Risk factors of colon cancer

Many studies indicate that high-fat and low-fiber diet is a risk factor of colon cancer.  Logically, low-fat and high-fiber diet should help reduce the chances of getting colon cancer.  In my opinion, fibers from foods could provide the following benefits:

1. Dietary fibers help form bulky stools which can help remove unhealthful materials.
2. Dietary fibers can work like micro-brushes and help clean colon surface microscopically.
3. Dietary fibers can also help discourage the growth of harmful bacteria.

For many years, it has been proposed that high-fiber diet could help prevent colon cancer.  Indeed, plenty of studies have indicated that this is the case; in cultures where people eat more high-fiber foods, colon cancer rates are much lower.

The other important factor is fatty food.  There are complicated theories and studies to support that high fatty foods increase the risk of getting colon cancer.  Here, let’s use a common sense to think about fatty food and colon. Fatty food is slippery, which makes it harder to clean the colon as compared to food with high fiber content.

In summary, current understanding is that eating more high-fiber and low-fat foods is one good way to lower the chances of getting colon cancer.

Please visit my crowdfunding site for info about the upcoming book (Is Cancer in Us?) to be published in December 2015

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Risk factors of lung cancer

Smoking is known to be a significant risk factor of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world.  In the United State, non-small cell lung cancer represents 85% of all lung cancer cases.

Lung cancer was known as an occupational hazard of asbestos workers many years ago; that’s why asbestos has been banned for many years although they could exist in some very old buildings.  Also, it was reported that smoking and asbestos together can synergistically increase the risk of lung cancer.

In addition, exposure of several chemicals has been reported to be linked to lung cancer in the United States. These chemicals include chromium, formaldehyde, and nickel.


© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Strategies to deal with cancer

Generally speaking, there are three main strategies to deal with cancer: prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.  Prevention (including diet, exercise, and other health related activities) is very important and must be done regularly for the long run.  Unfortunately, most people are not doing enough in cancer prevention.  As to diagnosis, if cancer screening is performed frequently, potential cancer, if detected early, can be satisfactorily treated or even cured.  For cancer treatment, it can be divided into two sub-strategies: remove/kill cancer cells or guide/change cancer cells back into stem cells or normal cells.  In the later sections, we will talk in more detail about cancer treatment.

If you like this blog, you may like my book, Is Cancer in Us, even more. Please visit my crowdfunding site at http://igg.me/at/whataboutcancer/x/10534737 to find out more.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

What is cancer? (3)

Let’s use an analogy of a human community to describe cancer.  Imagine a healthy human body as a normal and safe town; people in the town (normal cells) work according to the laws so that the town is peaceful and calm.  Over a period of time, some gangsters have developed in this quiet society; they do not perform normal functions in the society.  Instead, they take easy money (nutrients) from ordinary people (normal tissues) and cause a lot of damages to the town (human body).  Once the gangsters grow out of control, they can take over the town and the town may be destroyed eventually.  Cancer cells are just like the gangsters in the body; they consume the basic energy unit (e.g., sugar) and grow uncontrollably, but they don’t conduct useful biological functions.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

What is cancer? (2)

It is important to know that not all tumors are cancerous.  Benign tumors do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighbouring tissues, and do not spread throughout the body.  In theory, just like normal cells, benign tumor could become cancer.  Benign tumor is like a group of unproductive people that grow in an abnormal fashion and look bad.  However, they do not harm other ordinary people.  Therefore benign tumor does not harm normal tissue unless it is further mutated and transformed to become cancerous (i.e., malignant tumor).

A schematic representation of the relationship among normal cells, benign tumor, and cancer cells will be shown in my book, Is Cancer in Us, to be published in December, 2015. Please visit http://igg.me/at/whataboutcancer/x for additional info. Thanks.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

What's coming up

Thank you for reading my posts. My blog started on 9/2/15 and it has been viewed for > 1,000 times (as of 11/12/15) by people everywhere including U.S., Israel, Taiwan, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Singapore, Luxembourg, China, Germany, France, Italy, Hong Kong, India, Poland, Philippines, Albania, Spain, Brazil, Greece, and Guatemala. I am grateful for your visit and please let people know about this one-stop information site for Cancer 101.

As part of our endeavor in the war against cancer, I am going to publish my book (Is Cancer in Us) in December, 2015 through a crowdfunding at indiegogo.com starting in October. It is very much appreciated if you could visit this crowdfunding site and support the publication of this book. Your support will help more people learn about cancer. In addition, I will donate 20% of the money raised to the American Cancer Society and everyone of you will be a proud partner in this endeavor. Furthermore, if we are lucky enough to raise over $5,000, any penny we collect over $5,000 will be donated to the American Cancer Society and everyone participated in this project will be very very proud.

I understand that not everyone will be able to provide the financial support for this project. If this is the case, you can still contribute by spreading the news to help make this project a success. Please let your friends and acquaintances know about this project and you can still be a proud supporter of this campaign.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Pathogens, hand-washing, and diseases

The word “pathogen” is usually used to describe an infectious microorganism that causes disease in its host, which can be an animal or a plant.  In our daily lives, we may be contacting certain potential pathogens from time to time.  Sometimes, we may be unintentionally touching our eyes, nose, or food; thus, certain bacteria or viruses could get into our bodies.  Therefore, it is a good idea to wash our hands as needed to reduce the chances of getting diseases from our hands.

Why do we need to use soap or alcohol to wash our hands?  There are two important reasons: (1) soap or alcohol can help dissolve and get rid of the unwanted substances, especially those that are not water-soluble, and (2) soap or alcohol can help disrupt/break down the cell wall/membrane to destroy the bacteria/viruses.  Therefore, hand-washing is an economical and efficient way to help prevent a lot of diseases, including cancer.  

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Carcinogens: Pathogens

In general, pathogens are used to describe any agents that cause diseases including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.  A few cancers are caused by bacterial or viral infections and several examples are shown below.

It is known that gastrointestinal (GI) cancer can be induced by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.  For example, Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach.  It can activate many oncogenic pathways, particularly those in gastric and colorectal cancers.  Epstein-Barr virus may cause lymphomas and mononucleosis; hepatitis B and C viruses can cause liver cancer; papillomaviruses can cause cervical cancer and anal cancer; Fusobacterium may promote the growth of colorectal tumor.  In my upcoming book, Is Cancer in Us, more examples will be described.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Carcinogens: Radiation

Technically speaking, radiation is the emission and/or transmission of energy; it includes electromagnetic radiation (radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and g rays) and particle radiation (α, β, and neutron radiation).

Radiation comes from many different sources.  In our everyday lives, sunshine probably provides the most radiation to us.  Although appropriate exposure to the sunshine provides a lot of beneficial effects, too much exposure of sunshine could increase the risk of cancer.  For example, on a high mountain or in a flight, one could be subject to more UV light; overexposure to UV light could increase the risk of skin cancer.

Another source of radiation is radon, which is a colorless and odorless radioactive gas emitted from radioactive materials in soil and underground water.  It is somewhat surprising that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

Other type of radiation exposure, including x-ray medical examination and radiotherapy, might also increase the risk of cancer.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015 

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.

Carcinogens: Chemicals

Theoretically, any chemical is potentially harmful and maybe carcinogenic if the concentration is high enough and the exposure is long enough.  Therefore, it is a good idea to avoid unnecessary chemicals if all possible.  However, some chemicals do have higher tendencies to intervene DNA replication or cell metabolism; these are generally referred to as carcinogenic chemicals.  Specific examples of chemical carcinogens (some are from natural source) include asbestos, arsenic, dioxins, benzene, tobacco, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, etc.

In general, most people don’t often get in touch with these specific substances unless they work in chemical or related industry.  However, we are often under the exposure of certain chemicals and may not realize it.  For example, we need to go to the gas stations on a regular basis and it has been reported that long-term exposure of gasoline vapor increased the risk of lung, nasal, or kidney cancer; the risk of cancer was related to the chemicals in the gasoline vapor including benzene.  The good news is that most people are not under the long-term exposure of gasoline vapor; nevertheless, I do think it is a good idea not to stand right next to the nozzle to inhale the gas vapor when you pump your gas.

Let’s look at one specific example of carcinogenic chemicals, dioxins.  Dioxins are a group of chemically-related compounds found throughout the world in the environment; they may accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals.  Most of human exposure is through food, mainly meat, dairy products, fish, and shellfish.  Dioxins are highly toxic and may cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones, and also cause cancer.

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2015

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I am writing, "IS CANCER IN US", to be published in about two months.