Tracking the Symptoms of Rapid Weight Loss
Just as obesity has become a rampant sickness that can strike anyone at any age, so does rapid weight loss. Because of the pressures of being thin mainly imposed (indirectly) by media, many Americans are coming up with different means to lose weight. Some are determined to find a short cut to losing weight, believing products and methods that claim to help people lose weight fast and painless. However, research has shown that rapid weight loss is unhealthy and even ineffective.
Weight loss: the basics
Weight loss, in medical terms, is the reduction of one’s total body weight. Losing weight, coupled with a balanced diet, is the effective cure to obesity. There are two kinds of weight loss: the unintentional and intentional weight loss.
Intentional weight loss
Intentional weight loss is a conscious effort to lose weight. A healthy means of intentional weight loss involves a balanced diet and regular exercise. Determining a healthy weight means computing for your body mass index (BMI), or the proportion of your height and weight.
Once you have cut down on your weight, maintenance is important. Several weight loss centers and clinics can help direct you in the path of healthy weight loss.
Unintentional weight loss
Meanwhile, unintentional weight loss is an unconscious means of losing weight. This occurs mostly as a result of sickness or physical complications. One of the symptoms of unintentional weight loss is the rapid dropping of one’s weight without any known effort to lose weight. Once you have incurred symptoms of rapid weight loss, you have to see a doctor immediately.
Has losing weight become easy for you?
Have you noticed lately that you are losing weight even if you are not under any diet or exercise program? Before you start celebrating, you have to be careful. Symptoms of rapid weight loss can lead to possible complications in your body. This is unhealthy.
If you are suffering from any of the following symptoms of rapid weight loss, you have to talk to your doctor:
1. You’re not trying to lose weight.
2. You’re trying to lose weight and suddenly lose more than ten pounds.
What it means
These symptoms of rapid weight loss, according to Richard L. Atkinson, M.D., associate chief of staff for research and development at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Hampton, Virginia, can be symptoms of body complications that are worth checking.
Some of the diseases that complement with the symptoms of rapid weight loss are thyroid problems, diabetes, tuberculosis, and even cancer.
Mental disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are also possible answers to symptoms of rapid, unintentional, weight loss.
Hyperthyroidism
One of the common culprits that lead to rapid and unintentional weight loss is hyperthyroidism. This condition results when too much thyroid hormone is in the bloodstream. Symptoms associated with this condition include anxiety, heart palpitations), sweating, rapid and unintentional weight loss, and diarrhea among others.
Treating hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism has a cure. It can be treated in different ways depending on why the thyroid is overactive and the age of the patient. Some of the means to treat an overactive thyroid include medications that decrease the production of thyroid hormone or by surgical removal of part of the thyroid gland.
Other relievers
Apart from hyperthyroidism, other complications that result in unintended and rapid weight loss include tuberculosis, diabetes, and cancer.
Each of these conditions has a cure.
1. Treating TB – The best way to treat TB is through regular and constant medication that can last up to months.
2. Disciplining diabetes – Diabetes requires a strict diet, exercise, and medication to maintain your blood sugar levels.
3. Detecting cancer – Early detection of cancer is essential. Treatment may include surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Mental disorders
Anorexia is the most common mental disorder that results in rapid weight loss. Anorexia strikes mostly girls and teens. It is a sickness that has alarmed society because of the death of a Brazilian supermodel.
In medical terms, anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight.
Treating anorexia is important. It has to be detected immediately. Once you see someone with symptoms of rapid weight loss without any known effort, you have to talk to her. She might be needing your help.
Detection better than cure
Once you have notice that you are suffering from symptoms of rapid weight loss, you need to see your doctor immediately. Do not celebrate because you are achieving the ideal weight and body image as seen in the media. A healthy lifestyle is important.
Acute Leukemia Symptoms And What To Look For
Acute leukemia is a form of cancer that affects the white blood cells. It can present in many forms such as Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), which is very common in children, especially 2-5 years of age; Acute Myelogenic Leukemia (AML), and Acute Non-Lymphatic Leukemia (ANLL). This article shares a brief overview of the symptoms to look for as well as the causes, diagnosis and treatment options associated with this disease.
Acute Leukemia
Symptoms – A man, woman or child with this condition may experience a constant tired feeling that can be accompanied with a low fever, anemia, pale skin, general ill feeling, easily bruised skin, and/or frequent nose bleeds or bleeding gums. Other possible symptoms include abdominal pain with an enlarged spleen, and infections with sores in the mouth.
Causes – The cause of this form of cancer is unknown, but risk of contracting the disease increases with a family history, Down Syndrome, or other congenital disorders, identical twins, or exposure to toxic chemicals.
Diagnosis – The first indication of a problem is typically an observation of the aforementioned symptoms. A physical exam with studies of the blood, bone marrow, or cerebral spinal fluid should follow to confirm the diagnosis. In some cases certain x-rays or CT scans may also be used to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment – Proper treatment of acute leukemia may include blood or platelet transfusions, anticancer medication and radiation treatments. A bone marrow transplant may be necessary in some cases. A physician may also prescribe cortisone drugs and pain relievers (except aspirin) to help a patient deal with symptoms.
Acute leukemia is cancer of the white blood cells that can affect children and adults depending on the type of cancer. If treatment is successful and a patient goes into remission, there will be an ongoing need for check-ups to be certain it does not return.
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Many people seem to have a distorted and incorrect definition of the word “remission,” as it is used in relation to cancer patients. Most commonly people seem to believe that going into remission means that the patient is successfully treated and safe.
However, according to the American Cancer Society, cancer remission is a “period of time when the cancer is responding to treatment or is under control. In a complete cancer remission, all the signs and symptoms of the disease disappear…Complete cancer remissions may continue for several years and be considered cures.”
So, someone who goes into cancer remission is not showing signs or symptoms of the cancer. It doesn’t matter how many cancer cells are still going strong and growing in the body of the patient, for any time frame that it isn’t causing “signs and symptoms,” the patient is said to be in remission.
Oddly enough, there isn’t much discussion in the advertisements for traditional cancer treatments regarding the extension in the length of life for the patient. And there aren’t many discussions about the quality of life for the patient.
These two concepts are not factored in when talking about “cancer remission” in a patient.Typically speaking, cancer remission refers to shrinkage in the size of a tumor or to the change in some of the tumor markers. Tumor markers are substances, usually proteins, which are produced by the body in response to cancerous growth or tissues. However, a lot of the markers are also found in non-cancerous conditions so they aren’t really a good diagnostic tool for cancer.
Traditional cancer therapies are successful in shrinking tumors and reducing tumor markers. For this reason, cancer remission is used as the indication of “successful” cancer treatment.
Cancer remission doesn’t necessarily mean the patient doesn’t die. For example, a patient is said to have been successfully treated for cancer if the therapies put them into remission, even if they die from pneumonia. Despite the fact that the pneumonia was only fatal because of the cancer therapies, because cancer remission existed, it was successful treatment.
To most people, no treatment that still results in death should be considered successful. However, when it comes to cancer remission, that’s exactly what can happen when they pursue only traditional cancer treatment options.
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Herbal Remedies For Leukemia – How Can They Help?
Leukemia is a blood disorder that affects a surprisingly large number of people. The death rate of this disease is alarming and it causes people to turn to other treatments that science can provide. Herbal remedies for leukemia has been given consideration as an alternative treatment.
What is leukemia?
Leukemia is another type of cancer that begins in the blood cells. For people suffering from leukemia, their bone marrows generate abnormal white blood cells. These are called the leukemia cells.
During the first stage of this disease, the leukemia cells may look like they are functioning normally. But after some time, they begin to out populate the normal white blood cells and also the red blood cells of our body. This is the reason why the blood cannot function correctly.
Cause of Leukemia
The exact cause of leukemia still remains a mystery. Experts cannot explain why this disease sprouts in random people. However, due to intensive studies, they have found some factors that may put you at risk of leukemia. Here are some of them:
1. Exposure to high level radiation
Those people who are regularly exposed to a high level of radiation have a high chance of developing leukemia.
2. Exposure to certain chemicals
Exposure to chemicals, such as Benzene can put you at a risk of developing leukemia. Another chemical that may cause considerable damage to your cells is formaldehyde.
3. Chemotherapy
This might seem crazy since chemotherapy is used to treat cancer patients. However, there are some studies conducted that people fighting from a different type of cancer can later develop leukemia because of their frequent chemotherapy sessions.
4. Down Syndrome
People with Down syndrome have a higher risk of developing leukemia because of their abnormal chromosomes.
Treatment
The first line of treatment that people with Leukemia would most likely utilize is chemotherapy. However, chemotherapy can also assault your immune system and can leave you defenseless against other viral infections and other complications.
Patients undergoing chemotherapy are all physically spent after every session. Chemotherapy also causes these patients to lose hair. This is why many have also turned to herbal remedies for leukemia.
These herbal remedies for leukemia have helped many a number of leukemia sufferers:
1. The nutrients found in garlic can protect our body from infections. Since chemotherapy can lower your immune system, Garlic can aid that problem.
2. You can also concoct an herbal tea out of stinging nettle, elder blossoms, brooklime herb and dandelion to help your body gain back its strength and normalize its primary functions.
It is also important for a leukemia sufferer to have a balanced diet and regular exercise to support their body in the fight against cancer cells.
Along with these, they can also take an herbal remedy that can help promote healthier cells. A product called Bio-Oxidate Defense can help a lot.
This product can support healthy cells in our body and can help the body fight the effects of bad cells. Bio-Oxidate Defense can also up your immune system so you will not be defenseless against other diseases.
This product is 100% safe to use because it uses natural herbal ingredients such as Green Tea, Rooibos and Grape seed extract which are a very helpful combination in supporting the body and help healthy cell growth.
When it comes to the battle against Leukemia, every help is needed. Herbal remedies for leukemia and a product like Bio-Oxidate Defense is just what you need to help you in this fight.
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Are you a Leukemia patient suffering from low platelets? Are you also searching for non-toxic methods that will help increase your low platelets caused by a form of leukemia? Well there is hope that what I am about to share with you will be of great benefit to you. So keep reading and do not miss this.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia are the most common forms of leukemia in adults. The lymphocytic type being the most common of the two. Both types are discussed briefly in this article.
Leukemia patients may develop low platelets for different reasons. First the disease attacks the bone marrow where platelets are produced. Second, the medications that treat the disease can cause suppression of platelet production.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
CLL is a progressive form of leukemia. Most persons suffering from this type of leukemia do not present any form of symptoms whatsoever until the disease has advanced to stage four. It is during this stage IV of the disease that treatment is started. This is the stage in which thrombocytopenia ( low platelets ) starts. So you can say that low platelets in CLL is a sign of advanced disease.
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Also known as Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia or CML seems to be more aggressive than Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.
CML has three phases:
1. Chronic phase: This is the phase where non-specific symptoms may be present with minor indications of severe disease. Some of these symptoms may be fatigue, a sense of feeling sick, anemia, chills at night etc. These symptoms may last from months to years
2. Accelerated phase: It is in this phase that a low platelet count can occur. Also all symptoms especially anemia tend to get worse.
3. Terminal phase: In this phase the disease tends to advance rapidly spreading to other areas such as bone, brain, lymph nodes etc and is usually fatal.
Both types of Leukemias can be low platelet causes at different stages. Natural herbs, dietary and life-style changes can be of great help in reducing some of the effects that these diseases have on your platelets.
The natural approach is not a substitute of your treatment but an adjunct healthy approach to support your body and immune system and especially to keep your platelets as normal as possible and a preventative way of avoiding the use of strong medications and surgery (splenectomy or taking out of the spleen – this surgical procedure is done more with CML sufferers).
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The feline cancer Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) weakens the immune system, causes anemia and the growth of tumors in cats. The lifespan of a FeLV cat is short as about 85% of infected cats die within 3 1/2 years of infection. If you are a foster cat care giver, there are steps you can take to prevent the spread of the disease to the non-infected cats in your home.
If you’ve decided to help improve the lives of lost or unwanted cats and kittens by being a foster caregiver, you need to take steps to prevent the spread of a feline cancer like FeLV and other communicable diseases to your own healthy cats. The FeLV cat virus is carried in the saliva of an infected cat. Cats can catch FeLV when there is cat-to-cat direct contact by licking.
Kittens are particularly susceptible as the virus can cross the placenta to the unborn kitten of a FeLV cat mother. Young kittens under 4 months are also vulnerable. They need time to build up immunity and if they are introduced to a number of infected cats, then their resistance to the disease is weakened.
FeLV cat symptoms take several months or years make an appearance. So, in the early stages of fostering a cat or kitten you may never know that the animal carries the virus unless you have him tested. It is possible to test for the infection and the general recommendation is to test for the FeLV cat virus twice about 12 weeks apart.
Here’s some tips to keep you own cats from becoming infected with the feline cancer virus (FeLV).
1. Don’t allow your own cats to mix with the foster cat or kitten.
2. Have your own cats tested for FeLV and consider a cat health insurance plan to pay for unexpected diseases or accidents.
3. You may opt for a FeLV vaccination for you cats, but understand that no vaccine is 100% effective. Some cat health insurance plans help pay for these vaccinations.
4. Keep the fostered cats in isolation or in pairs in isolation – especially if they were already mixing.
5. Don’t introduce new fostered cats into your home until the preceding fostered cats have new homes.
6. Provide separate litter boxes and feeding bowls for the fostered cats. Disinfect the bowls daily and the litter boxes at least twice a week.
7. Don’t re-home a foster cat that is a positive FeLV cat without notifying and educating the adopting caregiver.
There you have it. It is possible to prevent the deadly FeLV cat virus from infecting your non-foster cats. Testing your own cats for the FeLV virus is a must and you should talk to your vet about the vaccine options. If your home cat does contract feline leukemia, you should do everything you can to limit direct contact with other cats in your household.
As a foster cat caregiver, you take on a bit more risk of spreading feline cancer to your own cats. Prevention and early protection is always the most cost effective approach, so why not protect your own cats and your finances with a cat health insurance plan before they contract any feline cancer or illness. Standard health care is costly and when your cat needs advanced care the cost quickly becomes unaffordable without a pet insurance plan.
10 Warning Signs of Cancer in Women
Even though women are generally more realistic about danger signals than men, many do not pay attention to the warning signs that could signal cancer. Here are some danger signals that should never be ignored.
1. Changes in the breast become apparent to most women immediately but many are on the lookout only for “lumps”. However, there are other symptoms that they should also be aware of: thickening and rash-like redness of the skin, nipple discharges when not breastfeeding and changes in the nipple’s shape are all things that should be checked out immediately.
2. Skin pigmentation changes are also a danger signal, specially if bleeding develops or there is too much scaling on the skin.
3. Blood in the stool or urine is never a good sign and could signal colon cancer. Blood in the toilet could be from menstruation but it is good to get this checked and be sure.
4. Indigestion without any apparent reason is a caution sign for stomach cancer.
5. Lymph node changes, specially if they get larger and have been around for over a month, you need to get checked right away to make sure they are not due to an infection. These are under your armpit or your neck usually.
6. Unexplained fevers that linger without any signs of the flu or other infections may signal cancer in its early stages in the case of blood cancers like leukemia or advanced stages after cancer has already spread.
7. Unexplained weight loss should be considered a danger signal at any time and checked out right away. While it could be an overactive thyroid, this type of weight loss is normally considered cancer unless proved otherwise.
8. Unusual bleeding should never be ignored, specially bleeding that takes place between periods. Sometimes, gastrointestinal bleeding is mistaken for menstruation but anything that is out of the normal for you should be checked out and if you are normally regular, this is a danger signal. Some women do spot between periods and that’s OK but if this is a new development a checkup is urgent.
9. Difficulty in swallowing could be a sign of gastrointestinal cancer like cancer of the esophagus. This is so removed from the idea of cancer that many people, including women, never worry about it.
10. Depression accompanied by abdominal pain may point to pancreatic cancer. Although a link has been found, it has not been well understood yet but it should definitely be check out right away.
Tonsil Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a type of cancer that originates in lymphocytes, which are cells that circulate in the lymphatic system. When this cancer affects the tonsils that are part of the lymphatic system, then it is termed as tonsil lymphoma.
As per the U.S. National Institutes of Health, lymphomas make up for about five percent of all cases of cancer in the United States. Traditionally, lymphoma is classified as Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that used to include all the other types. Modern classifications of lymphoma are much more complex and sophisticated.
The lymphatic system is part of the body’s immune system and hence individuals with weakened immune system as a result of HIV infection or from certain medication are seen to have a higher incidence of lymphoma.
Cancer of the tonsil accounts for nearly 0.6% of malignant cancers in the United States every year. It is generally difficult to diagnose this disease as the symptoms are quite delayed in their onset. Lymphoma is the second most common type of tonsil malignancy and is usually manifested as a submucosal mass in an asymmetrically enlarged tonsil. Patients are usually seen with a large mass in the oropharynx, and a swollen neck mass and complain of pain and weight loss. Cigarette smoking and heavy drinking are considered the common risk factors for the disease.
Lymphoma that is limited to the tonsil is treated with radiation, whereas if the disease is widespread then it requires chemotherapy. In certain stages of lymphoma, it is advisable to have surgery for removal of the malignancy followed by chemotherapy.
It is imperative that routine follow-up care of patients with tonsil cancer is done, as the risk of developing a second primary tumor is highest in this group. Studies have shown that patients suffering from tonsil cancer have a high 30% risk of developing it a second time.
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Leukemia is a disease that is considered to be life-threatening. It requires prompt intervention when discovered, in order to maximize the chances of recovering through specific treatment and therapy. Leukemia is basically a type of cancer of the bone marrow and blood, caused by inappropriate cellular activity. The disease can be of different forms, according to the types of blood cells that cause its development. Also, if leukemia is developing rapidly, it is called acute leukemia, while if the disease is developing slowly, it is referred to as chronic leukemia.
The direct leukemia causes are still unknown. In present, medical science isn’t able to establish the specific leukemia causes. However, a strong connection between certain genetic factors and the development of the disease has been revealed. Leukemia occurs on the background of genetic failure that causes the excessive production of incomplete, partially matured blood cells. Also, leukemia has a hereditary character, allowing the transmission of genetic predispositions to disease from one generation to another. Although many factors are known to contribute to the development of leukemia, they alone can’t be considered leukemia causes.
Despite the fact that statistics indicate a higher incidence of the disease in people that are exposed to some environmental factors of risk, leukemia doesn’t seem to be caused by neither of them in particular. Among the environmental factors that are thought to be leukemia causes, here are some of the most plausible ones:
- Smoking – smoking is thought to increase the chances of being affected by leukemia. Although statistics show that around 20 percent of acute leukemia cases are related to smoking, leukemia also occurs to people that don’t smoke and therefore it can’t be considered a leukemia cause on itself;
- Prolonged exposure to radiation – Radiation is considered to facilitate the development of leukemia. It is believed that exposure to X-rays can be a leukemia cause;
- Prolonged exposure to benzene – statistics reveal that this is a major factor of risk in some forms of leukemia, such as myelogenous leukemia;
- Chemotherapy and cancer treatment – previous cancer treatments and chemotherapy are known to facilitate the occurrence and development of leukemia and can be considered plausible leukemia causes. Within a few years from the completion of chemotherapy and other treatments for certain forms of cancer, most people can develop leukemia.
Among the genetic factors that are considered to be leukemia causes, the following ones are thought to be the most important:
- chromosome abnormalities – some rare genetic syndromes are known to contribute to leukemia causes;
- Immune system genetic problems – a weak immune system is very likely to facilitate the occurrence of leukemia and therefore can be considered a leukemia cause;
- Down syndrome – children born with this syndrome have a very high risk of developing acute leukemia.
The list of possible leukemia causes can continue further, but these are the most common factors that are considered to be interrelated with leukemia. While some of them can be prevented, others reside within the genes and in present can’t be corrected. In future, however, thanks to medical advance, we will probably be able to prevent leukemia and other forms of cancer.
Issues With Feline Leukemia
Feline Leukemia is one of the most common types of cancers that effect cats. It is highly important to have your cats immunized so that there is a lesser risk of them developing leukemia. If your cat is healthy and has all of its vaccines, then you probably won’t have to worry as much.
Feline Leukemia is deadly towards cats and, if left untreated, they will die within a few weeks of contracting the disease. But if proper care is taken, you can see your cat live for many years, even with leukemia.
As with any animal that has leukemia there are symptoms that will present themselves so that you can take your cat to the vet for treatment. These symptoms can range anywhere from consistent vomiting, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. These lymph nodes are found all over the cats body, so you would have to regularly check on your own in order to find them. If you do find any swollen lymph nodes, you should take your cat to the vet as soon as possible to have them checked for leukemia.
Making sure that you have your cat vaccinated will usually take care of any threat of leukemia, but some cats will still get it. You should keep an eye on what your cats are eating, especially ones that are outside frequently. Cats are known to be natural hunters and can get leukemia through an infected animal that they have hunted. Leukemia is not a pleasant disease for your cat to have, but you are able to give it a comfortable life with certain treatments if you catch it early enough.
A lot of people are choosing to go the all-natural route these days. There are plenty of sites online that offer resources to those that feel an all-natural aspect is better for your cat. Whether or not you decide to go with the holistic approach, you should still contact your vet to see what options you have available to you.
Your cat’s health is extremely important to you and your family and you will want to take every avenue you can in order to make it as healthy as you possibly can. By giving it regular checkups, you can accomplish this easily.