Cancer - November 2014 Archives

Listening to patients is what medical teams at Mayo Clinic do each day. To honor Mayo's 150th Anniversary, StoryCorps was asked to listen to and record several patient ...

On Saturday, November 29, at 9 a.m. CT, we’ll rebroadcast a conversation with two of our favorite guests this year - Stacy Erholtz and  Stephen ...

Many of us might not really know where our pancreas is located or what it does, but one thing we DO know is that a diagnosis ...

As the number one cancer killer, lung cancer claims more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. To help detect it sooner, when it’s ...

Many of us might not really know where our pancreas is located or what it does, but one thing we DO know is that a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, even when discovered early.  Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death.  On the next Mayo Clinic Radio, Saturday, November 22 at 9 a.m. CT, we'll be joined by KMarie Reid Lombardo, M.D., and Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., to discuss signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, how it is diagnosed and what the future holds in research. Myth or Fact: There is a pancreatic cancer screening test available.   Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions. To listen to the program on Saturday, click here. Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio. Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News Seg November 22, 2014 (right click MP3)

Miss the show? Here's the podcast: Mayo Clinic Radio Full Show 11-22-2014 44min mp3 Many of us might not really know where our pancreas is located or ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in one breast. I’m planning to have a mastectomy and breast reconstruction. What are the chances I’ll get cancer in my other breast? I’m trying to decide if I should go ahead with a double mastectomy now. I don’t really want to, but I don’t want to go through this whole process twice, either. ANSWER: In general, for someone in your situation the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast is typically quite low. Removing the normal breast is not required as part of the treatment for your breast cancer. The decision to have a mastectomy on the cancer side and also remove a breast that does not have cancer (the other side) is a very personal one. There are valid reasons some women choose to pursue this surgery. But it will have a long-term effect on your body, so you need to be comfortable with the decision you make.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The investigational drug ixazomib taken orally in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone shows promise in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, according to the results of a phase 1/2 study published in the journal Lancet Oncology. "Ixazomib is an investigational, oral proteasome inhibitor with promising anti-myeloma effects and low rates of peripheral neuropathy," says Shaji Kumar, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. "While it is well known that a combination of bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone is highly effective in treating newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, we wanted to study the safety, tolerability and activity of ixazomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hyD9ib3KDU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdi8vCwvfA4   MIAMI — A chemotherapy regimen consisting of procarbazine, CCNU, and vincristine (PCV) administered following radiation therapy improved progression-free survival and overall survival in adults with low-grade gliomas, a form of brain cancer, when compared to radiation therapy alone. The findings were part of the results of a Phase III clinical trial presented today at the Society for Neuro-Oncology’s 19th Annual Meeting in Miami by the study’s primary author Jan Buckner, M.D., deputy director, practice, at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. “On average, patients who received PCV lived 5.5 years longer than those who received radiation alone,” says Dr. Buckner. “These findings build on results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2012 and presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which showed that PCV given with radiation therapy at the time of initial diagnosis prolongs progression free-survival but not overall survival.”

  Finding lung cancer sooner rather than later can obviously make a big difference in the outcome, and using a CT scan to find the cancer may be the best option.  On the next Mayo Clinic Radio, Saturday, November 15 at 9 a.m. CT, our guest is pulmonologist David Midthun, M.D.  We'll find out why lung cancer is so deadly and talk about the importance of diagnosing it early.  We'll also be joined by a patient who had her lung cancer diagnosed with a CT scan.  November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Hope you'll join us. Myth or Fact: One in 10 people newly diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked. Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions. To listen to the program on Saturday, click here. Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio. Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News Segment November 15, 2014 (right click MP3) WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEiOtIGF8rM

Find support when parenting through cancer Parents may wonder how to best talk with children about a diagnosis of cancer. Here are some helpful ...

JACKSONVILLE, Flórida — Pesquisadores da Clínica Mayo de Jacksonville, Flórida, informam que identificaram as primeiras fases no desenvolvimento do câncer de pâncreas. A descoberta sugere estratégias preventivas a serem exploradas. Na edição online do Cancer Discovery, os cientistas descreveram os passos moleculares necessários para que as células acinares do pâncreas – as células que secretam enzimas digestivos – se tornem lesões pré-cancerosas. Algumas dessas lesões podem, então, se transformar em câncer. “O câncer de pâncreas se desenvolve dessas lesões, de forma que, se entendermos como essas lesões acontecem, seremos capazes de interromper o desenvolvimento do câncer totalmente”, diz o principal pesquisador do estudo, Peter Storz, especializado em biologia do câncer. A necessidade por novas estratégias de tratamento e prevenção é premente, diz Peter Storz. O câncer de pâncreas é um dos tipos de câncer humano mais agressivos – os sintomas não aparecem até que o câncer já esteja bem avançado. A taxa de sobrevivência, após o diagnóstico, é de apenas 20%. É a quarta maior causa de morte por câncer no país.