MISSION MINUTE

ses. There are two main types of germ cell tumors: seminoma and nonseminoma. They each occur about half of the time. Some can-cers include both seminomas and nonseminomas, in this case they are treated as nonseminoma, as they grow and spread like nonsem-

inomas.

Seminomas arise from sperm producing germ cells of the testi-cles. Seminomas are most likely to occur in men aged 30 to 50. For-tunately, seminomas are very treatable by surgery and respond well to chemotherapy and radia-tion, if these treatments are need-

ed.

Germ cells can also give rise to nonseminoma tumors which often show characteristics of embryonic tissues or of the embryonal yolk sac. Nonseminoma tumors usually develop earlier in life, normally in men in their 20's. These nonsemi-noma tumor types include: Embryonal carcinoma Yolk sac carcinoma Choriocarcinoma Teratoma These tumor types are determined after biopsy or removal of the testicle. Nonseminoma tumors have a slightly less favorable prog-nosis than seminomas but are still very treatable by chemotherapy and radiation. Stromal Tumors: Tumors can also arise in the supportive and hormone-producing areas of the testicles. Such tumors are known as gonadal stromal tumors. They

account for about 4% of adult

(Continued on page 7)

TESTICULAR CANCER HITS MEN 15 - 35

Testicular cancer, the leading cancer in men 15-35, can strike at any age, yet it's hardly talked about. When detected early, it has a survival rate of over 95%. We encourage monthly testicular self-exams for men, knowing this is the most effective method of early

detection.

Your donations are greatly appre-ciated and help fund our education program, distribution of education-al materials throughout the country along with providing support and financial assistance to families in

immediate need.

In October 2007, Jordan Jones was diagnosed with stage 4 (medical reference 3c) of an ag-gressive form of testicular cancer at the early age of 13. During his treatment it became apparent to his family that there was a lack of education and support for this disease. This lack of information and support lead Jordan's mother to found Testicular Cancer Aware-

ness Foundation.

What is Testicular Cancer?

Testicular cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in one or both of the testicles. It occurs when germ cells experience abnor-mal growth. Germ cells, like stem cells, have the potential to form any cell in the body. Normally these cells lie dormant until sperm fertilizes an egg. If germ cells (a sexual reproductive cell) become cancerous, they multiply, forming a mass of cells called tumors that begin to invade normal tissue. When this happens these cells

have the potential to form a variety of embryonic like features includ-ing but not limited to; hair, nails,

teeth etc.

Testicular cancer can metastasize, meaning that it can spread to other parts of the body. During this time cells leave the original tumor from the testicle and migrate to other parts of the body through blood and lymph vessels forming new tumors. Testicular cancer spreads most often to the abdomen, liver, lungs, bones, and brain. Testicular cancer can spread rapidly and is

deadly if left untreated.

Testicular cancer has a very fast onset. If not detected early, the cancerous tumors can grow rapidly with the ability to double in size in

just 10 - 30 days.

Testicular cancer is on the rise and can affect any male from infancy to the elderly. An estimated 8,500 new cases are diagnosed annually and 1 out of 270 young men will be diagnosed. The highest rate of diagnoses are males between the ages of 15 to 35. Largely due to the lack of awareness & early detection more than 370 deaths will occur in 2013. That's 370 too

many.

Different types of Testicular

Cancer

Seminoma Germ Cell Tumors

Nonseminoma Germ Cell Tu-

mors

Stromal Tumors

Germ cell tumors make up over 90% of testicular cancer diagno-

Metro Huntsvi l le Relay for Li fe

Inside this issue:

Five Keys to Safer 2

World Health Day 3

Cancer Control 4

Minority Health 4

Thanks to our Volun-teers

5

Reduced Cancer Risk 5

Oral Cancer Month 6

April Fundraising Challenge

6

Testicular Cancer Continued

7

April Challenge Continued

7

Pick Your Tent Site 8

Shaggy’s Fundraiser 8

April 7, 2015

Page 2 Mission Minute

Volume 6 Issue 9 Page 3

WORLD HEALTH DAY APRIL 7, 2015—FOCUS ON FOOD SAFETY

Background

Unsafe food is linked to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people annually – including many children. Food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, para-sites or chemical substances is responsible for more than 200 diseases, ranging from diar-

rhoea to cancers.

New threats to food safety are constantly emerging. Changes in food production, distribution and consumption; changes to the environment; new and emerging pathogens; antimicro-bial resistance - all pose chal-lenges to national food safety systems. Increases in travel and trade enhance the likeli-hood that contamination can

spread internationally.

The topic for World Health Day 2015 is food safety

As our food supply becomes increasingly globalized, the need to strengthen food safe-ty systems in and between all countries is becoming more and more evident. That is why the WHO is promoting efforts to improve food safety, from farm to plate (and everywhere in between) on World Health

Day, 7 April 2015.

WHO helps countries prevent, detect and respond to food-borne disease outbreaks - in line with the Codex Alimen-tarius, a collection of interna-tional food standards, guide-lines and codes of practice covering all the main foods and processes. Together with

the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), WHO alerts countries to food safety emergencies through an inter-

national information network.

Five keys to safer food

Food safety is a shared re-sponsibility. It is important to work all along the food produc-tion chain – from farmers and manufacturers to vendors and consumers. For example, WHO’s Five keys to safer food offer practical guidance to vendors and consumers for

handling and preparing food:

Key 1: Keep clean

Key 2: Separate raw and

cooked food

Key 3: Cook food thor-

oughly

Key 4: Keep food at safe

temperatures

Key 5: Use safe water and raw

materials.

World Health Day 2015 is an opportunity to alert people work-ing in different government sec-tors, farmers, manufacturers, retailers, health practitioners – as well as consumers – about the importance of food safety, and the part each can play in ensuring that everyone can feel confident that the food on their

plate is safe to eat.

http://www.who.int/campaigns/

world-health-day/2015/event/en/

NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH

the laboratory, they explore pos-sible causes of cancer and try to determine what actually happens when normal cells become can-cerous. For in-depth and up-to-date information about cancer, cancer causes, and cancer prevention, please see the following Medi-cineNet.com areas: Skin Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Leukemia, Cancer-Causing Agents - Carcinogens, Disease Prevention in Men, Disease Prevention in Women.

The number of new cases of cancer in the United States is increasing each year. People of all ages get cancer, but nearly all

types are more common in mid-dle-aged and elderly people than in young people. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer for both men and women. The

next most common type among men is prostate cancer; among women, it is breast cancer. Lung cancer, however, is the leading cause of death from cancer for both men and women in the United States. Brain cancer and leukemia are the most common cancers in children and young adults. The more we can learn about what causes cancer, the more likely we are to find ways to prevent it. Scientists study pat-terns of cancer in the population to look for factors that affect the risk of developing this disease. In

APRIL IS CANCER CONTROL MONTH

for Action to End Health Dis-parities.

Despite our country’s pro-gress towards ending health disparities, racial and ethnic minorities continue to face significant health disparities. This means our work is not yet done and we need your help.

Throughout the year OMH – in conjunction with its feder-al, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners – will raise a clarion call for all Americans to take action towards ending health disparities in their community. Together through our collective efforts we can accelerate momentum towards achieving a nation free of disparities in health and health care.

To find out more about Na-tional Minority Health Month, contact OMHMe-dia@hhs.gov

http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/nmhm/

During National Minority Health Month in April, the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) joins with its partners in raising public awareness about health and health care disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities and efforts to advance health equity.

The theme for National Mi-nority Health Month 2015 is “30 Years of Advancing Health Equity | The Heckler Report: A Force for Ending Health Disparities in Ameri-ca.” This theme commemo-rates the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS) efforts towards elimi-nating health disparities among racial and ethnic mi-

norities that were mobilized by the findings from the Re-port of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health, commonly referred to as the Heckler Report.

This year marks the 30th An-niversary of the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health, released in 1985 under the leadership of former HHS Secretary Margaret Heck-ler. This landmark report marked the first convening of a group of health experts by the U.S. government to con-duct a comprehensive study of racial and ethnic minority health and elevated minority health to a national stage.

This milestone anniversary serves as a paramount oppor-tunity to highlight national and local efforts towards eliminating health disparities and advancing health equity, including legislative policy and actions such as the Af-fordable Care Act, the HHS

Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and the National Partnership

Page 4 Newsletter Title

“Racial and ethnic minorities continue to face significant health disparities.

This means our work is not yet done and we need your help”

THANKS TO OUR VOLUNTEERS!

Men who kept highly fit in midlife reduced their cancer death risks in older life

complish alone what we are doing with your help and we’re honored to have you on our side. So, thank you, this week and every week, for all that you do. Together we are saving lives and making an impact for generations to come.

April 5th-11th is Na-tional Volunteer Week, and although we are deeply grate-ful every day for your countless efforts, we’d like to take this time especially to cel-ebrate you, the hours you dedicate, and your ongoing commit-ment and passion to help defeat cancer.

We cannot possibly say thank you enough for your support and help in the fulfillment of our mission. Not only do we celebrate the work you do, we celebrate the inspira-tion you give us, day in and day out to keep standing strong in the fight against cancer. We could never ac-

respectively," say the authors.

For those men diagnosed with a cancer in Medicare age (65 years and over), the risk of dying from it was also reduced by high midlife fitness. Such men with cancer were also considerably less likely to die from cardiovas-cular causes, the study sug-gests.

Cardiovascular benefit of exer-cise in the prevention of heart disease and stroke is more es-tablished, but the authors believe their study is the first to demon-strate a predictive relationship between levels of fitness and cancer incidence in addition to the study's cardiovascular dis-ease results. They conclude:

"These findings provide further support for the effectiveness of cardiorespiratory fitness assess-ment in preventive health care settings.

Future studies are required to determine the absolute level of cardiorespiratory fitness neces-sary to prevent site-specific can-cer as well as evaluating the long-term effect of cancer diag-nosis and mortality in women."

Men who kept a high level of fitness in their midlife would then have around a third lower risk overall of dying from certain cancers after the age of 65. The benefit was in comparison with those men maintaining low cardi-orespiratory fitness against treadmill tests in a study that followed nearly 14,000 men from 1971 to 2009.

The men's treadmill tests meas-ured fitness level by slowly step-ping up speed and grade until the point they wanted to stop.

For specific types of cancer in the research published in JAMA Oncology, high cardiorespiratory fitness, compared with the least fit men, resulted in risk being lowered by:

55% for lung cancer

44% for colorectal cancer.

There was, however, no benefit for prostate cancer found in the cohort study analysis produced by Dr. Susan Lakoski and col-leagues at the University of Ver-mont, Burlington.

The paper in fact shows a higher

risk of prostate cancer associat-ed with men who kept highly fit, but the authors look to other findings that may explain this "interesting" result - men with higher cardiorespiratory fitness may also be more likely to get screened or to take part in pre-ventive health consultations, and so may simply show higher rates of diagnosis.

For the reductions in risk for the other two types of cancer, the paper concludes that incremental increases in fitness give incre-mental reductions in risk.

The authors have analyzed a percentage risk reduction for every metabolic-equivalent unit of oxygen consumption - for every MET ("metabolic equiva-lent of task"), a measure of exer-cise capacity for individuals, and a factor of increased energy use per minute for their bodyweight during activity compared with resting oxygen consumption.

"Every 1-MET increase in car-diorespiratory fitness was associated with 17% and 9% relative risk reductions in lung and colorectal cancer risk,

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1

"When it comes to physical fitness, the best peer pressure to get moving could be coming from the person who sits across from you at the breakfast table," says one of the authors of an-other study giving results on physical fitness this month.

Written by Markus MacGill

Copyright: Medical News To-day, Last updated: Friday 27 March 2015 at 12am PST

April 15 Fundraising Challenge

Hoarseness which lasts for a prolonged period of time.

Advanced Indicators:

A sensation that some-thing is stuck in you throat.

Numbness in the oral region.

Difficulty in moving the jaw or tongue.

Difficulty in swallowing.

Ear pain which occurs on one side only.

A sore under a denture, which even after adjust-ment of the denture, still does not heal.

A lump or thickening which develops in the mouth or on the neck.

An oral cancer screening should be conducted eve-ry year. For more infor-mation about oral cancer, please log onto The Oral Cancer Foundation’s offi-cial website at

www.oralcancer.org.

Oral cancer is not a rare disease. Approximately 43,250 people will be di-agnosed with oral cancer every year in the US. It kills one person every hour of every day, and over 115 new individuals will be diagnosed with it each day. The good news is that it can often be found early in its develop-ment, through a simple, painless, and quick screening.

Who should get screened?

Every adult. Oral cancer can often be caught ear-ly, even as a pre-cancer. With early detection, sur-vival rates are high and the side effects are from treatment are at their low-est. Like other screenings you engage in such as cervical, skin, prostate, colon and breast exami-nations, oral cancer screenings are an effec-tive means of finding can-cer at its early, highly cur-able stages. Make them part of your annual health

check-ups.

What are the risk fac-tors?

There are two distinct pathways by which most people come to oral can-cer. One is through the use of tobacco and alco-hol, a long term historic problem and cause, and the other is through expo-sure to the HPV16 virus (human papilloma virus version 16), which is now the leading cause of oral cancers in the US, and the same one, which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical can-cers in women. The quickest growing seg-ment of the oral cancer population are young, healthy, non-smokers due to the connection to this virus.

Early Indicators:

Red and/or white discol-orations of the soft tis-sues of the mouth.

Any sore which does not heal within 14 days.

app helps you contact your friends

and family through a number of

channels including email and Fa-

cebook to ask for donations.

Check outrelayforlife.org/mobile for

more information and download

this resource. 2. Email: The email

tools in your My Relay dashboard

make it easy to spread the news

that you are a Relay For Life par-

ticipant. Use one of the suggested

—————continued on page 7

April 15 is a day that tons of peo-

ple circle on their calendar each

year. Well, this year, you have

more than one reason to prepare

for that day. While you’re gathering

your charitable donations, why not

encourage others to make one to

the American Cancer Society? You

can qualify for more than a tax

refund; you could get an iPad mini!

With the Tax Time Challenge, the

individual in each state of the Mid-

South Division who raises the most

money online between April 1 and

April 15 will receive the iPad mini.

Online fundraising is a quick and

easy way to raise money to help

finish the fight against cancer! Try

these easy ways to meet this chal-

lenge: 1. Make sure you are using

the Relay For Life smartphone

app. You could even use the app

when you are waiting in line at the

post office to mail your taxes! This

APRIL IS ORAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Page 6 Mission Minute

43,250 people will be diagnosed with

oral cancer this year in the United States. Screening is painless,

simple and quick.

Testicular Cancer Continued

April Contest Continued

many cases it can cause infertility and pain. Although there are stud-ies showing improvement in sperm quality in 57%, there are also studies showing that the regular surgery has no significant effect on infertility. Thus the surgery may not improve fertility and the patient will need to undergo a non-invasive treatment. Symptoms of a varicocele may include:

Dragging-like or aching pain

within scrotum.

Feeling of heaviness in the

testicle(s)

Atrophy (shrinking) of the

testicle(s)

Low testosterone.

Visible or palpable (able to be felt) enlarged vein Spermatocele Spermatoceles can be discovered as incidental scrotal masses found on physical examination by a physician. They may also be discovered by self-inspection of the scrotum and testicles. Finding a painless, cystic mass at the head of the epididymis, that transilluminates and can be clearly differentiated from the testicle, is generally sufficient. If uncertainty ex-ists, ultrasonography of

testicle tumors and 20% or child-hood testicle tumors. The two main types are Leydig and Sertoli cell tumors. Leydig cells tumors develop from normal Leydig cells of the testicle. These are the cells that normally produce androgens (male sex hormones). Leydig cell tumors are more common in adults (75% of cases). They often produce andro-gens, but sometimes produce estrogens. Although most Leydig cell tumors do not spread beyond the testicle and are cured by surgi-cal removal, a small number me-tastasize. Metastatic Leydig cell tumors have a poor prognosis, as they do not respond well to chemo-therapy and radiation. Sertoli cells act as supportive, stromal cells of the testicles that nourish sperm producing cells. The American Cancer Society explains that like Leydig cell tu-mors, Sertoli cell tumors are usual-ly benign, but are quite dangerous if they are metastatic. If you find something abnormal with your testicle, it may not be cancer, but you definitely need to go to your doctor for testing, to rule out cancer. The following are benign causes of testicular abnormalities: Hydrocele A hydrocele feels like a small fluid-filled balloon inside the scrotum. It is smooth, and is mainly in front of

the testis. Hydroceles vary greatly in size. Hydroceles are normally painless and harmless. Large hydroceles cause discomfort be-cause of their size. As the fluid of a hydrocele is transparent, light shone through a hydrocelic region will be visible from the other side. This phenomenon is called transil-lumination. Symptoms of a hydrocele can easily be distinguished from testicular cancer, as a hydro-cele is soft and fluidy, where a testicular cancer feels hard and rough. Through diagnostic ultrasound the accumulation of fluids can be diagnosed correctly. Varicocele Varicocele is an abnormal enlarge-ment of the pampiniform venous plexus in the scrotum. This plexus of veins drains the testicles. The testicular blood vessels originate in the abdomen and course down through the inguinal canal as part of the spermatic cord on their way to the testis. Upward flow of blood in the veins is ensured by small one-way valves that prevent back-flow. Defective valves, or compres-sion of the vein by a nearby struc-ture, can cause dilatation of the testicular veins near the testis, leading to the formation of a vari-cocele. Varicocele can be harmless, but in

11:59 pm CST will be eligible to

receive an iPad mini. · Donations

must be received via credit card or

PayPal transactions on the Relay

For Life online site. · Donations

received offline through checks and

cash do not apply to this challenge. ·

Fundraising efforts during this time

period cannot be applied post event to

receive an incentive prize in the Individ-

ual Fundraising Club program. · Ameri-

can Cancer Society staff are not eligi-

ble to receive this item.

messages or e-cards available, or

write your own email, before send-

ing it to all your family and friends.

3. Extend your network! Download

the Facebook app which makes it

easier to spread the Relay For Life

mission and collect contributions

right through the social media site.

You could post to Facebook and

ask for donations once your taxes

are submitted online! 4. Lead by

example: Contribute to your own

fundraising efforts to show your

commitment to the fight. Others

will follow. During the challenge, let

everyone know you are participat-

ing by using #taxtimechallenge

when you post about your dedica-

tion to helping finish the fight

against cancer! American Cancer

Society Relay For Life Official

Online Fundraising Challenge

Rules: · The top online fundraising

participant within each state of the

Mid-South Division between April 1

at 12:01 am CST and April 15 at

Page 7 Volume 6 Issue 9

the scrotum can confirm if it is spermatocele. If an individual finds what they suspect to be a spermatocele, they are advised to consult a urologist. Epididymitis Epididymitis is a medical condition characterized by discomfort or pain in of the epididymis, a curved structure at the back of the testicle in which sperm matures and is stored. Epididymitis is usual-ly characterized as ei-ther acute or chronic: if acute, the onset of testicular pain is often accompanied by inflammation, redness, and warmth in the scrotum; if chronic, pain may be the only symptom. In either form, testicular pain in one or both testes can vary from mild to se-vere, and one or both epididymides may noticeably swell and/ or hard-en. The pain is often cyclical and may last from less than an hour to several days. http://www.testicularcancerawarenessfoundation.org/testicular-cancer-info/

PICK YOUR TENT SITE

Team Captain Meeting

April 13th at 5:30

ERC 308 Voyager Way

Suite 200

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY

Phone: 256-536-1856 Rosie.wertman@cancer.org

256-527-3701, ext 114 Cell 256-527-3701

American Cancer Society 2745 Bob Wallace Avenue, Suite 1

Huntsville, AL 35805

F IND US AT

WWW . RELAYFORLIFE . ORG/

HUNTSVILLEAL

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2015

4:00 PM—9:00 PM

Enjoy a burger or taco at

Shaggy’s and 20% (pretax) of

your total bill will be donated

to Metro Huntsville Relay for

Life.

All you have to do is donate your receipt and Shaggy’s will do the rest!

Shaggy’s is located behind Target on University Drive @

1267 Enterprise Way

See ya there!