Cancer Prevention and Early Diagnosis in Women

This resource prepares health care providers in all specialties related to women’s health to assess cancer risks in their patients, offer contemporary advice on prevention, and prescribe appropriate screening tests for early diagnosis. It provides practical guidance for the clinical setting, based on the latest scientific evidence. Coverage includes the principles of cancer screening, the most common cancer sites, the ethical and legal implications of genetic testing, and an evidence-based analysis of complementary therapies in cancer prevention. Provides comprehensive coverage of cancer screening, including principles and terms that are common to the various cancers and screening strategies · the benefits and risks of screening · and systematic methods for evaluating screening programs. Devotes individual chapters to nine of the most common cancer types (lung, breast, colorectal, skin, cervical, vaginal, vulvar, ovarian, uterine corpus), addressing incidence and mortality · risk factors such as age, geographic location, genetic/familial history, social/ethnic background, and personal health history, including the effects of HRT, HPV, tamoxifen, smoking, and more · and methods for prevention, early detection, and diagnosis. Explores the uses and limitations of genetic testing for cancer susceptibility, and provides an ethical framework for confronting the emerging ethical, legal, and social concerns associated with this screening method. Presents an evidence-based analysis of the anti-carcinogenic potential of a range of complementary and alternative therapies, both in general and in relation to specific cancers, using a well defined literature review methodology and working definition of complementary and alternative medicine.