Dealing with the Looming Cloud of the Possibility of Early Death
Five years ago, I had breast cancer. To rid myself of it, I had chemotherapy, radiation and a double mastectomy.
Flash forward five years. One day, I noticed a strange, bright red splotch on my breast, the breast where the cancer had been. The doctor did a biopsy of it, and the results came back malignant. It was an angiosarcoma, and the suspected cause was the radiation treatment I’d had five years before. This was a very rare form of cancer that, again, results sometimes from the radiation itself. That which was meant to heal me, made me ill.
On June 10, 2016, I had surgery to remove the cancer.
Fine and dandy. They go...
Source: World of Psychology - October 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Laura Yeager Tags: General Grief and Loss Inspiration & Hope Mental Health and Wellness Personal angiosarcoma Breast Cancer Cancer Diagnosis Chemotherapy Illness Oncology Radiation therapy Source Type: blogs
Six Pharma Innovations Marketers Should Be Aware Of
It seems that since the start of this Century, technology has advanced faster than the speed of light. In this fast paced world of technology, healthcare innovations seem to be taking the lead. There is no telling where the next ten years will lead to but one thing is for sure, a lot of change is coming. Businesses and governments around the world are working to bring new healthcare innovations into the world in a quick and efficient manner. These disruptive technological innovations will not only decrease healthcare cost but they will also improve the quality of healthcare delivery. These advancements will have a huge imp...
Source: ePharma Summit - September 29, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: 3d printing artificial intelligence Digital Health eHealth ehealth apps ePharma med tech medical marketing mhealth mhealth sensors nanotechnology Pharma Innovation precision medicine virtual reality Source Type: blogs
Changing Cancer Care at Stanford Medicine X
The past weekend we spent at Stanford Medicine X, listening to interesting and inspiring talks, and interacting with a diverse group of people and the ideas they brought with them. The event is designed to bring people from all aspects of medical care, including doctors and nurses, patients and caretakers, insurance reps, hospital administrators, policy makers, product designers, and many others. It was somewhat overwhelming, but because different rooms were used to host presentations in parallel we were able to choose which discussions to attend.
Being a medical technology site, we were particularly interested in hearing ...
Source: Medgadget - September 19, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Exclusive Oncology Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Do Efforts to Expand Digitally in Healthcare Compromise Patients' Confidentiality?
Over the past few decades, the world has seen a dramatic rise in the use of technology. With these changes, sharing of information has also changed as, individuals are more likely to share and seek information through social media avenues, apps, or wearable devices. Though the business world was quick to adapt to these changes, the healthcare industry is just beginning to integrate technology into day-to-day tasks. Healthcare providers have had to make big changes to allow for this transition.As the interest in digital health grows, many experts have started to ask whether patient confidentiality is at risk. For example, i...
Source: ePharma Summit - August 25, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Digital Health Digital health records Digital pharma ehrs Electonic Health Records ePharma Medical records mhealth patient confidentiality patient records pharma strategy Source Type: blogs
An Interview with Noted Pancreas Surgeon Dr. Charles J. Yeo
Recently, InsideSurgery had a chance to speak with Dr. Charles J. Yeo about his career as a top Whipple and pancreas surgeon and his ongoing role as a surgical leader and educator.
As the Samuel D. Gross Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery, you welcomed your second intern class to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month. What one piece advice do you have for your new trainees?
One piece of advice….that’s tough! Several pieces of advice….enjoy the challenges and experiences of internship; read and increase your knowledge base outside of that 80 hours; ...
Source: Inside Surgery - August 12, 2016 Category: Surgery Authors: Editor Tags: Interviews Source Type: blogs
Accuray ’s Radixact Radiotherapy System Cleared in Europe
A month following FDA clearance, Accuray won EU regulatory approval for its Radixact radiotherapy system . The system is an upgrade on the company’s TomoTherapy system, with the new device featuring a more powerful accelerator, megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) imaging, and helical delivery of the radiation. Along with the radiotherapy system, the approval also includes Accuray Precision Treatment Planning System and iDMS Data Management System. The package is now available to both European and American hospitals for purchase.
The Accuray Precision Treatment Planning System provides automated workflows a...
Source: Medgadget - August 11, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Radiation Oncology Source Type: blogs
What is the current status of "atypical pituitary adenoma"?
What is the current status of "atypical pituitary adenoma" as a distinct entity? Currently, that designation remains in flux. Originally defined in the 2004 WHO Classification of Tumors of Endocrine Organs as a pituitary adenoma with "excessive" p53 immunoreactivity and a MIB1 proliferation index greater than 3%, the entity known as "atypical pituitary adenoma" has over time fallen into some disfavor. Since the literature on this entity is still evolving, some neuropathologists (including me) prefer to sign out such cases as "pituitary adenoma with elevated MIB1 proliferative index" with a comment suggesting that closer-th...
Source: neuropathology blog - July 11, 2016 Category: Radiology Tags: pituitary Source Type: blogs
What is the current status of " atypical pituitary adenoma " ?
What is the current status of " atypical pituitary adenoma " as a distinct entity? Currently, that designation remains in flux. Originally defined in the 2004 WHO Classification of Tumors of Endocrine Organs as a pituitary adenoma with " excessive " p53 immunoreactivity and a MIB1 proliferation index greater than 3%, the entity known as " atypical pituitary adenoma " has over time fallen into some disfavor. Since the literature on this entity is still evolving, some neuropathologists (including me) prefer to sign out such cases as " pituitary adenoma with elevated MIB1 proliferative index " with a comment suggesting th...
Source: neuropathology blog - July 11, 2016 Category: Radiology Tags: pituitary Source Type: blogs
Taking Treatment & a Half Marathon, Together, One Step at A Time
The relationship between a cancer patient and their care provider is a special one. Between radiation therapy appointments, hours of chemotherapy, and even sometimes surgery and recovery, there’s not much that can strengthen this bond, besides running a Half Marathon.
But Tiffani Tyer, a Nurse Practitioner in Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC), and Dana Deighton’s journey started long before this year’s Maryland Half Marathon & 5k.
About 3 years ago Dana was diagnosed with Stage IV Esophageal Cancer. At 43-years-old with 3 young children, it was, ...
Source: Life in a Medical Center - June 20, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Chris Lindsley Tags: Cancer Doctors Employees & Staff patient care Patient Stories Uncategorized radiation oncology Source Type: blogs
Taking Treatment & a Half Marathon, Together, One Step at A Time
The relationship between a cancer patient and their care provider is a special one. Between radiation therapy appointments, hours of chemotherapy, and even sometimes surgery and recovery, there’s not much that can strengthen this bond, besides running a half marathon.
But Tiffani Tyer, a nurse practitioner in Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC), and Dana Deighton’s journey started long before this year’s Maryland Half Marathon & 5K.
About 3 years ago Dana was diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer. At 43 years old with 3 young children, it was, ...
Source: Life in a Medical Center - June 20, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Chris Lindsley Tags: Cancer Doctors Employees & Staff patient care Patient Stories Uncategorized radiation oncology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, June 20th 2016
We examined the engraftment and differentiation of alkaline phosphatase-positive NSCs expanded from the postnatal subventricular zone (SVZ), 3 months after grafting into the intact young or aged rat hippocampus. Graft-derived cells engrafted robustly into both young and aged hippocampi. Although most graft-derived cells pervasively migrated into different hippocampal layers, the graft cores endured and contained graft-derived neurons.
The results demonstrate that advanced age of the host at the time of grafting has no major adverse effects on engraftment, migration, and differentiation of grafted subventricular zone...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 19, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Generating New Pituitary Tissue in Mice
Researchers have announced another step forward in the development of methods of regeneration that should one day encompass all tissue types and organs in the body. This time the pituitary gland is the target, and the approach used here well illustrates the point that engineered replacements do not have to be in any way similar to the organ they are replacing. They just have to carry out the same functions.
Researchers have successfully used human stem cells to generate functional pituitary tissue that secretes hormones important for the body's stress response as well as for its growth and reproductive functions. ...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 15, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, June 6th 2016
This study teaches us that poor wound healing and wrinkling and sagging that occur in aging skin share similar mechanisms."
Reduced cell cohesiveness of outgrowths from eccrine sweat glands delays wound closure in elderly skin
Human skin heals more slowly in aged vs. young adults, but the mechanism for this delay is unclear. In humans, eccrine sweat glands (ESGs) and hair follicles underlying wounds generate cohesive keratinocyte outgrowths that expand to form the new epidermis. Our results confirm that the outgrowth of cells from ESGs is a major feature of repair in young skin. Strikingly, in aged skin, ...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 5, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Undergoing Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy is, Literally, a Damaging Experience, but are These Consequences a Form of Accelerated Aging?
In this study, the cytokines VEGFA and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 also significantly increased and remained elevated at 12 months, but telomere length was not affected. In a cross-sectional cohort of patients in the same study, prior chemotherapy exposure was independently associated with increased p16ink4a expression comparable to 10 years of chronologic aging.
"Don't get cancer" is great advice. It is a pity that it is so very hard to follow in practice. For my money the most important work in the cancer research community is that focused on building technology platforms that can be applied to either all or ...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 2, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Annals of Decision-Making
By MICHEL ACCAD, MD
A Vox.com piece about decision-making caught my attention this morning.
The story was compelling. A 12-year-old boy had intractable seizures from a leaking vascular malformation in the brain. A first neurosurgeon would not operate and recommended radiation therapy instead. The patient’s mother sought another opinion from a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon who was adamant that an operation should be undertaken. The second surgeon surgeon was undeniably right. The patient is now a bright, fully-functional researcher at the University of California San Francisco.
So far, so good? Not so, accor...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
