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Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

What Are The Symptoms Of Ovarian Cancer?

July 5th, 2011

The symptoms of ovarian cancer are fairly problematic to recognize regrettably. This is because they are similar to the indications of regular menstruation or menopause that many (or most) women experience frequently anyway. The chance that women who still menstruate have, is if they notice that some of the regular feelings are not quite right.

Menopausal women have a bigger problem because they are new to their condition and it is so unpredictable anyway. The symptoms of ovarian cancer include: abdominal pain, a feeling of being bloated, twinges and tiredness.

That is why it is so difficult to use these symptoms as predictors or ovarian cancer. However, if you have these indications at a time when you would not normally do so, or if they last longer than usual, then it would be worth checking with a doctor or your gynecologist.

If you are concerned, obviously, you will have to have a check up, but if you are 'umming and ahhing', attempt to find out whether someone in your family has had ovarian cancer before. There is a tendency for it to run in families, but that is true or most types of cancer really.

However, if you are looking into your family's history of cancer, remember that cancer can out itself in different forms. for example, a man naturally cannot get ovarian cancer, but if your dad passed away of cancer you have an increased chance too, albeit it in possibly another kind.

Age is another issue in the likelihood of someone having this form of cancer - the older the more likely to be expected. There is also another bizarre twist here. Women who have had a number of children are least at risk, women who have chosen not to have children are more at danger, and women who have always been incapable of having children are most at risk.

The fact is that this is such a difficult form of cancer to home-diagnose that it is hardly worth the effort. You have to listen to your body and trust your gut feelings. If things are not the same as you are used to, go and have a check up as soon as you can.

Apart from that, go for a ordinary check up anyway. Different countries have different recommendations, but whatever advice that your doctor or gynecologist gives you, you should follow. Ovarian cancer can be treated successfully and not only that but if it is caught early enough in young women, treatment does not necessarily mean loss of fertility.

So, the watchword is do not miss your check ups. Almost 75% of women who are diagnosed early can expect a complete recovery. Young women have an even higher chance than older women, which means that older women should go for check ups more often than younger women.

Do not be apathetic about this form of cancer even though the symptoms of ovarian cancer are not simple to recognize, in fact that is a very good reason for you to let an expert check you out. The tests are not invasive and consist of merely a blood test and an ultra sound scan.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Is Hair Transplant Surgery Good For Women?

June 9th, 2011

People associate balding with men and that is not surprising as most western men do go bald sooner or later. Most men really hate going bald. Some take to brushing their hair in a different way, having it cut short or even shaved off altogether or they wear a hat. Increasingly, men are seeing balding as a natural process over which they have no control and merely get on with their lives. This is a step in the correct direction.

However, women go bald too, or at least they can do. Traditionally western women worry more about their looks than their men folk do and so women can take it very badly when or if they begin losing their hair. Some women take to wearing a wig and others attempt a hair transplant.

The difficulty is that men and women lose their hair for different reasons and hair transplants favour the causes of men's baldness rather than women's.

Typical male baldness is known as 'male pattern baldness' and everybody knows men whom it has affected. It means that men lose hair initially at the front, a receding hairline, and then on the top; leaving a band of hair running around three sides of the head. The three lower sides in fact have healthy, growing, self-replicating follicles.

It is this hair that is used if a man opts for a hair transplant - healthy hair and it has to do with testosterone, the male hormone, as oestrogen is the female hormone.

Female baldness tends to affect the whole of the head at the same time, which means that there is not a crop of healthy hair follicles from which to transplant hair to other regions of the head. This makes most women inappropriate clients for a hair transplant.

Fortunately for women up to around retirement age, baldness only affects a small percentage of them unless it is through illness or the treatment of an illness. On the other hand, only about 5% of women are good candidates for a hair transplant. Women who have lost their hair through using rollers for a long period of time, usually have a few patches of healthy hair left that can be used for transplanting.

Other women who have a good chance of a successful hair transplant are those who have a kind of male pattern baldness and those who have lost hair due to trauma surrounding areas of surgery. Those who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, will frequently make a full or near full recovery when the chemo sessions are complete.

The easiest alternative for older women is to wear a wig. It is not ideal, obviously, but it does restore some confidence to those who could not otherwise go out without hair. Other choices are hats, scarves and turbans, jus like many women wore in the Twenties and Thirties.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Cancer Prevention And Green Tea Consumption

June 1st, 2011

Most people are scared stiff of contracting cancer. That is perfectly understandable - who wants to spend a couple of years undergoing chemotherapy only to die a few years later? Or even if you recover it is a few years out of your life that have been worrying and gruelling. And not just for the patient but for friends and family as well.

So, individuals do everything possible to reduce the risks of getting cancer. Most of us do not believe we know how to do this, others are not certain, but they have heard or read something that sounds 'around about right' and others are convinced that they know how to avoid developing cancer.

My wife is convinced that I may get cancer from eating burnt toast and others are convinced that they can stave off cancer by saturating their body with green tea. It has often been pointed out and for decades too, that countries where green tea is the norm, say the Far East, have a much lower incidence of cancer than we do in the West.

And this is almost certainly true at the moment. But why is it a fact? I live in Asia and diabetes is the number one killer near me. Do Asians not get cancer as much as we do because they drink green tea or for other reasons?

In fact, where I live in Northern Thailand, I have never seen anyone drink tea or coffee or accept a cup off me, except my wife. Villagers here drink water or alcohol, depending on the time of day. Kids love Cola or Sprite or whatever because they watch as well much television, but drink a lot of water.

It is stated that green tea is an anti-oxidant and it is alleged that anti-oxidants help eliminate free radicals which could cause cancer. If this is the case, then the claims for green tea are perhaps more believable.

However, the claims are so all-embracing that it makes me sceptical. I am reading a report just now that claims that green tea will prevent the formation of cancerous cells in the: "... aesophagus, bladder, on the skin, in the ovaries, the pancreas and the prostate".

That is a very tall order indeed.

The problem for me with all these claims is that they are not substantiated - there are no references that you can follow that do not lead to businesses selling green tea. This is a difficulty.

Some will say that the government or the pharmaceutical firms are suppressing the knowledge because they want to sell more costly drugs - and this might be a fact - grist to the mill for conspiracy theorists and sellers of Chinese tea.

Now that we seem to be entering into a 'new era', a more sceptical and more progressive era (thanks a great deal to the World Wide Web), couldn't someone do some research on green tea and Acai berries and all the rest of the stuff you read of in your junk emails and put an end once and for all to the false hopes, if that is what they are, that we are being sold every day by unscrupulous advertisers looking for a quick dollar?

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on quite a few topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Melanoma: Skin Cancer By A Different Name

May 28th, 2011

Melanoma is the most common kind of skin cancer and skin cancer is the most prevalent kind of cancer in the Western world. It begins in skin cells called melanocytes.

Melanocytes are found under the skin, which is made up of two strata: the epidermis on the outside and the dermis below that. To be accurate, melanocytes are found in the lowest levels of the epidermis, but not actually in the dermis.

These cells produce melanin, which has an effect on the epidermis? pigmentation, both natural skin colour and because of exposure to the sun as in tanning.

Sometimes, a group of near-by melanocytes combine with a little local tissue to form a mole (also called a nevus; plural nevi). The average individual has between ten and forty moles, which usually seem before the fortieth birthday. They often fade or disappear with age.

Moles are non-malignant (non-cancerous) and can be flat or raised in shape and almost any colour. Normally, they are slightly darker than one?s natural skin colour. Dark skinned individuals are likely to have more moles.

Cancer starts in cells where the normal cycle of decay and replacement by regeneration has been Upset. Under these conditions, cells do not always die when they ought to and new cells are produced needlessly.

This, in turn, creates a growth (also known as a tumor), which can be either benign or malignant (that is to say cancerous or non-cancerous).

Benign tumors can be surgically taken away and seldom come back. They do not spread or affect surrounding tissue.

Malignant tumors are cancerous and can have an effect on adjacent tissue and organs. In these cases, cancerous cells can break away from the primary tumor and affect other organs or enter the blood stream (lymphatic system), whereby it will spread to other parts of the body (metastasis) very quickly. The rate of metastasis is a deciding factor in how a surgeon deals with cancer.

Melanoma occurs when melanocytes are malignant. It can occur at any age, but the chances increase with age. Fair-skinned individuals are more probable to develop it than dark-skinned individuals. In fair-skinned races, men tend to get it on the torso and neck, whereas women get it on their calves (lower legs).

Dark-skinned people hardly ever suffer from melanoma, but if they do, it is usually under the finger and toe nails or on the soles of the feet or palms of the hands. When cancerous cells from melanoma enter the lymphatic system and affect other organs, it is still attributed to melanoma. For instance, if the liver becomes affected by cancerous cells from melanoma, it is referred to as metastatic melanoma, not liver cancer.

Often, the first indication of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, colour, or texture of an existing mole, although it often first manifests itself with a new mole or moles. Self-diagnosis is not to be relied on - always seek specialized advice if you have any problems relating to your skin. However, it is wise to bear in mind ?The ABCD of Melanoma?, which goes like this:

Asymmetry: the shape of one side of the mole is not the same as the other side.

Border: the border or edges of the mole are not clearly defined; a bit tattered or the colouration ?blurs into the adjacent skin.

Colouration: the mole is not consistently of one colour, although it is not so vital what that colour is.

Diameter: there is a modification in size or a new mole grows larger than 5mm in size.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on quite a few subjects, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Who Is At Risk Of Ovarian Cancer?

May 21st, 2011

Ovarian cancer that accounts for more than 25,000 newly diagnosed cases of cancer each year just in the United States Of America is by and large detected in the later stages when it has already spread outside the ovaries. Ovarian cancer or a group of malignant tumors start in tissues of different types in the ovary.

Most cancers of the ovary start in the epithelial or outer layer of cells, with rarer kinds beginning in the egg forming germ cells or the stroma in the ovaries. However it is incorrect to assume that all tumors and cysts could become cancerous, for non-cancerous or benign tumors are more common than cancer of the ovary.

Cancer of the ovary or ovarian cancer is the 7th most common cancer among women in America; with just one out of five instances diagnosed in the early stage when effectual treatment can be implemented. However most women might like to know the risk factors for ovarian cancer and take care to go in for early analysis.

It is best to understand that risk does not mean a certainty, it only indicates an increased chance to develop this type of cancer.

They say that a strong family history of cancer of the breasts, uterus, colon and rectum could expose a woman to cancer of the ovaries also. A family history could include one's blood relations like grandmother, mother, daughter or sister, with a family history of cancer at a young age contributing to a higher likelihood for ovarian cancer. A genetic counselor could suggest genetic check ups for you, certain genetic alterations indicating an increased risk for cancer of the ovaries.

It is important to note that every woman that has a personal history of cancer and has been already afflicted with cancer of the breast, uterus, colon or rectum stands a higher chance to get ovarian cancer.

It is to be noted that cancer has the tendency to spread quickly and chemotherapy and radiation can only treat or remove cancer for some time. In addition to the growth of new cells there is every chance for it to spread to other organs of the body also.

It is the case that women that have reached menopause and older women that have never had children have a greater likelihood to develop cancer of the ovaries. Postmenopausal use of hormones like hormone replacement therapy for a period of 10 years and more could rise the likelihood of acquiring ovarian cancer, with estrogen replacement therapy or ERT having the highest risk followed by estrogen-progestin replacement therapy or EPRT. It is also the case that obesity and use of talcum powder also create a higher danger factor.

The indications of ovarian cancer after it develops to some extent could be pressure with or without pain and bloating experienced in the abdomen, pelvis, back and legs, feeling of nausea with indigestion, flatulence, constipation or diarrhea and a feeling of tiredness most of the time. In rare instances you could experience shortness of breath, the frequent urge to urinate and heavy periods after stoppage of periods.

However it can be hard to diagnose ovarian cancer and the only one who can do it properly is a doctor.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on quite a few topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Information On Breast Cancer

May 17th, 2011

The official phrase for breast cancer is 'malignant breast neoplasm'. Breast cancer originates most frequently in the inner lining of the milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. The general term for cancers that originate in ducts is ' ductal carcinomas' and the term for cancers originating from the lobules is 'lobular carcinomas'.

Successful therapy depends hugely on the type of cancer, staging and the age of the patient, however the figures vary from 10% to 98%. Worldwide, malignant breast neoplasm accounts for just more than 10% of all cancers in women, which makes it the second most frequent form of cancer in women after skin cancer.

In 2004 (the latest figures available at the moment), breast cancer caused almost 520,000 deaths worldwide, which is 7% of all deaths by cancer and 1% of all deaths. One more interesting statistic is that women are 100 times more likely to get breast cancer than men, but women have a far higher likelihood of recovery (usually due to more frequent screening).

October has been nominated as 'Breast Cancer Awareness Month' and the symbol used (not only in October) is the 'Pink Ribbon'. It has become a global symbol of breast cancer awareness.

However, some businesses have been criticized for putting the pink ribbon on the labels of their products (see Kentucky Fried Chicken and some alcoholic drinks). The lesson to be learned is to check out how much that firm actually donates to breast cancer awareness and research.

If Breast Cancer Awareness month is to do any use, the one thing it ought to concentrate on is making women aware that this kind of cancer is not a death sentence, because if it can be treated early the survival rate is very high. Even cancers that have been caught 'a little late' can be treated successfully although the treatment will almost certainly be much more harsh.

All women ought to go for frequent screening by a professional - at least once a year - but they ought to also learn how to test their breasts themselves and get into the habit of doing the self-test every day whilst washing in the shower. You could also get a friend to lend a hand by incorporating it into foreplay.

The information necessary for self-testing is widely accessible all year round (not just in October) at your doctor's surgery or at your gynecologist's. It is also accessible in libraries, clinics, some schools and on Net. One of the main factors that you should take in to account whilst deciding on your plan for counteracting the threat of cancer is whether any other members of your family have had breast cancer or any other kind of cancer for that matter.

One anxiety that numerous people in the know have is that breast cancer research is receiving too high a proportion of the total funding for cancer research. This means that more patients are dying of other types of cancer than should be.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

A Brief Outline Of Birth Control And Cervical Cancer

May 15th, 2011

Birth control is a large issue, there is no doubt of that and women are more aware than ever that having children is not a necessary result of having sex. They are also conscious that having children at the wrong time can damage their careers and they are also conscious that passions or alcohol get in the way of safe sex using condoms very often.

This results in women taking care of the vast majority of birth control by taking 'the pill'. The contraceptive pill caused an uproar in the Sixties with the Establishment and the Churches predicting the downfall of society and morality. And after a fashion, they were correct. But what happened was to sweep away a great deal of social barriers and privileges that previously just the rich (and men) had enjoyed. The 'old order' lost a bit of ground.

The problem with the manner that women took control of their sex lives was or is twofold: firstly, men leave 'that sort of thing' to the woman and secondly, taking the pill can lead to cervical cancer. The likelihood of acquiring cervical cancer from taking the pill are small (15,000 Americans a year, of which a third dies), but they do exist.

However, there are no recorded cases of men developing cancer from using a condom.

Women usually get cervical cancer from having sex. They pick up the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Most of the time, the woman's immune system will stop that virus from causing cancer, but research has shown that women who take the pill for more than five years in a row have a higher risk than women who have not.

So a condom would help here.

Unfortunately, there are no symptoms in the early stages of cervical cancer, but later on, there may be heavier losses of blood, pain after sexual intercourse and even unpleasant smells. Periods could also last a great deal longer than 'usual'.

The difficulty with studies is that, there often comes another study to prove something else and this is true here too. Some studies have shown that the use of the contraceptive pill lessens the occurrence of ovarian cancer.

It is like old sayings, there is always a opposite, as in: 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' and 'Familiarity breeds contempt'.

If you listen to the 'experts', you would be in a permanent state of quandary. Therefore, the only actually safe course to take is to go for frequent tests or screenings - at least once a year, unless your doctor or gynecologist tells you different and if he or she does, query it.

The pharmaceutical companies have been promising a male contraceptive pill or implant for decades. In fact, the pill might even be there. But that is not the point usually. The problem is normally men. The majority of men cannot be relied upon to provide sufficient contraception while they are concerned in casual relationships.

As long as this state of affairs continues, women will continue to take risks so that they are not bogged down by a family of 10 kids like their great-grandmothers were.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on quite a few topics, but is now involved with the stages of ovarian cancer. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Signs and Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Dry Sensitive Skin

August 8th, 2010

Dry skin is quite frequently sensitive too, which just makes it harder to care for. Dry sensitive skin is tight because of the lack of natural oils and has a tendency to develop small expression lines that will evolve into wrinkles. Moreover, this kind of skin makes one more exposed to allergic reactions, rashes, capillaries breaking and sudden flushes. Therefore, the taking care of dry sensitive skin proves quite a challenge at times. It is worth mentioning the fact that it afflicts people regardless of age, colour or gender.

You need to follow stringent rules in your selection of cleansing, moisturising and make-up products when you have dry sensitive skin to take care of. Firstly, you have to minimize the amount of products you put on your face. The fact is, the more chemicals you come into contact with, the higher the chance of getting rashes. The products have to be fragrance-free and hypo-allergenic so that you don't get red, irritation blotches. Blusher and foundation can pose some problems for dry sensitive skin.

Try not to put on too much make-up in order to allow your skin to breathe adequately. When you are shopping for make up, other than looking for the hypo-allergenic label, you should also try to make sure that they are oil-free. Foundation and blusher should be water-based because they won't clog your pores. Furthermore, oil-absorbing foundations are not recommended for dry sensitive skin, because they will make your epidermis even drier.

It is also not to be recommended that you use exfoliants or astringent products on dry sensitive skin because they can irritate the thin upper layers of skin. The same thing has to be said in relation to cleansing - too frequent washing of the face means removing the natural oils that oil the skin, which will produce increased dryness.

Furthermore, your day-time moisturiser ought to have a sun-protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 in it. However, although you may enjoy sunbathing, dry sensitive skin does not really allow you to enjoy such outdoor, skin-parching pleasures.

If you have dry sensitive skin, don't expose it to the sun in order to tan it, because you will only achieve premature ageing and possibly even fairly serious health problems. And last but not least, a warning must be signalled that you should change some of your cosmetic products for other ones along the lines mentioned above.

If you decide that you want to change to a different make of skincare products, it is very important that you test the product on a small section of skin in order to test whether it triggers any negative manifestations.

Skin care is very important in these days of pollution and ozone deficiency. If you need information on Dry Skin Care Products, please visit our website entitled Hypoallergenic Skin Care

Breast Cancer Treatments Stages

June 10th, 2010

Breast cancer has been broken out with great havoc. Approximately 40,500 women become victim of this chronic disease each year in England and Wales. Men also have not been saved from this trauma, though women are the major sufferer of this bloody bug. This syndrome has not left Pakistan too with its effect. Breast cancer requires very much attention and awareness among our people so that we may save ourselves with this ailment.

In the country like Pakistan lack of awareness, hesitation, lump of problems and shortage of financial resources make patient unable to cure and he goes into the mouth of fatality soon. There are a number of treatments carried out for the cure of breast cancer. The treatment varies from patient to patient depending upon his immune system, age and stage of the cancer. A number of ways can be opted like surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and so on.

Above all one should know about this disease and its symptoms. It is always recommended that women above 40 years should have their regular medical checkup because they have greater chances of breast cancer. Everyone can have his/her own check up at home. According to Consultant breast surgeon Clive Griffith, when someone feels any abnormality in the shape of his/her breast or some deformity near the breast must consult the physician. Different people face different behaviors like some women have lump at their armpit or the darkening or zit on the breast, thickening of tissues, behavior of breast during menstrual time period, sometimes become tender near armpits. After hysterectomy (removal of the womb) and menopause women should be conscious about their health.

Sooner the cancer is detected effective is the therapy. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) advises to check out regularly for the symptoms of breast cancer. The classification of breast cancer has been done on the basis of development of the disease and hence has been categorized into four stages. This classification helps in treatment of the disease in a clear way.

Early (zero) stage of breast cancer is the most initial stage when the tumor is limited to only breast tissue and is not regulated towards lymph node.

Stage 1 of breast cancer is the stage when the tumor size grows to 1 cm and other tissues and organs are not affected.

In Stage 2A the tumor involves lymph node with the increase in size less than 2 cm but when the size ranges from 2-5 cm it may not involve axillary lymph nodes.

In Stage 2B the tumor size increases from 5 cm with or without involvement of axillary lymph nodes.

Late (metastatic) stages of breast cancer are the phase when the trauma has been spread to lymph nodes and other tissues.

Stage 3A is the local spread of the cancer in which melanoma spreads to size 5 cm with or without axillary lymph nodes with the network structure of tumor cells with surrounding tissues.

Stage 3B is when the tumor size is not definite but metastases and penetrates into the skin, chest wall and internal lymph nodes of mammary gland (present inside the chest below breast).

Stage 3C is the stage when sarcoma has been spread with greater metastases with involvement of lymph nodes. The tumor may be of any size.

Stage 4 is the tumor that has spread to the parts of the body like bones, lungs, liver, brain or distant lymph nodes.

Different treatments have been developed to cure the cancer to protect and save the life of patient as soon as possible. The doctors say that sooner the patient comes sooner they try to chuck out this disease from him. Sometimes surgery is carried out to remove cancer cells. Some lymph nodes are taken from the underarms to check out whether it is infected with the cancer cells, this process is called biopsy or lymph node dissection. It is just a method to detect the infected cells.

Breast-conserving surgery is a sort of surgery to remove cancer cells but the breast is not removed. Lumpectomy is a surgery to remove tumor cells and tissues around. In another type of surgery, Partial or segmental mastectomy the infected part of breast and the tissues around are cut off.

Total mastectomy is the operation in which the whole breast is removed from the body because it has been so infected that it may affect other body organs and no treatment can cure it. Modified radical mastectomy is done when many of lymph nodes underarm, chest wall muscle have also been infected. In this case too breast is removed from the body. Even after the removal of complete cancer part visible at the time of operation procedure, some other therapies are also conducted to remove the suspected cancer cells left into the body. These therapies include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy.

Sometimes after mastectomy when some part of breast that is infected is removed is surgically reshaped. The process is called breast reconstruction. In this case patient's own tissues from any part other than breast are implanted filling with saline or silicone gel. All such facilities are FDA recommended.

Radiation therapy is the therapy in which cancer cells are killed by applying high energy x-rays onto the infected part. For external therapy x-ray device is placed outside the body while for internal therapy radioactive substance sealed in needle, wire, seed or catheter is placed directly near the infected site.

Chemotherapy is another traditional procedure of treatment in which drugs are given to the patient to stop the growth of cancer cells. Drugs can be administered orally, muscularly or through spinal cord depending on the stage of the disease.

In hormone therapy hormones are removed to block the growth of cancer cells. The hormone estrogen gives medium to cancer cells to grow produced from ovaries. Ovaries ablation is another therapy to stop the ovaries to make estrogen.

Targeted therapy is a method of killing cancer cell using drugs without harming normal uninfected tissues.

Other newer techniques are also being adopted due to their efficiency like sentinel lymph node biopsy followed by surgery in which the first infected lymph node is treated and operated out to save the rest part of the body from this infection. High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant is also conducted.

Though the life risk of breast cancer is 10% but the important is to have a life with quality rather than quantity. The war against breast cancer has increasing daily. Every person must go for regular checkups to avoid or detect such diseases.

Want to know more about my work read my breast cancer treatments blog, and also must read my post on breast cancer stages

Coping with Dry Skin

August 16th, 2009

Dry skin is very often sensitive as well, which only makes it more difficult to deal with. Dry sensitive skin feels taut because of the lack of natural oils and has a tendency to develop small expression lines that will eventually evolve into wrinkles. Moreover, this kind of skin makes one more exposed to allergic reactions, rashes, capillaries breaking and sudden flushes. Therefore, taking care of dry sensitive skin can be a real challenge sometimes. It is worth saying that it affects people of all ages, colours and genders.

You need to follow stringent steps in your choice of cleansing, moisturising and make-up products if you have dry sensitive skin to take care of. First of all, you need to minimize the amount of products you put on your face. The fact is, the more chemicals you come into contact with, the higher the chance of developing rashes. The products ought to be perfume-free and hypo-allergenic so that you don't get red, irritation blotches. Blusher and foundation could pose some difficulties for dry sensitive skin.

Try not to use too much make-up in order to permit your skin to breathe properly. When you are shopping for make up, other than looking for the hypo-allergenic label, you should also try to ensure that they are oil-free. Furthermore, foundation and blusher should be water-based because they won't clog your pores. Moreover, oil-absorbing foundations are not recommended for dry sensitive skin, because they will make your epidermis even drier.

It is also not recommended that you use exfoliants or astringent products on dry sensitive skin because they could irritate the thin upper layers of skin. The same thing must be said in relation to washing: over-washing of the face means removing the natural oils that oil the skin, which will result in an increased dryness.

Furthermore, the day-time moisturiser ought to have an incorporated SPF (sun-protection factor) of at least 15. However, although you may like sunbathing, dry sensitive skin doesn't really permit you to enjoy such outdoor pleasures.

Don't expose dry sensitive skin to the sun just to tan it, because you will only achieve early ageing and maybe even fairly serious health problems. And last but not least, a warning must be given that you should change some of your cosmetic products for others.

If you decide to change to a different skincare brand, it is important to test the product on a small patch of skin in order to test whether it triggers any negative manifestations.

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