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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society stories: 17 news summaries

Doctors Blast New Mammogram Guidelines

Cancer societies, gynecologists won't follow government's lead

Nov 17, 09 7:46 AM CST
(Newser) - There was an instant backlash from oncologists and gynecologists yesterday after a government panel recommended that that women in their 40s stop getting annual mammograms. “I think it is unfortunate that they came to this conclusion,” the director of imaging at one breast cancer center told the More »

MORE ABOUT:
breast cancer • American Cancer Society • gynecology • oncology • mammogram • cancer screening • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Cancer Experts Worried About Screening

American Cancer Society to warn of risks as well as benefits

Oct 21, 09 1:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - The American Cancer Society is rethinking its advice on screening for breast and prostate cancer amid studies showing that the tests can miss the deadliest forms of the disease, and in some cases lead to dangerous, unnecessary treatment. The society is working on a new message stressing that cancer screening... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • breast cancer • prostate cancer • American Cancer Society • mammogram • cancer screening • women's issues

Value of Prostate Screening in Doubt: Studies

Routine checks don't lower risk of cancer death, research shows

Mar 18, 09 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Routine screenings may do little or nothing to prevent deaths from prostate cancer, two new studies show. In US research on 76,000 men, the widely used PSA blood test didn't lower the risk of death. And a European trial that covered 162,000 subjects found only a modest... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prostate cancer • American Cancer Society • study • cancer prevention

 Cancer Cases, Deaths Drop 

Trend, ongoing since beginning of decade, linked to less smoking

Nov 25, 08 6:02 PM CST
(Newser) - Cancer researchers reported a good-news milestone today: Both the number of new cases and the number of cancer deaths are declining for the first time, USA Today reports. Scientists gave most of the credit to a drop in the number of smokers. “By preventing smoking, you can give someone... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • American Cancer Society • lung cancer • smoking • medical research • National Cancer Institute • scientific study • death rates

Fewer Than 20% of US Adults Smoke, a First

Rate drops, though 43M still light up; 443K die yearly as result

Nov 13, 08 2:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Smoking in the US is at its lowest since cigarettes became widespread after World War I, Reuters reports, with fewer than 20% of adults in the country lighting up—the lowest figure on record. Observers credit the gradual decline to awareness, bans on smoking in public places, and prohibitive taxation.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
American Cancer Society • lung cancer • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • smoking • tobacco • smoking cessation • World War I • cigarette • decline

 Study Backs Virtual 
 Colonoscopy 


Computer scan as effective as invasive procedure

Sep 18, 08 6:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new study has found a virtual colonoscopy to be almost as effective as a conventional invasive procedure in detecting colon cancer, USA Today reports. Virtual colonoscopies, using scans and computer imaging, discovered 90% of the cancers located by regular colonoscopies, in which a scope is physically passed through the... More »

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Harvard Medical School • American Cancer Society • CT scans • colorectal cancer • colonoscopy • virtual colonoscopy • computed tomography • American Gastroenterological Association • polyps

OPINION

Don't Be Fooled: Prostate Cancer Screening Is Key

Guidelines against
PSA testing
could cost lives

Aug 26, 08 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - A national task force’s recent warning against prostate cancer screenings in some men could put their lives at risk, cautions physician and researcher William J. Catalona in the Washington Post. “It's important to note that consideration was not given to the overwhelming body of emerging evidence that screening... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prostate cancer • American Cancer Society • cancer screening • PSA • American Urological Association • prostate-specific antigen

 Panel: Don't Screen
 Older Men for
 Prostate Cancer

Treatment may be more harmful than helpful after the age of 74

Aug 5, 08 2:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Physicians should stop screening men 75 and older for prostate cancer, according to new guidelines issued by national health task force. Prostate cancer is "overdiagnosed" in up to 44% of cases—that is, the cancer is present but so slow growing that it would probably never produce symptoms in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prostate cancer • American Cancer Society • PSA • American Urological Association • Veterans Administration • prostate-specific antigen • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force • Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

 SF Votes Today on
 Tobacco Sales Ban

May be nation's first city to shut down drugstore sales

Jul 29, 08 3:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes today on whether to ban the sale of cigarettes at the city's pharmacies. City and state legislatures across America—as well as giant pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal-Mart—are carefully watching the outcome of what could be a harbinger of things to come,... More »

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San Francisco • American Cancer Society • Yale University • tobacco • CVS • Gavin Newsom • Wegmans • Wal-Mart • cigarette sales • Walgreen • California Pharmacists Association • California Medical Association • Convenient Care Association

Study: Breast Self-Exams Don't Improve Cancer Survival

They increase biopsies of benign lumps

Jul 16, 08 11:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Breast self-examinations, long recommended to women to detect early signs of breast cancer, serve no purpose, according to a review of the latest research. WebMD reports that 10-year studies of 388,500 women in Russia and China showed no improvement in survival rates from the self-exams, but revealed an added... More »

MORE ABOUT:
breast cancer • American Cancer Society • Good Morning America • Robin Roberts • breast self examination • Cochrane Library • Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation • biopsies

 Calif. Smog Kills 24K Each Year 

Pollution deaths three times higher than earlier estimates

May 22, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 24,000 people in California annually—three times higher than previous estimates, according to new research. Rates of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious disease increase exponentially after even minimal exposure to particles of metal, dust, or other pollution from vehicles and... More »

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California • cardiovascular disease • American Cancer Society • air pollution • deaths • industrial pollution • California Air Resources Board • Coalition for Clean Air

 Best Ways to Avoid Cancer 

LiveScience identifies healthy behaviors that reduce risk

Apr 8, 08 7:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's not all in the genes: About half of all cancer deaths are preventable, says the American Cancer Society. Follow LiveScience's 10 healthy behaviors to reduce risk:
  1. Quit smoking!
  2. Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day for women, two drinks per
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
American Cancer Society • diet • exercise • healthy habits • smoking cessation • cancer prevention

US Cancer Deaths on the Rise

But mortality rate is still dropping, doctors say

Feb 20, 08 12:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Cancer deaths in the US rose slightly in 2005, according to the American Cancer Society's latest report, but the news isn't all bad: the cancer mortality rate declined 1%, continuing the downward trend since the early 1990s, the Dallas Morning News reports. "As an aging population, we will see... More »

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breast cancer • prostate cancer • American Cancer Society • lung cancer • cancer rates • mortality rates • death rates

Obesity Linked to Cancers

Strong connections between weight and  cancer in men and women

Feb 15, 08 4:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Researchers have identified a powerful link between being overweight and the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Strong links were discovered between obesity and cancer of the esophagus in men and women, and uterine endometrial and gallbladder cancers in women, reports WebMD. Researchers also found modest connections between obesity... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • obesity • breast cancer • American Cancer Society • Body Mass Index • diet • ovarian cancer • overweight • weight gain • esophageal cancer • endometrial cancer • gallbladder cancer • Andrew G. Renehan • University of Manchester • BMI • Susanna Larsson • Karolinska Institutet • Michael Thun

Breast Cancer Death Rates Continue to Drop

Cases dipped most dramatically for women over 50

Sep 26, 07 7:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Breast cancer mortality rates have continued to drop 2% a year, according to the latest statistics from the American Cancer Society.  Diagnoses also fell 3.7% annually, both because fewer women were on hormone therapy which could have triggered more cases and because 2% fewer women were getting mammograms,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • breast cancer • American Cancer Society • mammogram • diagnosis • mortality

Cancer Society Takes on Health Care Policy

Ads will focus on inadequate insurance, effect on prevention

Aug 31, 07 1:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - The American Cancer Society’s next ad campaign won’t tackle the tobacco wars or advocate mammograms, the Times reports. Instead, the group will devote its entire $15 million ad budget to the nation’s health care crisis. The move follows recent research linking detection delays with lack of... More »

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cancer • health care • health • American Cancer Society • tobacco • mammogram • American Heart Association • American Diabetes Association • Alzheimers Association • American Medical Association

 Docs Tell Younger Women: Avoid Mammograms

Younger women should think twice before x-raying breasts, docs say

Apr 3, 07 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Forty-something women should consider skipping their annual mammograms, the American College of Physicians is suggesting after a new review of research. Docs point to danger from radiation and unnecessary biopsies, surgery and chemotherapy, thanks in part to a high rate of false positives.  "We don't think the evidence... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • technology • health • breast cancer • American Cancer Society • women • science • mammogram

17 Stories


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