Women Health Online

A test that detects a particular protein in the blood (PAM4) correctly identified roughly two-thirds of patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer. These results were presented at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Each year, close to 44,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States and more than 37,000 die from the disease. The disease is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and treatment of advanced disease remains challenging.

Currently, there are no screening tests that are able to accurately identify pancreatic cancer at an early, more-treatable stage.

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TUESDAY, July 19 () — Giving the ovaries a rest when young women with breast cancer are undergoing chemotherapy may help prevent early menopause and preserve fertility.

According to new research in the July 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, shutting down the ovaries by giving the hormone triptorelin when a patient is undergoing chemotherapy helped prevent early menopause.

Triptorelin appears to protect the ovaries by halting ovarian function temporarily, although it’s not entirely clear why.

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FRIDAY, July 1 () — Oncologists and even some breast cancer support groups are endorsing a U.S. health advisory panel’s recommendation that the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin be removed for use in metastatic breast cancer.

The reason: There’s still a lack of understanding of how the drug works or who it helps.

Avastin was given fast-track approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 to be used, in combination with the chemotherapy drug Taxol, by women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.

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OTTAWA — Cancer fundraising could get a leg up, thanks to some Canadian women who are bringing attention to their nether regions for a good cause.

Willson and her friends were inspired by Movember — a popular fundraising campaign in recent years that’s seen men grow moustaches in November to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

Women are being encouraged to choose from almost a dozen stencil designs — there’s Charlie Chaplin’s moustache, the bare-all Brazilian, a slim landing strip, or the David Suzuki, which features the Canadian environmentalist’s famous moustache and goatee.

It’s a drive that began as a friendly dinner with friends that turned into a brainstorming session.

“We were playing with the names Vulvember, Beavember, then one of our friends blurted, ‘Julyna,’ and we started to laugh and said, ‘That’s it!’” said Willson, 29, who is hoping at least 100 women will sport one of the fun designs, which could be easily done at home or by an esthetician.

Toronto’s Gee Beauty is currently donating a portion of their waxing proceeds for the cause.

Willson said she’s not sure what design she’s going with yet, but will probably end up sculpting the letter “J” — an emblem for the group’s name.

The major cause of cervical cancer, human papillomavirus, will affect approximately 75 per cent of sexually active men and women at least once in their lifetime. Willson

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