Your Health

The Surgical Solution
Often the best way to prevent cancer is also the most wrenching. Researchers report that women with the so-called breast-cancer gene can cut their risk of breast and ovarian cancers 75% if they have their ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed. Harsh medicine indeed, but women with the genetic mutation face a 50% to 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and a 15% to 40% risk of ovarian cancer. Removing the ovaries helps prevent breast cancer by stemming the flow of estrogen, which spurs tumor growth; the procedure helps prevent ovarian cancer by eliminating the organs, though tumor cells may still exist nearby. Doctors think ovary removal may be an easier choice especially for women who have completed childbearing than the other surgical alternative: a prophylactic double mastectomy.

Testing 1, 2 ...
Every man 50 and older should be screened for prostate cancer every year, right? Not necessarily. An encouraging report on nearly 28,000 subjects shows that some men can wait two years or more between blood tests. The researchers calculate that guys with a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level of less than 1 ng/mL can safely wait five years and those with a PSA of from 1 to 2 ng/mL can wait two years. The reason is that low PSA levels rarely change suddenly. If, however, your PSA comes in at between 2 and 4 ng/mL, you will need to give up some blood once every year.

SOURCES: NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE; AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGISTS