cancer stay the same with age, sex or tumour location. However, neuroendocrine colon carcinoma will depend heavily on the tumour’s stage. Standard cases have revealed that people in stage 1 and 2 of cancer usually do not suffer from neuroendocrine colon cancer. On the other hand, in several cases, if the tumour is in stage 3 or 4, it is a laborious and hard task the neuroendocrine colon carcinoma.  Read more...

(Foreword: The following information is provided as is, and should not be construed as an endorsement of any kind of the items mentioned. Furthermore, all readers should ask for the advice of a doctor when making choices concerning health. The writer is not a doctor and is providing the article from research obtained from third party sources.)

Numerous statistical figures have quoted that the impact of constipation to be as low as 2% to as high as 30%. A large recent 2006 survey conducted by the famous pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim pinpoints the number to be at 12% worldwide. Even at 2% though, most people would agree that constipation seems to be a problem afflicting a broad segment of the population.

One of the problems associated with statistical surveying of constipation is that it’s a poorly defined condition. This translates into an impact on diagnosis and treatment. For example, one physician might believe that having a bowel movement every three days is ok, but another physician would be alarmed at the low frequency. The source of the inconsistent opinions is that bowel movement frequency is itself highly variable from person to person. This difficulty in definition is compounded by differences in patient-reported symptoms such as difficulty or pain in passing stool, or excessive time spend on the toilet.  Read more...

Colon cancer surgery is of course considered to be a major operation, and once the procedure has been carried out, a patient has several options regarding a suitable diet in order to prevent the reoccurrence of the disease, bearing in mind that dietary fat is a huge contributor to the condition in the first place.

Essentially, a diet which is high in fat results in the production of bile acids which in turn end up in the digestive tract, and when these enter the colon they can be converted into secondary bile acids. The occurrence of a tumor in the colon is then often the result of these secondary bile acids, hence the reason for a proper diet which is low in fat following colon cancer surgery.

Another way to minimize your chances of getting colon cancer, or the reoccurrence of it, is to adopt a diet rich in antioxidants, bearing in mind that antioxidants are well known for their ability to fight colorectal cancer, as well as many other types of cancer. Essentially, this is because antioxidants are highly effective at boosting the immune system, thus offering extra protection against free radicals.  Read more...

If you have not even took a look at why you are having diarrhea, constipation, tiredness, vomiting and headaches out of no where then you are in trouble. These symptoms don’t just happen for a reason, these are signs that there is something wrong inside you stomach and its not some small problem it is something serious. Yes it may be serious but it can all be avoided into being something much much bigger.

Symptoms associated with colon cancer: There are no concrete symptoms that can be used to diagnose colon cancer directly, but rather there are a cluster of conditions that may signify there is a problem. So if in doubt, it is best to visit your physician.

also known as preinvasive cancer or colorectal cancer. In this stage the cancer has been discovered in the innermost lining of the colon. In this stage the cancer has already started to spread, but it is still in the interior lining of the rectum or colon. In this stage it hasn’t arrived at the outer walls of the colon yet. Stage 1 is also known as Duke A or colorectal cancer.  Read more...

People living in the Pacific Islands eat Noni fruit as a “famine fruit” or a regular staple. It contains many seeds that can be eaten more easily when cooked. The fruit is consumed both in raw form and after it has been cooked. The most nutritional part of the Noni fruit is located in the pulp as the fruit contains mostly Vitamin C. This entire little 6 cm fruit can yield the following: Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Potassium, Iron, Calcium, Niacin and Carbohydrates. Noni fruit also contains the following phytochemicals that offer many health benefits: fatty acids, alkaloids, lignans, polysaccharides, iridoids, flavanoids and more! So what do all of these wonderful nutrients do? We’ve learned about the benefits of many vitamins but equally important, if not vital, are phytochemicals. These are naturally occurring chemicals found in fruit and vegetables that can make a marked improvement on your health when consumed on a regular basis. Let’s look at just a few, starting with fatty acids. The words “fatty acids” would probably frighten people away who don’t know their benefits. Fatty acids help to distribute oxygen throughout your body through your blood stream. They are “cell food” because they work hard to repair damaged cells and add strength to your tissue and organs. Ladies, you know you would love to find the fountain of youth. Fatty acids are great for cell regeneration and work to fight the effects of aging. Want to lose a few pounds? Fatty acids help your body break down cholesterol and keep your thyroid functioning properly. They help to regulate blood pressure and strengthen your immune system! This ingredient alone is enough for me to run out and buy a bottle of Noni. As if fatty acids weren’t enough, you will also reap amazing health benefits from lignans. Lignans are currently being studied for their ability to fight cancer, more notably, breast and colon cancer. Most cancers grow in estrogen.  Read more...

Constipation is a common trouble of the digestive area. If the bowels do not move regularly or are not completely emptied, even after moving; you are constipated. Pain or heaviness in the abdomen, loss of appetite, drowsiness, nausea, pain in the lower legs and vertigo are some of the well known symptoms of constipation. Constipation leads to many diseases.

Following are few remedies of constipation –

Dietary fiber – Increase the intake of fruit and vegetables (minimum of five servings of fruit or vegetables daily) to your diet. It is known to be the best way of adding fiber. Fiber supplements can also be used.

Lubricant laxatives- These contain mineral oil which resides within the intestine. It coats the particles of stool and apparently control the removal of water from the stool which results in the stool to go softer. Since the long term use of mineral oil has several disadvantages, it is only used for the short-term healing of constipation. It can attract fat-soluble vitamins (from the intestine). If it is used for long periods, there can be vitamin deficiencies.

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Rectum is usually referred to the lowest 12 to 15 centimeters of the large intestine of the human body and animals. The term rectum refers to the lowest 12-15 centimeters of the large intestine. The location of the rectum is just above the anal canal. In normal cases, the rectum is very securely attached to the pelvis with the help of the ligaments and muscles. These are the attachments which hold the rectum firmly in place.

These muscles and ligaments may weaken due to various factors which include age, long chronic constipation, childbirth etc. due to which the attachment of the rectum to the body weakens. As a result of this weakness, rectum prolapse occurs (which actually means that the rectum has slipped out of place) There may be occasions when the large hemorrhoids, which are actually large swollen veins inside the rectum, may cause the rectum to slip out or prolapse.  Read more...

You don’t need to spend hundreds each year for a gym membership, a lot of expensive equipment or anything else for that matter, in order to lose weight. You don’t need pills or to be on a special diet either. You might be surprised to learn that you can lose a great deal of weight in a safe and a very natural way, just by taking a long, brisk walk every day.

Many people who struggle with their weight, especially those who have arthritis or other problems have already discovered the benefits of walking. It is the safest form of exercise and most people can manage at least a walk around the block each day.

The idea is to walk at a pace that gets your heart rate going. The truth is that you won’t shed too many pounds by just meandering or strolling along. You need to get sweaty for maximum benefit or you will not be optimising the amount of weight you can lose. It is possible to lose weight by walking slowly but it will take an awful long time to achieve. You need to walk at a rapid pace and keep it up for at last an hour. The faster your heart pumps the more weight you will lose.  Read more...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States. In 2008, approximately 184,450 patients were estimated to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and an estimated 40,930 were estimated to die of this disease. Furthermore, over 50,000 female carcinoma in situ breast cases would have been diagnosed. The etiology of breast cancer is poorly understood with multiple genetic and environmental factors involved in the initiation and progression of cancer.

Scandinavian Twin Study: For years, there has been a hot debate as to whether the cause of breast cancer is genetic or environmental. Then in 2000, Lichtenstein and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden published their study of 44,788 pairs of twins from the Swedish, Danish, and Finnish twin registries. In this study, they looked at cancer risk with 28 different types of cancers and did statistical modeling of genetic and hereditary contributions in eleven different cancer types. For breast cancer, they clearly showed that only 27% of breast cancers were due to genetic factors. This was an even lower hereditary component than other common cancers such as prostate and colorectal. This study and others have confirmed the fact that over 70% of breast cancers are influenced by environmental factors.  Read more...