Tyler’s heroic and inspirational story of survival and advocacy shows us why, working together, we can make a difference.
Loss of libido and difficulty having sex are common complaints among breast cancer survivors, new research confirms.
More than two-thirds of surveyed survivors reported that they were still having sexual function problems two years after diagnosis. Most described their sex lives as satisfying before breast cancer.
Women taking aromatase inhibitors as treatment for their breast cancer reported more sexual problems than women taking tamoxifen.
Body image issues and vaginal dryness related to aromatase inhibitor use were among the most frequently mentioned complaints.
“Sexual problems are among the most common and least talked about side effects of breast cancer treatment,” study co-author Susan R. Davis, MD, of Victoria, Australia’s Monash University Medical School tells WebMD.
“About 70% of the women in our study were experiencing a meaningful loss of desire and sexual function a full two years after diagnosis.”
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News
Love unites us all in our efforts to end cancer. Medicine provides the all-important clinical tools to treat cancer, but love bolsters the heart and spirit to help us rise above the disease.
African-American men are 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed and 2.4 times more likely to die from prostate cancer. With the stark reality that black men and their families are more more likely to be affected by prostate cancer than any other group of our population, two events provided a fitting end to last week’s Advance on Washington: The African-American Prostate Cancer Health Disparities meeting organized by the Prostate Health Education Network (PHEN) as part of the Congressional Black Caucus meeting, and the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program (BBHOP) that was held at select barbershops in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas on Saturday. To read the entire article, click here.
An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They’ve been married for 62 years and he’ll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance. We are only as old as we feel, it’s all attitude. Enjoy! They certainly do!
A surprise for the new bride on her wedding day. All of her close friends and family rehearsed for a month in secret, leading up to the reception. What is lacked in polish, is hopefully made up for in joy and love. Live for the moment & love life! To Life!
Men with low PSA levels from a baseline blood test were less likely to develop prostate cancer compared to men whose baseline PSA levels were high, according to a new study.
The simple test may be a strong predictor of who will benefit from future screening and treatment for prostate cancer, according to the study published Monday in the journal Cancer.
More than 85,000 men, ages 55 to 74, with no previous prostate cancer history were the subjects of the study. The authors found that in order to save one life, they needed to investigate almost 25,000 men with low PSA levels but only 133 men with high ones. Similarly, they needed to treat 724 men who had low PSA levels to save one life but only 60 men whose levels were higher.
PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein found in prostate cancer tissue. When that tissue breaks down, the protein seeps into the bloodstream. The heavier the presence of PSA in the blood, the more likely prostate cancer will be dangerous and require some type of treatment, said Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer at American Cancer Society and a contributor to CNNHealth.com.
But aren’t all cancers bad, even if a man’s PSA level is low?
“There are a large number of prostate cancers that don’t need to be treated because they’re not a health threat to the man who has them,” explained Brawley. That makes guidelines for screenings more difficult to set.
The American Cancer Society encourages men to work with their doctors to learn about the test’s benefits and risks before making an informed personal decision around age 50. Research has not yet proven that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment, explains the organization.
The American Urology Association recommends baseline screening for men at age 40 with future screenings determined in conjunction with the patient’s doctor.
“This can’t be done in a vacuum,” said Dr. J. Brantley Thrasher, spokesman for the American Urology Association and the William L. Balk Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of Kansas. “We need to let [patients] know this is an imperfect marker, but we’re getting data that may help us in the future.”
It’s difficult to accept the idea that you could have prostate cancer that doesn’t need to be treated and could be left alone with no harm, while other men have aggressive and deadly prostate cancers. Brawley, who chooses not to be screened, thinks this is why most men get PSA tests regularly, despite the many risks associated treatment.
“By choosing to get screened, there is a guaranteed increase in diagnosis… but there is only a potential decrease in death,” said Brawley.
Some of the risks of treatment include impotence, incontinence and bowel injury.
Still, Thrasher says the importance of the PSA blood test should not be diminished. He tells his patients to get regular screenings every other year or every three years after their initial test.
“I believe knowledge is power to some extent,” said Thrasher. “It’s risks versus benefits… and each decision point is a fork in the road where [me and patients] have to have a discussion.”
Women tend to be more vigilant than men about getting recommended health checkups and cancer screenings, according to studies and experts.
They’re generally more willing, as well, to get potentially worrisome symptoms checked out, says Mary Daly, MD, oncologist and head of the department of clinical genetics at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
But not always. Younger women, for instance, tend to ignore symptoms that could point to cancer. “They have this notion that cancer is a problem of older people,” Daly tells WebMD. And they’re often right, but plenty of young people get cancer, too.
Of course, some women are as skilled as men are at switching to denial mode. “There are people who deliberately ignore their cancer symptoms,” says Hannah Linden, MD, a medical oncologist. She is a joint associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle. It’s usually denial, but not always, she says. “For some, there is a cultural belief that cancer is incurable, so why go there.”
Talking about worrisome symptoms shouldn’t make people overreact, says Ranit Mishori, MD, an assistant professor of family medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. “I don’t want to give people the impression they should look for every little thing,” she says.
With that healthy balance between denial and hypochondria in mind, WebMD asked experts to talk about the symptoms that may not immediately make a woman worry about cancer, but that should be checked out. Read on for 15 possible cancer symptoms women often ignore, by clicking here.
Treatment for certain cancers can affect your sexuality, causing a range of signs and symptoms that can make sex with your partner more difficult. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy sex life after cancer treatment. Knowing more about your cancer treatment and how it may affect sexual function can help you find a solution if problems develop.
For more information please visit: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-treatment/SA00070
Patients have a plans of attack and are engaged in the battle, leaving those who care for them feeling helpless on the sidelines. To read this interesting perspective and blog click here.
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