Liver Cancer Deaths on the Rise

liver cancer deaths have been on the rise in the United States. The American Liver Foundation estimates that 16,780 people in the United States will die this year of liver cancer, an increase of 580 deaths from 2006 and 4,000 deaths from only ten years ago.
But what is causing the increasing rates of liver cancer? Most cases of liver cancer are linked to cirrhosis of the liver, a condition caused when scar tissue begins to replace healthy liver tissue. Cirrhosis is a common long-term side effect of long-term, excessive alcohol consumption, as well as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and fatty liver disease.

"The increase in liver cancer is due to the near epidemic rates of many liver diseases," said Boyer. "The hepatitis C virus, for example, is the fourth leading cause of liver cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Both hepatitis B and C are viral infections. Over four million Americans have been infected with hepatitis C, while 1.4 million have been infected with hepatitis B. It is estimated that as much as 20 percent of the American population has fatty liver disease, a side-effect of diabetes and obesity.read more

CORRECTION FROM SOURCE: ViRexx Announces Second Quarter Results

ViRexx Medical Corp. (TSX:VIR)(AMEX:REX), a company focused on immunotherapy treatments for certain cancers, chronic hepatitis B & C and embolotherapy treatments for tumours.
ViRexx is an Edmonton, Alberta based biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapeutic products for the treatment of certain cancers and specified chronic viral infections. ViRexx's most advanced programs include drug candidates for the treatment of ovarian cancer, chronic hepatitis B and C and solid tumors.
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Help us really stop the spread of Hepatitis C

Before lending that support to Hepatitis C Epidemic Act, HR 2552, we believe you should have an opportunity to consider our position as well.

HR 2552 does not address the needs of the Hepatitis C infected population but creates another funding source for the largest unaccountable, single disease program in our nation's history, HIV/AIDS.

We believe once congress sees through this attempt to fund HIV/AIDS we can begin to address the needs of the Hepatitis C infected population with accountability and oversight as key components of any Hepatitis C legislation. read more

Why are childhood vaccines so important?

Newborn babies are immune to many diseases because they have antibodies they got from their mothers. However, the duration of this immunity may last only a month to about a year.

Further, young children do not have maternal immunity against some vaccine-preventable diseases, such as whooping cough.

If a child is not vaccinated and is exposed to a disease germ, the child’s body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines now prevent, such as whooping cough, measles and polio. Those same germs exist today, but babies are now protected by vaccines, so we do not see these diseases as often.read more

Utah ranks top diseases

Hepatitis A, which has fallen off Utah's list, where it was prominent in the 1990s, is another example of successful public health policy, Rolfs said. "We've seen a notable decrease." Utah was one of the first states to require vaccination for hepatitis A. And the state's numbers show that effort worked. Now it's required across the country, where hepatitis A ranks 18th.read more