UK---News---Three more of family told they have cancer

By Tony Gardner

THREE more members of the same family have been diagnosed with a rare cancer.

Brothers Stuart and Jamie Dean and their aunt Denise Peel, 38, had undergone surgery to have their thyroid glands removed after being diagnosed as having multiple endocrine neoplasia.
But despite the operation, performed as a precautionary measure, doctors have told Stuart, 22, Jamie, 17, and Denise, 38, that the cancer has now been detected in each of them. Denise faces a six-hour operation to have lymph glands removed. Her two nephews are awaiting tests but expect to have to undergo the same ordeal.
It is the latest blow in two years for the family who have vowed to fight on to beat the condition together.
Diagnosed
In December 2004, Stuart and Jamie's mum, Shelly Dean, was diagnosed with MEN, which tends to run in families and can cause tumours to appear on hormone-producing glands.
Shelly, from Belle Isle, Leeds, underwent emergency surgery on cancerous cells in her thyroid gland but only a few months after the operation the tumours returned and she underwent intense radiotherapy. Stuart and Jamie since discovered they carry the condition and underwent surgery only to now be told the condition has returned.
Her other son Tommy, 10, underwent surgery and has been given the all clear. Daughters Natasha, 18, and Kirsty, nine, were found to be free of the condition.
Husband Steve was the only person not under threat.
Shelly said: "Stuart and Jamie have been told the cancer is present and have to go through more testing to see what is the best way to treat it.
"We are all hoping that it will not involve another operation but that could well be the only way to treat it."
Earlier this year Shelly's sister Denise, who lives in Middleton, was identified as carrying MEN syndrome and had the thyroid removal operation at St James Hospital in October. She too now faces more major surgery.
Tested
Son Grant, 13, has so far been given the all clear but toddlers Jordan, three, and 12-month-old Emma are to be tested in the new year to see if they are at risk. Husband Richard is free of the disease.
Denise told the YEP: "We will keep supporting each other and will do what we can to get through it."

 

AU---News---Cervix cancer risk

Kate Jones

January 03, 2007 12:00am

FEMALE smokers infected by the human papilloma virus are 27 times more likely to develop cervical cancer than uninfected non-smokers.

A study of more than 105,000 women found a strong link between smoking and HPV-16, the most prevalent strain of human papilloma virus.

HPV-16 is one of only two strains of the virus that cause cervical cancer. About 80 per cent of the population are infected with HPV at any time, but most women will never know unless it is picked up by a Pap smear.

The Swedish study, published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention, found that the risk of cervical cancer was higher in women with high levels of HPV who had smoked for a long time.

By contrast, non-smokers with a high-level HPV infection had just a sixfold increased risk of cervical cancer.

Researchers from Stockholm University analysed the medical records of 105,760 women, including 375 who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Despite identifying the risk of smoking and its link to HPV, the researchers could not explain how the two interact to cause cancer.

"The role of smoking remains particularly enigmatic," the study said.

Analysts of women's health said the study gave smokers yet another reason to butt out.

The operations manager of Marie Stopes International, Jill Michelson, said it was important for all women, young and old, to quit smoking and reduce their chances of developing cervical cancer.

"This should make women come to their senses and give up smoking," Ms Michelson said.

"The most important thing is to be aware of these issues, to give up smoking and to have regular Pap smears."

A Pap smear does not specifically test for HPV, but some results will show whether the cells of the cervix have been affected by the virus.

Women 18 and older who have had sex should have Pap smears every two years.

The Australian-invented Gardasil vaccine will be made available to girls and women aged 12 to 26 this year.

Gardasil protects against HPV strains 16 and 18, which cause 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases.