A cancer cluster generally features an unusually high number of the same type of cancer occurring in a group of people with a common exposure.
Shutterstock
Most of us are living longer and we are all expected to be working longer. Because the likelihood of cancer increases as we age, we’re more likely to be diagnosed with cancer while still a member of the…
Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common cancers in Australia and account for seven out of every eight new cancers diagnosed. If detected early, they are relatively easy to treat and rarely…
A campaign for Pancreatic Cancer Action recently stirred up controversy over advertising “shock tactics”. In the advert, genuine sufferers of the disease stated to camera that “I wish I had testicular…
Cancer is a disease of genes. DNA mutations mess with the genetic content of a cell, enabling it to escape the normal controls that restrict their growth. Now, a team of scientists led by Delphine Lissa…
Cancer targets young and old.
National Cancer Institute
In spite of a major drive to develop targeted drugs to “personalise” cancer treatments, children with cancer still have to put up with drugs that have remained largely unchanged for decades. Currently…
Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumour to different organs, is responsible for more than 90% of deaths due to cancer. Current treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy are effective…
Reduce your cancer risk by reducing your alcohol consumption.
V31S70/Flickr
Alcohol and cancer is a topic that arouses a lot of controversy: many Australians like the odd drink but don’t want to make the connection to cancer, the world’s biggest killer. The World Health Organisation’s…
Being obese increases your risk of a number of common cancers.
CGP Grey/Flickr
The World Cancer Report 2014, the first global snapshot of cancer since 2008, shows the disease is now the world’s biggest killer. In 2012, there were 8.2 million cancer deaths and 14.1 million new cancer…
There are effective non-drug options for treating insomnia.
Alyssa L. Miller
We’ve known for a long time that hypnotic drugs are not good to take for more than one to three weeks because they are habit-forming and increase the risk of accidents. And there’s now a growing body of…
Statistics on tobacco deaths have become banal for many.
Image from shutterstock.com
The Russian dictator Joseph Stalin infamously said that a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic. And in tobacco control, there are statistics to die for. Tobacco caused about 100 million…
If there is a set of rules about coping with cancer, I have never seen it. Perhaps in some circles a commonly accepted method exists. If so, I remain in the dark, despite my own experiences with this disease…
Not all radiation is harmful.
Image from shutterstock.com
Every job comes with risk and for those who work in the nuclear power industry the long-term risk of cancer is small but significant. Last decade, research looking into the prevalence of cancer in nuclear…
Good news, we have stopped the spread of cancer.
National Cancer Institute
More than nine in ten cancer-related deaths occur because of metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumour to other parts of the body. While primary tumours can often be treated with radiation…
Before a new drug can be tested in humans it must undergo comprehensive preclinical screening and testing.
Flickr / SandiaLabs
It seems that every week a major breakthrough in the understanding of cancer is announced in the media. So where are all the drugs that should flow from these discoveries? Unfortunately, the road from…
The Beatles’ George Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001.
Voteprime
Lung cancer kills more people each year than any other cancer because it’s common and because the majority of patients only start to show symptoms after the disease is already advanced. Despite this there…
Over the centuries, the name cancer has become synonymous with dreaded disease.
Jason Lee
Earlier this year, leading American cancer scientists called for a set of changes to deal with the problem of over-diagnosis and over-treatment caused by cancer screening. Efforts to raise awareness and…