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Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: vulvar cancer + cancer vulvar + cancer  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

Vulvar Cancer

The vulva is the outer skin of the vagina. Vulvar cancer usually occurs after menopause and accounts for only about three percent of all the types of gynecologic cancers. Essentially, it is a form of skin cancer that begins on the surface and does not grow very much at first. If not treated, the condition can travel to internal parts of the body. If detected early, 75% of all women treated will have no sign of cancer five years after diagnosis.

• Lumps or sores near or at the opening of the vagina
• Scaly or discolored patches of skin
• Surrounding areas that look puckered
• Itching and/or a watery, fluid discharge

A small sample of tissue (biopsy) is taken to be examined under the microscope.

Depending on the size of the affected area, all or part of the vulva may be removed through surgery. Radiation therapy may follow in advanced cases.

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Ventricular septal defects occur when there are one or more openings in the wall between the ventricles of the heart. These holes may:

• Close up by themselves during infancy
• Lead to heart failure
• Require surgery
• Be accompanied by disease of the blood vessels or the lungs

Small defects in the walls of the heart can often be heard as loud, harsh murmurs in a baby's heart when he or she is several months old. Larger ones can be heard when the baby is only two to three weeks old. By the time the baby is six to eight weeks old, signs of heart failure may appear as flooding of the lungs occurs.

Babies with significant defects or who are in heart failure that has not been stabilized are at a high risk of getting pneumonia and needing mechanical breathing support. The baby's heart may become enlarged. The baby may fail to grow or may develop endocarditis.

The following may be used to diagnose this defect or provide additional information before surgery is performed to repair the condition:

• X-rays which will show enlargement of the heart or enlargement of the left chambers of the heart and increased blood flow in the arteries to the lungs
• Electrocardiography
• Echocardiography

Hear failure may be contolled through the use of digitalis (a heart-stimulating drug), increasing the outflow of urine, cutting back on salt and treating lung infections. These treatments may allow the child to grow and develop normally. The heart failure usually disappears by the time the infant is one to two years old as the defect becomes less significant, and surgery may not be needed.

If the baby does not respond to treatment, surgery may be necessary to repair the defect. Large defects that cause an enlarged heart, failure to grow or other symptoms without heart failure may require surgery later in childhood. Any child with this type of heart defect should be treated to prevent endocarditis.

Valley fever is an airborne fungal infection. It starts in the lungs, and if not treated, it spreads to the bones and destroys them.

In many people, valley fever causes mild, flu-like symptoms or none at all. Valley fever, therefore, often goes undiagnosed and goes away without treatment.

Symptoms include:

• Blood in the sputum
• Chest pain
• Chills
• Cough
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Sputum production

In some people, however the infection may become severe and lead to a pneumonia-like illness. The disease may also affect other parts of the body, such as the skin, joints and brain. Valley fever can be fatal in people with weakened immune systems. The severe form of valley fever may develop a few weeks, months or sometimes years after the primary infection, and it may develop even after leaving the area where the fungi live.

Symptoms of this form include:

• Low-grade fever
• Anorexia
• Weight loss
• Weakness

The heavy involvement of the lungs may cause difficulty breathing or the skin to turn bluish from lack of oxygen. If it spreads beyond the lungs, it usually involves one or more tissue sites in the bones, joints, skin, organs or brain. Sites away from the lungs often become chronic and recur, sometimes long after antifungal therapy has been completed, seemingly successfully.

Valley fever is caused by the fungus coccidioides immitis, which grows in arid soil through the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. It was first identified in California's San Joaquin Valley. Infection occurs when the spores of the fungus are inhaled.

Progressive valley fever is more common in men than women. People who are at a greater risk of contracting valley fever are those who:

• Have HIV infection
• Are on therapy that suppresses their immune systems
• Are in the second half of pregnancy
• Have just given birth
• Are elderly

Tests that a doctor may order to confirm a diagnosis of valley fever include:

• A chest X-ray that shows thin-walled cavities in the lung
  
• Blood tests that show antibodies produced by the body to fight the fungus
  
• Examining sputum, lung fluid, spinal fluid or fluid that has drained from skin lesions under a microscope and finding evidence of the fungus
• Growing cultures from infected body fluids or tissue samples
  

Without treatment, valley fever that has spread beyond the lungs is usually fatal. In low-risk patients, the form that is limited to the lungs usually does not require treatment.

Treatment may include:

• Antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole or amphotericin B
• Surgery to remove involved bone if osteomyelitis occurs

People can acquire valley fever more than one time.