eHealth Connection | Cooper University Hospital

Many people have someone in their family who has had cancer, but some families have a hereditary or genetic factor that can greatly increase their chances of developing the disease. Identifying these genetic factors and following appropriate screening, risk reduction, and prevention recommendations can significantly reduce the risk for breast, colorectal, endometrial [uterine], and ovarian cancers.

“Knowing what your risk is allows us to help you start to reduce that risk,” said Dana Farengo Clark, M.S., a board-certified genetic counselor at the Cooper Cancer Institute. Clark works closely with medical oncologists Generosa Grana, M.D., and Robert A. Somer, M.D., to direct Cooper’s Cancer Genetics Program. Read the full story

April is Cancer Control Month, a time to stop and think about how our lifestyle choices could be putting us at risk for developing the disease.

Research now shows that like tobacco and alcohol use, many cancer-risk factors are within our control, namely, our weight, the foods we eat, and our level of physical activity.

Experts say that, by keeping off the extra pounds, eating the right foods and exercising daily, we can cut our chances of developing several types of cancer.

Read the full story

Gastrointestinal cancer, or cancer of the digestive system, includes cancers of the esophagus, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon) and rectum.  Some form of gastrointestinal cancer is newly diagnosed in more than 250,000 Americans annually. This figure amounts to about 20 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers every year.

While the cause of many types of gastrointestinal cancers is unknown, some types of cancers have “lifestyle” risk factors. These risk factors include excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and diets high in animal fat and/or salted, cured or processed meats, such as bacon, ham and salami.

Genetics and family history notwithstanding, other risk factors for gastrointestinal cancers include obesity, chronic pancreatitis and increasing age.

In general, cancer begins when an error (mutation) occurs in a cell’s DNA. The mutation causes the cell to grow and divide at a rapid rate and to continue living when normal cells would die. The accumulating cancerous cells form a tumor that can invade nearby structures. The cancer cells can break off from the tumor and spread throughout the body (metastisis).

Read the full story