PLATTSBURGH — the Clinton County Health Department offers free screening for several conditions for men and women who do not have health insurance.

Recently, it added screening for colon cancer to its programs for the uninsured, which for nearly two decades has included tests for breast and cervical cancer.

“It is so vital that we catch signs of cancer early,” said Lisa Turner, senior public health educator for Clinton County. “Early detection gives us the best chance for survival.”

Free screenings for the uninsured begin at age 40 for women being checked for breast and cervical cancer and 50 for women and men being screened for colorectal cancer.

The Health Department has received state and federal grants for the breast and cervical program since 1992, and the state increased its support for colorectal screenings a few years ago.

“The American Cancer Society does recommend colonoscopy screenings every five to 10 years, depending on results of the initial screening (at age 50),” said Didi Remchuk, cancer-screening coordinator for the CVPH Medical Center.

Colonoscopies are used to internally search the colon for precancerous polyps, or abnormal growths in the colon or rectum.

“Colon cancer is a preventable cancer,” Remchuk added. “If you’re able to remove those polyps early, that’s the best way to prevent colon cancer.”

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. An estimated one in 20 people will develop colorectal cancer during his or her lifetime.

In New York state, more than 10,400 people develop cancer of the colon and rectum annually, and nearly 3,600 New Yorkers die from the disease each year.

“We screen an average of 120 men and women (for colorectal cancer),” Turner said. “Often, there are no symptoms, so regular screening is important.”

People with a personal or family history of colorectal cancer or polyps or those with other high-risk conditions, such as a history of inflammatory bowel disease, may need to begin screening at an earlier age, Turner noted.

“There are ways to help reduce your risk of colorectal cancer,” she said. “These include getting screened, making healthy food choices, quitting smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation and getting regular physical activity.”

Diets that are high in vegetables and fruit and low in fat also help protect against many types of cancers, she added. Regular physical activity can also protect against heart disease and other illnesses.

During the preliminary steps for colorectal screening, the Health Department can determine if a person is eligible for the free program and can also categorize them at increased risk or high risk for colon or rectal cancer.

The Health Department also has available new take-home tests for colorectal screening. the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) allows patients to test for possible signs of colorectal cancer by identifying blood in bowel movements.

Results are mailed back to the Health Department, and if the test is positive, a colonoscopy is scheduled to further search for a cause.

The annual take-home tests are ideal for people at increased risk to monitor their condition between scheduled colonoscopies.

Patients screened through the county program will be referred to local doctors if follow-up exams are needed.

Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake is also emphasizing the benefits of early screening for colorectal cancer with a monthlong informational booth on display in the main lobby.

E-mail Jeff Meyers at:

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Annual prostate cancer testing may not be necessary for some men. That’s according to a study released this week.

But one man we talked with says he was able to beat the disease because of early detection.

Bill Kincaid credits his annual screening for saving his life.at 53, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“My doctor said I shouldn’t have cancer like that until I was in my 60′s.”

With a PSA level at 6.5, treatment began right away. Kincaid had radiation seeds planted in his prostate.

“I know I’m in my 50′s, but I still feel like I have a lot of life to live. And I don’t have to worry about having prostate cancer.”

Dr. Wesley White says even though Prostate Cancer is not aggressive, he recommends annual screenings to his patients.

“The whole point is detecting it before they develop symptoms to begin with before there is potential spread.”

The American Cancer Society recommends all men at age 40 have a baseline PSA screening as well as a digital rectal exam and then starting at the age of 50, annual screenings and exams.

But a new study says it may not be necessary for some men to be screened.

It says men whose first PSA test came back under 3.0 may not need annual testing and those with levels under 2.0 can most likely go eight years before getting retested.

“Every man should talk to their doctor regarding whether it’s in their best interest to have it done,” says Dr. White who adds there has always been controversy surrounding PSA screenings.

“You have to balance the side effects from treatment with the potential risk of prostate cancer.”

Now, two years later, and with a PSA level of .25, Kincaid is glad he was screened.

“It saved my life, just by my doctor saying Bill, you need to get checked.”

The study also says men with PSA levels of three or higher should have prostate biopsies. The current recommendation suggest a biopsy in men with a PSA level of four.

Dr. White says you should always consult with your doctor if you have questions.

The pancreas is an organ shaped like a tube sponge / sponge with a length of approximately six inches, which is found behind the stomach. the pancreas produces enzymes and hormones, including insulin. Pancreatic enzymes help digest food in the small intestine, whereas insulin to control blood sugar levels. both enzymes and hormones necessary for maintaining the body to work with the most frightening benar.Gangguan that occurred in this organ is pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can be very vicious, to result in death. many sufferers die within a year after diagnosis. While that can survive only about 4%. the National Cancer Intitute very rare mentions of pancreatic cancer can be cured.

Smoking is one risk factor for pancreatic cancer incidence. the incidence in smokers increased 3 times more than non-smokers. Lack of activity, chronic pancreatic disease, diabetes and cirrhosis is a risk factor. according to the American Cancer Society, the number of patients with pancreatic cancer is increasing in countries where the people accustomed to a diet high in fat. Pancreatic cancer is very rare in those aged less than 45 years.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose in its early stages because almost without symptoms, whereas physical observation and blood tests often show normal results.

Patients with pancreatic cancer usually only show general symptoms such as high fever, weight loss, and abdominal pain. When cancer spreads, pain developed in the upper abdomen and sometimes the back. When eating or lying sick added.Therefore, the patient will be nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, and weak. in addition, because pancreatic cancer in the head could be related to the disposal in the bile (digestive fluid produced by the liver) into the small intestine, jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin and white of the eye) caused by blockage of bile flow is usually the initial symptoms.

Jaundice was itchy all over the body due to storage of bile salt crystals under the skin. Vomiting can result from things when pancreatic cancer in the head blocking the flow of stomach contents into the small intestine (blockage of the gastric tract) or blockage of the small intestine.

The first symptom is usually also indicated by pain and weight loss. at the time of diagnosis, 90% of people experiencing severe pain in the upper abdomen that penetrate to the back, as well as significant weight loss.

For patients with cancer that is still smaller than 2 cm, with no spread to lymph nodes, cancer surgery can save patients up to five years at least. this possibility could reach 18-24%. Cancer treatment depends on the number of factors, such as cancer type, size and spread of cancer, as well as overall patient condition and age. although difficult to cure, but doctors will attempt to treat the patient for quality of life improved among others by surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. Usually the treatment for pancreatic cancer is extraordinary. Treatment will give effect to nausea, flushed skin, hair loss, poor appetite, weakness, and weight loss. Nutrition and good lifestyle are needed to support the treatment process.

src: anzoen.com/2009/11/ganasnya-penyakit-kanker-pankreas.html

Call it a sneaky killer.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect, and when found, is often too advanced for doctors to help.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 36,800 Americans lost their lives to pancreatic cancer last year, almost equally divided between men and women.

New cases last year are estimated to be slightly more than 43,000.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death for men and women, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Over the years, pancreatic cancer has claimed the lives of many famous people, including Patrick Swayze, Michael Landon, Donna Reed, Fred Gwynne, Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Crawford.

Aretha Franklin has been reported by numerous news organizations to have pancreatic cancer and in early December underwent surgery at a Detroit hospital. The 68-year-old Grammy winner suffered severe abdominal pains prior to her hospitalization in October. in a brief interview with “Billboard” earlier this month, Franklin said her unspecified illness has been resolved, but she has cancelled her scheduled concerts.

The pancreas is a 6-inch, pear-shaped organ that secretes digestive juices to process food and hormones – including insulin – to help the body use sugar.

Because of the location of the pancreas, on the inner side of the abdomen, close to the spine, it is difficult to detect a small tumor.

Also because of the location, it’s easy for the cancer to spread to other vital structures, like the liver or spine, or wrap itself around major arteries, preventing a surgical option, said Dr. Chung-Tsen Hsueh, a medical oncologist with Loma Linda University Medical Center.

African-Americans have higher pancreatic cancer rates and mortality rates than whites, the National Cancer Institute says. And this is not a young person’s disease – 70 percent of its victims are age 65 and older.

Cure rates are bleak. The overall five-year survival in the United States between 1999 and 2006 was just 5.6 percent.

There are two types of pancreatic cancers, said Hsueh. The most common, accounting for about 95 percent of cases, forms in the cells that line the ducts of the pancreas and help produce digestive juices.

The less common variety forms in the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas. this form tends to be a less aggressive cancer, Hsueh said.

In many pancreatic cancer cases, the patient has been a smoker and or involved in heavy alcohol use. A minority have a genetic trait which predisposes them to pancreatic cancer, Hsueh said.

Dr. Heinz-Joseph Lenz, professor of medicine and associate director of research at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said from his perspective, risk factors for this form of cancer are not pronounced.

There are many nonsmokers who get it and many smokers who don’t, he said, adding that oftentimes the only alert that there’s pancreatic cancer is after the tumors have invaded neighboring structures.

This migration outside the pancreas can cause pain or other symptoms which prompts the patient to seek medical help.

Because of the location of the pancreas, this form of cancer can quickly go from being operable to inoperable. And even when surgical removal is still possible, there’s a good chance it will come back, Lenz said.

But there’s good news on the research front, he said. A vaccine is being tested to keep pancreatic cancer from returning after it has been removed.

And new antibodies are being tested to see if they can increase the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy treatments, he said.

jim.steinberg@inlandnewspapers.com 909-386-3855

PANCREATIC CANCER SYMPTOMS

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer often don’t occur until the disease is advanced. When signs and symptoms do appear, they may include:

• Upper abdominal pain that may radiate to the back

• Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)

• Loss of appetite

• Weight loss

• Depression

• Blood clots

Many diseases and conditions other than cancer may cause similar signs and symptoms, so your doctor may check for these conditions as well as for pancreatic cancer.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic

Las Cruces— the words “preventable” and “cancer” aren’t always seen in the same sentence.

We get frequent reminders of the traditional prevention methods to help counteract cancer and many other illnesses: Eat a healthy diet including lots of fruits in vegetables, exercise and avoid smoking, get regular screenings. Those screenings are important for many types of cancer, but don’t catch abnormal cells until they have already become just that: Cancer.

From 1955 to 1992, cervical cancer was one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women, according to statistics by the American Cancer Society. but since then, death rates have declined by almost 70 percent, due to increased use of the Pap test, a screening that is unique because it can detect changes in the cervix before cancer develops, thus making it the first step in halting the possible progression of abnormal cells into cervical cancer.

“This is one of the few cancers that’s preventable, because the Pap test will help you find it before it’s cancer, as opposed to mammography, which won’t find one you can treat prior to malignancy,” said Gena love, head of the Cancer Prevention and Control Section for the New Mexico Department of Health. Preventing HPV

Love said though there has been a tremendous decrease in mortality in cervical cancer cases, it is still not being caught at 100 percent. in New Mexico, approximately 80 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and about 26 women die from the disease each year, she said. only 3 percent of those cases are the invasive kind of cancer, and the rest are localized, in situ (“in place”) cancers.

Risk factors for cervical cancer include exposure to secondhand smoke and exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV), a large group of related viruses and the most common sexually transmitted infection that can develop into cervical cancer in women. because being exposed to HPV can happen very soon after one becomes sexually active (according to the American Cancer Society, almost half of HPV infections are found in people between the ages of 15 and 25, and one-half to three-fourths of sexually active people will have the virus at some point in their lives), the HPV vaccine is recommended for young girls before they ever get exposed to that virus, love said. HPV can live inside the body for up to several years without symptoms, she said, and the body can clear the virus on its own, so some people may never even know they were exposed to the virus and may clear it without harm. but for others, it can develop into cancer.

“The body, for the most part, is able to deal with that virus, but it can progress into invasive cervical cancer,” love said. “Why some people can clear that virus without problems and others don’t is hard to pin down.”

More than 99 percent of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, and 70 percent of those are caused by HPV types 16 and 18, which can be prevented by taking the vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix.

Love suggests following the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, which recommend that girls ages 11 to 12 get vaccinated. Women from ages 13 up to 26 can also be protected by taking it. Girls as young as age 9 are able to take it, she said.

“The vaccine seems to be very promising in preventing the acquisition of that virus in young girls,” she said.

However, the vaccines don’t protect against all of the strains that can become cancerous cells.

“One of the messages we want to get out there is it only protects for certain types of HPV,” love said. “Even if you are protected against the most common types, you are not protected against all of them, so you still need to get Pap tests.” How often should women get screened?

Love said it is difficult to say how often women should get Pap tests and at what age they should begin getting tested, because test frequency is based on age, the type of test and previous results. Generally it is recommended that women start at age 21 or within three years of the first time they have sex, and every other year after that for the first 60 months. no matter what the frequency is, it’s important that women keep getting regular Pap tests and converse with their doctor about how often to do it and when to stop, she said. Unless told by their doctor that it is OK to discontinue getting tested, women should continue up until age 65 or the cervix is removed, she said. though the test may not be the most comfortable experience or something women look forward to, she said, it’s one of the most effective and low-risk.

“It is one of the most reliable and effective cancer screening tests available,” love said. “We don’t want to suggest that screening is easy – no one really likes to have it – yet compared to others, it’s relatively painless, quick, inexpensive and sensitive. if you’ve got abnormal cells, it’s very likely to find them.”

And with regular screenings, cervical cancer can be caught early, which is beneficial because the cancer has few symptoms and can be difficult to detect without a Pap test. though it is preventable, if it goes too long before it’s detected, it can be harder to treat.

“It is a very slow-growing disease from the time abnormal cells might be seen on a Pap test to cervical cancer might be a decade or more,” love said. Treatment

For localized cancers that are caught early, treatment may just be limited to the cervix, and cells are removed off of the surface, love said. if the cancer is invasive, more extensive surgery might be required, and if the disease has metastasized to other areas of the body, regional treatments like radiation and chemotherapy will be needed. the sooner the cancer is caught, the more likely it will be easy to treat. if it’s local, the average woman has an 88 percent chance of curing the cancer and surviving. if it spreads regionally, that five-year survival rate drops down to 52 percent. if the cancer becomes distantly spread, the survival rate decreases further lower to 18 percent, she said.

Love stressed that the most important prevention method is getting regular Pap tests.

“There are more women dying of other types of cancer than the 26 (women who die of cervical cancer each year in New Mexico), yet the tragedy is that those deaths could have been prevented,” she said. “A lot of people die from cancer that couldn’t be prevented but this is one that we could have saved those lives. This is one cancer that women don’t have to die from.” Get screened

The Department of Health has breast and cervical cancer early detection programs, and offers both free Pap tests and breast screenings to women who meet specific criteria. To receive free testing, women must be 30 or older, uninsured or underinsured, and at or below the federal poverty line. For more information, visit the New Mexico Department of Health Cancer Prevention and Control website, cancernm.org/bcc, or call the toll-free number: (877) 852-2585. Did you know…

In the U.S.:

About 12, 200 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed, and about

4, 210 women will die from cervical cancer in 2010.

In New Mexico:

Approximately 80 women are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer each year

Approximately 26 women die from the disease each year

Most cancers are localized, in situ, non-invasive tumors that have not penetrated other tissues. Three percent of all new cancer cases in the state are the invasive form of cervical cancer.

Almost two-thirds of the women diagnosed are under the age of 55, but mortality is more likely to occur in older women: two-thirds of the deaths from cervical cancer are of women age 55 and older. Freelance writer Sara Cobble can be reached at .