What It Means That Jimmy Carter Is ‘Cancer-Free’

Photo: Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter announced that he is “cancer-free” after undergoing treatment for melanoma, which spread to his liver and his brain.

On Sunday, Carter, 91, told a church group in Georgia that his physicians could not find any cancer in his scans. “My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones,” he said in a statement. Carter says he will continue taking his regular 3-week immunotherapy treatments of the cancer drug pembrolizuma, which has shown promise in the treatment of melanoma.

So what exactly does it mean to be “cancer-free”?

Not seeing any cancer on imaging tests is promising, but a physician cannot be 100% certain that means a cancer will not return. Even with potent treatments there’s a chance that cancer cells could survive and grow over time. As the American Cancer Society notes, this is why doctors will rarely say a person is “cured.” Instead, they may say things like, “The cancer can’t be seen on the scan” or “I see no evidence of any cancer.” Usually by two or three months of treatment a doctor can look to see how a person’s cancer is responding.

Not all cancers will recur, and if cancer cells do survive treatment it could take years before they develop into identifiable disease.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), if someone remains in complete remission—meaning all signs and symptoms of cancer are gone—for five or more years, some doctors may say a person has been “cured.” Still, cancer cells could remain in the body for many years after treatment.

Carter started his treatment in August, which consisted of a combination of radiation and a newer drug. The drug he was given, pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda), is part of a rapidly growing class of drugs called immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to fight the cancer. The drug received accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certain conditions in 2014. In general, immunotherapy works in different ways from chemotherapy. Some treatments work by enhancing the immune system overall and other treatments specifically target cancer cells.

Using the immune system as a weapon against cancer makes a lot of sense. The job of the immune system is to identify “foreign” substances in the body and attack them. This is how our body kicks a cold or the flu. However, the immune system has a harder time identifying cancer cells as foreign, sometimes due to the fact that they don’t appear different enough from normal cells or the immune system isn’t powerful enough to take on the cancer. By using different strategies to bolster the immune system, researchers can get the immune system to better recognize cancer cells and launch a stronger attack. Some researchers are also looking into how to harness the knowledge gained from immunotherapy to develop cancer vaccines.

Immunotherapy has proven effective for melanoma, the type of cancer for which Carter received treatment. Reuters reports that about 30% of people treated with pembrolizumab experience significant tumor shrinkage. About 5% go into complete remission.

For now, President Carter will continue part of his treatment as he announced, and his status will likely be regularly monitored.

This story originally appeared on Time.com.

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7 Ways You’ve Been Washing Your Face Wrong

Photo: Getty Images

I care a lot about my skin—I have a very intricate skincare routine that I complete every morning and most nights. However, against all advice, I sometimes fall asleep with my makeup on. That, we know, is a no-no. But is it possible that even when I wash my face on schedule that I’m still doing something wrong?

I tapped Rachel Nazarian of Schweiger Dermatology Group for the answers and she detailed seven (yes, seven!) ways most of us are damaging our skin during a wash.

1. You’re over-cleaning.

You should be washing your skin (face and body) twice daily at most. The best times are in the morning when you wake up, and in the evening before you go to sleep. If you’re very active or require more frequent cleaning, keep the washing short, with minimal soap. Each time you expose your skin to water and cleansers, your own natural hydrating oils are stripped. Parched skin looks duller and shows more fine lines and wrinkles.

2. You are spending too much time scrubbing.

Washing your face should be quick—like under two minutes. Don’t spend all day applying the cleanser, or washing it off, and definitely don’t let it sit on your face.

3. You are using the wrong cleanser.

Buy a face wash that tends to the specific needs of your skin. If you have sensitive skin, you should use cleansers, not soaps, when washing. Gentle non-foaming cleansers like Cetaphil, Cerave, and Dove are great options.

4. You are over-exfoliating.

Never exfoliate if your skin seems dry or red—especially during the winter. Limit the exfoliating cleansers to a once-a-week.

5. The water you are using is way too hot.

Your skin is delicate, so using super hot water will shock it. Not only does hot water remove the calming natural oils your skin produces, but it will also cause blood vessels in your face to dilate, creating more redness. Keep the water temperature lukewarm and your skin will look and feel better..

6. You are using facial wipes incorrectly.

While they help cut down the time spent cleaning your face before bedtime, many contain preservatives and chemicals that should not be left on your skin. Plus, they often leave skin-irritating makeup and oil residue. Rinse your face with lukewarm water and a mild cleanser after you use one to remove any residue.

7. Your wash cloth needs washing.

It’s important to use a clean cloth every time. An unwashed cloth can harbor bacteria, and if left damp, can even transfer fungus to your face. Keep a stack of clean towels available and toss into the laundry after every use.

Follow Hallie Gould on Twitter and Instagram for more beauty-related goodness.

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

 

More from MIMI:

How to Get a Fuzz-Free Face

It’s the Kylie Jenner Makeup-Free Selfie You’ve Always Wanted

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How Much Weight Must You Lose Before Others Notice?

MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — You’ve dieted and exercised for months, and finally the pounds are falling away. So, when do people start noticing the difference in your face?

Canadian researchers believe they’ve found out.

“Women and men of average height need to gain or lose about three and a half and four kilograms, or about eight and nine pounds, respectively, for anyone to see it in their face. But they need to lose about twice as much for anyone to find them more attractive,” Nicholas Rule, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Social Perception and Cognition at the University of Toronto, said in a university news release. “

The face “is a robust indicator of one’s health,” said Rule. “Increased facial adiposity [fat content] is associated with a compromised immune system, poor cardiovascular function, frequent respiratory infections and mortality. So, even a small decrease can improve one’s health.”

To determine how much weight people need to lose before they appear more attractive to others, the researchers compiled a collection of photos that featured the faces of men and women in their 20s and 30s. The people in the photos didn’t wear any jewelry, their hair was pulled back and they had neutral facial expressions.

Each image was duplicated and altered slightly to create a sequence of photos in which the person appeared to gradually gain weight.

The participants compared randomly drawn pairs of faces from each of the sequences and chose the one that looked heavier. Based on their responses, the researchers gauged the weight loss needed before all those dropped pounds become noticeable in a person’s face.

Rule’s team also found that people needed to lose twice as much weight to be perceived as more attractive by others beyond just “you’ve lost weight.” The average amount of weight loss needed to make the faces in photos more appealing was about 14 pounds for women and 18 pounds for men of average height.

The findings are important because, “when it comes to incentives for weight loss, some people are more motivated to look attractive than to improve their health,” study co-author Daniel Re, a postdoctoral fellow at the university, said in the news release.

“The difference between the groups suggests women’s facial attractiveness may be more sensitive to changes in weight,” she noted. “This just means women attempting to lose weight need to shed slightly fewer pounds than men for people to find them more attractive.”

The findings were published recently in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on weight loss.

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HIV Rates Fall, But Not All Groups Benefit, U.S. Study Finds

MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The number of Americans diagnosed with HIV each year declined by about one-fifth during the past decade, but not all groups saw drops in prevalence, a federal government study shows.

Between 2005 and 2014, the overall annual number of HIV diagnoses fell 19 percent — from nearly 48,800 to just over 39,700 a year. The drop was led by a 63 percent decline among injection drug users, a 42 percent drop among black women, and a 35 percent decrease among heterosexuals.

However, annual HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men actually rose about 6 percent during the study period, from about 25,000 to just over 26,600 a year, although they recently stabilized at less than a 1 percent increase a year.

The increase in HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men was driven largely by blacks and Hispanics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.

HIV diagnoses among white gay and bisexual men fell 18 percent, from nearly 10,000 to slightly more than 8,200 a year, the findings showed. But diagnoses rose 22 percent among black gay and bisexual men, from about 8,200 to about 10,000 a year, and rose 87 percent among black gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24, from just under 2,100 to nearly 4,000 a year.

The good news is that, in recent years, diagnoses rates fell 2 percent among young black and gay bisexual men, the study authors said.

Among Hispanic gay and bisexual men, HIV diagnoses rose 24 percent during the study period, from nearly 5,500 to just over 6,800 a year.

“Although we are encouraged by the recent slowing of the epidemic among black gay and bisexual men — especially young men — they continue to face a disproportionately high HIV burden and we must address it,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in an agency news release.

“Much more must be done to reduce new infections and to reverse the increases among Latino men. There is hope that the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and other efforts are beginning to pay off, but we can’t rest until we see equal gains for all races and risk groups,” he added.

“The recent five-year trends coincide with the launch of the first National HIV/AIDS Strategy and — now that the investment in high-impact prevention approaches has increased — offer promise for further progress,” Dr. Eugene McCray, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, said in the news release.

“We have the tools to stop HIV right now. We urgently need to accelerate access to testing, treatment, and new biomedical prevention strategies so that everyone can protect themselves and their partners,” he added.

McCray presented the study Sunday at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more about HIV/AIDS.

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What Kind of Baby-Soothing Sorcery Is This?

Photo: YouTube

The video is almost as soothing to adults as it is to the blissed-out babies it features: California pediatrician Dr. Robert Hamilton demonstrates the Hold, a technique he’s honed over the years to calm wailing newborns in seconds. One moment, the tiny child is crying its lungs out; the next, after a few moments in Hamilton’s hands, the kid is perfectly content.

Just what sort of baby-whispering sorcery is going on here? In the video, which has been played more than 9 million times since being uploaded late last week, Hamilton mentions that he came up with this technique because he needed a quick and reliable method to quiet babies down so their parents would be able to listen to his recommendations without being distracted. Science of Us reached out to Hamilton, who is probably busy in his newfound internet fame and thus did not return a call. But Dr. Robert Block, a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is among the millions who have watched the video this week, and he gave us this explanation for why Hamilton’s technique works.

At least two parts of the Hold — the arm-fold and the rocking — are a bit baby-soothing 101. In the video, Hamilton first folds the baby’s left arm across its chest, and then the right, placing his hand over the tiny arms to keep them in place. “It was pretty amazing, actually, how quickly the baby stopped crying,” Block said. “But I think body contact is a factor; he puts them in a secure position, holding them so that they sort of could sense that they were safe.” It’s the same reason some babies respond to swaddling, and others just really like to be held close. “You notice when they come in, [the babies are] sort of laying on the exam table — they were sort of free in space, and babies don’t like that,” Block said.

As for the rocking, theories abound as to why this helps calm a crying baby. One thought is that it may help the babies regulate their breathing, “with breathing changing from an irregular deep, shallow rhythm to a faster, more regular one,” according to a 1989 report in the Canadian Medical Journal.

Again: Neither of these things are exactly giant leaps in baby-soothing science. But the 45-degree angle at which Hamilton holds the babies is particularly interesting to Block. “The point he made that was important is that he was holding the baby at that 45-degree angle,” he said. “If you hold a baby straight up, and you’re not supporting the head, then — and he mentioned this in the video — then they can throw their head back, and if you’re not careful, that can cause somebody holding a baby to lose control, and the babies can fall.” In other words, this final step is more about securing that baby in place, something that should help to calm both baby and baby-holder.

Block wanted to make clear that this won’t necessarily work for every baby, and that once the infant is beyond 2 or 3 months old it will likely be too big to hold in this way. But for some little ones, it seems to work like a near-instant path to serenity now. 

More from Science of Us:

3 Insights Into Baby Brains

Potty Training Is a Scientific Mystery

When Do Babies Start Making Jokes?

Chattering Away to Babies Is Even Better for Them Than Reading

The ‘Bilingual Advantage’ May Not Actually Be a Thing

How to Make a Baby Laugh

Science of Us is a smart but playful window into the latest science on human behavior, with the goal of enlightening, entertaining, and providing useful information that can be applied to everyday life.

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10 Fitness Stocking Stuffers—All Under $25

The exercise addict in your life may already have everything she needs to stay in tip-top shape, but these fun stocking stuffers are guaranteed to put a smile on her fitness-loving face. Best part: They’re all under $25.

Fruit Infused Water Bottle ($12; amazon.com)
Quench thirst and fight sugar cravings with this unique tumblr that easily turns bland water into a flavorful creation using your favorite fruits.

Body Glide ($9; amazon.com)
This lightweight and non-greasy balm glides on smooth creating an invisible barrier to protect your skin against chaffing and irritation.

Neon Stress Balls ($8; amazon.com)
When a family member has had a little too much eggnog, reach for one of these super bright and squishy stress balls. It will relax you and keep your blood from boiling.

Yoga Cookie Cutters ($9; yummyyogi.com)
Move over gingerbread man, there’s a new holiday cookie in town. Give your yogi extra Zen during dessert time with these cute cutters shaped like traditional yoga moves.

Reusable Hand Warmers ($25; amazon.com)
For runners eager to pound the pavement on a chilly winter morning, these reusable—and self-activating—hand warmers will provide instant heat right down to the fingertips.

Mini Foam Roller ($25; amazon.com)
Toss it in your stocking or even in your suitcase! This compact version of the classic foam roller is perfect for soothing sore muscles on the go.

Sweaty Bands ($15; amazon.com)
These sassy sweatbands not only come in variety bright colors and fun patterns, but also guarantee you never have to worry about sweat or hair getting in the way of workouts.

Twas the Night Before the Race Mug ($12; amazon.com)
This festive red mug is a creative, tongue-in-cheek twist on the classic holiday poem. It’s sure to make your favorite running enthusiast smile.

Burpee Socks ($10; amazon.com)
Keep your feet cool and dry during those intense CrossFit WODs with these fun, knee-high burpee socks.

Fitness and Nutrition Journal ($25; amazon.com)
Start the New Year off right by logging your fitness goals into this pint-sized planner featuring space to write down your healthy eats, daily workouts, fitspiration, and more.

 

 

 

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6 Things Shonda Rhimes Wishes You Knew About Overcoming Social Anxiety

Photo: Getty Images

It’s hard to believe that Shonda Rhimes was once afraid of small talk. As the creator and producer of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, Rhimes has spearheaded some of TV’s biggest and buzziest prime-time shows. And the female characters she’s introduced us to—from Grey’s Cristina Yang to Scandal‘s Olivia Pope—are certainly no shrinking violets.

Yet in her new memoir The Year of Yes ($25; amazon.com), Shonda describes her struggle with crippling social anxiety, writing that public appearances would turn her into “a walking panic attack.” (Her publicist’s job? To get her out of them.) When she did find herself compelled to speak at press events, she’d experience a full-on meltdown: “Every single time, before I got to the stage, there was mumbling, there was sweating, there was shaking,” Shonda writes. “There was the make-up artist charged with reapplying the mascara that washed off my face after the silent thirty-second crying jag required to quell my rising hysteria.”

It wasn’t just stage fright. Any event could make her freeze up. At Hollywood fêtes, she felt like an outsider with her nose pressed up against the glass. Meeting new people made her uncomfortable and awkward. Even children’s birthday parties were challenging. She writes of feeling “mom guilt” when she skipped them because she couldn’t handle the social interactions.

But all of that changed on Thanksgiving two years ago. Rhimes’ older sister made an offhand remark that “You never say ‘yes’ to anything.” What she really meant: Rhimes never ventured beyond her comfort zone. That casual (and dead-on) observation inspired a year-long experiment in which Rhimes vowed to say yes to every invitation and opportunity that came her way—especially the ones that scared her. Year of Yes chronicles that truly transformative experience as Rhimes faces (and ultimately conquers) her self-doubt. Here, six important lessons about social anxiety I learned from her memoir.

RELATED: 19 Natural Remedies for Anxiety

Living in fear is no way to live

Shortly after that Thanksgiving morning, Rhimes came to terms with just how unhappy she’d become. “I am miserable. Admitting this takes my breath away,” she writes. “I feel as though I am revealing new information to myself. Learning a secret I’ve been keeping from myself.”

Rhimes had surrendered to her anxiety. She was working long hours, and when she wasn’t immersed in the fictional worlds of Seattle Grace or Pope & Associates, she was with her daughters or her boyfriend. Or she was sleeping. That was it—she said no to everything else. “The years and years of saying no were, for me, a quiet way to let go. A silent means of giving up. An easy withdrawal from the world, from light, from life,” she writes. “Saying no was my own slow form of suicide. Which is crazy. Because I do not want to die.”

When you’re always hiding, you risk losing yourself

It doesn’t happen all at once, she explains. But if you’re not careful, you can lose yourself  “one ‘no’ at a time.” No to a meeting. No to catching up with friends. No to taking a vacation.

For Rhimes, losing herself also happened “one pound at a time.” She ate when she was stressed, and her size kept going up and up and up. Yet she was ambivalent about the weight gain, she says. Her body was just another place to hide: “Slowly I am coming to realize that is part of it. The shyness. The introversion. The layers of fat,” she writes.

But once Rhimes finally said yes to taking care of herself, those layers melted away. Between March of 2014 and the summer of 2015, she dropped 127 pounds (by exercising and eating right). And then, she says, being “seen” wasn’t so bad after all.

RELATED: The Best (and Worst) Ways to Cope with Stress 

Facing your fears really does make you stronger

Signing up for things that terrify you may seem nuts. But the challenge, the rush, and the sense of accomplishment makes the scary stuff worth doing. That’s what Rhimes discovered after she completed her first yes: filming an hour-long special for Jimmy Kimmel Live called Behind the Scandalabra. 

She was so freaked out, she became a “block of solid wood” on camera. As Rhimes tells it, all she did was hold an enormous glass of wine and laugh at Kimmel’s jokes. But what mattered was that it happened. “I said yes to something that terrified me. And then I did it. AND I DIDN’T DIE,” she writes.

Later in the book, Rhimes describes what it actually feels like to overcome a fear: “I race into the wilderness and it’s all darkness and thorny bushes and rocky uphill paths and I am spitting out swear words left and right and then suddenly—I break through in to the clearing and find I’m standing on the mountaintop. Air in my lungs. Sunlight on my face. It’s not insanity. It’s just tough.”

Being heard feels good 

About halfway through her Year of Yes, Rhimes gave the commencement speech at Dartmouth College, her alma mater. Leading up to ceremony, she became “[n]onsensical. Irrational. I stop speaking out loud. I make noises instead.” But when it comes time to address the class of 2014, she delivered a dose of well-earned wisdom:

“Stand up in front of people. Let them see you. Speak. Be heard. Go ahead and have the dry mouth. Let your heart beat so, so fast. Watch everything move in slow motion. So what. You what? You pass out, you die, you poop? No. (And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know.) You take it in. You breathe this rare air. You feel alive. You are yourself. You are truly finally always yourself.”

Speaking up is more efficient than being silent

Even though saying yes all the time made her busier, Rhimes felt like she had more free time than ever before. The reason? She was no longer spending so much time in her head, feeling stifled and wrestling with frustration. “I realized I’d been wasting a huge amount of time and energy on complaining and feeling sorry for myself, being dark and twisty me,” she writes. “Now I wasn’t interested in being that person. Not when it was so much easier to just open my mouth and talk.”

RELATED: 12 Signs You May Have an Anxiety Disorder

The goal is swagger

According to Rhimes, swagger means loving oneself, and “not giving a crap what anyone else thinks about you.” It’s a great goal. Because the reality is—as Rhimes puts it—everyone’s got some greatness in them: “You do. That girl over there does. That guy to the left has some. But in order to really mine it, you have to own it. You have to grab hold of it. You have to believe it.” And you never, ever have to apologize for it. 

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4 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Try the Gold Hair Trend

Jimmy Carter Says Brain Scans Show No Signs of Cancer

MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Former President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday that brain scans have shown there are no longer any signs of the melanoma cancer that had spread to his brain.

The news comes roughly three months after he began treatment for four small lesions in his brain and had surgery to remove part of his liver. However, Carter said in a statement that he will continue to take Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug that helps his body recognize and fight any stray cancer cells.

“My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones,” Carter said in the statement.

Carter broke the news to a Sunday school class at Marantha Baptist Church in Plains. Ga., according to the Associated Press.

Carter, 91, first announced in August that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to his brain. Along with the liver surgery, he received a round of radiation and the drug Keytruda every three weeks, the AP reported.

Whether Carter’s medical team at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta has performed additional scans was unclear Sunday, the AP reported.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, told the wire service that doctors will often scan other parts of the body in melanoma cases, to make sure the disease has not spread.

“Circumstances may change over time or he may be in a situation where it does not recur for many years or at all,” Lichtenfeld said.

During his treatment, Carter continued to do volunteer work, according to the AP.

“I’ve reacted well to the treatments,” Carter told the wire service in November. “I haven’t been uncomfortable or ill after the treatments were over. So that part of it has been a relief to me and I think to the doctors.”

More information

Find out more about brain tumors at U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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Researchers Focus on Risk Factors for Leukemia After Breast Cancer Treatment

MONDAY, Dec. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they’re zeroing in on factors that may increase the risk of leukemia after breast cancer treatment.

The findings are a step forward in determining ways to prevent this complication in breast cancer survivors. While the breast cancer treatments target malignant cells, they can also affect healthy cells and could increase the risk of leukemia later, the researchers said.

The scientists looked at 88 breast cancer survivors with treatment-related leukemia and found that many had a personal and family history of cancer, suggesting a genetic susceptibility to cancer.

Also, 20 percent of the women had an inherited gene mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer, according to the study published Dec. 7 in the journal Cancer.

“The findings justify a long-term, follow-up study of women with and without inherited breast cancer gene mutations who are treated with similar therapy for breast cancer,” said study leader Dr. Jane Churpek, from the University of Chicago.

“This would enable us to understand how these genes impact therapy-related leukemia risk, and whether specific treatments come with higher risks based on a woman’s inherited genetics,” Churpek said in a journal news release.

Doctors could then have patient-specific conversations about the possible risks and benefits of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer, she added.

It can be difficult to determine whether leukemia in breast cancer survivors is or is not treatment-related, Dr. Judith Karp and Dr. Antonio Wolff, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, noted in an accompanying journal editorial.

“Existing familial cancer registries that are prospectively following breast cancer patients and their families are uniquely positioned to ascertain the true frequency of subsequent leukemias and their associations with the therapies received,” they wrote.

More information

Cancer.net has more about breast cancer treatments.

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