MSI Press Blog

  I noticed a new brown spot on my face near my eye. It looked like an aging thing since, well, I am aging and into the years that are considered "getting on in years." Nothing -- and everything -- seemed unusual about it. It just did not seem right or feel right -- and it itched a bit. I don't know if that is because it annoyed me prompting me to scratch it perhaps too often. So, I checked with the dermatologist. "Nothing to worry about," she said but decided to take a biopsy, anyway. She did a slice and a puncture. Now, doctors do not like to work on me the first time (once they know me, no problem) because I am allergic to local painkiller so everything has to be done the grin-and-bear-it way. "Well," the doc said upon learning that, "This will be uncomfortable." She was right, but I held very still and remained very quiet -- did not want her to slip near my eye because of some noise I might make.  The doc sent the tissue off to a lab and

  Research has found benzene, a known carcinogen, to be in some skin care products. Read THIS and then check your bathroom cabinet! For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts:  Cancer Diary .   Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow  MSI Press  on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with  MSI Press LLC ? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start?

  Study Finds Specific Cancers Could Be Prevented by Exercise ,  as recently reported by MSN.  To cite a portion, " Jones [the researcher] and his team found that regular exercisers had a slightly reduced risk of developing cancer overall compared to non-exercisers. However, the associated lower risk was higher for head and neck, breast, and lung cancers in particular. At the same time, the team found no link between exercise and a reduced risk of other types, like colorectal and ovarian cancer, and they found a possible higher risk linked to exercise for two types of cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer. They also noticed a dose-response effect, meaning that more exercise seemed to have a more potent impact on cancer risk in either direction." Now, it seems that the study included walking, jogging, and running outdoors. Commonsense says that additional sun exposure might have been involved with the increase in skin cancer (but, certainly, hats and sunscreen will help). For o

  More than once, someone has said, "I thought I had a pimple and went to the dermatologist just in case. It turned out to be skin cancer." This article might help:  How to Tell the Difference Between a Pimple and Skin Cancer︱GentleCure And by the way, it was because of a pimple on top of a newly appearing brown spot that got larger, bled, itched, and would not heal that I discovered my own skin cancer -- the dermatologist thought it was nothing to worry about until the biopsy came back! For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, thi

  Those with skin cancer or with relatives/friends with skin cancer might find the following breakthrough interesting:  Physicist uses harmless rays in skin cancer detection breakthrough . For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts:  Cancer Diary .   Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow  MSI Press  on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with  MSI Press LLC ? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Plann

  This is not the first time we have written about cat cancer in a Caturday post. We learn more about it over time, and it seems that more in general is learned about it over time.  Blind Cat rescued share the following interesting and information post about cat cancer:  Feline Carcinoma (blindcatrescue.blogspot.com) . Cat cancer not only occurs, but at least in our household has become common as our cats have aged. Among our cats, three have died of it, and two are living with it. The breed does not seem to matter; it appears that cancer is blind to breed. Intrepid was the first to be diagnosed with cancer and the first to die with it. In his cancer, it was small cell lymphoma. He lived only a few months after diagnosis. His vet missed the cancer -- that happens with people, too. After describing Intrepid's late night howling to a friend who works at the SPCA, he gave us the name of a vet with excellent diagnostic skills. She immediately intuited the problem, scoped Intrepid, fou

  Who would have thunk? There appears to be a link between skin cancer and acne. Well, every bit of forewarning helps -- especially in reminding all of us, not just those who suffer from acne, to wear sunscreen and not to lie around for hours tanning in the sun. If we weren't born with brown skin, well, that's life. Browning it in youth and risking skin cancer later is so not worth it! Take a look at the research HERE . It's not just the obvious skin cancer that acne might predict, it is also other kinds of cancers, like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and some lymphomas.  And to muddy the waters, it could be that the propensity for skin cancer could be the reason for the acne. Shades of Schroedinger's cat -- or the old dilemma:: chicken or egg? For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop

  May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. That gains attention close to home. I just had stitches removed from skin cancer surgery (last week).  According to my surgeon, skin cancer can take the form of melanoma , basal cell carcinoma , or squamous cell carcinoma . Of the three, melanoma is more dangerous because it spreads easily and quickly. Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma can usually be excised.  Both my late husband and I have experienced squamous cell carcinoma. For him, it appeared like a little horn on his forehead. It was easily excised and left no scar. Mine was more insidious. An "age spot" appeared out of nowhere, then grew, then changed shape, then because pussy, bled, and itched. The Skin Institute did not believe it was cancerous, but I insisted on an early biopsy -- and I was right. When something appears to be very wrong, it usually is very wrong, and the patient is still his or her own best advocate. We were fortunate. With squamous cell carcinom