Cancer

Seroquel is a drug that doctors prescribe against schizophrenia, which is a type of mental illness manifested through delusions, disrupted thinking, hallucination, and losing touch with reality. This medicine is also used when treating manic depressive episodes connected to some form of bipolar condition. There has, indeed, been a connection found between Seroquel and breast cancer in animal studies, but we will get to that in the section where we review the warnings applied when using this drug.

Seroquel is a type of antipsychotic medicine belonging to one of the more recent classes of drugs and studies have shown that it works by decreasing the effects that dopamine and serotonin have on the human body. These two substances are two of the most important chemical messengers of the brain.

When using Seroquel, you should seek immediate medical attention if you start developing muscle stiffness, irregular heartbeat, sweating beyond normal limits, fever and confusion. The elements mentioned above are symptoms of something called Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS), which is a severe, and possibly deadly, reaction to the drug. Also, you should be very careful if your family has a history of heart attacks and other heart-related conditions.

Also, in the first several days of treatment, in some cases, Seroquel has been known to trigger low blood pressure, coupled with dizziness, quick heartbeat and fainting. If you want to reduce these effects to a minimum, the doctor will gradually increase the dosage. However, if you are predisposed to decreased blood pressure, if you become dehydrated or if you are on blood pressure meds, you should tell your doctor and take Seroquel with greater caution.

Another effect noticed in Seroquel, especially in the earlier stages of the treatment, is drowsiness that could have an effect on your judgment and motor skills. Before noticing first hand all the effects the drug has on you, refrain from operating any type of machinery or from driving a car.

Different types of specialized antipsychotic drugs, such as Seroquel, have been at times associated with increased quantities of blood sugar sometimes resulting in coma or death. Symptoms of such a development include a dried mouth, increased urination, fatigue and unusual thirst. This medicine is not recommended for people who have diabetes, but, if taken, then blood sugar tests should be routine.

There has also been established a connection between Seroquel and breast cancer in animal studies, but human studies have not yet confirmed any such risks. If you have a family history of breast cancer you should (in any case) see your family doctor for regular checkups. Also, Seroquel could cause cataracts and, before starting treatments, you might want to visit your ophthalmologist, as well as get a checkup twice per year, say once every 6 months. Seroquel presents a small risk of seizures, but mostly in people aged over 65 or epileptics, as well as other types of seizure-prone illness patients. In addition, this medicine can cause some slight increase in the levels of cholesterol. Some patients have also reported symptoms of priapism, namely painful erections over extended periods of time.

Each month, a woman’s breasts are going through a series of temporary changes associated with menstruation, which include the possibility for the formation of nodules. Even though most of these bumps are not cancerous, any bump that appears should be immediately examined by the doctor. Here are several pieces of advice regarding the effects of breast cancer and how to notice it early on.

What is breast cancer?

Nodules most often appear in the lobules, small sacks that produce milk, or in the ducts that transport milk towards the nipple. However, sometimes these bumps are formed in other tissues. The two main categories of breast cancer are lobular carcinomas and ductal carcinomas.

The effects of breast cancer

Breast cancer usually starts with the formation of a small well outlined tumor. Some tumors are benign, meaning they do not invade other tissues; while others are malign, or cancerous. Malign tumors have the potential to metastasize, namely to spread. Once such a tumor reaches a certain dimension, it is more likely for it to radiate cells that spread to other parts of the body through blood vessels and through the lymphatic system.

The different types of breast cancer grow and spread with various speeds; some take years to spread outside of the breast, while other spread very quickly. Men too can develop breast cancer, but the number of cases is smaller than half of 1% of all cases. Among women, breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer and it is one of the top killers among types of cancer.

Statistics show that out of eight women who could reach the age of 85, one develops this condition at a certain point in her life. Two thirds of women with breast cancer are aged over 50, while the remained are aged mostly between 39 and 49. Fortunately, breast cancer is highly curable if it is detected in time. Tumors located can usually be successfully treated, before the cancer spreads, and in 9 of 10 cases the patient can live another 5 years at least.

Once the cancer begins to spread, it is much more difficult to completely remove it, even though treatment can sometimes keep the illness in check for years in a row. The improved screening procedures and the better treatment options make it possible for seven out of ten women diagnosed with breast cancer to live another 5 years after the initial diagnosis, while half of them live longer than 10 years after diagnosis.

Even though the exact causes of breast cancer remain unclear, the main risk factors associated with the disease are generally known. However, most of the women seen as presenting a high risk of breast cancer do not develop the illness, while many of the ones who are sick have not been exposed to the risks associated with the condition. Some of the most significant factors include aging and family history of breast cancer. The risk is higher for women who have benign tumors or have had breast cancer or ovarian cancer before.

Oral cancer can occur in the lips (usually the lower lip), inside the mouth, on the back of the pharynx, on the tonsils or on the salivary glands. It is more often encountered in men than in women and it is most likely to occur after the age of 40. Smoking, combined with excessive consumption of alcohol is an important risk factor.

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If it is not detected early, oral cancer can require surgical intervention, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. It can be fatal, with a general 5-year survival rate at 50% of the cases. One of the main causes for this high mortality rate is the fact that symptoms are not recognized early, which means that the success rate of the treatment is tightly linked to the early detection of the condition.

The early symptoms of oral cancer are not exactly easy to detect, which is why visits to the dentist and routine checkups by the family doctor are very important. The dentist can notice early symptoms of oral cancer. Aside from these checkups, you should go to a dentist if you notice some of the following symptoms:

-an injury on the lips, gums or inside the mouth, which easily bleeds and won’t heal
-growth or thickening of the mouth’s mucous membranes, which you can feel with your tongue
-decreased sensitivity or a feeling of numbness inside the oral cavity
-white or reddish spots on the gums, tongue or mucous membrane
-difficulty when chewing or swallowing food
-lesions or inexplicable pain in the oral cavity, or the feeling that you have something in your throat, but without seeing an exact cause for this feeling
-inflammation of the jaw, which does not allow you to fix dentures into place
-changes in the voice

If you are not smoking or chewing tobacco, don’t start. Tobacco constitutes the cause for 80-90% cases of oral cancer. The direct correlation between smoking, lung cancer and heart diseases is a confirmed fact. Smoking also damages general health, leading to a decrease in immunity and slower recovery after an injury or after surgical intervention. In young adults, smoking stops growth and causes other development difficulties. Many smokers notice their smell and taste senses are altered, and they also develop unpleasant breath and spots on the teeth.

Each cigarette you light represents an additional risk for your oral health. Smoking cigarettes, pipes or cigars leads to significantly higher chances of cancer in the larynx, mouth, throat or esophagi. Since many people do not realize or simply ignore the early symptoms of oral cancer, the illness spreads throughout the body before being detected.

Chronic consumption of chewing tobacco increases the risk of oral cancer by 50%. The best thing you could do is avoid smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipe or chewing tobacco. If you give up smoking, even after many years, the risk of oral cancer is drastically reduced. Also, the chronic consumption of alcohol and alcohol abuse increases the risk of cancer, while the alcohol-tobacco combination is even more dangerous.