Tag: cancer
Mouth cancer rates reach record high: Is oral sex to blame?
Oral cancer rates “have more than doubled in a generation,” according to a new awareness campaign by the Brit-based nonprofit Oral Health Foundation.
Over the past 20 years, mouth cancer diagnoses have skyrocketed 135 percent in the UK. In 2018 alone, seven people died every day from the disease out of a total 8,337 patients in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
US rates are comparable: According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, there are about 54,000 Americans diagnosed with oral or oropharyngeal cancer (including the larynx) every year, with at least one patient dying per hour every day, causing approximately 13,500 deaths per year.
The hygiene advocacy group warned people to be aware of the causes of mouth cancer — primarily the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), drinking alcohol and smoking.
Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the OHF, told the Daily Mail, “While most cancers are on the decrease, cases of mouth cancer continue to rise at an alarming rate.”
He added that HPV is considered an “emerging risk factor” compared to “traditional” causes like smoking and boozing. According to their report, HPV causes an estimated 73 percent of oropharyngeal mouth cancers.
It’s not the first time the STI has been linked to cancer in a high-profile way.
Actor Michael Douglas, 75, infamously blamed his throat cancer diagnosis on his fondness for oral intercourse. (Though the actor and husband of Catherine Zeta-Jones, 50, later backpedaled on that claim.) HPV can cause other cancers related to sex acts as well, such as with “Desperate Housewives” actress Marcia Cross, 57, who became an awareness advocate after being diagnosed with anal cancer.
Beyond sex, having more than 10 alcoholic drinks per week causes approximately 33 percent of diagnoses, the OHF reports. Smoking is tied to about 17 percent of cases, while increasing your individual risk of disease by 91 percent.
In the US, the five-year survival rate for cancer in the oral cavity is about 57 percent. Those who live through it could have to do so without a tongue or jaw.
Carter called mouth cancer a “devastating” disease: “It changes how somebody speaks, it makes eating and drinking more difficult and often changes a person’s physical appearance.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/01/mouth-cancer-rates-reach-record-high-is-oral-sex-to-blame/
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Thief steals chemo medication from patient’s porch
A brazen thief stole chemotherapy medication from an Oklahoma City man’s doorstep just minutes after it was delivered, delaying his treatment for brain cancer.
James Mills, 43, said his planned round of chemotherapy on Monday would not happen after a hooded suspect swiped the potentially life-saving delivery from his porch on Saturday.
“I checked the door and didn’t see the package,” Mills told KFOR. “I double checked and they said it had been delivered. I check the security cameras, and I saw the UPS driver deliver it, then about eight minutes later another individual comes up, grabs it and takes off.”
Video shows that the suspect took steps to avoid identifying himself during the heartless heist, keeping his head down and away from two cameras installed on Mills’ porch.
“I’m set to start a rotation of chemo [Monday] and it takes a day at least to get that mail ordered to us, so that’s kind of my concern at this point,” Mills told the station. “Every thing has to be taken at a certain time, at a certain dose … so hopefully I can get a replacement before I get too far out of range.”
Mills’ wife, Heather, said she was seething over the aggravation the thief has caused her husband.
“It’s not easy to get, I mean, we had trouble getting medicine to begin with,” she told the station. “Just having to call the pharmacy and go through the doctor and get approvals and things like that, so just that in itself is frustrating. So now to have to go through it all over again, just to get a replacement, it made me really angry.”
Mills said the pharmacy was closed over the weekend, leaving him without another option until it reopened early Monday.
“It’s pretty expensive medication as well,” Mills told the station. “We’ll have to find out what the procedure is to get [a] replacement.”
Mills, who did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday, has filed a report with Oklahoma City police regarding the theft and told investigators that the medication without insurance assistance was worth $30,000, according to an incident report.
No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, police confirmed to The Post.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/20/thief-steals-chemotherapy-medication-from-patients-porch/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Florida couple has lost custody of their cancer-stricken 3-year-old son because they opted to treat him with marijuana-infused oil instead of chemotherapy
Noah McAdams’ parents skipped his chemo appointment last Monday after deciding to use natural remedies for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The parents, Joshua McAdams and Taylor Bland-Ball, claimed their son hadn’t responded well to chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer last month.
“He had vicious mood swings making him violent, making him very emotional,” his mother told news station KTRK. “He also started to lose his hair right away after the first treatment.”
So the parents pulled the plug on the chemo sessions — prompting authorities to issue an endangered child alert when the family didn’t show up for last week’s appointment.
The family was quickly tracked down in Kentucky, and the boy was returned to a Tampa-area hospital, officials said.
A Hillsborough County judge ruled Thursday that Noah will go home with his maternal grandparents as his parents wage a legal battle to seek alternative treatments.
The parents testified that they began giving their son CBD oils, fresh foods and clean alkaline water in a bid to help him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“This is not about whether we’re choosing alternative therapies, natural therapies,” Bland-Ball told KTRK. “This is about our rights as parents to seek other options.”
Authorities said an investigation was also launched to determine whether the couple will face child neglect charges.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/parents-lose-custody-of-son-after-stopping-chemo/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/facebook
Couple charged after their toddler died with 17 pound tumor
An Oklahoma couple, whose 3-year-old daughter died on Jan. 3 from cancer and had a 17-pound tumor, is facing manslaughter charges for their alleged negligence, the Lawton Constitution reported.
Authorities in Lawton, Okla., responded to reports of an unconscious toddler at a camper home, according to the paper. The girl was unconscious but breathing and had a 17-pound tumor, the report said.
She was then taken to a hospital where she died, the report said. First responders said at least six other children were living with the couple in the camper, the report said.
The child’s parents – Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly, 42, and Henry Clarence Lilly III, 49 – failed to seek medical care for the child, authorities said. It was not clear where the tumor was located.
The couple was arrested and charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter, according to the report. They face a minimum of four years in prison if convicted, the report said.
Lawton is about 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/01/14/couple-charged-after-their-toddler-died-with-17-pound-tumor/
FDA recalls heart meds used to treat high blood pressure over cancer concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a voluntary recall of several medications that contain the active ingredient valsartan, which is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.
“This recall is due to an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which was found in the recalled products, the FDA said in a statement Saturday. “However, not all products containing valsartan are being recalled.”
Officials say NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen —a substance that could cause cancer. They said those findings are based on results from recent laboratory tests.
The administration said the carcinogen’s presence is “thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.”
Read more via: FDA recalls heart meds used to treat high blood pressure over cancer concerns
Parents told 13-year-old son he had brain cancer in scheme to raise cash
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida couple lied to their 13-year-old son about having brain cancer so they could use his fictitious illness to raise money for nonexistent medical expenses.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office says on social media that 34-year-old Ginny Long and 47-year-old Robert Long were arrested Thursday and charged with one count of child abuse and nine counts of fraud.
Detectives say the Longs set up a T-shirt fundraiser for the boy at his school last May and shared the bogus cancer diagnosis on their Facebook accounts. A GoFundMe site was also set up for the boy. The sheriff’s office didn’t say how much money was raised.
The sheriff’s office began investigating in November, after school resource officers began to suspect the boy was being exploited.
Jail records didn’t list attorneys for the Longs.
Teen who died days after Christmas didn’t know she had cancer
A teenage girl tragically died just days after she was out partying with her friends — completely oblivious to the fact she had terminal cancer.
Ellie Walsh celebrated Christmas Eve with her friends without a care in the world, but three days later she fell gravely ill.
The 18-year-old from Lincolnshire, England, underwent surgery after a scan revealed a tumor in her stomach. Lincolnshire is about 110 miles north of London.
But there were complications during the lengthy procedure and despite the best efforts of doctors, she passed away.
Mom Emma Walsh, 37, says she never got the chance to properly say goodbye.
“We didn’t realize just how ill Ellie was,” she said. “She had tummy pains for a few years and then about five weeks ago, a scan showed she had a tumor.”
“We have been going to the doctors since 2014 as she has lost a lot of weight and had bad pains in her side, but it was always passed off and she was given Paracetamol [acetaminophen].”
“She died during the operation, but before she went in [for the operation], I told her I loved her and that I would see her later.”
“When they told me, I was in shock and my head went into a spin. You could see they were upset, but they did all they could.”
“I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, though.”
She had just embarked on her career, having just been hired as a receptionist after impressing as an apprentice at law firm Burton and Co.
But while her death has come as a surprise, her mom has taken comfort from the fact that the pair got to spend a final Christmas together and that her baby girl was able to live a normal life right until the end.
“It is a shock,” she added. “Ellie was out on Christmas Eve with her friends.”
“She was quite a private person and had a small group of friends, but they have stuck by her all the way through school.”
“They loved partying and even though Ellie was usually quiet, she would talk to anyone on a night out.”
“I am taking comfort from the fact Ellie got to do all the things she wanted to do as had she had known, she wouldn’t have enjoyed herself as much.”
The distraught mom has since learned that the growth in her daughter’s stomach was likely cancer and even if the operation had been a success, Ellie would have still most likely only had a few months left to live.
And she is glad that people will be able to remember her daughter for the bright and smiley girl she was.
“Ellie was so kind and funny,” she said. “She was a great sister and daughter.”
“She had a great sense of humor but was so brave. I will miss her forever.”
Tributes have appeared online since Ellie’s death was made public and her mom said that has really helped the family during a difficult time.
“I want to say thanks to everyone who has got in touch,” she added. “The nice things said about Ellie have been a real comfort.”
“Both Lincoln and Sheffield hospitals were great as well.”
Mary-Anne McNulty also paid a heartfelt tribute to her best friend of 14 years.
She said: “I went to primary school with Ellie and we started secondary school together until she left to go to LSST, but we still remained as close as ever.”
“Ellie was a kind, generous, beautiful and funny young girl. She will always remain my best friend and she will never be forgotten.”
An exact cause of death has yet to be determined.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/01/04/teen-who-died-days-after-christmas-didnt-know-she-had-cancer/