Skin Cancer Signs

Where skin cancer develops

Skin cancer develops primarily on areas of sun-exposed skin, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms and hands, and on the legs in women. But it can also form on areas that have very little exposure to the sun like your palms, beneath your fingernails, the spaces between your toes or under your toenails, and your genital area.

Skin cancer affects people of all skin tones, including those with darker complexions. When melanoma occurs in those with dark skin tones, it’s more likely to occur in areas not normally considered to be sun-exposed.

Basal cell carcinoma signs and symptoms
It usually occurs in sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your face, ears or scalp and may appear as:

A pearly or waxy bump

A flat, flesh-colored or brown scar-like lesion

Squamous cell carcinoma signs and symptoms
Most often, squamous cell carcinoma occurs on sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your face, lips, ears and hands. Squamous cell carcinoma may appear as:

A firm, red nodule

A flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface

Melanoma signs and symptoms
Melanoma can develop anywhere on your body, in otherwise normal skin or in an existing mole that becomes cancerous. Melanoma most often appears on the trunk, head or neck of affected men. In women, this type of cancer most often develops on the lower legs. In both men and women, melanoma can occur on skin that hasn’t been exposed to the sun. Melanoma can affect people of any skin tone. In people with darker skin tones, melanoma tends to occur on the palms or soles, or under the fingernails or toenails.

Melanoma signs include:

A large brownish spot with darker speckles

A mole that changes in color, size or feel or that bleeds

A small lesion with an irregular border and portions that appear red, white, blue or blue-black

Dark lesions on your palms, soles, fingertips or toes, or on mucous membranes lining your mouth, nose, vagina or anus

Signs and symptoms of less common skin cancers
Other, less common types of skin cancer include:

Kaposi sarcoma. This rare form of skin cancer develops in the skin’s blood vessels and causes red or purple patches on the skin or mucous membranes. Kaposi sarcoma mainly occurs in people with weakened immune systems, such as people with AIDS, and in people taking medications that suppress their natural immunity, such as people who’ve undergone organ transplants. Kaposi sarcoma can also occur in older adults of Mediterranean heritage.

Merkel cell carcinoma. Merkel cell carcinoma causes firm, shiny nodules that occur on or just beneath the skin and in hair follicles. Merkel cell carcinoma is usually found on sun-exposed areas on the head, neck, arms and legs.

Sebaceous gland carcinoma. This uncommon and aggressive cancer originates in the oil glands in the skin. Sebaceous gland carcinomas — which usually appear as hard, painless nodules — can develop anywhere, but most occur on the eyelid, where they’re frequently mistaken for other eyelid problems.

When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your a dermatologist or skin specialist if you notice any changes to your skin that worry you.

References: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/skin-cancer/DS00190/DSECTION=symptoms

Taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen can have affects on lung function

Acetaminophen Use Associated with Asthma, and Decreased Lung Function

The May 3, 2005 Medical News Today reported on a study that showed that Acetaminophen, more commonly known as Tylenol, if used daily was associated with a greater prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as directly related to decreased lung function. The original study was published in the May 1st 2005 issue of the American Thoracic Society’s peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Researchers from Britain looked at data from a US survey involving 13,492 participants who were part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey which took place from 1988 to 1994. Participants in the survey were asked whether they had taken aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen during the previous month. The replies to the survey were then divided into “never users;” “occasional users” (1 to 5 times in the past month); “regular users” (6 to 29 times during the past month); and “daily users” (more than 29 times during the last month). This information was then compared to see if there was a correlation.

The researchers found that those who reported daily use of acetaminophen were nearly twice as likely as non-users to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They noted that the results also showed that neither the use of aspirin nor the use of ibuprofen was associated with the prevalence of either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Researchers also noted that there was a direct relationship between an increase in asthma and a decrease in lung function, with an increased usage of acetaminophen.

In the published report researchers concluded; “This study provides further evidence that use of acetaminophen is associated with an increased risk of asthma and COPD, and with decreased lung function.” They noted that acetaminophen use can cause an increase in asthma risk with potential effects on the onset, progression, and severity of the disease.

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/search-result.php?aid=1272

Adjustments during pregnancy and after are beneficial for women

Adjusting to Pregnancy

The above is the actual headline from the August 7, 2007 Milford Daily News in Massachusetts. This article addresses the benefits of chiropractic care in pregnancy. The article starts by following the story of one chiropractic patient, Amanda Giampaoli-Martinez, who was receiving chiropractic care throughout her pregnancy. The story notes that when Amanda was ready to give birth she called her chiropractor Dr. Maryam Ahsan, to be present at the birth.

It was not two minutes after the birth of Amanda’s new baby girl, Arianna, that she was checked by Dr. Maryam. New mother Amanda recalled the activity by stating, “Dr. Maryam was driving when I called her and asked if she could come to the hospital. She just turned her car around.” Giampaoli-Martinez continued, “When I was having bad pain, (Dr. Ahsan) put me on my side and adjusted me while I was on the table.” Ms. Giampaoli-Martinez was pleased with her results and noted, “I went three times a week, and after a month my back pain was gone. I was also having shooting leg pain and the hip alignment helped to take that away.”

The article explains that the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association teaches a technique named after the associations late founder Dr. Larry Webster, called the Webster Technique. The article explains that the Webster Technique decreases intrauterine constraint, resulting in a quicker, less difficult delivery. This technique became prominent after it was discovered that certain adjustments had a high success rate in reversing the position of breech babies.

Dr. Jeanne Ohm, executive director of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, explained the procedure, “There is no deep tissue massage with this technique. It’s a really light force,” she said. “Chiropractors will check the woman’s sacrum (pelvis bone) and press on different areas to restore balance. They (patients) turn her on her back and check her belly and a round ligament for tightness.” Dr. Ohm continued, “There are no known contraindications or complications to the adjustments. No one’s ever called back to report a problem, and I would definitely be the first to know. Osteopathic studies have shown the adjustments reduce labor time and fight dystocia (abnormal or overly long childbirth).”

The article also interviewed Dr. David Bilstrom, a board certified physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, and director of Oasis Center for Health in Hinsdale. He feels that most medical doctors are unfamiliar with chiropractic care. He states, “Chiropractic care tends to be quite safe. In the right hands, I would feel very comfortable seeing the treatment done.”

Would you like to have True Wellness?

What do Evander Holyfield, the heavyweight champion of the world, John Smoltz, the 1996 Cy Young award winner and Dan O’Brien, the 1996 Olympic Gold Medallist in the decathlon have in common? What do they share in common with Marla Maples Trump, who can afford the best the world has to offer and James Earl Jones, the fine actor?

They all have been on the cover of Today’s Chiropractic Magazine sharing their excitement about the benefits of Chiropractic Wellness Care. Evander Holyfield stated in the December 1998 issue, “I do believe in Chiropractic. I found that going to a Chiropractor three times a week helps my performance. Once I drove 20 miles to see a Chiropractor before a fight. I have to have my adjustment before I get in the ring.”

Dan O’Brien said in the August 1996 issue, “you obviously can’t compete at your fullest if you’re not in alignment. It was the holistic idea that I liked about Chiropractic. I really think Chiropractic is essential in running. If I could put a percentage on it, I think I compete eight to ten percent better from regular Chiropractic use, if not more. It is essential for me and my training routine,” declared O’Brien.

Ten percent is a huge amount for an athlete or anyone for that matter. For Dan O’Brien, it would have been the difference between the gold medal and not even making the team.

A runner who runs a 10 second hundred meter dash may win a Olympic race, while an 11 second hundred couldn’t even qualify for the team. A 4.5 second 40 yard dash would make a fast running back, while a 5 second 40 yard dash would be an average time for a lineman. A baseball player batting .330 might win the batting title, while a player hitting .230 would get sent down to the minors.

Can you imagine if your entire life improved by ten percent? What if your energy, sleep, healing ability and immune function were all improved by 10%? How about a 10% improvement in hormonal balance and digestion efficiency? If your entire body was functioning ten percent better it would make a huge difference. You would enjoy a much happier, healthier, energetic life!

What is it that the pros know about wellness and Chiropractic that most people don’t know? Why do they receive Chiropractic Wellness Care to help them be their best and healthiest?

The first answer is that these people know health is not just how you feel. For example, they know that you can feel perfectly fine and still not be healthy.

Did you ever know someone who thought they were healthy and then all of a sudden had a heart attack? Do you know anyone who one day was fine and then , what seems like all of a sudden, got diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, arthritis, or a herniated disk?

These conditions take 10, 20, or 30 years before they show any outward symptoms that you or your doctor might be able to identify. However, what they will do is reduce your body’s function slowly over time, thereby limiting your health potential and quality of life.

This process happens so slowly over time that we accept these weaknesses as normal and go on with our life, never knowing what we are missing out on. Top athletes and performers are challenging their physical and mental limits every day, so they keep track of their function and performance in relation to their true wellness potential. Rather than waiting until they get sick or injured, they fine tune their body and mind all the time with Chiropractic Wellness Care.

Next, these top performers fully understand the relationship between their nervous system, and the function of every cell, tissue and organ of their body. Consider trying these simple interactive experiments.

Wiggle your fingers and toes. How did you do that? Your brain sent signals down your spinal cord telling your fingers and toes what to do. All motor function, all movement, is controlled by your nervous system including your balance and coordination.

Pull a hair on your arm, and then pull another one within an inch of the first. Do you feel the pulling in the same place each time, or a different place? You can feel the pulling in a different place because even every hair cell has its own distinct and unique nerve supply that is connected to the brain. All feeling and sensation is controlled by your nervous system.

How do you digest your food to get the maximum intake of nutrients your body needs to function properly? How does your heart know how fast to beat when you are exercising in order to supply appropriate oxygen to all the cells of your body? How does your body know what hormones to produce and when it’s time to go to the bathroom?

Every function of your body is controlled and regulated by your nervous system. Your brain takes in all the information from the environment and sends out signals which trigger the appropriate response by your body. As long as there is no interference to this system, the brain receives the correct signals and in turn sends out the correct response. The result is a healthy human being with unlimited abilities and human potential.

Unfortunately, if there is interference to this pathway, it acts like static on a telephone line and all the body functions become reduced. Dr. Chung Ha Suh, a researcher out of the University of Colorado, found that 45mm. of a mercury pressure, roughly the weight of a quarter, is enough to reduce the function of that nerve to 40 percent of its original value. We’ve already seen the significance of 10%, can you imagine the effect of 40%? Removing this interference is a serious health issue.

One person came in for Chiropractic care after not being adjusted for over a year. When confronted on the issue of wellness, he said, “I’m into wellness. I eat healthy and I exercise regularly.”. Unfortunately, his neck muscles had atrophied significantly and he had lost close to 50% of the range of motion in his neck. He had interference in his nervous system and didn’t know it until the damage was done.

This is not wellness. Random House Dictionary defines wellness as the fact or condition of being in maximum mental and physical health.

Chiropractic care is essential for wellness. Chiropractic removes interference from your nervous system so there is no static on your lines. Chiropractic Wellness Care keeps your spine and nervous system free from interference so that your body can function at its best all the time.

This is why top performers receive Chiropractic Wellness Care. Maria Maples Trump” has made her Chiropractic care a family priority. Her daughter gets adjusted and she has referred her husband, mother, chauffeur, nanny and personal assistant for care.”

You too can experience true health and wellness. Begin by making Chiropractic Wellness Care a part of your families life!

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/search-result.php?aid=1730

Antibiotics Linked to Bacteria Resistance

A new study published in the February 10, 2007 issue of the prestigious British scientific journal The Lancet, shows a direct and definitive link between antibiotic usage and increased resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Previous studies have shown a relationship, but this new study has shown a direct cause and effect between the usage of antibiotics and an increase in bacteria’s ability to resist these drugs.

In a Health Day News article, Dr. Herman Goossens, lead author of the report in The Lancet, commented, “A lot of studies have shown an association between antibiotic use and resistance, but all those studies are based on indirect evidence. There have been no randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies. Ours is the first study to show directly that antibiotic use leads to resistance.” The study was performed at University Hospital Antwerp in Belgium.

The study was performed on more than 200 healthy volunteers and compared two types of antibiotics against a placebo pill. Researchers took several samples of bacteria from the volunteers both before as well as up to six months after giving them antibiotics to see if they had developed any resistance to the drugs.

The results showed that both groups taking real antibiotics showed a bacterial resistance increase from 50 to 53 percent within 4 to 8 days. This was compared to the placebo group that showed no increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics in the same timeframe.

Dr. Stephanie Dancer, a consultant microbiologist at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland , noted her concern that was verified by this study, “I do feel very, very strongly, as my colleagues do, that we are running out of [effective] antibiotics,” Dancer said. “This study is so nice, because it gives concrete evidence underpinning everything we have suspected.”

The authors of the Lancet study concluded, “Physicians prescribing antibiotics should take into account the striking ecological side-effects of such antibiotics.”

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/search-result.php?aid=1289

Movement is life. Hip fractures can increase death rates

Women in their mid-to-late 60s who break a hip are five times more likely to die within a year compared to women of the same age who didn’t break a hip.

This death rate, according to a study published in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine, is surprisingly higher than those seen among women in their 70s and 80s who broke a hip.

“You’d think a 65-to-69 year-old would be more able to bounce back from a hip fracture,” says Erin LeBlanc, a study author and investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, which led the study. But women in their 60s have a lower risk of dying from other causes than older women, so a hip fracture is more likely to translate into a higher mortality risk.

It has long been known that hip fractures are associated with an increased mortality rate in older women, but LeBlanc says it hasn’t been clear whether it’s from the hip fracture itself or an underlying health condition. So she and a team of researchers designed a study involving about 5,500 women to look more closely at the impact of hip fractures among women in certain age groups. The study used participants in a larger, federally-funded Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, which began in 1986 and enrolled 9,700 women age 65 and older to see how changes in bone density affects the risk of fractures as women age.

During a 20-year period there were 1,116 hip fractures. Researchers categorized the women with fractures by age and then matched them with 4,464 women of the same age who didn’t break a hip to serve as controls. The study also controlled for other underlying health conditions.

The study found that a hip fracture in women ages 70-79 doubled the risk of dying within a year. For women age 80 and older death rates were similar among those who broke a hip compared to those who didn’t. But for women 80 and older who were considered to be in good health, a hip fracture nearly triples the risk of dying within a year compared other healthy women in the same age group.

LeBlanc says the findings suggest the hip fracture increases the risk of dying. She says women can take steps to reduce the risk of hip fractures by getting screened for osteoporosis, making sure they get enough vitamin D and calcium.

LeBlanc said preventing falls is also important. Removing tripping hazards like small area rugs and improving lighting in the home can help, along with strength and balancing exercises.

Article published in Wall Street Journal By Jennifer Corbett Dooren

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/09/27/hip-fractures-tied-to-death-in-60-something-women/

Watching TV can be hazardous to your health!

In an article entitled: Hazards Lurk Between TV and Sofa by Eric Pfanner: Published in New York Times: August 21, 2011

PARIS — Once, while watching a late-night rerun of “Big Brother 17,” or maybe it was “Big Brother 7,” a nearly finished pint of Häagen-Dazs on my lap, I wondered: Is this shortening my life?

Now, thanks to a study by researchers in Australia, I know that the answer is yes. Watching television may indeed be hazardous to one’s health.

The report, published last week in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, says that every hour of television, after the age of 25, shortens the viewer’s life expectancy by 22 minutes. Adults who watch six hours a day may be cutting almost five years off their lives — almost as much as if they were lifelong smokers.

If the data are confirmed and show “a causal association, TV viewing is a public health problem comparable in size to established behavioral risk factors,” the researchers wrote.

The big problem with television watching, the researchers say, is its sedentary nature. People do not tend to watch television while running marathons. They do it from the sofa.

The data were adjusted to reflect differences in the subjects’ age, waist circumference, alcohol intake and other factors.

Yet I was left wondering: What about differences in the kinds of programming? Is reality television more or less lethal than the news, for example? If I spend my time watching “Jersey Shore,” am I more likely to die of skin cancer?

If I keep the TV tuned to Arté, the French-German cultural channel, for hours on end, am I more likely to succumb to a nasty case of ennui?

Plenty of fodder, in other words, for future studies. More at 11.

Inciting violence Television may kill, but other media are not without their hazards. Last week, two British men were sentenced to four years in prison each after being found guilty of inciting violence via Facebook. These were among the most severe punishments yet in connection with the rioting and looting in London and other British cities this month.

Never mind that neither of the men had actually succeeded in starting a riot or in carting away any loot. The only people who appear to have answered their call to hit the streets of Northwich and Warrington were the police officers who arrested them.

Four years in prison is a long time — as long as Britons convicted of manslaughter typically get, experts pointed out.

Prime Minister David Cameron has called on the courts to send a “tough message” to anyone involved in the riots. He has made social networks a particular target of his ire, saying he is looking at ways “to stop people communicating via these Web sites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”

Mr. Cameron’s enthusiasm for curbs on social media could cause problems with the Liberal Democrats, partners with the prime minister’s Conservative Party in the British governing coalition. Some Liberal Democratic lawmakers said last week that they intended to call for legislation to block any new restrictions.

Yet Mr. Cameron is not without supporters. Xinhua, the state-run Chinese news agency, for example, endorsed what it called Britain’s “U-turn,” saying it made a welcome change from China’s being hectored about censorship.

“We may wonder why Western leaders, on the one hand, tend to indiscriminately accuse other nations of monitoring, but on the other take for granted their steps to monitor and control the Internet,” Xinhua said. “For the benefit of the general public, proper Web monitoring is legitimate and necessary.”

We are guessing the British measures will stop short of the approach in China, where a Google search for, say, “Tiananmen Square protests” is likely to result in a so-called 404 error. Still, the sentences handed down to the would-be Facebook rioters suggest that a considered response is not the order of the day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/technology/hazards-lurk-between-tv-and-sofa.html?_r=1&ref=health

Nutrients lost when microwaving!

Have you read about microwaves?

Well, in an article from the Oct. 16, 2003 issue of the “HealthDayNews” reports on new research that shows different ways of preparing, storing and processing vegetables can affect how good they are for you. The data for this article came from two studies that appeared in the November issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. The studies report that several different processing procedures and cooking can reduce antioxidants, which are cancer-fighting compounds, normally found in vegetables.

Antioxidants are plentiful in vegetables and work to eliminate free radicals, which can damage cell DNA and contribute to various diseases. That’s why eating fiber, fruits, and vegetables, all of which contain antioxidants, can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease.

One of the studies showed that broccoli, for instance, lost 97 percent of flavonoids, 74 percent of sinapics and 87 percent of caffeoyl-quinic derivatives (three different types of antioxidants) when it is zapped in the microwave. When boiled the conventional way (i.e., not in a pressure-cooker), broccoli lost 66 percent of its flavonoids; when tossed in a pressure cooker, it lost 47 percent of its caffeoyl-quinic acid derivatives. Steamed broccoli, on the other hand, lost only 11 percent, 0 percent and 8 percent, respectively, of flavonoids, sinapics, and caffeoyl-quinic derivatives.

Cristina Garcia-Viguera, lead author of the research paper noted that the advantage of steaming vs. conventional boiling is that you’re “Not using water directly in contact with the vegetable. The nutritional compounds don’t go into the water. Once the compounds are in the water, the temperature destroys them much easier.” The damage from a microwave occurs because it heats the inside of the vegetable. That, combined with the fact that you normally use water when microwaving, can cause the destruction of the valuable nutrients.

Vegetables that are blanched before freezing (a common processing technique) can lose up to one third of their antioxidants. Frozen storage can also cause losses, though these losses are much smaller.

Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City states that not all of the healthy properties of vegetables are being eliminated. “You’re still getting plenty of healthy compounds as well as fiber, so there’s absolutely no reason not to eat vegetables — although, of course, the fresher the better.” She goes on to say, “If people are willing to have vegetables anyway, shape or form, even if they are going to nuke then, I’d rather have them do that.”

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/search-result.php?aid=1577

Can Chiropractic help with ADHD?

In the October 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed research publication, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), comes a case study of a child with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), who was helped with chiropractic.

The case was of a 5 year old boy who had been diagnosed with ADHD at age 2. The childs pediatrician prescribed methylphenidate (Ritalin), Adderall, and Haldol for the next 3 years. The combination of drugs was unsuccessful in helping the child.

At age 5 the child was brought to a chiropractor to see if chiropractic care would help. The history taken at that time noted that during the childs birth, there were complications during his delivery process. The results of this trauma and complications resulted in a 4-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. The childs mother reported no other incidence of trauma.

The chiropractic examination and x-rays showed noticeable spinal distortion including a reversal of the normal neck curve indicative of subluxations. Chiropractic care was begun and the childs progress was monitored.

According to his mother, positive changes in her son’s general behavior were noticed around the twelfth visit. By the 27th visit the patient had experienced considerable improvement.

The child was brought by the mother to the medical doctor for a follow up visit and questioned the usage of the Ritalin. The medical doctor reviewed and examined the child and based on that assessment and his clinical experience, the MD felt that the young boy was no longer exhibiting symptoms associated with ADHD. He then took the boy off the medications that he had been taking for 3 years.

The conclusion of the author of the JMPT case study noted, The patient experienced significant reduction in symptoms. Additionally, the medical doctor concluded that the reduction in symptoms was significant enough to discontinue the medication

http://www.chiropracticresearch.org/chiroarticles.php

Drugs are overused in the United States

From the January 16 2001 PRnewswire:

According to a survey conducted for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), more than half (51%) of U.S. adults take two or more medications per day, (including over-the-counter drugs). In this study, it showed that 46% take at least one prescription medication daily and 28% take multiple prescription drugs per day. Those are high numbers in my opinion and sometimes absolutely unnecessary.

These figures show that an alarming rate of the adult population in the United States uses drugs of some kind. You may think it is mostly the elderly and you are right. People over 65 years old have the highest daily usage (79%) and take at least one medication daily.  They also average 4 medications per day!

In my opinion taking so many medications can cause problems because of different interacations and increase the chance of having side effects.  Keeping your cholesterol down, blood pressure at normal levels can easily be done with food and exercise, even in your later years.  Several herbs can be replaced instead of using synthetic drugs and there are limited side effects. The intake of drugs, is hard on your liver, kidneys, pancreas and other vital organs.  Treat your body well…it will repay you in return!