The location, stage of the disease along with the paitent’s age and general health all play a role in determining the treatment of mesothelioma. Options for treatement generally include surgery, radiation therapy and chemo therapy.
Surgery is a common treatment for mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.
Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found
Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenous or IV). Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).
To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be helpful in relieving symptoms.
To learn more about peritoneal mesothelioma, visit www.mesothelioma-resource-network.com
Mesothelioma – What are the treatments?
Prostate Diet – More Gatherer, Less Hunter
Researchers from Canada have found that having a diet of red meat, organ meats, soft drink and bottled water increased the risk of getting prostate cancer. They compared the diets of 80 men with prostate cancer, and 334 healthy men, and the diet just described more than doubled the risk of developing prostate cancer.
So what prostate diet can reduce the risk of prostate cancer? Swedish researchers examined the diet of 1499 men with prostate cancer and 1130 men who were healthy, and they published their findings in the Cancer Causes and Control journal. They found that eating foods rich in phytoestrogens decreased the risk of prostate cancer.
Phytoestrogens are plant molecules that have a weak estrogenic effect. They are made converted in the intestines from plant precursors by bacteria as they digest food. They are taken up by the same parts of the body that process the hormone estrogen.
Interestingly, one of the treatments for prostate cancer by doctors involves using estrogens to reduce the level of testosterone in men with advanced prostate cancer. It does this indirectly, through its effect on the hypothalamus, as less luteinizing hormone releasing hormone is produced by the hypothalamus. This means not as much luteinizing hormone is released by the body, which suppresses the production of testosterone.
High doses of estrogens for men can lead to cardiovascular complications. But phytoestrogens obtained from diet, in less quantities than a drug, and with a milder effect to start with, should not pose a problem. And researchers don’t yet know what exactly causes phytoestrogens to have such a protective effect, whether it is similar to that of the estrogen treatment for advanced prostate cancers. And they don’t know which phytoestrogens are the most active.
So what phytoestrogen foods could you include in a diet for a healthy prostate? Soy beans and nuts are a good source. Soy and nuts contain a type of phytoestrogen called isoflavones, whilst berries and seeds contain lignans. Foods could include peanuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and berries.
The only possible concerns with soy is that a study in mice found that male mice that had a type of heart disease that people also have, suffered heart failure when fed a soy based diet. Whether this extrapolates to the human population is yet to be established. But it may be wise for those me who have this particular genetic heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, to be cautious about soy products in their diet.
But for other men, soy products could be good news. A meta analysis, which is a study of related studies, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that diets high in soy lowered men’s risk of prostate cancer by 30%.
Another important mineral to consider for men is zinc. Zinc is used by men’s bodies to make some of the male hormones, and for general prostate health. A deficiency in zinc can lead to problems with the testicles, the prostate, and the health of the sperm. Foods that are great sources of zinc include seeds like pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower; nuts like almonds, brazil, cashews and walnuts; and foods like lettuce, oats and onions. Raw onion is particularly suggested by Paul Bedson, a natural therapist. He also suggests vegetable juice made of equal parts of beetroot, carrot, and cucumber in cases where the prostate gland is enlarged. Cranberry juice, a cup drunk three times a day, is also recommended in this case.
References:
1. phoenix5.org/Infolink/advanced/estrogen.html
2. Australian Healthy Food, March 2006
3. Australian Healthy Food, November, 2005
4. Paul Bedson, The Complete Family Guide To Natural Healing
5. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=65785&m=1NIE213&c=qgtqmovbyiaxdub
Elliptical Trainer
the trend these days is to lose weight fast, a drastic action that brings the numbers down and let you start fresh, but we all know that you need to keep working out and keeping an eye on what you eat if you want to maintain what you have earned during your diet.
The elliptical trainer is an excersice equipment that is an developed and upgraded kind of gym machine, it is built with the purpose to stimulate the muscles involved in aerobic excersice like running or walking but is planned in such a way that it eliminates the pressure usually placed on different joints in the body so that only the muscles are working and the pressure is not involved, this eliminates the risk of damage to the joints or injuries as a result of this activity.
The huge benefits for the elliptical trainer user is that this machine is perfect for cardiovascular excersice and will not only help workout with a significant decrease of injury risk but also help to focus on the part you are interested in developing. The elliptical trainer is designed to develop the upper and lower body of the person using it, by using a special movable upper body trainer installed.
Most of the elliptical trainers on the market are planned to increase heart rate more than they are directed at developing muscle mass and power, much like the treadmill these machines have been found to have superior ability in increasing the users fitness and are also very effective in calorie expenditure, which means that the elliptical trainer is one of the most practical machines you can use if you want to loss weight and workout as you do it. The uniqueness of the elliptical trainer is that it is almost without risk of any orthopedic injury, and you avoid the risks involved in pressure on any parts of your body.
The market has many different models of the elliptical trainer and it is very important to decide on what features you need before you even start shopping, there is also a wide range of prices for the elliptical trainer, but we can confidently say that overall this is not a cheap machine to buy.
Some elliptical trainers have an electric option to them, adding a lot of more options that you may want to use, if you plan to use the trainer a lot you may want to consider purchasing one that has some advanced features like setup programs and work different groups of muscles, as well as monitor your advancement over time.
If you are interested in just getting some kind of workout machine for your home you probably need a less sophisticated machine, but it is a shame to buy something you are going to use on a daily basis only to discover that other models have features that you could have benefited from with a moderate addition to what you spent, and this is the prime reason you should research this market before buying a machine.
So do your homework, decide on what features are important to you, make sure your purchase is covered, and enjoy your elliptical trainer.