July 8, 2009

Radiation Therapy Are Ineffective Victims of Mesothelioma, but Photodynamic Therapy Offers a Promising Alternative

Filed under: Online Health — admin @ 6:20 am

Doctors who specialize in cancer treatment decide what course of treatment to go with to their patient. There are many options. There exists no regular treatment course for mesothelioma cancer victims. This is because of the relative rareness of the disease, the high mortality rate and low treatment success rate, and the few scientific studies to provide meaningful statistics.

Mesothelioma patients have historically had a bleak outlook, but doctors have recently made progress. Traditional treatments for cancer are surgery (removing the tumor and surrounding tissue), radiation (killing the cancerous cells with radiation), and chemotherapy (poisoning the cancerous cells.) There are problems with all three. Mesothelioma patients treated with traditional radiation therapy have not responded well to it. Researchers are looking for ways of aiming radiation directly at the tumor in hopes that this will result in less damage to healthy tissue.

Surgery takes out the mesothelial cancerous tissue around the tumor. This surgery is extensive and it is not clear how much the patient benefits. Common chemotherapy drugs that work on other types of cancer usually do not work on mesothelioma, and different mixtures of these drugs have not been successful. Similar to radiation, focus in research is focusing on treating the physical location of the tumor with emphasis on the pleural cavity.

The high-mortality rate for mesothelioma patients means cutting-edge techniques for cancer are tried out. These techniques include a biologic therapy called the agent interleukin 2 and anti-angiogenesis drugs like thalidomide. The new drug pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) has shown good results in extending life with mesotheliomas..

Oncologists consider the stage of mesothelioma, the location of the tumor, the patient’s age and state of health at the time. Two therapies that are extremely cutting-edge in fighting cancer are called photodynamic and gene therapy. Patients afflicted with mesothelioma are benefitting in these clinical trials.

Five Ways to Protect Your Organic Garden from Pests

Filed under: Gardening Tips, Information + More, Useful Tips — admin @ 12:36 am

If you are familiar with gardening, or even if you aren’t, you already know that pests can destroy a season’s worth of work if left unchecked. While you might be at a bit of a loss when it comes to making sure that your stays healthy while not using chemical products, you’ll find that with a little bit of research, nothing could be easier! Check out a few of the great ways to protect your garden from pests while still keeping organic.

1.Garlic
Garlic is great for a number of different pests, and it’s easy to use, as well. All you need to do is to start with 3 ounces of finely chopped garlic and mix it with two teaspoons of mineral oil. After a 24 hour soak, you can add it to one pint of water and n ounce of dish soap. This is a great all-purpose insect spray, and when you go to use it, all you need to do is to take about tablespoon of this mixture and mix it with a pint of water. Test the mixture on some lower leaves to make sure that you have not made it strong, but this can be a great way to fight really persistent pests.

2.Weed Regularly
We already know that weeds can choke out the desirable plants, but keep in mind that they can also play host to a number of undesirable pests as well! Make sure that your rows stay clear of weeds and also of debris, where insects can nest. When you have finished the weeding, make sure that you put the refuse at some distance away from your garden, to make sure that the pests that you have cleared out don’t return.

3.Milk
Milk is good for you, and great for your garden. When you mix one part milk to nine parts water, you can spray the mixture every week or so to prevent things like powdery mildew. Use it whenever you see black spots on your vegetables or your roses.

4.Composite Flowers
Not only will these flowers be a great and colorful addition to your garden, you’ll find that they’ll attract the useful insects as well. Ladybugs and lacewings are both attracted to these flowers and you’ll find that they can help reduce pests a great deal. For some great composite flowers to add, look at yarrow, chicory, chrysanthemums ad dahlias.

5.Newspapers and Cardbord
Use newspapers and cardboard layered on top of your weeds to suffocate them by keeping them away from the light and the water. If you do this in the fall, your garden will have a great weed-free start in the spring.

Check out 247survival.com for more information about green living.