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My son died from Cholangiocarcinoma—
He was diagnosed Stage 4 in November just before Thanksgiving and died April 5 the next year—a little over 4 months from diagnosis
There is NO screening protocol for Cholangiocarcinoma
Most of the cases are found too late for early intervention and there is very little that can be done
There are other cancers that fall into that same category—no screening test
My best friend has her only niece who was diagnosed after Thanksgiving this year with stage 4 cancer of the throat—a rare type—there is no screening for this cancer
She always took care of her health—was a neonatal nurse—ran 4-5 miles a day—
Thought she has burned her esophagus eating really hot food—but not reason it was sore
Have friend of our daughter who started having pain in her side—went to dr
Found out it was stage 4 kidney cancer—they are trying an immune therapy to reduce the tumors first and then hope to try surgery—
I think the single greatest contribution from modern medicine would be a blood test that would screen for cancer—all cancer/any cancer—but there is not
AND insurance companies will not cover a full body MRI as a screening tool for cancers
I'm so sorry about your son.
Just wanted to mention that they are working on blood tests to detect the DNA of some of the more common types of cancer. It's definitely a work in progress as they learn more about the genetic makeup of types of cancer, validate the tests so they can be as accurate as possible in detection of cancer in patients.
1. Fact, both Mammography and certain types of CT screenings do expose you to unneeded radiation. One reason the recommendations for Mammography were pulled back from 40 to 50.
2. Fact, Colonoscopys have risk for perforation. One reason they are not recommended over 70 years old any longer. Cologuard is known for false positive tests... leading to a colonoscopy.
3. Not sure you all read the article. For Breast cancer and colon cancer the numbers are higher than 14%... it is just that there are not good ways of detecting the 500 other kinds of cancer.
4. The focus should be on demanding that medical care find a better way and adopt things like liquid biopsies. Which can test for 50+ types of cancer. https://www.galleri.com. It is a fact that right now there are blood tests that can test for cancer that are not used.
If the blood tests for cancer aren't in wide use, it's because they need continued validation to ensure their accuracy as cancer screening tests. They are still a work in progress.
Dogs can detect cancer. That should be the entire focus of cancer screening going forward -- raise and train cancer detecting dogs for an annually meet and greet. They work for kibble and don't ask for vacation pay.
Hospitals would still charge an arm and a leg for a Fido sniffing.
My question would be, how would you know Fido isn't just sniffing a person because he likes the way his/her crotch smells, the smell of the hamburger the person had for lunch lingering on the hands, the smell of the person's own dog lingering on the shirt from an earlier hug........and to heck with the cancer.
My question would be, how would you know Fido isn't just sniffing a person because he likes the way his/her crotch smells, the smell of the hamburger the person had for lunch lingering on the hands, the smell of the person's own dog lingering on the shirt from an earlier hug........and to heck with the cancer.
Dogs sniff crotches for the same reason they sniff the butts of other dogs - it's to identify them. It's their way of saying "Hello there. And you are...?"
I saw this today - the question comes up... if only 14% of cancers are found by screening... then maybe we should stop doing them. ]
Well...my cancer was found on a routine screening in 2021. It had reached the invasive stage, but hadn't yet reached the lymph nodes. My prognosis is excellent due to early detection.
So despite any risks associated with imaging and treatment, I am one who will keep getting my screenings.
If I hadn't had the imaging or subsequent treatment, odds are I would be looking at a very different prognosis now.
My question would be, how would you know Fido isn't just sniffing a person because he likes the way his/her crotch smells, the smell of the hamburger the person had for lunch lingering on the hands, the smell of the person's own dog lingering on the shirt from an earlier hug........and to heck with the cancer.
I don't know if you are serious, but of course you can't use just any dog. They have to be specially trained to alert the owner or handler only to specific scents...and some dogs are very, very good at this. Astonishing, actually. A cancer- or drug-sniffing dog on duty is not distracted by the smell of another dog or a hamburger.
I don't know if you are serious, but of course you can't use just any dog. They have to be specially trained to alert the owner or handler only to specific scents...and some dogs are very, very good at this. Astonishing, actually. A cancer- or drug-sniffing dog on duty is not distracted by the smell of another dog or a hamburger.
Absolutely. Dogs have a sense of smell that humans can't comprehend. It's just a matter of training the dog sufficiently to distinguish the smell of the specific item/substance that you are looking for and then to alert the human handler by means of a specific action.
I have a regular dermatologist. She gives me the once over, it used to be every few years and then once a year and now, because she saw and diagnosed (before the biopsy even) a freaking MELANOMA on my shoulder, it's every three months for about a year and then once every six months I believe for a bit and then back to once a year. I'm OK with that. I can't see my back!
But my point is that she "caught" that cancer with screening, so it was a Stage 0 which I didn't even know existed!
Dogs sniff crotches for the same reason they sniff the butts of other dogs - it's to identify them. It's their way of saying "Hello there. And you are...?"
Ok then, that's the point. The dog ( even a cancer detecting dog) might be sniffing a person's crotch just to get acquainted with the person, not because they might be sniffing for cervical or testicular cancer.
I have a regular dermatologist. She gives me the once over, it used to be every few years and then once a year and now, because she saw and diagnosed (before the biopsy even) a freaking MELANOMA on my shoulder, it's every three months for about a year and then once every six months I believe for a bit and then back to once a year. I'm OK with that. I can't see my back!
But my point is that she "caught" that cancer with screening, so it was a Stage 0 which I didn't even know existed!
And there you have an excellent example of the value of screening for cancer. Had you not caught that cancer at such abpn early stage, and treated it, it could have gone south quickly and had a much worse outcome.
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