Questions About Cancer Risk Factors

1. When should preventive colon checkups begin for someone with a family history of cancer?

   Question - Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. Generally, doctors recommend that you start colon checkups ten years prior to the diagnosis age of the family member; in your case, age 35. However, if you have other incidence of cancer or other family members that have been diagnosed, you may want to be checked earlier...
   1 Expert Answer, 3 Community Answers

2. How much does asbestos increase cancer risk?

   Question - Asbestos exposure increases the risk greatly . Although you may be lucky , and not suffer asbestos-related illness at all . Good luck .
   1 Community Answer

3. Where can I find out more information about Castleman's disease?

   Question - In your search for information about castleman's disease, have you tried the American Institute for Cancer Research? They have an amazing amount of credible information at their disposal, and often will mail you information for free. Their web site is www.aicr.org, and phone is 1-800- 843-8114. Good luck...
   1 Expert Answer

4. Can you get throat cancer from pollution?

   Question - I think throat cancer due to pollution is theoretically possible, though I haven’t seen any studies directly looking at this. There have been some studies on cancer in general, but not throat cancer specifically, as far as I know.
   1 Community Answer

5. What causes any form of cancer in general?

   Question - There is still much controversy about the cause of cancer.
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

6. Is there any link between high iron in blood and prostate...

   Question - Tumor cells manifest under oxidative stress, causing high rates of division and higher risks of genetic mutation, which is actually what "cancer" of a body tissue is. These cells, being driven by oxidative stress, are therefore affected by minerals and vitamins known as reactive oxygen species...
   1 Community Answer

7. Does THC increase the risk of testicular cancer?

   Question - Yes, there's a study that was published in 2009 about TCH and testicular cancer that concluded that young men who smoke pot are more likely to develop testicular cancer. In fact, smoking at least once a week, or using it regularly from adolescence, they concluded, doubled the chance of nonseminoma (the more aggressive form of the cancer)...
   1 Community Answer

8. Is thyroid cancer more likely after melanoma?

   Question - Unfortunately, the answer is yes. I've seen a couple of studies that show the risk of thyroid cancer after melanoma is higher than in the general population. It is important to note this is not a case of metastatic melanoma. But instead, the appearance of an entirely new cancer...
   1 Community Answer

9. Do hot drinks increase the risk of throat cancer?

   Question - The throat cancer hot drinks connection might sound a little crazy, but it’s true. I saw a study that came out in 2009 (pretty legitimate, from the British Medical Journal) that found that drinking very hot beverages, more than 65 degrees Celsius or 149 degrees Fahrenheit, can raise the risk of throroat cancer...
   1 Community Answer

10. Does alcohol increase the risk of throat cancer?

    Question - For sure, alcohol and throat cancer are connected. Maybe not moderate drinking, but what doctors call “excessive alcohol use” definitely increases the risk. One of the sites I found said people who drink frequently are six times more likely to get cancer of the mouth or th...
    1 Community Answer

11. Should I Be Screened for Skin Cancer?

    Question - The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force doesn't currently recommend screening the general public for skin cancer. However, many experts recommend regular screening for skin cancer for those at "high risk," which usually includes the following people:
    FAQ 1 Expert Answer

12. Is it true that onions and broccoli reduce ovarian cancer by 73 percent?

    Question - What resources were used in making your health statements such as onions and broccoli reduce ovarian cancer by 73 percent? I do not see any references to resources/research in your article "5 Foods Every Woman Should Eat More Of."

13. Was I right not letting my doctor perform another CAT scan on me?

    Question - In the situation you describe, I believe that the importance of an accurate picture of possible change outweighs the risk of the CT Scan. Yes the radiation exposure of a Ct Scan is much greater than that of an x-ray but the risks are still very small. Knowing as early as possible if there is growth in the mass is crucial...
    1 Expert Answer

14. Are these symptoms from chemotherapy or does my wife still have cancer?

    Question - wife is post 5 months from her last chemo treatment for endometrial cancer. she has had 5 weeks of radiation with 3 chemos before and 1 chemo after radiation as we stopped after the 4 chemo as this on put her in the hostipal for 5 days. She has been doing good but about once a month she has a bout of diarria and nausea...

15. Can drinking too much alcohol lead to a relapse of Dad's stomach cancer?

    Question - There are two parts to the answer about drinking alcohol with stomach cancer. The direct answer is that alcohol is not thought to be a risk factor for stomach cancer and so will not cause the return of his cancer. On the other hand, there are many other effects of alcohol on the body and these can have...
    1 Expert Answer

16. What is hemochromatosis?

    Question - Hemochromatosis, a genetic condition, causes your body to absorb too much iron from food. The excess iron is stored in your liver, heart and pancreas, which eventually damages these organs. This leads heart problems, diabetes, and liver disease. If left untreated, it can also cause liver cancer in up to 30% of patients...
    1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

17. Who is at risk for ovarian cancer?

    Question - It's interesting which things put you at lower risk for ovarian cancer, too -- having children, breastfeeding, taking birth control pills, for example. Apparently the number of times a woman ovulates is part of the equation; experts are studying that.
    2 Community Answers

18. Who gets ovarian cancer?

    Question - The most common type is epithelial, though, and most of the info you read about who gets ovarian cancer relates to this type.
    2 Community Answers

19. Who does ovarian cancer affect?

    Question - Yes, the Clomid link is an interesting one. Sounds like they're not sure if it's the use of the drug or the fertility issue that's the real link. There's a fairly recent study that says there's no link between the fertility drugs and ovarian cancer, but they only tracked women until they were in their...
    2 Community Answers

20. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?

    Question - Early-stage prostate cancer often doesn't have many symptoms, so many men don't find out they have it until the cancer has spread, making it more difficult to treat. This is unfortunate, because prostate cancer is the second most common kind of cancer in American men, after skin cancer.
    FAQ 1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

21. Could these be lung cancer symptoms?

    Question - When a doctor ignores something that blatant, it's time to find another doctor. We allhave cancer in our bodies, daily, but it is fended off by fighter cells, except when it lands in a weakened area of the body, which can be caused by outside factors like asbestos, particles in smoke (bonfire, fireplace...
    3 Community Answers

22. Can cancer recur in a different area?

    Question - Hi. It is always possible for cancer to appear in another part of the body but you can schedule regular exams with your doctor and try not to think about the danger of this occurring often. In other words, try and eat well so you get proper nutrition, exercise often if you can and think positively...
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

23. What are the signs and symptoms of salivary gland cancer?

    Question - My husband had a lump in his neck for a few years before he was diagnosed in 1972 with salivary gland cancer. They did a radical neck dissection and discovered the lump was the size of a grapefruit. Other than surgery, they did nothing. Two years later it was back. Forty radiation treatments later he was given a clean bill of health...
    6 Community Answers

24. What if the chemotherapy doesn't work?

    Question - The goal of chemotherapy is to stop a tumor from growing and to stop cancer from recurring and spreading to other parts of the body. There are many different chemotherapy drugs, and if one doesn't work your oncoogist will most likely try another...
    1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

25. Do cervical polyps mean I have cervical cancer?

    Question - There is a relationship between cervical cancer and polyps, BUT, many women have benign polyps that are not cancerous.
    1 Community Answer

26. What leads to cervical cancer?

    Question - Cervical cancer is interesting, because we actually do know what leads to it. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that many women contract. Most of them are able to fight the virus off just with their own immune systems...
    1 Community Answer

27. Is clotting a symptom of cervical cancer?

    Question - Yes there can be a connection between cervical cancer and clotting. Abnormally heavy menstrual cycles or bleeding between periods can be a symptom of cervical cancer and those can include clots.
    1 Community Answer

28. Does smoking increase the risk of cervical cancer?

    Question - According to what I read at the American Cancer Society website, there is a link between smoking and cervical cancer.
    1 Community Answer

29. Does endometriosis increase the risk of cervical cancer?

    Question - Endometriosis can be so painful and debilitating. Many of my friends have had it and had to undergo surgery and other painful procedures to keep it under control, so when I started to research whether endometriosis and cervical cancer I related, I fully expected to discover more bad news about it increasing cervical cancer risk...
    1 Community Answer

30. Does pancreatic cancer run in families?

    Question - I became concerned about whether pancreatic cancer runs in families when my uncle was diagnosed. What I found is that the risk for developing it triples if a person's mother, father, sister, or brother had the disease. The American Cancer Society has very accessible information about genetic syndromes...
    1 Community Answer

31. Who usually gets lung cancer?

    Question - This is in reply to SonzAnswerz, your statement "nonsmokers usually don't get lung cancer" is very, very wrong. Statistically (I happen to work with the Lance Armstrong Foundation as a Leader/Survivor of a LIVESTRONG Army) nonsmokers can get lung cancer just as easily as a smoker...
    2 Community Answers

32. Who gets pancreatic cancer?

    Question - I was worried about this too—and was somewhat relieved to find that most people who get pancreatic cancer are over 65, with the average age at the time of diagnosis being 72. The American Cancer Society says that men are slightly more likely to get it than women, and black people are more likely to o get it than whites, Asians, and Hispanics...
    1 Community Answer

33. Is it okay to resume tanning after having chemo?

    Question - Tanning, either directly in the sun, or in artificial tanning salon booths, is not a good idea for anyone because it increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Tanning beds are the most dangerous because the rays of UV light are even more concentrated...
    1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers