Tag Archives: cancer diagnosis

Can Your Hair or Lack of It Be An Indicator for Cancer?

Going Bald?
Going Bald?

Going bald is a fact of life for some men. There are many who dread looking in the mirror in the morning to find that they’ve lost more hair, while others embrace their hair loss by shaving their heads at the first sign of thinning. The truth is that being bald isn’t as big a deal as it was even just a few years go. Although a new study indicates that middle-aged balding might be an indicator for prostate cancer.

The study observed men who were approaching the age of forty-five and came to the conclusion that if they were going bald, they had about a thirty-nine percent increased risk for cancer than men who had all of their hair at that age. It was speculated that this could be because a dip in testosterone resulted in prostate cancer.

However, are these findings accurate enough to cause men to be concerned if they exhibit male pattern baldness?

Physicians say it’s highly unlikely. The study lacks the information that’s needed to support its findings. The best plan of action for any man who is approaching middle age is to visit the doctor on a regular basis and get screened for prostate cancer. Even though baldness might end up being a factor in a cancer diagnosis, the fact is that most cancer patients got the disease because of their genetics or because of a lifestyle choice.

Your family history is a strongĀ indicator of whether or not you’re at risk for developing any type of cancer. If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer or any type of cancer, here at IsselsĀ®, we understand cancer treatments and patients in a way that’s different from other cancer centers. We’ve successfully been treating patients for sixty years, and we can help you too. Contact us.

Moms with Cancer Leave Memories for Their Children

Momeries
Momeries

When you are a mother, receiving a cancer diagnosis is magnified by the effect it will have on your children and the possibility that cancer may take you from your children before either of you are ready to let go. Cancer is no longer the death warrant it once was. Great strides have been made in treating and arresting cancer. There is real cause for hope even when a terminal diagnosis is received or standard treatments fail.

Issels Integrative Oncology Centers in Santa Barbara, California and Tijuana, Mexico have had considerable success using advanced science-based alternative cancer treatments to achieve long-term cancer remissions in patients who had been considered “incurable.” (Click here to here Issels’ patients share their cancer stories.) But despite the very real possibility of remission, cancer outcomes are often unpredictable. Many mothers understandably choose to prepare for the worst while striving and hoping for the best.

The highly acclaimed little pink book When Mom’s Cancer Doesn’t Go Away: Helping children Cope with Loss and Beyond by Maryann Makekau, author, inspirational speaker and founder of Hope Matters, tackles the issue of loss with honesty and optimism. Written from the perspective of a child, it offers suggestions for creating memories of mom, or “momeries,” to help children grieve and heal.

Memories help us keep our loved ones alive in our hearts. You don’t have to face a terminal cancer diagnosis to find value in creating and compiling family memories. Even if you live to a ripe old age, your children, grandchildren and future generations will cherish the memories you leave behind.