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Entertainment Resources Tip Sheets
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Artificial Tanning Booths and Cancer (Tip Sheet)
Long-term exposure to artificial sources of ultraviolet rays like tanning beds
(or to the sun's natural rays) increases both men and women's risk of developing skin
cancer. In addition, exposure to tanning salon rays increases damage caused by sunlight
because ultraviolet light actually thins the skin, making it less able to heal. Women who
use tanning beds more than once a month are 55 percent more likely to develop malignant
melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.
Full Tip Sheet
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Breast Cancer (Tip Sheet)
After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States.
Approximately 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year; 40,000 are estimated to die from
their disease each year. Men can get breast cancer too; an estimated 1,500 men in this country are diagnosed
each year.
Full Fact Sheet
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Cancer Clusters (Fact Sheet)
Cancer clusters may be suspected when people report that several family members, friends, neighbors, or
coworkers have been diagnosed with the same or related cancer(s). In the 1960s, one of the best known cancer
clusters emerged, involving many cases of mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen).
Researchers traced the development of mesothelioma to exposure to asbestos, a fibrous mineral that was used
heavily in shipbuilding during World War II and has also been used in manufacturing industrial and consumer
products. Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma.
Full Fact Sheet
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Cancer and the Environment (Tip Sheet)
Exposure to a wide variety of natural and man-made substances in the environment accounts
for at least two-thirds of all the cases of cancer in this country. These environmental factors
include lifestyle choices like cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, lack
of exercise and excessive sunlight exposure. (See links to related Tip Sheets below.) Other
factors include exposure to certain medical drugs, hormones, radiation, viruses, bacteria, and
chemicals that may be present in the air, water, food and workplace.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cancer and Genetics (Tip Sheet)
Our genes affect virtually all aspects of how our bodies grow and function. Alterations or mutations in
certain genes may increase a person’s lifetime risk for certain types of cancer. While a mutated gene
does not cause cancer, it can increase an individual’s risk for cancer. A person’s risk for cancer,
however, has many factors besides genetics including diet, exercise, and exposure to environmental influences
like cigarette smoke. As a result, some people who carry a mutated gene their entire lives never develop cancer
while other people, who do not carry a mutated gene, may develop the disease.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cancer Health Disparities (Tip Sheet)
Cancer affects people of all racial and ethnic groups. One in four deaths in the United States is due to
cancer, and one in three Americans will eventually develop some form of cancer. Each day 3,400 people in the
United States are diagnosed with cancer, and another 1,500 die from the disease. But the burden of cancer is
too often greater for the poor, ethnic minorities and the uninsured, than for the general population.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cancer Myths (Tip Sheet)
Consumers need accurate information to make informed choices about the way they live and play and what they
eat and drink. False information can steer them away from healthy lifestyle choices. In addition, the Internet
can confuse matters more as anyone can post their theories without explanation or evidence.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cancer Overview (Fact Sheet)
About 1 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2004, and about half a million
people will die of the disease. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in this country. However, improvements
in cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment have increased the survival rate for many types of cancer. About 60
percent of all people diagnosed with cancer will be alive 5 years after treatment.
Full Fact Sheet
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Cancer Survivorship (Tip Sheet)
Over the past twenty years, major advances have been made in various aspects of cancer research. This progress
has lead to improved diagnosis and screening techniques and better treatment for many types of cancer. As a result,
many more people are surviving and living longer with cancer. In 2001, the number of people in the United States
living with cancer reached nearly 10 million. This was up from 3 million in 1971. Sixty-four percent of adults
diagnosed with cancer today will be alive five years after their diagnosis, and nearly 75 percent of those who had
childhood cancer will be alive after 10 years.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cellular Telephones and Cancer (Tip Sheet)
Experts estimate that by 2005, there will be more than 1.26 billion wireless telephone
users worldwide. In addition to issues around driving safety, growing use of cell phones has
raised concerns that use of hand-held cell phones may be linked to cancer, especially brain
cancer. These concerns have resulted in numerous U.S. and international studies by the World
Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, among other agencies.
Full Tip Sheet
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Cervical Cancer (Tip Sheet)
Cervical cancer is largely preventable, yet an estimated 10,000 new cases of invasive cervical
cancer will be diagnosed in 2004 and about 3,900 women will die
of the disease. The cervix is located at the bottom of the uterus
and forms a canal leading to the vagina. Cellular changes sometimes
occur on the surface of the cervix. Cervical cancer rates are higher
among older women; however, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (or
CIN), the precursor lesion to cervical cancer, most often occurs
among young women. Minority populations and persons of low socioeconomic
status are affected disproportionately as well.
Full Fact Sheet
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Childhood Cancers (Tip Sheet)
The National Cancer Institute is currently funding studies that look at the causes of,
and most effective treatments for, childhood cancers. Some of these include projects to
improve the health status of cancer survivors and clinical trials to identify effective
new treatments for childhood cancers.
Full Tip Sheet
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Clinical Trials Awareness (Tip Sheet)
Clinical trials are research studies conducted with people who volunteer
to take part in a study to find better ways to prevent, screen for,
diagnose, or treat a disease. People who take part in cancer clinical
trials have an opportunity to contribute to knowledge of, and progress
toward controlling -- and potentially curing -- cancer. They also
receive innovative care from experts. However, enrollment in adult
clinical trials is very low compared to the number of eligible participants
-- if greater numbers of adults with cancer enrolled in trials,
greater knowledge about possible beneficial treatments could be
discovered more rapidly.
Full Tip Sheet
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Diet and Diseases (Tip Sheet)
Serious diseases that are linked to what we eat kill an estimated three out of four Americans each year.
These diseases include heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some types of cancer, and diabetes. Eating
a diet that contains 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy, active lifestyle lowers
the risk for all of these diseases.
Full Tip Sheet
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Obesity and Cancer (Fact Sheet)
Scientists have identified a number of factors that increase a person's chance of developing cancer. For example,
they have found that cancer is related to the use of tobacco; what people eat and drink; exposure to ultraviolet
radiation from the sun; and exposure to cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in the environment and the workplace.
Full Fact Sheet
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Ovarian Cancer (Tip Sheet)
Ovarian cancer is cancer that begins in the ovaries. The ovaries are a part of a woman's reproductive system.
There are two ovaries; one is located on each side of the uterus in the pelvis. The functions of the ovaries are:
to produce eggs, regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, and to produce the female hormones (estrogen and
progesterone).
Full Fact Sheet
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Prostate Cancer (Tip Sheet)
After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer effecting
men in the U.S. It is estimated that approximately
230,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2004 with
approximately 29,000 men dying of the disease. Because prostate
cancer generally occurs in older men who are also at increased risk
of heart disease and stroke, many men die with prostate cancer and
not of the disease. Less than 10% of men die of prostate cancer
within 5 years of their diagnosis.
Full Fact Sheet
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Quitting Cigarette Smoking (Tip Sheet)
Cigarette smoking, the most common form of tobacco use, causes the majority of preventable death and disease
in the United States each year. About 46 million people in the U.S.-or 23% of the population-currently smoke.
The rates are slightly higher for men than women and for high schools students than other age groups. Smoking
accounts for nearly one-third of all cancer deaths in the U.S. each year, including 87% of lung cancer deaths-the
most common cause of cancer death. In addition, smoking is responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity,
esophagus, and bladder. Cigarette smoking also causes heart disease and stroke.
Full Fact Sheet
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Screening Mammograms: Questions and Answers (Fact Sheet)
A screening mammogram is an x-ray of the breast used to detect breast changes in women who have no signs or
symptoms of breast cancer. It usually involves two x-rays of each breast. With a mammogram, it is possible to
detect microcalcifications (tiny deposits of calcium in the breast, which sometimes are a clue to the presence
of breast cancer) or a tumor that cannot be felt.
Full Fact Sheet
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Secondhand Smoke (Tip Sheet)
Tobacco use, including cigarette smoking, dramatically increases not only
one’s own risk of developing cancer but also endangers the health of others.
Exposure to secondhand smoke, (also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)),
significantly increases a non-smoker’s risk of developing lung and other
cancers in addition to other health problems like decreased respiratory function
and other respiratory diseases, eye and nasal irritation, heart disease and stroke.
Full Fact Sheet
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Skin Cancer (Tip Sheet)
Cases of skin cancer are rising in the United States and prevention remains key
in reducing its incidence. It is estimated that more than 1 million new cases of highly
curable basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, and 55,100 new cases of melanoma will be
diagnosed in 2004. An estimated 10,200 deaths from skin cancer are expected this year: 7,900
from melanoma and 2,300 from other skin cancers. The incidence of melanoma -- the most deadly
form of skin cancer -- has increased about 3% per year since 1981.
Full Fact Sheet
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