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Racial Gap in Cancer Mortality Stubbornly Persists

In statistics almost unchanged from those in 1981, blacks have been found to be significantly more likely to develop and die of cancer than whites, a recent study revealed. And blacks, once diagnosed with cancer, don’t live as long as their white counterparts.



In a study co-authored by Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer occurrence at the American Cancer Society (ACS), it was shown that while cancer death rates have fallen for everyone in recent decades, the gap between whites and blacks is about the same as 28 years ago.



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Aspirin Has Little Benefit for Many With Heart Disease

Close to 20 percent of patients taking aspirin to lower the risk of suffering a second cerebrovascular event do not have an anti platelet response from aspirin, the effect expected to be protective. The University of Buffalo conducted a strictly controlled study over 29 months with 653 patients to confirm the 20 percent rate of aspirin resistance. Lead researcher, Francis Gengo, states, "Millions of people use low-dose aspirin for prevention of a second stroke, second heart attack, or second episode of peripheral artery disease. In those indications, it's crystal clear that aspirin reduces the risk of a second heart attack or stroke in most patients. But we have known for years that in some stroke and heart attack patients, aspirin has no preventative effect."



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Your First Visit

By Tauseef Ahmed, MD, FACP Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology / Hematology at New York Medical College Your tests have come back. The news is not good and your doctor refers you to a specialist. Oncologist, Orthopedist, Neurologist, each one trusted by your doctor, each one trained to help you, whatever your problem might be. Each one can and should be helped by you. Here are a few tips to help your caregiver help you:



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Lung Cancer: Causes and Treatments

What is Lung Cancer?


Lung Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of cells within the tissue of the lungs. It can be identified by a chest x-ray or a ct-scan. The diagnosis is confirmed with a biopsy. 



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What is Cancer? Searching for the Cause

By Dr. Chitti Moorthy -Director, Departments of Radiation Medicine and Radiology, New York Medical College, Valhalla , NY The cause of cancer lies deep within the building blocks of a person's cells (genes and DNA). If these blocks become disorganized, cancer may develop.



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What is Cancer and How it is Caused

What is Cancer?


Cancer is a term used to describe a group of illnesses all having certain common characteristics. There are over 200 different types of cancer and all have a specific name, treatment and a chance of being cured. The human body is made of organs, such as the brain, liver and heart. And each of these organs is made up tissues, such as fat, blood vessels and muscles.



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Immunity - How the body defends itself

The Body's Immune System:


The Immune system is a set of biological processes which work to prevent illness and disease by attacking foreign elements within. The human body is exposed to billions of foreign bodies or antigens each and every day. If an antigen enters the body, the immune system goes to work to destroy it.



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Sickle Cell Breakthrough

Researchers at Duke University have made a potentially dramatic advance in the study of sickle cell disease. The scientists now say they are beginning to understand what happens, on the cellular level, to patients with this often debilitating inherited disease.



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Artificial Blood

What are Blood Thinners?


Pero Fluorochemicals are a group of chemicals that do the same job as hemoglobin in red blood cells. It transports oxygen to tissues and receives carbon dioxide. The first modern based blood-transfusion was attempted in 18h century France when an anemic boy received blood from a lamb. The boy died because then nothing was known of blood groups or blood compatibility. However, blood grouping and typing did not help in preventing the transmitting of diseases such as AIDS or hepatitis A. This became a great concern in the past decade, and over time has been solved through advancements in techonology and blood knowledge.



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Sickle Cell Cure

There is new hope for kids suffering from the intensely painful condition called sickle cell disease. Doctors are now successfully performing bone marrow transplants on these children, completely curing them of the disease!



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