Comediennes such as Gilda Radner and Madeline Kahn, Oscar-winning actresses like Loretta Young and Sandy Dennis, singers Laura Nyro and Dinah Shore, actor Pierce Brosnan’s wife Cassandra Harris, actress Jessica Tandy, former Connecticut governor Ella Grasso, and Martin Luther King’s wife Coretta Scott King all died of ovarian cancer. It’s not just celebrities, politicians or movie stars, who are stricken with ovarian cancer. One in every 55 U.S. women is at risk for ovarian cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates about 22,000 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed. More than 16,000 women will die because the symptoms are often subtle, and her doctor did not recognize the symptoms soon enough. It is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies, and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

Silent and undetected, this cancer often spreads beyond the ovary or ovaries into the abdominal cavity, or by the final stage, into other body organs such as the liver or lungs. Family doctors often fail to properly diagnose “The Silent Killer” until it is too late. Last August, University of California Davis researchers reported 40 percent of women told their doctors about their symptoms for as long as a year before they were correctly diagnosed. A British survey discovered 75 percent of family doctors believed symptoms are only present during the advanced stages of the cancer. By the time women are diagnosed for ovarian cancer, 40 to 50 percent of the patients are in the advanced stage, where there is little hope for survival.

Less than one-half the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will live five years. About 10 to 14 percent live beyond five years after their diagnosis. Their choices have been limited, mainly reserved to variations of chemotherapy drugs or a new way to delivery the drug. The general public is often unaware of the side effects ovarian cancer patients suffer during chemotherapy. In mid March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticized the safety profile of Eli Lilly’s Gemzar for ovarian cancer patients, saying the 2.8 months increased survival seen in studies of patients taking the drug wasn’t enough to offset the treatment’s increased toxicity which included anemia, neutropenia (a blood disorder) and thrombocytopenia (reduced platelets in the blood).

Presently used first-line treatments for ovarian cancer patients include Cisplatin, with associated side effects such as nerve, kidney and/or ear damage, Carboplatin (side effects: nerve damage in the arms and/or legs, joint pain, and/or thrombocytopenia), Paclitaxel (neurotoxicity), or Melphalan, with side effects which include irreversible bone marrow failure, bone marrow suppression).

A woman stricken with ovarian cancer faces first surgery, then chemotherapy. Recent widespread press heralding a new development in treating ovarian cancer, intra-abdominal or intraperitoneal chemotherapy, is just that: more chemotherapy. The “belly bath,” as it has been nicknamed by some television reporters, it has been highly praised because the treatment can extend life by about 16 months more than “regular” chemotherapy. The results were first published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in December 2005. Most news reports failed to mention that only 40 percent of the women treated with the belly bath were able to complete all six cycles. Why? The therapy relies upon infusions of Paclitaxel and Cisplatin (see side effects in the previous paragraph). According to Dr. Robert Edwards, research director of the Magee-Women’s Gynecologic Cancer in Pittsburgh, “Many women don’t feel well enough to work for the duration of the intra-abdominal (therapy).” Some patients, such as Cindy Pakalnis of Marshall (Pennsylvania) have called the treatments “grueling.”

The unsolved problem of chemotherapy is the reduction in the “quality of life.” While some life extension has been proven, the patient’s life deteriorates. Many patients struggle with balancing the loss in quality of life with the rigors of the therapy. Researchers are actively pursuing new directions that may some day provide new hope for the ovarian cancer patient. A University of Minnesota research study has suggested the use of thalidomide, which would be used in conjunction with chemotherapy, as a prospective means of increasing the likelihood of remission. Minnesota cancer researcher Dr. Levi Downs explained, “It prevents the tumor from making new blood vessels. Without new blood vessels, the tumor can’t sufficiently feed new cells, so the cancer can’t grow.” His randomized trial was small with only 65 patients (only 28 took thalidomide), and more testing will certainly be required.

New Hope for Ovarian Cancer Patients?

One promising technology that has been developed over the past decade is OvaRex

Have you ever stepped outside, snuggled up with a pet, or come across a perfume that suddenly had your eyes itching, your nose stuffy and a feeling that your head was going to explode?

You may suffer from allergies. Allergy sufferers must continuously watch where they go, what they eat and even who they can be around. It can be a life-long struggle revolving around different medicines. This article will address some of the common questions about allergies that you might have.

Are allergies dangerous?

In some allergy sufferers the worst symptom or reaction is itchy, watery eyes and maybe a stuffy nose. But there are some people who have immune systems that react very vehemently and the attack can become life threatening.

That is why it is very important to know what you are allergic to and know how to avoid it. Some of the more severe allergic reactions happen to bee stings, accidentally ingesting something or inhaling a huge quantity of the allergen and having a severe allergic reaction.

Most ingestible allergens can cause the throat to swell, thus restricting the airway. Airborne allergens can cause an asthma attack where the lungs struggle to intake oxygen.

If I am allergic to a certain food and accidentally ingest one, what can I do?

Most people who suffer severe food allergies carry something called an Epi Pen in case they go into anaphylactic shock. It really isn’t a pen but rather is shaped similar to one. It is actually a one time shot of epinephrine that is administered as soon as it is realized that you are going into an anaphylactic shock and that you are in danger.

What types of medications are used to treat allergy sufferers?

Many allergy sufferers can get by with taking an over the counter medication to either help prevent an attack or help ease the symptoms. In some cases a doctor will prescribe a steroid based medicine in order to help strengthen the lungs and may include a prescription for an inhaler if an asthma attack were to occur.

How does an air purifier work?

All air purifiers work on the same basic principle. Contaminated air is pulled into the machine, a majority of the allergens are pulled out, and then the cleaner air is blown out. The differences in air purifiers come in how they filter the allergens.

Some units use ionized metal rods that attract the particles. When the rods become dirty, they are removed, cleaned off, and then reinserted. In other air purifiers there is a screen that the air passes through.

The multiple layers of paper or cloth help trap the allergens. When the screen is dirty it is then disposed of and a new one is put into place.

Can pets suffer from allergies?

Pets can suffer from allergies the same as we do. Some varieties are more prone to seasonal allergies than others though. What is the solution? Benadryl can work on humans and pets alike. Make sure you check with your vet before giving your pet any medicine to ensure the proper dosage and to find out what is causing the problems.

Over the last decades, health and fitness has become an increasing concern for most of us. Some people crave a killer body and the attention that comes with it. Others want the perfect abs, a tighter bottom, or bulging biceps. The result of this movement has been a proliferation of gyms, health centers, spas, and personal trainers.

Ads for exercise equipment, weight loss products, and star-sponsored fitness routines dominate television, and it’s hard not to think you’re the only one out there who isn’t working on your body. In fact, the perfect body is one part of a healthy, quality life.

Being truly healthy requires a healthy lifestyle and a proper, balanced diet. Diet for fitness provides the nutrition and energy we need to restore tired muscles and maintain a positive productive energy level. Think of the diet approaches – high-carb, low-fat, all-protein, sugar-free, all-chocolate, Scarsdale, Atkins, South Beach. There is no shortage of great-sounding fad diets out there.

If you pay attention to advertisements and special programs that focus on dieting and weight loss programs, you may not know where to turn for dependable, honest facts about nutrition and health. In fact, most fad diets don’t work, and they sure don’t support your health. So, what can you do to find out what’s best, and most healthy, for you?

In reality, there are two basic diet approaches: high-carb diets and high-fat diets. High-carb diets focus on eating lots of carbohydrate-rich foods, and high-fat diets endorse fat-rich foods. High-carb diets use burn the glycogen in your liver and muscles. This glucose complex provides quick energy that you use in anaerobic exercises.

Fats are the richest source of calories, containing more than twice as much calorie value than either carbohydrates or proteins. When metabolizing carbohydrates, the human body burns 24 calories, yet it only takes three calories to burn the same amount of fat.

So, which one is best? Neither. Each diet approach yields results, as long as you stick to one type. You can adopt a high-carb, low-fat diet or a low-carb, high-fat diet. Just don’t try both at the same time unless you want to gain weight.

But diets shouldn’t be just about losing fat. A healthy balanced diet maintains a healthy weight and avoids weight gains. Successful weight loss can only be realized when the daily diet reflects lifestyle, individual food preferences, unique physical needs, and feeling satisfied with what you eat. There’s really only one diet that will work for you. That’s the diet that helps you stay fit, feeling healthy and satisfied with who you are. And that diet is unique to you.

When you diet for fitness, there are three things to remember: moderation, variation, and balance. Plan your meal schedule so that you don’t get too full or too hungry at any time of day. This may mean three meals, five meals, or one meal. It depends your schedule and your physical needs.

Moderation means eating when you need to and eating the amount that satisfies without adding calories your body will only store as fat. Balance means selecting a healthy diversity – the basic food groups. It means getting the proper amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber to keep your body functioning at its highest potential. Variation means giving yourself enough choice to keep interested in the foods you eat. Eating the same things all the time is not only boring, it’s unhealthy. Having a salad one time and chicken the next will assure you get both the nutrition and the diversity you need.

The bottom line is that your important decision isn’t what diet program will work. It’s about what diet program will work to keep YOU fit and healthy. It doesn’t mean going on a fad diet for a few weeks or months and then going back to your old habits. It means adopting a well-balanced, nutritious diet in combination with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle and sticking to it – for life!

One last word of advice: experiment. Try new foods to keep your diet interesting and nutritious. Try new recipes to get a new take on the familiar. Who knows? You might even learn to love spinach!