Latest Chemo Stories

Ginger, frequently used to help a sour stomach, is now being used to fight the side effects of cancer treatment: nausea caused by chemotherapy, says a large, new study. People who took ginger capsules days before chemo had less of a chance of nausea than others given placebos, the federally funded study discovered. "We were slightly beside ourselves" to discover the success of the ginger, said study leader Julie Ryan of the University of Rochester. Results were announced Thursday...

Obese and non-obese patients have same overall survivalObesity affects health in several ways, but new research shows obesity can have minimal impact on ovarian cancer survival. A study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center found ovarian cancer survival rates are the same for obese and non-obese women if their chemotherapy doses are closely matched to individual weight.The findings contradict earlier research that shows obese women have...

Chemo brain -- reduced cognitive abilities because of chemotherapy treatment of cancer -- can improve with computer-based training, U.S. researchers say. Lead investigator Sarah-Jane Kim said chemo brain is a well-documented phenomenon in patients with different types of cancer. The declines in processing speed and memory often diminish the confidence of patients causing them to withdraw from interactions with their family, peers or co-workers at a time when support is needed most, Kim...

By Liz Szabo Barbara Bradfield has lived to see dramatic changes in breast cancer. When she was diagnosed in 1989, Bradfield's tumor -- which produced an overabundance of a protein called HER2 -- was considered especially deadly. Today, women with tumors like hers have some of the best survival rates in breast cancer. Experts say the drug that has kept Bradfield healthy for so long, Herceptin, has changed the nature of breast cancer and helped doctors better understand what causes the...

By JEFF BRUMLEY PART 4OTHER OPTIONS Fighting breast cancer - or any cancer, for that matter - is about employing the best weapons modern medicine has to offer. But there are a growing number of people - including medical experts and survivors - who urge cancer victims to add the arsenal of non-traditional medical and spiritual therapies. In fact, such methods - from acupuncture and yoga to herbal treatments and prayer - can go a long way toward treating the negative side effects of chemo,...

By Eric Eyre For years, cancer patients have complained about the memory loss and attention problems they experience while undergoing chemotherapy. A new animal study from West Virginia University's School of Medicine suggests there may be a way to prevent those memory- related side effects - often called "chemo-brain." WVU researchers have discovered that injections of a powerful antioxidant called N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC, could stop memory loss caused by chemotherapy drugs, according...

By Allison Kennedy, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga. Jul. 27--When Cookie Aftergut was treated for breast cancer five years ago, she didn't have ready access to information outside of her drug and radiation therapies -- information such as sound nutrition, exercise, makeup and scalp care for when her hair fell out. "The doctors, unfortunately, are most interested in giving you chemo and their mission is to get you well. Until you have lost your hair, it's hard to relate to someone who has gone...

By George Sanchez, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Jul. 6--Cancer blog Following my diagnosis, I began a blog with Paul Contreras, an old friend who also is a young cancer survivor. Here are some excerpts. To read the full blog, go to http://mycancerchronicles.blogspot.com. Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007 A few days after my oncologist recommended chemotherapy, I called him back with a bunch of questions: What health precautions should I take during the treatment? What sort of diet should I be...

By Mike Fletcher, Kokomo Tribune, Ind. Jun. 21--As a nurse, Sherri Parish knew what cancer can do to a person. She saw the sickness, the loss of hair and the agony on the faces of cancer patients. But until she lived through it herself, she didn't fully realize the consequences. "It scared me," the 47-year-old said of being diagnosed with breast cancer. "I wondered what would happen to my kids and grandkids," she said. "The chemo made me deathly sick for days...

WASHINGTON -- More breast cancer patients are being offered chemotherapy before surgery instead of afterward - amid much debate about how to do it right and when it's a good option.Doctors have long known that having chemo first sometimes shrinks an advanced tumor enough that a woman can undergo smaller surgery and keep her breast.What's new is the hope that it may help more women with earlier-stage cancer in a different way: by letting doctors switch drugs if the tumor doesn't respond right...