Selenium May Protect Against Bladder Cancer

Boosting Selenium Intake May Lower Bladder Cancer Risk, Particularly in Women

Aug. 31, 2010 -- Adding more selenium to your diet may reduce your risk of bladder cancer.

Scientists reporting in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention say that adults with low blood levels of the mineral selenium are more likely to develop bladder cancer. The lower your levels of selenium, the higher your risk.

Selenium is a trace mineral found in soil. Dietary sources of selenium include plant foods and meats from animals that grazed on grain or plants grown in selenium-rich soil. The nutrient is also found in certain nuts. For example, brazil nuts often contain an abundance of selenium.The body uses selenium to make selenoproteins. Many selenoproteins function as antioxidants, which prevent cellular damage. Some studies have suggested that selenium can help protect against certain cancers, but clinical trials on selenium supplementation have yielded conflicting results.

For the current study, Nuria Malats, MD, PhD, leader of the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group of the Human Cancer Genetics Program at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center, and colleagues combined information from seven previously published studies to conduct their research. They reviewed selenium levels taken from blood samples and toenail clippings and determined each patient's risk of developing bladder cancer. The analysis included patients mostly from the United States and some patients from Europe.

The study showed:

1. A 39% decrease in bladder cancer risk was associated with the highest levels ofselenium.

2. The protective benefit of selenium was seen mostly in women. Researchers believethis may be because of differences in how men and women's bodies break down andremove the mineral.

“Although our results suggest a beneficial effect of high selenium intake for bladder cancer risk, more studies are needed to confirm these findings before an enforcement of high selenium intake is recommended,” Malats says in a news release.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for selenium for adults is 55 micrograms per day. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may require higher amounts. Most American diets provide the recommended amount of the mineral, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Before adding more selenium to your diet, talk to your doctor. Too much selenium can be unhealthy and may lead to a condition called selenosis. Symptoms include stomach upset, hair loss, garlic breath odor, white spots on the nails, irritability, fatigue, and mild nerve damage.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences says the highest amount of selenium that adults can take safely without endangering their health is 400 micrograms a day. This is called the tolerable upper intake level (UL).

By Kelli Miller Stacy Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
WebMD Health News

As I know someone who is now dealing with bladder cancer I was very interested in this news and hope it will help many in the future.

To your health

Leigh

Senior Safety Tip from a Fireman!

Anyone who has read my blog knows I love reading "Dear Abby".

She has some great information and tips from her readers and this one is from a fireman.

If seniors don't have an emergency alert device, they should take their car keys to bed with them and place them on their nightstand. The little red "panic" button can be used to start the horn on their car in an emergency. The neighbors will hear the horn and help them.

Abby adds: First, forewarn the neighbors that if your car alarm goes off, it many indicate that you are in trouble. In her city, car alarms go off so frequently that people often assume it's a malfunction and ignore it.

Both are very good tips. Also ask your neighbors you may be close with to please check on you occasionally. Maybe Monday and Friday if they do not see you out and about. Many seniors fall and become unconscious and a neighbor has saved their lives just by checking on them and calling the police if necessary.

If you have a senior that lives near you take a minute and get to know them. Becoming friends can save that persons life and you will be surprised at the wonderful feeling you can get just with a smile and a "Hello". Remember, one day you will be a senior too!

Good Health to us all!

Leigh

NEW ORLEANS TWO DAY FREE C.A.R.E. CLINIC - August 31st & September 1st

NEW ORLEANS C.A.R.E. Clinic - The NAFC C.A.R.E. Clinic will return to New Orleans on August 31 & September 1st. This clinic will help the uninusred of the Gulf Region as we approach the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and as the region is struggling with the current oil spill crisis.
Patients call 1-877-236-7617

Free HEALTHCARE Clinic, Washington DC, on 8-4-2010

The NAFC C.A.R.E. organization is holding a ONE DAY
Free Healthcare Clinic in Washington DC on Wendsday,

August 4th. This C.A.R.E. clinic will be at the Walter E. Washington
Convention Center.

Patients can call 877-233-5259 for further information.
http://www.freeclinics.us/freeclinic.php

The National Association of Free Clinics is the only
national non-profit whose mission is solely focused on
the needs of free clinics and the populations they serve.

They have helped thousands with low cost or free medical test,

screening, treatment, and references to doctors for future help.

If you think you may have a medical problem or just want to

have your blood sugar and blood pressure checked,

you should check out this free one day clinic.

To your health,
Leigh

Anti-Breast Cancer Pill!

Fish Oil, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, helps protect healthy people from heart disease and now a new study finds taking fish-oil supplements may also reduce breast cancer risk by over 30% in postmenopausal women.

Omega-3, from dietary sources, trials have been inconclusive and the authors of the study caution that more study is needed before the Omega-3 pills can be used for prevention.

This information is from the July 19th Time Magazine, Health Section, Latest Findings.

Always check with your doctor before adding any supplements to your routine and you may want to discuss adding Omega-3's to your diet.

To your health,
Leigh

What is Normal after Cancer?

Cancer Patients won't go back to normal after cancer. But they can find a best "New Normal".

In a Parade article from June 20, 2010 it discusses what is the new normal for some cancer survivors. It goes into some of the problems cancer survivors continue to have after treatment and after they may be named cancer free.

Let me tell you about some of mine. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 years ago, had a mastectomy, chemo, and am now on what they call maintenance drugs.

I still have pain where my breast was, I laugh and call it my "Phantom Boob". I can be sitting perfectly still and it feels like someone sticks me with a hot poker. (this is what I imagine a hot poker would feel like). It goes away fairly quickly but the pec muscle stays sore for a while. Sometimes it hurts doing much lifting with my arms.

I had a mediport installed in order to have the chemo easier since I was going to have to have it for the next year and a half. (4 different types that took 2 1/2 years because of complications). Where the surgeon installed the mediport they had to go through the muscle in my arm area. I have had problems with this area ever since. I had to have it taken out because I was constantly in pain where the mediport was attached to the chest muscle above the breast. I still have pains in this spot also even though the mediport was taken out 9 months ago.

I started having a heart racing problem while on chemo. I would walk from my bedroom to my living room and my pulse would start racing around 110 - 120 beats per minute and would not come back down right away. Now I have to take heart medicine and watch for more heart problems.

When I sit too long my legs swell, when I stand too long my legs swell. My lower back aches. I have neropothy in my toes from when the chemo made my toenails turn black and fall off. The feeling never has come all the way back. Sometimes it is weird but the toes seem to burn. I don't know what to make of it.

Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer I was not the most active person, I did not run any marathons, but I worked in the yard, went swimming, and enjoyed outdoor activities. Now, it seems that the heat affects me much more than it ever did. I get dizzy and light headed. I am more sensitive to bugs, poison ivy, and plants that I never had a problem with before.

My maintenance medication, (Femara) which I will be on for 3 more years, makes me moody, gives me the hot flashes and night sweats, (sometimes I feel like I am on FIRE!) and fatigue is constant. My poor husband tries to help but there is nothing he can really do. I just have to wait for it to pass.

I have tried to discuss these items with the doctors but sometimes I feel like they just shrug their shoulders and don't really listen. When I first started chemo my jaw swelled up on both sides and I looked like a chipmunk with nuts in his mouth. This of course happened on a holiday weekend. When I saw the doctor the next week and told her about it all she said was she had never heard of anything like that before. When I lost my toenails and my toes were bleeding, I got the same reply. (I found out later from the web that was a common side effect of the drugs). My jaws still hurt occasionally and my toes will never be the same but I was very glad that my toenails did grow back because sometimes they don't.

Well, There is more to come another day as this is making me depressed. (another of the side effects that cancer survivors quite often have to live with.)

I don't like to complain and I try very hard not to but sometimes I guess it is good therapy just to let it all out.

If you need to vent just give me a reply or response and we will vent together.

You can see the whoe article at www.parade.com/cancer

The Nation's Biggest FREE CLINIC!

In a May 9th article in the Parade Section of the Sunday Paper I found a great article that may help many uninsured people get help with medical expenses. You can see the full article on the Parade web site: http://www.parade.com/.

Since last September, more than 8,000 uninsured patients received treatment at C.A.R.E. Clinics in Houston, New Orleans, Little Rock, Kansas City, Hartford and Atlanta. 1,300 people received free medical care at the Atlanta one-day event.

At the Atlanta event, 60% of patients said they hadn't seen a doctor in at least a year and 20% hadn't had health care in more than 5 years.

These free clinics connect the uninsured with safety-net providers such as free clinics, sliding-scale clinics and federally qualified health centers near where they live so that patients can receive regular treatment on an ongoing basis.

The National Association of Free Clinics has a list of clinics across the US that help uninsured people get checked out for anything from hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and more serious illnesses also.

You can get more information at: http://www.freeclinics.us/

Stay Healthy, Get Checked Out, Fight Cancer

Leigh