David Emerson
Salisbury
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Articles by David Emerson
MGUS Screening: Who Should Be Tested, What the Blood Tests Show, and Why Early Detection Matters
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more.
Pancreatic Cancer Patient Navigation: Why Faster, Coordinated Care Matters
Pancreatic Cancer Patient Navigation: Why Faster, Coordinated Care Matters. Pancreatic cancer patient navigation can reduce delays between diagnosis and treatment, improve access to specialists, and help patients receive more coordinated care. Research suggests that multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer programs can shorten treatment waiting times while improving access to genetic testing, clinical trials, and supportive care. When someone is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, time matters.
CBD Oil and Endometrial Cancer: Can Cannabinoids Help?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. CBD Oil and Endometrial Cancer: Can Cannabinoids Help? Can CBD oil help women with endometrial cancer?
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Can Fish Oil Slow Tumor Growth?
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Can Fish Oil Slow Tumor Growth? Omega-3 fatty acids have demonstrated remarkable effects against triple-negative breast cancer cells in laboratory studies, including reductions in cell proliferation of up to 90%. But can omega-3 supplements produce similar benefits in patients? Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer that accounts for approximately 10–15% of breast cancer diagnoses.
Retinoblastoma Genetics: Is This Childhood Eye Cancer Hereditary?
Retinoblastoma Genetics: Is This Childhood Eye Cancer Hereditary? Retinoblastoma is a rare childhood eye cancer that can be hereditary or nonhereditary. Understanding the difference is essential because it can affect treatment, genetic testing, screening of siblings, and a child’s long-term cancer risks. One of the most important discoveries in retinoblastoma research challenged the belief that virtually all cases begin with damage to the RB1 tumor-suppressor gene.
Can MGUS Cause Other Cancers? Skin Cancer and Second Cancer Risks
For people living with MGUS, this distinction matters. MGUS is usually considered an asymptomatic precursor condition to multiple myeloma. Most people with MGUS will never develop myeloma. However, researchers have also investigated whether MGUS is associated with cancers outside the plasma-cell disease family. One particularly important question concerns non-melanoma skin cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
Can Hysteroscopy Spread Endometrial Cancer? Risks, Research, and Patient Safety
Can Hysteroscopy Spread Endometrial Cancer? Risks, Research, and Patient Safety. Can hysteroscopy cause endometrial cancer cells to spread into the abdominal cavity? Research suggests that cancer cells may sometimes be detected outside the uterus after hysteroscopy. However, more recent studies have not demonstrated that the procedure increases cancer recurrence or reduces survival. For women being evaluated for endometrial cancer, this distinction is important.
Grape Seed Extract and Head and Neck Cancer: What Research Shows.
Grape Seed Extract and Head and Neck Cancer: What Research Shows. Can grape seed extract help fight head and neck squamous cell carcinoma? Laboratory studies suggest that compounds in grape seeds may inhibit cancer cell growth, damage cancer cell DNA, and trigger cancer cell death. However, whether these effects translate into meaningful benefits for cancer patients remains an unanswered question.
CBD and Multiple Myeloma: Can Cannabinoids Enhance Treatment or Relieve Side Effects?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » Multiple Myeloma » CBD and Multiple Myeloma: Can Cannabinoids Enhance Treatment or Relieve Side Effects?
Does Asthma Increase Lung Cancer Risk? What the Research Shows
What Does the Research Say About Asthma and Lung Cancer? Researchers have investigated the relationship between asthma and lung cancer for decades. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition involving the airways. It can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. Lung cancer develops when abnormal cells in lung tissue begin growing uncontrollably.
Healing Your Body After Chemotherapy and Radiation: Evidence-Based Nutrition, Supplements, and Lifestyle Therapies
Healing Your Body After Chemotherapy and Radiation: Evidence-Based Nutrition, Supplements, and Lifestyle Therapies. Cancer treatment can save your life. But what can you do to help your body recover after chemotherapy and radiation? Figuring out the right amount of toxic therapy to treat your cancer fully without killing you is difficult. Ironically, my own aggressive, standard-of-care treatments did little to treat my cancer.
Fatty Liver Disease (MASLD): 10 Evidence-Based Ways to Improve Liver Health
Fatty Liver Disease (MASLD): 10 Evidence-Based Ways to Improve Liver Health. Can fatty liver disease be reversed naturally? For many patients, the answer is yes—particularly when liver damage is identified early. Nutrition, exercise, weight management, and improved metabolic health can reduce liver fat and inflammation. However, advanced liver scarring requires additional medical evaluation and sometimes prescription treatment. Fatty liver disease affects millions of Americans.
MGUS, Autoimmune Hepatitis, and Hypothyroidism: Are They Related?
Are MGUS, Autoimmune Hepatitis, and Hypothyroidism Connected? The short answer: Possibly, but not necessarily through a single underlying disease process. There are three relationships to consider: Autoimmune hepatitis and autoimmune thyroid disease have a recognized association. MGUS and autoimmune disorders sometimes occur in the same patients, although a causal relationship has not been established.
Radiofrequency Ablation for Pancreatic Cancer: Can EUS-RFA Help Treat Unresectable Tumors?
Radiofrequency Ablation for Pancreatic Cancer: Can EUS-RFA Help Treat Unresectable Tumors? Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is being studied as a way to destroy pancreatic cancer cells with heat. A newer, less-invasive version—endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA)—has produced encouraging results in some patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. However, RFA is not currently a replacement for chemotherapy or surgery.
Black Americans and Lung Cancer: Disparities, Treatment and What Patients Need to Know
Black Americans and Lung Cancer: Disparities, Treatment and What Patients Need to Know. Black Americans diagnosed with lung cancer continue to experience worse outcomes than White Americans. But one of the most important things for patients to understand is this: The disparity is not simply about biology or genetics. Access to early detection, accurate staging, surgery, biomarker testing, modern treatments and experienced cancer centers can make an enormous difference.
5 Popular Careers in Oncology: Jobs That Make a Difference in Cancer Care
5 Popular Careers in Oncology: Jobs That Make a Difference in Cancer Care. Cancer care requires much more than an oncologist. A modern cancer-care team may include physicians, nurses, radiation therapists, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, psychologists, and many other professionals.
Basal Cell Carcinoma Treatment: What Patients Need to Know
Basal Cell Carcinoma Treatment: What Patients Need to Know. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer. The good news is important: most basal cell carcinomas are highly treatable, especially when diagnosed early. But “rarely fatal” does not mean “harmless.” BCC usually grows slowly and rarely spreads to distant organs. However, an untreated basal cell carcinoma can continue growing into surrounding skin and eventually invade cartilage, muscle, bone or nerves.
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin for Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more.
Genetic Testing for Marfan Syndrome: Is It Conclusive?
Genetic Testing for Marfan Syndrome: Is It Conclusive? If you have the physical characteristics of Marfan syndrome—or Marfan syndrome runs in your family—you might assume that a genetic test can answer one simple question: Do I have Marfan syndrome: yes or no? Unfortunately, genetic testing isn’t always quite that simple.
Smoldering Multiple Myeloma Progression: How Fast Does SMM Become Active Myeloma?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » Pre-Myeloma » Smoldering Multiple Myeloma Progression: How Fast Does SMM Become Active Myeloma?
Pancreatic Cancer, Feverfew and Arsenic Trioxide: What Does the Research Show?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » Pancreatic Cancer » Pancreatic Cancer, Feverfew and Arsenic Trioxide: What Does the Research Show?
Ken Youner, kidney cancer survivor
As a physician, cancer was not something unknown to me. I was involved in diagnosing and treating cancer for many years. When my beloved wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, it became my goal to get her the best medical treatment possible. As a physician, I was lucky to have access to many resources and to know many people I could turn to for help, but I felt I had to do something on a more personal level.
Ultra-Low-Dose Radiation for Bone Pain: Can Less Radiation Be Enough?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » cancer » Ultra-Low-Dose Radiation for Bone Pain: Can Less Radiation Be Enough?
Brain Training and Lifestyle: Can You Reduce Your Risk of Dementia?
Brain Training and Lifestyle: Can You Reduce Your Risk of Dementia? Brain training, exercise, a healthy diet, and cardiovascular risk management may help protect cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia. New research suggests that combining these strategies may be more effective than relying on any single “brain health” therapy.
Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Brain Health & Alzheimer’s
Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Brain Health: Can LIPUS Improve Cerebral Blood Flow? Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is being studied as a non-invasive treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline. Early animal research suggested that whole-brain LIPUS could improve cerebral blood flow and cognitive function.
Kidney Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
Kidney Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know. Kidney cancer can cause pain—but pain in someone who has kidney cancer does not automatically mean that the cancer is growing or spreading. Pain can come from the kidney tumor itself, surgery, metastatic disease, cancer treatment, nerve or muscle injury, or an entirely unrelated medical problem. The first step, therefore, is not simply to treat the pain. The first step is to determine what is causing it.
Early Lung Cancer, SBRT if Surgery is Not an Option
Early-Stage Lung Cancer: SBRT When Surgery Is Not an Option. If you have been diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but cannot undergo surgery, there is an important treatment option to ask your oncologist about: stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). SBRT—also called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR)—delivers highly focused, high-dose radiation to a lung tumor while limiting radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
Triphendiol for Pancreatic and Bile Duct Cancer: What Happened to This Experimental Drug?
What is triphendiol? Triphendiol is an investigational synthetic compound related to phenoxodiol, itself derived from research on plant isoflavones. In a 2011 preclinical study, investigators tested triphendiol against pancreatic cancer cells and in animal models, alone and with gemcitabine. A 2009 review of pancreaticobiliary research also discussed activity against pancreatic and bile duct cancer models. These are preclinical findings.
Neoadjuvant Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Can Treatment Before Surgery Make a Tumor Resectable?
What Does “Resectable” Pancreatic Cancer Mean? Pancreatic cancer is commonly divided into several categories based partly on its relationship to nearby blood vessels: Resectable pancreatic cancer: The tumor appears removable surgically. Borderline-resectable pancreatic cancer: Surgery may be technically possible, but involvement of nearby arteries or veins makes complete removal more difficult.
Multiple Myeloma-Induced Spine Fractures
I am sorry to learn of your MM diagnosis. The good news is that MM management and treatment have made remarkable strides over the past 30 years. Not just in chemotherapy regimens, but in diagnostics and staging, imaging,and support therapies such as bone healing. I understand your feeling that you’ve had MM for a while. Research has documented that most, if not all, MM patients start with MGUS (pre-MM stage), and slowly progress to full MM.
Can Some Women With Early Breast Cancer Safely Skip Radiation?
Can Some Women With Early Breast Cancer Safely Skip Radiation? Radiation therapy after a lumpectomy has been a standard part of breast-conserving treatment for decades. And for good reason. Radiation can significantly reduce the risk that breast cancer will return in the treated breast. But an important question has emerged from decades of clinical research: Does every woman with early-stage breast cancer need radiation after a lumpectomy?
Bladder Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
Bladder Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know. Bladder cancer and pain can mean much more than simply having an ache in your bladder. For some people, the first sign of bladder cancer isn’t pain at all—it is blood in the urine (hematuria). Others develop frequent urination, urinary urgency, burning during urination, pelvic discomfort, back pain, or the feeling that they constantly need to empty their bladder.
Anti-Angiogenic Therapy for Lung Cancer: What Patients Need to Know
Anti-Angiogenic Therapy for Lung Cancer: What Patients Need to Know. Cancer cannot grow indefinitely without a blood supply. Like healthy tissues, tumors need oxygen and nutrients. Many cancers stimulate the development of new blood vessels through a process called angiogenesis. One of the major signals involved is vascular endothelial growth factor, better known as VEGF.
Anti-Angiogenic Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: What Patients Need to Know
“In November 2010, Sutent gained approval from the European Commission for the treatment of ‘unresectable or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with disease progression in adults’.[9] In May 2011, the USFDA approved Sunitinib for treating patients with ‘progressive neuroendocrine cancerous tumors located in the pancreas that cannot be removed by surgery or that have spread to other parts of the body (metastatic)’.[10]“ A pill that cuts off the supply of nutrients...
Fish Oil and Lung Cancer: Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help During Treatment?
Fish Oil and Lung Cancer: Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help During Treatment? Fish oil does not cure lung cancer. But omega-3 fatty acids—particularly EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)—have been studied as supportive therapies for people undergoing lung cancer treatment.
Prostate Cancer: Balancing Conventional Treatment and Evidence-Based Non-Conventional Therapies
Prostate Cancer: Balancing Conventional Treatment and Evidence-Based Non-Conventional Therapies. A diagnosis of prostate cancer does not automatically mean that you need surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy immediately. Prostate cancer ranges from slow-growing disease that may never threaten a man’s life to aggressive cancer requiring prompt, sometimes intensive treatment. That distinction should come first.
Milk Thistle During Childhood ALL Treatment: Can It Reduce Liver Toxicity?
Milk Thistle During Childhood ALL Treatment: Can It Reduce Liver Toxicity? Chemotherapy has dramatically improved survival for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). But the drugs used to control leukemia can also affect healthy organs—including the liver. That creates an important question for parents: Can anything safely reduce chemotherapy-related liver toxicity without interfering with treatment?
Curcumin and Drug-Resistant Lung Cancer: Can It Improve Chemotherapy Response?
Curcumin and Drug-Resistant Lung Cancer: Can It Improve Chemotherapy Response? One of the major challenges in treating lung cancer is drug resistance. A chemotherapy drug may initially kill or slow the growth of cancer cells, only for some cells to survive and eventually become less responsive to treatment. In some cases, cancer cells develop resistance to several different drugs—a phenomenon known as multidrug resistance (MDR).
MGUS: Can Diet, Exercise and Supplements Reduce the Risk of Multiple Myeloma?
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » Pre-Myeloma » MGUS: Can Diet, Exercise and Supplements Reduce the Risk of Multiple Myeloma?
Melanoma and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
Melanoma and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know. Melanoma and pain are not necessarily connected. In fact, many people diagnosed with early-stage melanoma have little or no pain from the cancer itself. Melanoma is often discovered because a mole or skin lesion changes in size, shape, color, or appearance—not because it hurts. But pain can become part of the melanoma experience.
Chemoradiation for Lung Cancer: Why Chemotherapy and Radiation Work Better Together.”
Chemoradiation for Lung Cancer: Why Chemotherapy and Radiation Work Better Together. For some people with lung cancer—particularly stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—chemotherapy and radiation therapy may work better when they are given together than when they are given separately. If you are just learning about lung cancer, start here. This approach is called concurrent chemoradiation or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT).
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Treatment Advances: What Patients Need to Know
The research team has demonstrated that leukaemic cells can be eradicated by removing a carbohydrate modification displayed on the cell’s surface. Director of Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics, Professor Mark von Itzstein is the Australian team leader. He said the discovery is an important advance against leukemia, a cancer of malignant white blood cells that multiply uncontrollably. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer.
Lung Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » Lung Cancer » Lung Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know Lung Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know.
Brain Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more. You are here: Home » Blog » brain cancer » Brain Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know Brain Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know.
Prostate Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship. Click the orange button to the right to learn more.
Breast Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know
Breast Cancer and Pain: What Patients and Survivors Need to Know. Breast cancer pain can have many causes. The cancer itself, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, endocrine therapy, nerve damage, lymphedema, and long-term treatment side effects can all contribute to pain. The most important first step is to determine what is causing the pain. This may sound obvious, but breast cancer survivors can experience very different types of pain requiring very different solutions.
Cancer and Pain: What Patients Need to Know
Cancer and Pain: What Patients Need to Know. Cancer and pain often become connected in a patient’s mind. But having cancer does not necessarily mean that you will have pain—and having pain does not necessarily mean that your cancer is progressing. Cancer pain can come from the cancer itself, cancer treatment, diagnostic procedures, or an unrelated condition. It can also change over time.
Cannabinoids and Cannabis for Cancer: What the Research Says
Cannabinoids and Cannabis for Cancer: What the Research Says. Cannabinoids and cannabis are among the most widely discussed complementary therapies in cancer care. But what does the research actually show? Can cannabinoids treat cancer? Laboratory and animal studies suggest that THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids may have anticancer effects. Still, there is currently insufficient clinical evidence to establish cannabis or cannabinoids as an effective cancer treatment.
Radiation for Breast Cancer: What Patients Need to Know
Radiation for Breast Cancer: What Patients Need to Know. Radiation therapy is an important part of treatment for many people with breast cancer. It can reduce the risk that breast cancer will return in the breast, chest wall, or nearby lymph nodes after surgery. But radiation is not automatically necessary for every breast cancer patient.
Evidence-Based, Non-Conventional Multiple Myeloma Therapies: What Patients Should Know
Evidence-Based, Non-Conventional Multiple Myeloma Therapies: What Patients Should Know. What if a multiple myeloma therapy has scientific evidence behind it—but isn’t FDA-approved to treat myeloma? That is the question behind this article. Multiple myeloma patients are often told about conventional treatments such as proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, monoclonal antibodies, steroids, stem-cell transplantation, CAR-T therapy, and bispecific antibodies.
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