Tag Archives: Could
Could North Korea's Army Crush the U.S. Military in a War?
Could North Korea's Army Crush the U.S. Military in a War?
How North Korea Could Start World War III: A War Between Russia and America
Attack On North Korea Could Spare Allies, Secretary Mattis Says. Analysts Aren't So Sure.
Trudeau: Canada could stop dealing with Boeing over dispute
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his government could stop doing business with Boeing if the U.S. company doesn’t drop a trade complaint against Canadian plane maker Bombardier. Trudeau said Canada …
Hurricanes Jose Could Lash East Coast as Hurricane Maria Heads Toward Caribbean
Bernie Sanders: I Did Everything I Could to Get Hillary Clinton Elected
Olivia Newton-John is Using Cannabis Oil for her Breast Cancer—Here’s How It Could Help
When singer and actress Olivia Newton-John announced last month that she had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer—a return of the breast cancer she battled into remission in the 1990s, which has now spread to her back—she said she planned to fight the disease in part with "natural wellness therapies."
While Newton-John didn't specify which natural therapies she would begin using, her daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, did sound off on one of the remedies when she posted cancer_battle/”>this message on Instagram in support of her mom:
“My mom and best friend is going to be fine. She will be using medicine that I often talk about. CBD oil! (Cannabis has scientifically proven properties to inhibit cancer cell growth) and other natural healing remedies plus modern medicine to beat this,” Lattanzi wrote.
RELATED: 5 Ways to Stay Healthy After Breast Cancer
So what is CBD oil, also known as cannabis oil, and does it really have cancer-fighting powers? First, the basics: CBD stands for cannabidiol. It's one of several compounds, called cannabinoids, found in cannabis, aka the marijuana plant. Some research shows that certain cannabinoids do have an anti-cancer effect, says Allan Frankel, M.D., a medicinal cannabis expert in Santa Monica, California.
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Taken as a spray or capsule or inhaled as a vapor, CBD oil is used to treat either the cancer itself or the side effects of the disease or chemotherapy, says Dr. Frankel. Unlike smoking marijuana, however, Dr. Frankel says CBD oil won't get a person high because it doesn't contain enough of the high-producing cannabinoid known as THC. Not getting high is part of the appeal of CBD oil for many patients, he adds.
But whether cannabis oil really plays a role in fighting cancer or easing cancer side effects is controversial. Human studies are scarce, concedes Dr. Frankel, and he stresses that it shouldn’t take the place of modern medical treatments but instead be a supplement to them.
RELATED: How to Help a Loved One Cope With Breast Cancer
There's also confusion as to whether CBD oil is legal. The Drug Enforcement Agency appears to classify it as a "controlled substance," and it's not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Frankel says it is legally available in states that have legitimized medicinal or recreational marijuana. Doctors like himself can't prescribe it like a regular drug, but he can direct a patient to a legal dispensary.
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The American Cancer Society (ACS) also takes a cautious stance on cannabis in general. "Data shows that it inhibits growth of cancer cells in petri dishes, and in animal studies, but it's limited data and I can’t recommend it for human use outside of a human clinical trial," Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer of the ACS, tells Health. "The initial data indicates it should be researched more though."
So while the data looks promising, the jury is officially out. Still, if Newton-John chooses to give CBD oil a try, it's a good idea to know where the product she uses came from. "If you buy something like CBD oil, or any marijuana product from a dispensary or off the street, you don't know what's in it," says Dr. Brawley.
www.health.com/breast-cancer/cannabis-cancer-treatment-olivia-newton-john “>
Breast Cancer – Health.com
Kathy Bates Was ‘Warned’ Not to Disclose Past Cancer Diagnosis Out of Fear It Could Negatively Impact Her Career
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This article originally appeared on People.com.
Despite Kathy Bates‘ success in Hollywood — including three Oscar nominations and one win — she was “warned” years ago that disclosing her cancer diagnosis at the time could negatively impact the future of her distinguished career.
“Back in 2003, when I had ovarian cancer, my agent told me not to tell anyone about it,” Bates, 69, told WebMD. “Even my gynecologist, whose husband worked in the business, warned that I shouldn’t come out with it because of the stigma in Hollywood. So I was very careful.”
She spent years keeping her health news under the radar, until she came across someone who inspired her to live freely.
“But then I saw Melissa Etheridge doing a concert and just wailing on her guitar with her bald head, and I thought, ‘Wow, I wanna be her!’ So, when the breast cancer diagnosis came, I knew I wanted to be honest about it,” she said.
In July 2012, the American Horror Story actress was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. She opted for a double mastectomy, and her surgery also required the removal of 19 lymph nodes.
Since her double mastectomy, Bates has made the decision to forego reconstructive surgery. She has no breasts, and she plans to keep it that way.
“I’ve joined the ranks of women who are going flat, as they say,” she said, “I don’t have breasts — so why do I have to pretend like I do? That stuff isn’t important. I’m just grateful to have been born at a time when the research made it possible for me to survive. I feel so incredibly lucky to be alive.”
www.health.com/syndication/kathy-bates-warned-past-cancer-diagnosis-negative-impact-career “>
Breast Cancer – Health.com
Could City Lights Increase Your Risk of Breast Cancer?
THURSDAY, Aug. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — New research reveals an unexpected potential risk factor for breast cancer: city lights.
The Harvard Medical School study found an association between living in areas with high amounts of ambient nighttime light and slightly increased odds for breast cancer in younger women who smoke.
“In our modern industrialized society, artificial lighting is nearly ubiquitous. Our results suggest that this widespread exposure to outdoor lights during nighttime hours could represent a novel risk factor for breast cancer,” study author Peter James said in a Harvard news release. He’s assistant professor of population medicine at Harvard’s Pilgrim Health Care Institute.
As the investigators explained, earlier research had suggested that high levels of exposure to light at night disrupts the body’s internal clock. In turn, that might lower levels of a hormone called melanin which, in turn, might boost the risk of breast cancer.
Testing the theory further, James’ group tracked almost 110,000 U.S. women, followed as part of a long-term study of nurses from 1989-2013.
The researchers used nighttime satellite images and records of night shift work to help figure out the amount of nighttime light each woman might have been exposed to.
The study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect. However, the Harvard group found that breast cancer levels in premenopausal women who currently smoked or had smoked in the past grew by 14 percent if they were in the 20 percent deemed to have had the most exposure to outdoor light at night.
Furthermore, as levels of outdoor nighttime light went up, so did the likelihood of breast cancer for this subgroup of women, James’ team said.
Older women, and women who’d never smoked, did not seem affected, the researchers said.
The study also found evidence that working night shifts might boost the breast cancer risk.
Given that millions of younger women have little control over the amount of nighttime ambient light they’re exposed to, what, if anything, should be done?
One expert in breast cancer care said it’s just too soon to take anything concrete from this research.
“The findings in this study have to be taken with caution,” said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “Although circadian rhythm disruption may be a factor in increasing the risk of cancer, it could be other factors related to working at night as well.”
For example, she said, “women who work night shifts may not eat well or exercise, both of which affect breast cancer risk. Also, the study found the risk greatest in smokers — which leads one to believe these women might not be living as healthy a lifestyle as the group that was sleeping at night.”
Overall, Bernik said, “more insight as to the root cause of the increased rate of cancer in night owls is needed.”
The study was published Aug. 17 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
More information
For more about breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.
www.health.com/healthday/could-urban-lighting-raise-breast-cancer-risk-some-women “>
Breast Cancer – Health.com
