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Thursday, August 06, 2009
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Veteran Lung Scan
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Over 500 New Mexico veterans have signed on for a new program to scan for early detection of lung cancer. Biomoda Inc, the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology are all involved in this state-funded screening based on new technology by Biomoda. The veteran participants are screened with Biomoda's CyPath(r) technology and then the results are compared to CT scans and PAP stains.
"This study will help us move the CyPath(r) technology closer to FDA approval and commercialization, bringing a non-invasive, accurate, and inexpensive tool for detecting cancer to market. The health benefits of the Biomoda diagnostic are obvious and have worldwide implications" explained the president of Biomoda.
Over 100 of the participants have already been screened. Veterans and the armed forces have an increased risk of developing lung cancer. One purpose of the study is to spread awareness to veterans of the importance for early detection of the disease and hopefully find a more efficient method to do so.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
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Uncommon Condition Diagnosed by Scan
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A boy in Mumbia was recently diagnosed with a very rare disease after a CT Scan of his lung found that half of his stomach had migrated into his lung cavity. The condition, called hiatus hernia, is rare and is very dangerous if left untreated.
"We took him to several doctors when he started having persistent colds after six months of age. All these years, he never had any serious problem. About 10 days ago he had severe chest pain that refused to subside despite medication" stated his parents to DNA India.
After being misdiagnosed with pneumonia, his symptoms did not stop and his parents took him for a lung scan. Doctors were able to operate and pull down half of his stomach. They were also able to narrow the cavity between the stomach and lungs so the problem could never occur again.
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Monday, July 06, 2009
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Lung Cancer Misdiagnosed as Asthma
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In an article by the Press Association, a 17 year old girl was misdiagnosed with asthma after having difficulty breathing and a persistent cough. When symptoms did not disappear, her father sent her for a lung scan. The lung scan showed a large cancerous tumor in her left lung that occupied the majority of her lung cavity.
After rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and removal of her lung, Miss Hicks is now cancer free. A CT Scan of her chest found the tumor and ultimately saved her life. Early detection of lung cancer is vital for treatment. Although this type of misdiagnosis is rare, patients should be aware of their own bodies and take every precaution to safeguard their personal health.
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Thursday, May 07, 2009
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Women and Lung Cancer
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Recent research has been conducted on lung cancer patients, a link between
women and lung cancer was detected in the evidence. The study said there is
a chance that women develop lung cancer at an earlier age than men; that
women are more susceptible and vulnerable to the debilitating disease.
The UKs Daily Mail reported on the study, "Research into patients with the
disease found women tended to be diagnosed at a younger age than men - even
though they had smoked fewer cigarettes. It found that female smokers were
statistically most likely to develop adenocarcinoma - a common form of lung
cancer - and were more likely to be diagnosed with the disease at an earlier
age. Study leader Dr Martin Frueh, from St Gallen Canton Hospital in
Switzerland, said: 'Our findings suggest that women may have an increased
susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens.'"
The research was presented just yesterday in Europe at an Oncology
conference. Women are often times more aware of the dangers associated with
breast cancer, and tend to think lung cancer is a man's disease. Which now
we can see is not a wise choice; high risk patients of any gender should be
having regular lung scans as forms of prevention and early detection.
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
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Lung Cancer Drug Hope
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A Spanish biotechnology company Zeltia has announced that its preclinical
trials of Irvalec a lung cancer medication have shown positive results. The
company has said the experiments have shown 'efficiency' in treating lung
cancer. This brings hope to the lung cancer awareness and treatment arena.
Reuters released the report saying, "The results were presented at an
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference in Denver from
April 18-22, where Zeltia said it also presented promising data on other
drugs in its pipeline."
Although this is great preliminary news on the medication treatment front,
it is vital to lung health and prevention that people at high risk get
regular lung scans and check-ups. The key to treating lung cancer is early
detection.
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Friday, April 03, 2009
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Women and Smoking
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The BBC has reported that an average of 17 people die each week in Northern Ireland. The study also said that annually nearly 1000 people are diagnose with lung cancer in Northern Island, predominantly caused by poor smoking habits. These numbers seem astronomically high especially if a large proportion is affecting the youth population.
The BBC article said, "Young women are still smoking too much, warned the report compiled by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry and Queen's University Belfast. The survey looked at the experiences of more than 2,200 lung cancer patients over the course of a decade from 1996 to 2006. It found there were fewer cases among men under 65 but not for women in this age group."
Though the numbers may not be as drastically high as those noted in Ireland, lung cancer still remains a serious issue in the US as well. More and more people are beginning to take initiative and get regular yearly lung scans, especially those of which who are high risk candidates like smokers.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
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Firefighters have High Risk for Heart Disease
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It is readily acknowledged that men and women in the police and fire departments fall victim to heart disease and lung cancer at a young age. These high stressed jobs are making workers more aware of the risks associated with their jobs. From stress to lack of sleep to poor health environments, many succumb to such ailments. If this is the case shouldn't we be promoting the use of heart scans and virtual lung scans and colonoscopies for fire and police departments nationwide. I think we should, after all education is key to successfully treating any disease.
ABC 7 News reported saying, "Surprisingly firefighters die of heart disease, that's their number one killer. It's not smoke inhalation. It's not a ladder falling on them. It's a heart attack on the scene or later on," said Collins."
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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Screening Veterans for Lung Cancer
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Biomoda a medical diagnostic company has been approved to screen veterans for lung cancer with virtual CT lung scans. The clinic coupled with the Federal Drug Administration is hoping to impart the idea of early detection and screening regularly for various cancers like lung and colorectal.
MSNBC reported on this new study and funding saying, "Our initial study is directed at military veterans who are at high risk for developing lung cancer. If our screening reveals early-stage cancer in one of our volunteers, that person's chance of being alive five years from now goes from 15 percent to 80 percent, all because of early diagnosis and treatment." It is our intent in this pilot program to identify five to ten such cases and have a dramatic impact on saving lives here in New Mexico now."
In lieu of the recent decision by the Obama Administration and Medicare to ban paying for virtual colonscopies, this new approval may shift the protocol for insurance companies providing payment for prevenative screening.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
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Yet Another Smoking Ailment
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A study released by the British Medical Journal has found that women who smoke may be four times more likely to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Similarly female smokers may be eight times more susceptible to emergency health issues as opposed to non-smokers. The BMJ is hoping to show people yet another reason and incentive to quit smoking, or simply never pick it up. Aortic aneurysms cause over 15,000 deaths each year in the United States alone and of that number, 40% are women. Women are not paying enough attention to such issues, so it is vital to get screened and scanned for prevention methods.
Regardless of if female smokers are worried about aortic aneurysms, virtual lung scans are essential to staying healthy. Early detection of lung cancer may considerably increase your chances of recovering. A large part of early detection involves yearly lung scans.
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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Male vs. Female Medical Imaging Specialists
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You are about to go in to a doctor for a series of different preventive health exams. Maybe you are getting your annual colon cancer screening. Perhaps you need to get a preventive heart scan or a lung scan because you've reached the age where these things are necessary. For whatever reason, you need to get a scan and you want to go to a good doctor to get that done. Does it matter to you if the doctor is a man or a woman?
Most people don't have a preference between male and female doctors for preventive health screening. They just want the person who is best for the job. This is probably due to the fact that concerns about the gender of a doctor tend to be related to fears of embarassment that are associated with being younger; preventive health scans are usually done on older patients who have gotten over these feelings over the years.
But what if you do have a preference for one gender over the other when it comes to getting your preventive health screening? There is nothing wrong with seeking out a doctor of the gender that you prefer. It is important that you be comfortable with the doctors that you are working with so you might as well make all of the choices that you need to make in order to make that happen.
Question of the Day: Do you have a preference for male or female preventive health doctors?
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