It's Never Too Late To Quit

Since January is the time for New Year's resolutions, and some may not have been kept after only a couple of weeks, it's never too late to quit smoking.

More than any lifestyle choice a person can make, quitting cigarettes will have the most positive impact on general health status. This is what happens after quitting:

• 20 minutes after stopping smoking, the heart rate becomes normal
• 12 hours after stopping, the carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal
• 2 to 3 weeks after stopping, coughing and shortness of breath decreases
• 1 year after stopping, the added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's
• 5 to 15 years after stopping, the chance of death by lung cancer is reduced to half of what it was when smoking

The National Cancer Institute's website at www.smokefree.gov provides science-driven tools, information, and support for those who quit.  It has state and national resources, free materials, and quitting advice from NCI.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc.
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
(661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave. #170
Bakersfield, CA 93309

Smoking Kills

The U.S. Surgeon General ways more than 20 million Americans have died prematurely from smoking over the past 50 years.  Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.  Women are just as likely as men to die from diseases, such as lung cancer, caused by smoking.  Even though, the rate of smoking is declining, 46 million adults (20% of the population) still smoke, and millions more are exposed to secondhand smoke.

The Surgeon General went on to state that smoking causes or worsens more than a dozen chronic health conditions--lung cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, migraine and erectile dysfunction.


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Women: Reduced Risk of Colorectal CA with Low Dose Aspirin

A recent article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, authored by Dr. Nancy Cook, followed 33,682 women, aged 45 years and older, in the Women's Health Study of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, for an average of 10 years.  While analysis showed no association with total cancer, or breast cancer, or lung cancer, those women who took long-term, alternate-day, low-dose aspirin showed a 42% risk reduction for colorectal cancer.

For more:  www.chemotherapyadvisor.com

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Increased Lung Cancer Rates in Women

The National Cancer Institute relates that the lung cancer rate in men has fallen from 9% to 7.2% in the period from 1975 to 2007.  However, the rate for women has more than doubled, from 2.4% to 5.5%, during the same period.

This trend in non-smoking women appears to be associated with these risk factors:

• Second hand smoke
• Radon Gas from soil and building materials
• Hazardous environmental chemicals (air pollution, diesel exhaust, paint)
• Rubber manufacturing
• History of tuberculosis
• Cooking oil fumes

Current research in lung cancer association with estrogen levels, postmenopausal metabolism, diabetes, and gene mutations are ongoing.

Source:  American Cancer Society

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Men's Cardiovascular Fitness in Middle Age and Cancer Risk

A 20 year study reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting documents that cardiovascular fitness in middle-aged and older men is a strong independent predictor of the risk of developing lung and colorectal cancer and is a definite predictor of mortality rates from lung, colorectal and prostate cancer.

The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study followed over 17,000 men and measured their fitness by walking on a treadmill.  The treadmill exercise test was more predictive than body weight.  Significant reduction in cancer risk and cancer mortality rates were noted  with increased fitness level.

For more detailed information, see:  www.chemotherapyadvisor.com

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

The New Science of 'Breath-omics'

Chemotherapy Advisor  had an interesting article on the emerging field of Breath-omics.  It is described as analysis of exhaled breath into a device (like a breathalyzer for alcohol level testing) by measurement of the chemical waste products that are produced by certain cancers.  Just as saliva testing is being used more and more to diagnosis medical problems, these chemical "breath prints" have the same potential for non-invasive, real-time screening and diagnostic clinical testing for malignant and nonmalignant chronic diseases.  Exhaled breath tests are being studied for lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, and even Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Source:  www.chemotherapyadivsor.com

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309t

How Breath Tests Can Detect Cancer

Breath tests for lung cancer

The October issue of Journal of Thoracic Oncology, as reported in the JADA describes a pilot study of 72
patients who had pulmonary nodules. 

Researchers collected exhaled breath and analyzed the exhaled organic compounds, and patients also underwent a combination of other diagnostic procedures,as required, for a final diagnosis.
The breath analysis correctly identified the 53 pulmonary nodules that were malignant and the 19 that were benign.  In addition, they were able to discriminate between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma and between early-stage and advanced disease.

In the future, the non-invasive test could be used to define lesions earlier and facilitate faster treatment.

Source:  JADA, Dec 2012


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., 
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
(661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com
5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309