The recent tragic death of Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, due to a rare form of pancreatic cancer has once again focused public attention on one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The more common form of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal cancer, is only the tenth most common form of cancer, but because...
The modern management of breast cancer often includes “hormonal therapy,” in which medications that block the effects of estrogen, or decrease the amount of estrogen manufactured by the body, are used to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Despite significantly lowering the risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients with estrogen-sensitive breast tumors, recent...
Cocoa, from which chocolate is made, is known to be rich in flavonol antioxidants, as well as other compounds that appear to reduce the risk of developing the cholesterol plaques that cause coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Cocoa has also been shown to improve the function and health of critical blood...
As I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, evidence-based lifestyle and diet modifications can dramatically reduce your lifetime risk of developing cancer, including some of the most deadly forms of this disease. As an “added benefit,” many of the same lifestyle and diet modifications that I discuss in my...
Along with the incidence of obesity, the incidence of diabetes has recently skyrocketed in the United States and around the world. The list of health complications associated with diabetes is frightening, and includes heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, progressive blindness, and as I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for...
A possible link between cell phone use and brain tumor risk continues to cause concern among cancer experts. However, because it would be unethical to intentionally expose human research subjects to prolonged periods of cell phone radiation exposure, it is not possible to perform a prospective, randomized, blinded study to completely resolve this important...
As I discuss in detail in my recent book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there is considerable research evidence linking low Vitamin D levels in the blood with a higher risk of some types of cancer, and colorectal cancer in particular. As I have discussed previously in this column, there is also...
As I discuss in detail in my recent book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, regular exercise not only decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, but cancer as well. Most experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise per day, and for at least...
Pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer (fewer than two percent of adults in the United States will ever be diagnosed with this form of cancer). However, although rare, pancreatic cancer is an extremely lethal type of cancer, with an average 5-year survival rate of only 5 to 8 percent, overall. Therefore, as...
As I discuss in detail in my recent book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there are several important lifestyle and dietary factors that have been linked to cancer risk by numerous high-level research studies. Moreover, breast cancer risk, as well as the risk of several other hormone-responsive cancers in particular, appears to...
Most of us already know that a high-fiber diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  Numerous previous research studies have associated a high-fiber diet with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. However, there is very little research information available that directly links a high-fiber diet with a...
As I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, the role of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in cancer prevention continues to be debated because of contradictory research findings.  (While some clinical research studies have suggested that long-term statin use may reduce cancer risk, other studies have not shown any apparent improvement in...
Known risk factors for breast cancer include: (1) age greater than 60, (2) a previous personal history of breast cancer or precancerous conditions of the breast (such as atypical lobular hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ, atypical ductal hyperplasia, or ductal carcinoma in situ), (3) one or more first degree relatives with breast cancer,...
I have written extensively about Vitamin D in the past, particularly in the areas of cancer prevention and cardiovascular disease prevention.  As regular readers of this column already know, Vitamin D, which actually functions more like a hormone than a vitamin, appears to be the only vitamin with clinically significant cancer prevention and cardiovascular...
The earlier that cancer is detected, the greater the likelihood of cure.  Therefore, cancer researchers are always looking for more sensitive tests that can detect cancer at the earliest possible stage.  When I was a cancer research fellow working in the lab, I used an exquisitely sensitive chemical test to identify trace amounts of genetic...
Although I was initially opposed to the idea, my wife recently decided to buy a Nintendo Wii game system for our 9 year-old daughter and 6 year-old son.  Like many school-age children, our two kids already seem to have more sports classes, academic classes outside of school, and play dates than they have time to...
Alpha-lipoic acid plays a very important role in the energy production centers of our cells (mitochondria). In recent years, clinical research has suggested that alpha-lipoic acid supplements may have a variety of potential health benefits, including a possible reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. Recent laboratory research has also shown that alpha-lipoic acid...
As I filled up the vest the other day, I realized that by using my Android smart phone, I can wander around the house with almost 70 items and not look like a tinker rolling onto the ranch.
Dietary polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants, are thought to have a wide range of potential health benefits, including a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. Polyphenols are found in many plant-based foods that we eat, including that age-old beverage, beer. A newly published research study, which appears in...
In view of the growing concern about the potential adverse health effects of CT scans (including increased cancer risk), the enthusiasm for performing CT scans of the heart and coronary arteries, as a noninvasive method of diagnosing asymptomatic heart disease, has been decreasing.    Now, an innovative clinical research study, which has just been published in...
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