If you live on planet earth, then you have probably heard that smoking is bad for your health.  One thing that most people are not aware of is that smoking is the most easily prevented cause of fatality in the United States.  Even with all of the available information disseminated of the approximately 100 million women in the US, 23 million of them still smoke.  Those women between the ages of 25 & 44 represent 27% of the female smokers in the United States of America.  That means that 6.21 million women of the 23 million that smoke are in the aforementioned age group.  If you are in that age group and you do smoke, you should seriously consider quitting immediately.

The risks that are posed to women because of smoking are far-reaching and difficult to refute.  Women smokers have the same risks as their male counterparts, but they also have risks that are unique to females.  One of the first things to mention for women between 25 & 44 is that you might be risking your ability to conceive.  Yes, smoking can cause female infertility.  We won’t even go into the risks to your baby if you smoke while pregnant.  If you want to get pregnant, then you should quit smoking before you seriously try to conceive.

Smoking and Osteoporosis

If you are a postmenopausal female smoker, then you should be aware of the dangers that can come from estrogen replacement therapy to protect against osteoporosis and smoking.  This estrogen therapy combined with smoking can greatly increase your risk of developing cardio vascular disease.  Cardiovascular disease can lead to strokes and heart attacks.  Smoking alone causes a risk for cardiovascular disease, but when combined with estrogen replacement therapy, the risk goes even higher.

Every woman should think about the possibility of osteoporosis, as she gets older.  The bone loss that typically occurs as women age can be a seriously debilitating condition.  If you are a smoker, then the rate of bone loss can be much high, causing you a higher risk of a debilitating injury.  While it is common practice for physicians to do bone density scans for women starting at age 40, it is also common for these same physicians to do the same scans on their smoking patients as early as 30 years of age.  The danger of faster bone loss is high enough that doctors go the extra mile to begin early detection to prevent osteoporosis from taking too strong of a hold early on.

Smoking and Heart Disease for Women

Everyone knows that smoking can cause heart disease, but do they know that each year, roughly 34.000 women die from heart disease attributed to smoking?  If you remember the numbers from earlier, that means that nearly 1.5% of female smokers die each year due to heart disease caused by their smoking habit. 

Cervical Cancer and Female Smokers

It is also common knowledge that smoking can increase the risk of cancer.  For women, it goes even farther than this.  Women smokers are 80% more likely to develop cervical cancer than are their non-smoking counterparts.  Eighty percent is a very large number and cancer is a very serious disease.  Some studies have shown that those women smokers diagnosed with cervical cancer that reduce their smoking habit by at least 75% or more have a much greater potential of seeing their cervical cancer move into remission.  For many women, remission equals survival.  In these situations, quitting might be what saves your life.

Smoking and Breast Cancer

A large amount of research has been done concerning smoking and breast cancer.  The studies suggest that women with breast cancer who smoke have an 25% higher chance of fatality due to the breast cancer than do women with breast cancer than do not smoke.  If the woman smokes 2 packs or more per day, they can increase their fatality chances to up to 75%.  This number is astounding. 

All of the information in the world may not convince you to stop smoking.  Before you will be successful in your endeavor to live smoke free is the determination that you want to live the rest of your life without smoking.  Your willpower over this issue is the most powerful weapon you will ever have.  Remember, you have the choice to smoke or not to smoke.  Choose wisely…choose life.

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In the United States, breast cancer is diagnosed in more women than any other type of cancer. Unfortunately, about 39,840 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer. With statistics like these, it is no wonder that myths and fears about breast cancer seem easier to find than actual facts.

Without getting too technical, cancer is caused by a mutation in the genes that are responsible for the growth of cells. In the case of breast cancer, this would mean a mutation in the cell-generating part of mammary cells. The mutation causes the cells to generate at a faster pace out of control and with no order, which causes a growth or lump (tumor). Benign lumps are not dangerous to your health and are considered non-cancerous, while malignant tumors are potentially dangerous. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor in the breast tissue.

Women should check for lumps on their breasts or changes in the appearance of their breasts on a regular basis. Health professionals advise that women should do a monthly self-check of their breasts. If you notice any changes in the texture of your breasts, especially around the nipple, have your breasts checked out by a medical professional. Other signs to watch for are skin dimpling or puckering on the breast, discharge from the nipples that is not clear and comes out on its own, and changes in the color of the skin of the breasts.

Because of the technical nature and unknown cause of cancers, there are many myths that are created about how cancer is caused, how it is treated, and how it is prevented. So many people have known someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, or someone who has been touched with the disease by way of a relative. It seems as if everywhere you turn, breast cancer is being talked about on television and other news media. It is no wonder that many people are fearful of developing breast cancer. Below are some myths and some little known facts about breast cancer. Use this knowledge in your arsenal to fight the disease, and possibly help someone else who may be unsure about what breast cancer really is.

Wearing a bra while you sleep can cause breast cancer.

Myth. What you wear and how your breasts are handled will not determine whether you get can cancer or not. As stated above, cancer is caused by mutated cells. The mutation happens at a level that is not related to the surface of your breasts, where your clothing touches you.

Stress causes breast cancer.

Partial Myth. There are many doctors who have done research on this topic and have concluded that stress actually does cause cancers. However, this is not a proven fact that is accepted by all of the medical community. At any rate, it is a good idea to stay relaxed and keep yourself in as stress-free an environment as possible. Stress does cause our immune system to act differently, which may allow for a higher risk of our bodies to succumb to cancer-causing situations.

Eating red meat can increase your risk of breast cancer.

Partial Myth. According to a Harvard medical survey conducted in 2007, eating red meat that has been injected with hormones may create a higher risk of breast cancer. This is because of the belief that hormones like estrogen and progesterone create a higher risk of breast cancer in women. However, the Harvard study was not a medical experiment and therefore was not considered conclusive. The women who answered in the survey that they ate more than 1 ½ servings of red meat daily appeared twice as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Other factors such as smoking and alcohol use may have played a role in the diagnosis, but were not included in the survey.

Breast cancer can be inherited from your mother/grandmother.

Fact. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is possible to inherit mutated genes that may increase your risk of breast cancer. There are tests that can be done that will help doctors determine whether you have inherited a genetic link to breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about these tests if you have a family history of breast cancer. Remember, though, there are many other factors that may put you at higher risk for getting breast cancer (estrogen lifetime exposure, alcohol/cigarette use, etc).

Breast cancer is preventable.

Partial Fact. Although you cannot change some risk factors for getting cancer (such as the genetic factors discussed above), there are some risk factors that you have control over. For example, you can control whether you smoke, drink alcohol, and eat red meat. These habits are considered to be factors that increase the risk of cancers. Also, because of the link found between hormones and breast cancer, you can control whether you take oral contraceptives which contain high levels of hormones, and whether you choose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause or a hysterectomy.

Using deodorants that contain aluminum can cause breast cancer.

Myth. Early in the year 2000, an email circulated that warned women about the use of antiperspirants and deodorants as the chemicals in these products were absorbed in the skin under the arm and were linked to breast cancer. There were many medical studies that were conducted in the years that followed, but none were able to prove that there was an absolute link between using deodorants and antiperspirants. Therefore, it was determined that a conclusive link between using these products and getting breast cancer could not be found.

Breast cancer does not affect women of color.

Myth. This is a myth that is dangerous to the African-American community because it is the basis of why many African-American women do not get checked for breast cancer. Yes, a breast cancer diagnosis is less common in African Americans than whites. However, it’s also more deadly. Evidence suggests that among African-American women younger than age 40, the incidence of breast cancer is higher than in whites, and often the tumors are more aggressive when found. A reason for this startling information is that African-American women may not visit the doctor on a regular basis (due to fear of stigma, financial, or other reasons) and have fallen for the myth that breast cancer is a disease that only affects white women. When many women of color act on a lump or cause for concern that is found in her breast, it is after much time has passed, and the stage of the cancer is more serious than had the lump been found earlier.

The most important fact is that the outlook on treatment for breast cancer that is detected early is positive. Therefore, if you notice anything that looks different about your breasts, it is best to consult a physician immediately. There is a better chance that the cancer is small and has not spread with early detection. Also, if you have concerns about your risk factors for breast cancer, talk to your doctor. As stated before, there are new technologies that can be used to determine whether you are at a higher risk factor for breast cancer. With knowledge from these new tests, you can be better equipped to make an informed decision about a course of action, such as having more frequent mammograms.  The best advice is to stay positive and know that there are people and resources that can help you through the stressful time of dealing with breast cancer. Until a cure is found, the one thing that women can do is commit to spreading facts instead of myths about the disease.

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Everyone has heard that smoking is bad for your health.  How many women know that smoking cannot only be dangerous to the health in general, but it can also be dangerous to your reproductive health?  A number of illnesses and diseases can arise as a result of women smoking.  The real danger that most people are aware of is the big “C” or cancer.  Statistics show that women in general are more prone to cancer than are men, but many women continue to smoke regardless of the statistical evidences.

Oral Contraceptives and Cigarette smoke don’t mix well

One danger that many are not aware of is the use of oral contraceptives and smoking.  Smokers who use oral contraceptives or hormone based contraceptives have a higher likelihood of suffering strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots that can result in death.  This reaction is so dangerous that women smokers over the age of 35 are told they should not take oral contraceptives.

Smoking can harm the unborn baby

Everyone has heard that smoking while pregnant is not a good thing.  The main points in this area is in low birth weight, premature delivery, still birth, placenta previa, and miscarriage.  There are some who speculate that of the number of miscarriages each year those due to women smokers outnumber those who do not at almost a 2 to 1 ratio.  The effects of the chemicals and drugs in cigarettes on the children directly after birth should give pause.  The babies will be racked with the same symptoms as adults undergoing withdrawal from the nicotine addiction.  There is a statistical connection to children’s sickness and smoking mothers (while pregnant).  There are more ear infections, more colds, more flu like symptoms, and more recurring illnesses in general from children whose mothers smoked while pregnant than with children whose mothers were non-smokers during pregnancy.

Infertility in women – A major consequence of smoking

There is a direct connection to smoking and infertility in women.  In fact, the recorded rate of infertility among smokers is more than 3 times as high as in non-smokers.  Recent studies show a decrease rate in ovulation in smokers causing a higher rate of infertility in these women.  Even implantation of the sperm to the egg in the act of fertilization is impaired in women who smoke.  If you plan to have children in the future, you should seriously think about quitting smoking before trying to get pregnant.  If you do not quit prior to attempting pregnancy, realize that you are increasing the chances of inability to conceive.  As stated above, if you do become pregnant the chances of a spontaneous abortion or even a life threatening condition are highly increased.

Other reproduction related problems caused by nicotine

There are a number of toxins in cigarettes aside from the nicotine.  These toxins can cause many problems with your reproductive health.  They can impair your ability to become pregnant, or they can impair you ability to maintain a healthy pregnancy to full term.  There is some evidence that suggests that many birth defects can be laid at the door of a smoking pregnant mother.  If you are planning on quitting prior to becoming pregnant, then you should give your body a chance to cleanse these toxics before you begin your attempt.  To be on the safe side, you should probably quit smoking for at least a year prior to attempting pregnancy to ensure your body is free of these toxins.

Early menopause can be a direct outcome of smokers who started early

Many women begin smoking while in their teenage years.  This has been linked to early menopause.  Smoking alone has shown to cause menopause two to three years earlier than in non-smoking counterparts.  Those who begin smoking as teens increase their risk of early menopause by 300%.  Smoking significantly decreases the estrogen levels in the body of smokers, thus promoting early menopause, and irregular periods.  These reduced levels can be part of the cause of infertility, early menopause, missing periods, vaginal infections and discharges and other menstrual problems. 

Many women dream of being a mother, but they do not realize that their reproductive health can be compromised by smoking.  Many women might not be swayed by the risk of cancer, but some are more deeply affected by knowing that they might being snuffing out their dream of bearing children the next time they light up.

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Leukemia is the kind of disease which, when diagnose in early stage can be treated easily and successfully without much difficulty but  when it get diagnosed in 3rd or further stage it is very difficult save the patient. This rule is applied in case of any blood cancer and diseases.

What is leukemia?

In novice terms it’s “Too many WBC (white blood cells) in the body”.

In blood there are three kinds of cells:-

1. Red Blood Cells (RBC) – which carries oxygen from heart to other parts of body?

2. White Blood Cells (WBC) – they are also called as leukocytes. They are part of body’s immune system. There role is to fight the invaders like viruses, bacteria like the soldiers.

3. Platelets – these are the cells which help in blood coloring at times of injuries.

Another pert of blood is plasma, it is 80% of blood constituent and it’s the factor that makes blood a fluid quantity. These cells are produced in bone marrow which is present inside the bone cavities. When bone marrow gets affected, it starts producing cells in large quantity and that too are abnormal. This makes the person susceptible to infections. Leukemia is of two types acute and chronic, of which acute is the dangerous one. Examples are acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Chronic leukemia can be there for months or years without knowing it.

Symptoms - There are various symptoms of the disease but they collectively indicate the disorder not individually. Some of the symptoms are tiredness, paleness of face, infection (repeated), bruising even without falling (indicate less platelet count), fever, sweat, weight loss, bleeding from gums, enlarged lymph glands, etc.

Causes – causes of his disease are not very clear because of hereditary effect and retroviruses.

Diagnoses - This get diagnosed by chance when a blood test is performed for any other reason but bone marrow test is the actual test to diagnose it. A test known as chromosome test is carried out to classify the type of Leukemia.

Treatment – Generally it involves intensive chemotherapy. Drugs are injected into veins; fludarabine is used in the last stage disease. In case of bone marrow failure steroid treatment is used. Chemotherapy drugs are very strong and have adverse effect on other body parts, they also destroy the healthy bone marrow as they can’t differentiate between a good and bad one. Milder cases can be cured by blood transfusion. Also bone marrow transplant is the option but it’s very expensive, and is out of reach for a common man.

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People do almost think that during their searches for latest treatment for the women breast cancers, scientists had recently discovered that the fibers, fruits and vegetables were not good for the women who had the breast cancer in  their past. But the closer reading of findings of the clinical breast cancer trials sponsored by a Women’s Healthy Eating & Living study showed that they had discovered none of such the things.

“The Journals of American Medical Association had reported the last year that the seven-year study of about 3,107 women which once had the breast cancer (they all were under the ages of about 70 and all of them were having the tumors of about 1cm or even larger) found that no cancer-protective benefits of the increasing consumption of the fruits & vegetables beyond the 5 servings per day.”

Very nearly about half of women in Women’s Healthy Eating & Living trials who once had the breast cancer were just to encouraged for eating the 5 servings of the fruits & the vegetables per day. The rest of women that had the breast cancer once were coached to the eats twelve servings of the fruits & the veggies per day, & for reducing their consumption of the saturated fats.

The coaching provided to them worked. At the end of about four years, women who were had received the nutritional counseling found to consume the following items:

About 65 per cent of more vegetables
Around 25 per cent of more fruits
About 30 per cent of more fibers and
About 13 per cent of lesser saturated fat.

What were the effects on their health?

1. The women who had ate more of the fruits & the vegetables consumed the average of about 1538 calories per day & weighed the average of about 163 pounds.

2. The women who had ate the fewer fruits & the vegetables consumed the average of around 1559 calories per day & weighed the average of about 162 pounds.

3. 257 out of the 1538 women on the higher fruits & vegetable diets have the recurrence of their breast cancer.

All of the other things that are held equal that the women who had got their most servings of the fruits & the vegetables (more than 9 the day) & the very most of the fibers (more than about 25 g per day) have measurably but are not significantly able to lower the rates of the breast cancer return.

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Blood is that fluid in our body which acts as a link between the body parts to transport oxygen, nutrients, etc to different parts. As the function of blood and the way it operates is somewhat peculiar, Clinical care by experts are needed in case of any blood related diseases which may contain blood cancer & diseases, bleeding disorder, anemia, etc.

Blood disorder is not because of any particular factor. Varieties of factors are responsible for it. Laboratory test are the foremost thing the doctor prescribes to diagnose the problem. As plasma (main constituent of blood) is passed through every part of body, blood test opens up the insight of our body, and tells us what is happening inside our body. The numbers of blood disorders are many; some of them are Anemia, Sickle Cell Anemia and Leukemia. There are other types of anemia also besides the one mentioned above.

Symptoms of blood disorder are not very specific, and for different disorders these are different. These are generally non-specific. That means, they can indicate problem in any part of the body, not in specific one. No single symptom tells about the disorder, but group of symptoms indicate a particular type of blood disorder. Such general symptoms are increase or decrease in the blood cell count, i.e. RBC, WBC, platelets.

Disorder which is related to substances of blood may result in improper functioning of blood. Take for example if blood platelets number in blood is not sufficient, then clotting will not take place effectively or abnormal clotting may take place. This is because blood is not producing enough platelets according to body needs or they have been using by body too quickly

Treatment:-

Generally doctors prescribe the treatment after through testing of blood and scanning the reports against his experience. Treatment depends on the type and stage of blood disorder. There are many type of treatments now available ranging from marrow transplant, stem cell transplant to blood transfusion.

When anybody thinks of transplant, image of major surgical procedure comes in mind, but in case of stem cell transplant, there is no need of surgery, It is basically used for organs that is bone marrow i.e. not a solid organ for e.g. Liver.

Principle of stem cell transplant is that the good cells will replace the damaged ones and stars proper functioning. In this type of treatment stem cells are injected in body and if all goes well they start the proper functioning of blood cells by replacing the damaged ones.

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