throat cancer

Throat cancer from HPV proves treatable

Source: Sciencenews.org Author: Nathan Seppa Cancer of the throat that stems from a human papillomavirus infection responds to treatment better than throat cancer that’s triggered by other causes, researchers report online July 29 in Cancer Prevention Research. The scientists also find that blacks are less likely than whites to have throat cancer that’s attributable to HPV, which may explain why the cancer also proved more deadly in blacks in this study. Throat cancer, formally known as oropharyngeal cancer, includes malignancies at the base of the tongue, on the tonsils, in the back of the mouth or on the walls of the throat. The cancer has been linked to smoking and alcohol use, but it can also arise from HPV infections acquired via oral sex (SN: 5/12/07, p. 291). In the new study, researchers analyzed two sets of people with throat cancer. One group included 196 whites and 28 blacks participating in an ongoing international medical trial. While 66 of the white patients had HPV-positive cancer, only one of the blacks did. All received chemotherapy and radiation. Looking at survival among these patients over more than five years, the researchers found that HPV-negative throat cancer patients had a median survival of only 20 months. Race didn’t change this data significantly. In contrast, patients with HPV-positive throat cancer lived substantially longer. Their median survival time could not be accurately discerned because many patients were still alive when the study data were analyzed, says study coauthor Kevin Cullen, a medical oncologist at the University [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-07-30T19:12:26-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer survivor’s animal sanctuary being foreclosed

Source: The Press-Enterprise Author: JULISSA McKINNON After 21 years of sheltering crippled and slaughter-bound horses and other barnyard animals, Renee Duncan is losing her 12-acre rescue ranch to foreclosure. Now Duncan, a 63-year-old former emergency room nurse in remission from cancer, is scrambling to move dozens of rescued animals out of the gully in unincorporated Perris in southwest Riverside County long known as the Meadowbrook Animal Sanctuary and Haven. Until Duncan finds a permanent home, a neighbor is offering shelter to her and her 50-some horses, a couple of emus, two turkeys and dozens of goats, pigs and dogs. Though there are two people bidding on the ranch who say they would allow Duncan and her critters to stay as renters, Ocwen Bank, which is repossessing the ranch, has ordered Duncan to clear the property by 6 a.m. Monday. Eviction attorneys and brokers with Ocwen Bank declined to comment on the situation. Duncan said her nonprofit animal rescue is going under ironically because she always put her animals first. She said she began to run into financial trouble in 2005 after being diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer. She stopped working to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. Duncan refinanced the house three times to try to keep up with medical bills and animal care. As money grew tight, she always paid for animal feed and veterinary care, which amounts to about $3,000 a month, even if that meant not paying the mortgage. "I ended up with a $4,000-a-month payment at 12.5 [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-06-19T07:40:46-07:00June, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Battle of his life

Source: www.hattiesburgamerican.com Author: Patrick Magee Barney Farrar has never been one to back down from any type of fight. The Mississippi native is a determined man whose tenacity makes him a passionate coach and dogged recruiter as a member of the Southern Miss football team's coaching staff. He's also known as a compassionate man who will make a visit on his own to the ailing parents of one of the countless high school coaches he's gotten to know over his lengthy career of recruiting his home state. So when word came down in July that Farrar had been diagnosed with throat cancer, the reaction sent waves around the close community of football coaches. He received many calls from coaching cohorts wishing him well. Once the kind words were behind him, Farrar battened down for the biggest battle of his life, which has yet to reach a full conclusion. "They diagnosed it as a category three, but they moved it up to a category four because of the size of the tumor. That scared me," Farrar said. "They told me to not be too alarmed over that at that point because it was just the size that moved me into the worst category." From there, it was a matter of finding the right course of treatment for the lump in his throat that doctors say had likely been there for a year, when he was living in Iowa, before it was diagnosed by Hattiesburg physicians. Farrar, 48, visited different clinics around [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-23T17:51:28-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|

NYC bus workers file suit against diesel makers

Source: Newsday (www.newsday.com) Author: staff A group of New York City bus workers claim in a lawsuit that diesel exhaust from idling buses exposed them to severe illnesses, including lung and throat cancer. The lawsuit, filed in state court on Monday, names 13 diesel engine manufacturers, including General Motors, Northrop Grumman and Orion Bus Industries. The workers, bus drivers and mechanics employed by NYC Transit, claim buses sometimes idled all night in depots. The lawsuit says the companies knew "the belching of these fumes was a dangerous byproduct." The workers are seeking unspecified damages. Several companies reached for comment declined to comment, saying they had not seen the lawsuit or would not speak on pending litigation.

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-08-20T04:43:22-07:00August, 2008|Oral Cancer News|