Swollen tonsils are a symptom of tonsillitis, an infection of the tonsils. Because the tonsils, which are lymph nodes positioned at the top of the throat, guard the throat from foreign organisms that might cause disease if they reach the lungs,...
Colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in the world, results in 52 thousand deaths each year in the United States, as reported in 2007 by the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. Around 95 percent of colon cancers are adenocarcinomas,...
Calcium is so important to muscular function that if blood calcium runs low, your body will take the calcium from your bones for use. Of all the minerals, your body contains the most calcium, states the National Institutes of Health Office of...
According to Cornell University, 86 percent of women treated for breast cancer will survive at least five years. Research regarding the role diet plays in the survival of breast cancer is still in its infancy. However, it appears that a healthier...
The heart is a four-chambered pump with the two atria at the top and the larger ventricles at the bottom. The right side receives blood and pumps it to the lungs for oxygenation. From the lungs blood returns to the heart on the left to be pumped...
The origin of AIDS and HIV has been a topic of fierce debate and argument since the early 1980s. The medical and scientific communities now agree on the fact that HIV causes AIDS, which means any probing regarding the rise of AIDS requires digging...
Colon adenocarcinoma is a type of colon cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, risk factors include a family history of colon or rectal cancer, an age of 50 or older, a personal history of cancer or finding polyps--non-cancerous...
Genomic Health, a life science company in California, offers Oncotype DX testing. This 21-gene assay provides prediction of chemotherapy benefit for breast cancer patients, as well as recurrence. Validated, the test allows physicians and patients...
Breast cancer involves genetic mutations that make breast cells proliferate rapidly, evade normal cell death and form tumors. During breast cancer progression, tumor cells invade tissues in and around the breast, and eventually travel to distant...
When it comes to a properly functioning heart, calcium plays an essential role. As with any nutrient, calcium has many different functions inside of the body. While most think of calcium only to help build bones, the role of calcium far outreaches...
Stage III colon cancer (also known as Stage 3 or Duke's C colon cancer) is cancer of the colon that has spread beyond the colon wall to nearby regional lymph nodes and tissues. Roughly half of patients diagnosed with stage III cancer will die...
More than 68,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society, which notes it is the deadliest type of skin cancer. It begins in melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin which gives the...
If you have a head cold or other viral infection, you may feel swollen lymph nodes on the sides of your neck. This is a positive reaction that signals your lymph nodes are functioning to fight off the infection. Other causes of swollen lymph nodes...
Colon cancer occurs when malignant cancer cells begin to grow and spread within the walls of the colon. The colon has several regions, with the sigmoid colon being the last section of the colon immediately above the rectum and anus. As the cancer...
Breast cancer, the abnormal growth of cells that originates in the breast tissue, is the second most common cancer in women. The American Cancer Society estimates that one in eight women will have invasive breast cancer sometime in their lives....
While breast cancer is primarily thought of as a disease affecting women, it does occur in men, although not as frequently. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that out of every 100 cases of breast cancer, less than one is in...
The American Cancer Society notes that aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and after lung cancer, it is the most common cause of cancer death in women. The chance of dying from this disease is 1 in 35,...
Calcium is a beneficial and essential mineral, but too much calcium can have negative effects on your heart. High calcium, or hypercalcemia, is a condition marked by excessive levels of calcium inside your bloodstream. Conditions ranging from...
Staging of ovarian cancer is important, as it influences treatment and determines likely prognosis, according to the American Cancer Society. Once a stage is determined, it does not change even if the cancer comes back or spreads. Staging is based...
If you are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and are HIV positive, AIDS could be the next evolution if treatment is not administered in time. HIV infection attacks your immune system, making you susceptible to a variety of...
The American Cancer Society's (ACS) Treatment Guidelines for breast cancer patients say radiation is used to destroy cancer cells left behind in the breast, chest wall or lymph nodes after surgery. It is considered a local treatment, targeted at...
Breast cancer is the result of a malignant tumor arising in the cells of the breast tissue. Breast cancer can metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body via the invasion of healthy surrounding tissues or by invading the lymphatic system...
Legs can swell for many reasons, including muscle or joint inflammation, remaining in one position for too long, the removal of lymph nodes in your lower body during cancer surgery, or consuming high levels of salt in your diet that leads to water...
You're sneezing and your head feels like it's going to burst. You have a head cold and despite masking the symptoms with store bought remedies you know it's still there. Speeding a cold along its way has sent many a desperate man or woman to seek...
