#Cancer screening

[reasonsforhope]

"The Food and Drug administration has approved the U.S.'s first at-home alternative to the Pap smear, a procedure generations of women [and nonbinary and trans people with uteruses] have dreaded and often found painful.

The new device by Teal Health will offer a "much preferred experience," the company said in its announcement, and also aims to increase screening rates by making the procedure more convenient.

Traditionally, gynecologists have inserted a cold metal speculum deep into a woman's vagina to scrape cells from the cervix.

The Teal Wand — "built with empathy," the company said — uses a swab to collect a vaginal sample. Women will then mail the sample to a lab that will screen for HPV (human papillomavirus), the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. A growing body of research has found HPV testing to be highly accurate.

The FDA approval Friday [May 9, 2025] follows a U.S.-based study that found at-home screening was just as effective as that done in a doctor's office. The study also found women overwhelmingly preferred self–screening at home, and said they'd be more likely to stay up to date with cervical cancer screenings that way.

Every year, about 13,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed, and more than 4,000 women die from the disease. Rates are down dramatically since Dr. Georgios Papanicolaou published a 1943 paper on how to use the Pap smear for screening, and it then became common.

But about a quarter of women in the U.S. are behind on such screenings, and medical experts say reducing that is key to the ultimate goal of eliminating cervical cancer. There's also a racial gap, with Black and Native American women far more likely to die from cervical cancer than white women. The HPV vaccine for teen and preteen girls, introduced in 2007, has also led to a global push to tackle the disease that way.

At-home cervical cancer screenings are already available in several other countries, including Australia and Sweden.

Teal Health says its self-testing device will be available starting next month [June 2025], in California first and then expanding. It will be by prescription, through a telehealth service, for women 25-65 years old who are "at average risk." The company says it's working with insurance companies to provide coverage."

-via NPR, May 10, 2025

[batbonesandlace]

Got my cancer results in, I'm cancer free! Fuck yeah. 😊

[saywhat-politics]

New: The right-wing Supreme Court majority is now looking to potentially overturn the Affordable Care Act’s policy that makes cancer screenings, heart statins, and HIV prevention free.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Tierney Sneed and Tami Luhby at CNN:

The Supreme Court said Friday it will review the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost coverage mandates for certain preventive care services, putting the landmark health care law in front of the justices again just as President-elect Donald Trump – who tried to repeal the law during his first presidency – returns to the White House.

While not an existential threat to Obamacare, the case could imperil access Americans have to cost-free preventive treatments and services, including HIV prevention medications, heart statins and various screenings for cancers and other diseases. The cost of some of these preventive services can be substantial, which would deter some people – particularly those with lower incomes – from accessing the care and slow the early detection of potentially deadly illnesses. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the mandates in question, based on the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force, violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because its members are not appointed by the president with Senate confirmation. The 5th Circuit’s ruling was directed at no-cost coverage requirements implemented after Obamacare’s enactment in March 2010.

The appellate ruling only blocked the mandates as applied to the challengers of the specific case, a Texas business and several individuals. But both the Biden administration and the challengers agreed that the 5th Circuit’s precedent set the stage for another party to sue to block the mandates nationwide, and both sides had asked the Supreme Court to take up the case.

Among the other no-cost coverage mandates that are put at risk by the 5th Circuit ruling are prenatal nutritional supplements, physical therapy for older Americans to prevent falls and lung cancer screenings that, according to the Biden administration, could save the lives of 10,000 to 20,000 Americans a year. A variety of other no-cost preventive services – such as well-baby visits and autism screenings for children, cervical cancer screenings and breastfeeding support programs for women, and flu, measles and chickenpox vaccines – are not at issue in the case.

[...]

‘Protections for millions’

In her petition that the Supreme Court take up the case, US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the 5th Circuit ruling “jeopardizes healthcare protections that have been in place for 14 years and that millions of Americans currently enjoy.” “This Court’s review is warranted because the court of appeals has held an Act of Congress unconstitutional and its legal rationale would inflict immense practical harms,” she wrote, later adding that the justices should also take up the case because the appellate “decision threatens to disrupt a key part of the ACA that provides healthcare protections for millions of Americans.” The challengers also urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, even as they argued that the 5th Circuit’s ruling was “well-reasoned and correct.” They pointed to the Supreme Court’s typical practice of granting cases where an act of Congress was deemed unconstitutional by a lower court. The Texas business, Braidwood, sued over the mandates because the company had moral objections to covering the HIV prevention medications – known as PrEP. The company also objected to paying for insurance that covered screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and other treatments related to conduct the employer morally opposed.

The MAGA majority on SCOTUS saw fit to review the Becerra v. Braidwood case, which would review Obamacare (PPACA)’s no-cost of HIV prevention medications, heart statins, and various screenings for cancers and other disease.

[timmurleyart]

Nice sweet story here with Ryan and fan- and to my big surprise and honor my 8x8’ mural I made for MGH can be seen in the background. 🟥🟨🖼️

[bpod-bpod]

Cancer Screen Test

Answering questions like "how many genetically transformed (with gene mutations associated with becoming cancerous) cells does it take to form a detectable tumour?" and "how frequently do such screen-obvious tumours transition to become clinically apparent and symptomatic" is of great importance to establish the benefits or risks of cancer screening. Here, in a breast cancer mouse model, researchers track the early cell to screen-detectable lesion and then the next stage to becoming lethal cancer. They reveal that the step from genetically transformed to screen-detectable lesion is rare, and that spread doesn't necessarily correlate with growth rate

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Joshua D. Ginzel and colleagues

Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, March 2025

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

[cherry-pop-elf]

Hey, it’s Belladonna here. Going through some health issues atm. Aka gene testing because of cancer that runs on both sides of my family

So I’m going to be kinda stressed for the next three weeks. Given it takes that long for blood tests to return back

So either I’m going to be even more invested into tumblr writing to cope, or I’m gonna be invisible.

Going through a lot right now, so wanted to keep my followers updated if I vanish for a while. I’m just very stressed

I wish Georgie was real. So he could hold me and tell me that he won’t leave me even if I have it. That he will help me through this. Very scary time. So fucking scary.

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Tomorrow starts my cleanse before my colon cancer screening. So my breakfast tomorrow is going to be chicken broth and sprite.

I then have to go to another campus for training because we still have no air conditioner at ours. It is a campus where you have to walk an ungodly amount of steps between the parking lot and the building.

Under the best circumstances that is pretty hard for me, but tomorrow, my blood sugar is going to be off, and I won't be caffeinated.

I am just leaving the whole thing up to God because there's no way I can handle this on my own. Then at noon I get to come home and start drinking a gallon of liquid laxative and I have 6 hours in which to drink the entire gallon.

Then I assume I will spend the rest of the evening in the bathroom and I will have my procedure the next day at 7:00 a.m..

Good times, good times!

[driver270]

*Winces in old*

[soop-musical-fool]

motherfuckers just told my mom her prep medicine would be 100 bucks. On medicare. She had to cancel her colonoscopy.

The taxes she paid into the system with her entire life are getting put into defense executives' pockets and used for corporate bailouts while my own mother gets denied a fucking cancer screening.

I am livid.

[drforambhuta]

Targeted Therapy:

Precision or targeted therapies encompass medications engineered to disrupt specific molecules implicated in the progression of cancer. In contrast to conventional chemotherapy's broad impact on fast-dividing cells, precision therapies selectively target cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue integrity. These drugs aim at various molecular pathways involved in cancer development, including signaling cascades, angiogenesis, and DNA repair mechanisms.

An illustrative example of precision therapy is the application of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in treating specific cancer types like non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). TKIs hinder the activity of particular tyrosine kinases, crucial enzymes in cancer-promoting cell signaling pathways. By obstructing these kinases, TKIs effectively inhibit tumor growth and extend patient survival.

Likewise, monoclonal antibodies represent another form of precision therapy, binding to specific proteins on cancer cell surfaces, initiating immune-mediated tumor destruction. These antibodies can also be combined with cytotoxic agents or radioactive isotopes to heighten their anti-cancer properties.

Personalized Chemotherapy:

While precision therapies are central to personalized medicine, tailored chemotherapy remains vital in cancer treatment. Tailored chemotherapy involves customizing traditional cytotoxic drugs to suit the unique characteristics of each patient's tumor. This may involve adjusting drug doses, combining different agents, or selecting chemotherapy regimens based on tumor biology and patient-specific factors.

One approach to tailored chemotherapy utilizes predictive biomarkers to identify patients likely to respond positively to specific chemotherapy drugs. For example, certain mutations in the BRCA genes are associated with increased sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy in breast and ovarian cancers. By identifying these biomarkers, oncologists can identify patients who will benefit most from a particular chemotherapy regimen while minimizing potential toxicity for others.

Furthermore, progress in pharmacogenomics, which explores how genetic variations affect drug response, has provided insights into individual differences in drug metabolism and toxicity. By analyzing patients' genetic profiles, oncologists can predict their likelihood of experiencing adverse effects or poor response to chemotherapy drugs, enabling personalized dose adjustments and treatment optimization.

Early cancer detection and management is important for an improved success rate in cancer treatment. You can undergo regular health checkups to get diagnosed for cancer at an early-stage. There are many good hospitals in Mumbai that offer health checkup packages for cancer screening, such as a full body health checkup at Saifee Hospital Mumbai, which is one of the best hospitals in the country.

[neeligenetics]

Understanding Minimal Residual Disease (MRD): The Silent Indicator in Cancer Recovery

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

What a drag it is getting old.

Colon cancer screening stuff under the cut.

Friday will be my last solid meal before my colonoscopy on tuesday. On Saturday I can only have liquids but on Saturday I can have milk or dairy or any kind of creamy soup or any kind of soup really. But it's all liquids.

The next day is clearl liquid all day so basically just chicken broth and water but they did tell me I could have coffee in the morning just no cream.

On Monday it is the same thing, water, 7UP, and then I get to start that gigantic jug of basically just relaxative to drink all day long. I have five to seven hours to drink this entire jug.

Then at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday I get to go actually have the colonoscopy.

I could have done colon guard but I----TMI--- needed to have a GYN exam, and I am built so small that usually only female doctors know how to do it without causing me pain. And even then, it's pretty damn uncomfortable.

This year was the first time I've ever had a guy doctor do it, and it was so painful and said to tell him to stop and forget about it. So he is going to do it while I am unconscious during the colonoscopy. I could've used the colon guard, but by doing the invasive colonoscopy, I won't have to have another one for 10 years, while colon guard is only good for three I believe.

Having low blood sugar is going to make this a real adventure. So Monday I am leaving work at 12:00 to start my private home because basically I will be on the toilet the rest of the day. I'm worried about my blood sugar the other day that I have to be at work but what can you do. The day that I can have regular liquids I'll probably do apple juice a lot that seems to help keep my sugar up.

And while the rest of the district is going back on Monday, we are going back tomorrow even though the entire school is under construction and nobody will have air conditioning. AND is going to be 100°

[drjigarpatel]

Malignant Intestinal Disease Treatment in Gujarat

Get timely diagnosis and treatment of intestinal malignancies. Dr. Jigar Patel offers compassionate care for complex intestinal disorders. Services: Cancer screening, biopsies, surgery, chemotherapy referrals