Facts & Figures about Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a major global health problem and the leading cause of death among women of all ethnic backgrounds. Each year, an estimated 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed worldwide. In Malaysia, breast cancer is the most common cancer where 1 in 19 Malaysian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. Around 4000 women are diagnosed each year and it occurs mostly in women aged between 35 and 60 with 40% affected aged below 50. Although rare, men can also develop breast cancer.

Sources:

• Cancer Facts & Figures 2014, American Cancer Society. Atlanta, Georgia, 2014
• National Cancer Registry of Malaysia 2005-2007.

Status of Cancer in Malaysia

Cancer is increasing in incidence and today, it would seem that each of us knows at least a friend or a family member that has been affected by cancer. Based on the latest Health Facts 2013 released by Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia, cancer is one of the top ten causes of hospitalisation and one of the top five causes of death in both MoH and private hospitals. The salient truth is that cancer has overtaken hearth disease as the number one killer this year (2014).

Although the USA death toll from cancer has declined for 2 decades, cancer deaths continue to rise globally according to the annual cancer statistics report from the American Cancer Society – largely due to effective treatment and with an increasing population ceasing smoking in stark contrast to the rest of the world.

In Malaysia, the incidence of cancer increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to about 37,000 in 2012 (approx 100 new cases per day!). Mortality due to cancer stood at 20,100 deaths in 2008 and has increased to 21,700 deaths in 2012, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Globocan of the World Health Organisation (WHO). More than 50% of Malaysian Malay men smoke, more than 30% Malaysians are obese, yet we still do not take screening and prevention seriously.

• 15% of Malaysian population will get cancer before 75 years old.
• 9% of Malaysian population will die from cancers before 75 years old.

Cancer Statistics in Malaysia (2012)



Sources:

• Health Facts 2013, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Health Informatics Centre Planning Division, July 2013.
• GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin DM, Forman D, Bray, F, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
• National Cancer Registry Report, Malaysia Cancer Statistics – Data and Figure 2007, Ariffin OZ, Saleha IT, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, 2011.
• Global Trends, Cancer and High Drug Prices, Khor M, Third World Network Mar 2014.

*Head and neck cancer includes cancer incidences for nasopharynx, larynx, tongue, mouth, nose&sinuses, salivary gland, hypopharynx, other oralpharynx, tonsil, pharynx unspecified and lip.

The Story of A Man with 4 Wives

I promise not to spoil the fun. Find out the story yourself :)

How Will Healthcare Evolve and the Future of Medical Care.

An insightful lecture from Professor Christensen from Harvard Business School on "How Healthcare Can Become Higher in Quality, Lower in Cost, and Widely Available". The gist of what he thinks about the evolution of the healthcare system from the business point of view, very similar to the evolution of computers. From 'centralization' to 'decentralization; 'highly skilled' to operate to 'less skilled required' to operate without compromising quality of care; and from 'expensive' to 'inexpensive'. That was exactly what happened to the computer industry. From huge expensive computers to smartphones. How can healthcare become more affordable then? Do not expect hospital fees to become cheaper or specialist doctors to take a pay cut. Technology will be the driving force that will drive healthcare to a lower cost venue of care and enable lower cost care giver to do more sophisticated things without compromising competency.   

The Importance of SELENIUM to Human Health

Adapted from Lancet. 2000 Jul 15;356(9225):233-41

SELENIUM in a nutshell:

An essential trace mineral that is of fundamental importance to human health.

• Selenium (a constituent of selenoproteins) is best known as an antioxidant and catalyst for the production of active thyroid hormone.
• Needed for the proper functioning of the immune system, and appears to be a key nutrient in counteracting the development of virulence and inhibiting HIV progression to AIDS. 
• Required for sperm motility and may reduce the risk of miscarriage. 
• Deficiency has been linked to adverse mood states. 
• Findings have been equivocal in linking selenium to cardiovascular disease risk although other conditions involving oxidative stress and inflammation have shown benefits of a higher selenium status. 
• An elevated selenium intake may be associated with reduced cancer risk. 

Large clinical trials are now planned to confirm or refute this hypothesis. In the context of these health effects, low or diminishing selenium status in some parts of the world, notably in some European countries, is giving cause for concern.

You Shall Not Lack!

Sometimes you are unsatisfied with your life,
While many people in this world are dreaming of your life...

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead & dreams of flying.
But a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse & dreams of returning home.

That's life! Enjoy yours...

If wealth is the secret to happiness,
then the rich should be dancing on the streets.
But only poor kids do that.

If power ensures security, 
then officials should walk unguarded.
But those who live simply, sleep soundly.

If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships,
then celebrities should have the best marriages.

Live simply, walk humbly and love genuinely...
All good will come back to you!

Soft Drink Is Bad For Health

SUGARY DRINKS increase the risk of TYPE 2 DIABETES, HEART DISEASE, and other CHRONIC CONDITIONS.

• People who consume sugary drinks regularly—1 to 2 cans a day or more—have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who rarely have such drinks. (46)
• A study that followed 40,000 men for two decades found that those who averaged one can of a sugary beverage per day had a 20% higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from a heart attack than men who rarely consumed sugary drinks. (47) A related study in women found a similar sugary beverage–heart disease link. (48)
• A 22-year-long study of 80,000 women found that those who consumed a can a day of sugary drink had a 75% higher risk of gout than women who rarely had such drinks. (49) Researchers found a similarly-elevated risk in men. (50)
• Dr. Frank Hu, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, recently made a strong case that there is sufficient scientific evidence that decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption will reduce the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases. (51)

Soft drinks and bones

• Soda may pose a unique challenge to healthy bones.
• Soda contains high levels of phosphate.
• Consuming more phosphate than calcium can have a deleterious effect on bone health. (54)
• Getting enough calcium is extremely important during childhood and adolescence, when bones are being built.
• Soft drinks are generally devoid of calcium and other healthful nutrients, yet they are actively marketed to young age groups.

References

46. Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Despres JP, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis. Diabetes Care. 2010;33:2477-83.
47. de Koning L, Malik VS, Kellogg MD, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sweetened beverage consumption, incident coronary heart disease, and biomarkers of risk in men. Circulation. 2012;125:1735-41, S1.
48. Fung TT, Malik V, Rexrode KM, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sweetened beverage consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89:1037-42.
49. Choi HK, Willett W, Curhan G. Fructose-rich beverages and risk of gout in women. JAMA. 2010;304:2270-8.
50. Choi HK, Curhan G. Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008;336:309-12.
51. Hu FB. Resolved: there is sufficient scientific evidence that decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption will reduce the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Obes Rev. 2013;14:606-19.
52. Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, et al. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. JAMA. 2004;292:927-34.
53. Palmer JR, Boggs DA, Krishnan S, Hu FB, Singer M, Rosenberg L. Sugar-sweetened beverages and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in African American women. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1487-92.
54. Malik VS, Schulze MB, Hu FB. Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84:274-88.

Chemotherapy is war (killing) against the cancer cells, Changing the extracellular surrounding of the cancer cells restores its non-cancerous state!

Extracellular Matrix Regulates Gene Expression & Cancer

The surrounding environment of the cancer cell matters? Click to watch.

Gene mutations are part of the process of cancer, but mutations alone are not enough to cause cancer to take hold and spread, thus threatening people’s lives through domination of precious life resources (nutrition) as well as precious real estate where other healthy cells live. Genes do become damaged and sustain mutations in some cells and not others during people’s lifetimes. An oncogene—a gene that causes tumors in animals and uncontrolled growth in cells in culture—cannot in and of itself change cells from normal to cancerous. It is the cells’ surroundings, known as its microenvironment, that contribute in some way to how cancer has occurred.

Cancer involves an interaction between rogue cells and surrounding tissue. This is the clear message that Dr. Mina Bissell, who is the director of life sciences at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California (LBNL), and she is now sharing this with the world. The interactions between cancer cells and their micro and macroenvironments create a context that promotes tumor growth and protects them from immune attack or, on the other hand, prevent tumors from making any kind of beachhead so they cannot take hold or spread themselves around. Cancer cells routinely form in most people’s bodies but that does not mean they are going to succeed in capturing their host’s valuable resources so they can invade (inland so to speak) as they win their war and take our life.

What this means is that the surrounding cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix interact to shape cancer cell behaviors such as polarity, migration and proliferation. The microenvironment includes a complex scaffolding on which cells grow and develop, called the extracellular matrix. The microenvironment is what actually surrounds a cell. The extracellular matrix (microenvironment) has been shown to regulate gene expression so it has more to do with the state of cancer than the cancer cells themselves.

“If tissue architecture and context are part of the message, then tumor cells with abnormal genomes should be capable of becoming ‘normal’” if grown in a healthy microenvironment. Dr. Bissell and her students tested that hypothesis with some malignant cells, growing them on a healthy scaffolding. And yes, they were able to revert the malignant phenotype to a normal one. They could even inject the cells into mice where they didn’t cause tumors, unlike malignant cells, which would cause cancer. This, says Bissell, indicates that there is another way to look at cancer—that cancer genes are regulated by the environment around them.

Dr. Bissell’s basic idea is that cancer cells cannot turn into a lethal tumor without the cooperation of other cells nearby. It is not just the other surrounding cells but also the interstitial environment, which of course would include pH and nutrient levels being supplied by the blood. That may be why autopsies repeatedly find that most people who die of causes other than cancer have at least some tiny tumors in their bodies that had gone unnoticed. According to current thinking, the tumors were kept in check, causing no harm.

“Think of it as this kid in a bad neighborhood,” said Dr. Susan Love, a breast cancer surgeon and president of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation. “You can take the kid out of the neighborhood and put him in a different environment and he will behave totally differently.” She added, “It’s exciting. What it means, if all this environmental stuff is right, is that we should be able to reverse cancer without having to kill cells. This could open up a whole new way of thinking about cancer that would be much less assaultive.”

Dr. Bissell is now hailed as a hero, with an award named after her. “You have created a paradigm shift,” the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology wrote in a letter announcing that she had won its 2008 Excellence in Science award.

Dr. D. W. Smithers, then at Royal Marsden Hospital in London, argued that cancer was not a disease caused by a rogue cell that divides and multiplies until it destroys its host. “Cancer is no more a disease of cells than a traffic jam is a disease of cars,” Dr. Smithers wrote. “A lifetime of study of the internal-combustion engine would not help anyone understand our traffic problems.”

The death rate has barely budged for most cancers, and the gene mutation strategy so far has been a failure—a senseless one that has been used to reinforce the insane and very deadly form of medicine contemporary oncologists practice. Dr. David Agus, a conventional oncologist, agrees that cancer treatments have a shortsighted focus on individual cells.

Cells that are in harmony move and work together to create and work toward the conditions necessary for overall health. We can turn to physics and remember what happens to a bunch of grandfather clocks on the wall. They can all be swinging in wide opposition to each other but come back a while later and they will all be swinging together. Our cells are like that, all the many trillions of them. There is coherence to the entire colony of cells until what we call cancer occurs and then that coherence begins to break down.

Chemotherapy Provokes More Not Less Cancer

Chemotherapy can cause damage to healthy cells, which triggers them to secrete a protein that sustains tumor growth and makes cancer more resistance to any further treatment. We are beginning to see clinical evidence across the board show that what happens to healthy cells during cancer treatment determines much if not the entire outcome of treatment.

“Cancer cells inside the body live in a very complex environment or neighborhood. Where the tumor cell resides and who its neighbors are influence its response and resistance to therapy,” said senior author Dr. Peter S. Nelson, a member of the Hutchinson Cancer Center’s Human Biology Division. “Our findings indicate that the tumor microenvironment also can influence the success or failure of these more precise therapies.” In other words, the same cancer cell, when exposed to different “neighborhoods,” may have very different responses to treatment.

Researchers at the center tested the effects of a type of chemotherapy on tissue collected from men with prostate cancer, and found “evidence of DNA damage” in healthy cells after treatment, the scientists wrote in Nature Medicine in August of 2012.

The scientists found that healthy cells damaged by chemotherapy secreted more of a protein called WNT16B, which boosts cancer cell survival. The researchers observed up to 30-fold increases in WNT production! “The increase in WNT16B was completely unexpected,” said Dr. Nelson. The protein was taken up by tumour cells neighboring the damaged cells. “WNT16B, when secreted, would interact with nearby tumor cells and cause them to grow, invade, and importantly, resist subsequent therapy,” said Nelson.

Rates of tumor cell reproduction have been shown to accelerate between chemotherapy treatments. “Our results indicate that damage responses in benign cells… may directly contribute to enhanced tumor growth kinetics,” wrote the team. The researchers said they confirmed their findings with breast and ovarian cancer tumors.

Dr. Nelson describes the normal insanity/methods of chemotherapy saying, “In the laboratory we can ‘cure’ most any cancer simply by giving very high doses of toxic therapies to cancer cells in a petri dish. However, in people, these high doses would not only kill the cancer cells but also normal cells and the host.” Therefore, treatments for common solid tumors are given in smaller doses and in cycles, or intervals, to allow the normal cells to recover. This approach may not eradicate all of the tumor cells, and those that survive can evolve to become resistant to subsequent rounds of anti-cancer therapy.

What mainstream researchers are failing to find is that we can approach cancer treatment from a completely different and opposite angle to chemotherapy. Instead of trying to kill the cancer and harm the surrounding cells we imprison the cancer in a solid wall of healthy cells, thus that area being strengthened as opposed to being weakened by treatments. We create the conditions where we first limit the ability to grow and then send in some cruise missiles that directly target the cancer cells, choking the life out of them with waves of increased alkalinity and oxygen.

Magnesium and Your Health

Magnesium is an essential mineral for staying healthy and is required for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Multiple health benefits of magnesium include transmission of nerve impulses, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production, and the formation of healthy bones and teeth.

Health specialists have always emphasized the importance of including adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals in our daily diet. Zinc, calcium, and magnesium are three of the most important minerals essential for good health. Magnesium aids in the absorption of calcium by the body, while zinc actively supports the body’s immune system.

Women of all ages benefit immensely from the intake of magnesium. Besides keeping osteoporosis at bay, magnesium health benefits in women include relief from symptoms of menopause and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It also minimizes the risk of premature labor.

The other crucial health benefits of magnesium include protein synthesis, relief from bronchospasm (constricted airways) in the lungs, and improvement of parathyroid function. It boosts the bio-availability of vitamin B6 and cholesterol, improves muscle functioning, and prevents osteoporosis, insomnia, constipation, heart attacks, hypertension, constipation, migraines, kidney stones, and gallstones.

Good dietary sources of magnesium include nuts (especially almonds), whole grains, wheat germ, fish, and green leafy vegetables. As with most nutrients, daily needs for magnesium cannot be met from food alone which is why magnesium dietary supplements are recommended as well.

The top five health benefits of magnesium are:

1. Magnesium may reverse osteoporosis
Multiple research studies conducted have suggested that calcium supplemented with magnesium improves bone mineral density. Magnesium deficiency alters calcium metabolism and the hormones that regulate calcium, resulting in osteoporosis. Intake of recommended levels of magnesium is important because it averts osteoporosis.

2. Magnesium prevents cardiovascular diseases
One of the most important benefits of magnesium is that it is associated with lowering the risk of coronary heart diseases. Dietary surveys have suggested that sufficient magnesium intake may reduce the chance of having a stroke. Magnesium deficiency increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms, which increases the risk of complications after a heart attack. Therefore, consuming recommended amounts of magnesium dietary supplements may be beneficial to the cardiovascular system.
3. Magnesium regulates high blood pressure (Hypertension)
Magnesium plays a key role in regulating blood pressure naturally. Magnesium supplements and a diet including plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are good sources of potassium and magnesium, are consistently associated with lowering blood pressure.

4. Magnesium treats diabetes
Studies show that individuals with a magnesium deficiency have a risk of developing type-2 diabetes and severe diabetic retinopathy. Magnesium aids in carbohydrate metabolism and influences the release and activity of insulin, thereby controlling blood glucose levels. It has been proven that for every 100 milligrams of increase in magnesium daily intake, there was a 15 percent decrease in the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

5. Magnesium treats migraines, insomnia, and depression
The numerous magnesium health benefits also include the treatment of migraines, insomnia, and symptoms of depression. Magnesium is also known to cure severe forms of psychiatric dysfunctions including panic attacks, stress, anxiety, and undue agitations. Magnesium supplements considerably reduce the severity of such attacks and may also help in reducing the rate of recurrence.
For more information on the health benefits of Magnesium, do check out the link below:

Therapeutic Use of Magnesium
Magnesium Bicarbonate Alkaline Water

The Immune System Under Attack

A weakened immune system not only reduces our resistance to infectious disease, it increases the possibility that we will experience allergies and autoimmune problems. A weakened immune system can have two effects; 

• a reduced immune response- lowered resistance with increased incidence of infections OR
• an overactive immune response- increased incidence of allergies and autoimmune disease.

Both responses are harmful. In general, things that can weaken the immune system fall into the categories of nutritional deficiencies. Often they are due to:

• incomplete digestion
• food overload
• bacterial or viral infection
• immune system toxins
• high chemical exposures
• stress

During times of stress, the body releases a steroid called cortisol, which can actually inhibit the activity of macrophage cells.

Immune systems problems of clinical significance include:

• allergies or hypersensitivity reactions
• autoimmune diseases
• immunodeficiencies
• tumor control
• transplants

Allergies

Statistics show that food-related allergies and autoimmune disease are on the rise. The incidence of allergy is much higher than most people realize. In fact, it is estimated that one in three Malaysians is currently suffering from some form of allergy.

Generally speaking, an allergic reaction is the body's response to an antigen. Allergic reactions can be divided into two broad categories:

a) Reactions to foods

b) Reactions to non-food environmental antigens

The list of non-food environmental antigens seems to be ever-growing and includes such commonplace items as household and industrial chemicals, gasoline, exhaust fumes, petrochemicals, grasses and pollens, perfumes, cigarette smoke, feathers, fabric, dust, and insect bites.

An antigen might be best described as something foreign to the body, or any foreign substance which can produce the same result in all people. As we know, not everyone is allergic to strawberries, pollen, or dust. And even though two individuals may be allergic to the same substance, the severity of their antigens are in many ways different from the immune system's response to pathogens that invade the body in the form of bacteria and viruses. 

Food Sensitivities

Food allergies often seem to be the result of a poor digestive system. When the digestive system is function properly, it excludes foods that have not been properly broken down into smaller molecules. When healthy food is not completely digested, larger-than-normal food molecules are absorbed into circulation. When these incompletely digested pieces of food molecules enter into bloodstream, they are recognized by the immune system as foreign, at they are attacked. When the immune system attacks, the body experiences a food-related allergic reaction (which has a very large range of symptoms). When proper digestion occurs and food is completely broken down, no large-food molecules find their way into the bloodstream, and our immune system is much less likely to recognize digested food as foreign. It is when the intestinal barrier breaks down, either by incomplete digestion or excessive permeability of the intestinal lining, that the body experiences symptoms of food allergy.

Some of the foods that caused allergic reactions in many people are nuts, eggs, milk, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, chicken, fish, shellfish, and mollusks. According to one investigator, 91% of reactions are caused by only four major foods- nuts (43%), eggs (21%), milk (18%) and soy (9%). Sensitivity or allergic reactions to single foods are common. In order to overcome a specific food allergy, it is necessary to first identify the food causing the allergic reaction. Once identified, the suspect food may be eliminated from the diet for a period of time and then reintroduced in small amounts. This technique is called food challenge. If the allergic reaction occurs again and is severe, the food may again be eliminated from the diet and then gradually reintroduced later. Eventually, either the food allergy is overcome, or it becomes clear that the particular food will never be tolerated. Most people have experienced some type of food-related allergic response at one time or another, and in most cases the allergies resolve themselves. Many childhood allergies disappear spontaneously (such as infantile eczema).

Some of the symptoms that food sensitivities and allergies can produce affect on certain areas:

Head

• headaches, dizziness, throbbing, ringing in the ears

Upper respiratory tract

• runny nose, blocked nasal passages, canker sores, throat irritation

Chest

• asthma, congestion in the lungs, persistent cough, palpitation

Intestines

• nausea, cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation

Skin

• red spots, rashes, dermatitis, hives and itching

Extremities

• weakness in the limbs, sore muscles, aches and pains, joint pains and swelling

Miscellaneous symptoms

• chronic fatigue, excessive hunger, significant fluctuations in weight

Autoimmune Diseases

In autoimmune diseases, the body turns against itself. The immune system identifies its own body tissue as the enemy and then proceeds to destroy it. This is contrary to the normal immunological reaction in which there exists self-recognition- the tolerance of all body constituents. But, in the case of autoimmune response, there is a self-destructive reaction orchestrated by the immune system.

Autoimmune disease is not a new concept. As early as the 1850's, doctors understood that lupus was a disease affected by the immune system. During the 19th century, however, so much scientific attention was focused on solving epidemics caused by infectious diseases that science had little time to devote attention to the study of autoimmunity. In addition, technological advancement in microscopes were not refined enough during this period to allow investigation at the level required for sophisticated immunological research.

Autoimmune disease are generally classified into two categories: those that affect an entire system of the body (systemic), and those that affected only on one organ (organ-specific).

Major autoimmune systemic diseases are:

• Systemic lupus, affecting many organs including skin, joints and kidneys
• Rheumatoid arthritis, affecting the lining of the joints
• Ankylosing spondylitis, characterized by inflammation of the sacroiliac and spine
• Sjögren's syndrome, characterized by dry mouth and dry eyes
• Necrotizing angitis, affecting the arteries
• Polymyositis, causing degeneration and inflammation of skeletal muscles
• Progressive systemic sclerosis, causing thickening of the skin and several internal organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidneys and lungs.

Major autoimmune specific organ disease include:

• Autoimmune hemolytic anemias, which fight against the body's own red blood cells
• Graves's disease, which attacks the thyroid gland
• Autoimmune encephalitis, which attacks the central nervous system
• Pernicious anemia, characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract
• Crohn's disease, which affects the intestines as ulcerative colitis
• Infectious hepatitis, which affects the liver and can cause liver destruction
• Kidney diseases (various forms)
• Myasthenia gravis, a disorder of the voluntary muscles which causes muscle weakness
• Dermatitis herpetiformis, which causes aggravating lesions on the surface of the back and arms
• Lupus erythematosus, which attacks the skin tissue with lesins and atrophy
• Autoimmune disease of the eye