Prostate Cancer

Scientists have taken a major step toward identifying another gene associated with prostate cancer that runs in families. The finding, which represents a fourth site on human chromosomes that may trigger the hereditary form of the disease, could eventually lead to a screening test and early diagnosis, researchers said. "If a family knows they have a lot of prostate cancer, this is very exciting," said Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, who oversaw the study.

Technological advances are a major factor in rising U.S. health-care spending. Often, they lead to better care for patients. But now, nonprofit hospitals and private investors across the country are spending fortunes to build a wave of expensive, high-tech proton-beam cancer treatment centers before researchers have established that the treatment works better than cheaper alternatives for many types of cancer. Grassroots support for proton therapy is especially strong among victims of prostate cancer who say the treatment has spared them the nasty side effects of impotence and incontinence associated with surgery and other common treatments.

DeSean Jackson can relate to LeSean McCoy. Both were second-round picks. Both became Pro Bowl pieces of the Eagles offense while still on modest, by NFL standards, rookie deals. But while Jackson held out of training camp last summer before playing out the final year of his contract, he urged McCoy to take a different approach as he enters the last year of his deal this offseason. "I think it would be in his best interest to come" to offseason practices and camp, Jackson said Friday.

CHICAGO - A new study addresses one of the most worrying questions faced by men with prostate cancer: What's the risk of losing sexual function after treatment? The answers vary greatly by age, sexual potency before treatment, PSA levels, and whether a man has surgery, standard radiation, or radioactive seeds, the study found. Using the findings, men can get a rough idea of their odds by answering questions that also include weight and race, experts said. Unsurprisingly, older men whose sexual function is already low have the worst chances of good sexual function after treatment.

OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, he told his company's shareholders in an open letter Tuesday. The 81-year-old billionaire investor and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said his condition is "not remotely life-threatening" or debilitating. He said he and his doctors have decided on a two-month treatment plan that is to begin in mid-July. "I feel great - as if I were in my normal excellent health," Buffett said in the letter.

Compared with white men, African American men are 50 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer, and twice as likely to die from it. They also tend to develop it at younger ages. Like other cancer genetics researchers, Matthew Freedman figured at least part of the explanation for this disparity must lie in the DNA. After all, defective genes that increased breast-cancer risk had been isolated in women, so it was reasonable to assume the equivalent was at work in prostate cancer.

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" and a legend in rap, rock and funk, has announced that he has prostate cancer. In a statement released yesterday, Brown, 71, said that he will undergo surgery for the ailment on Dec. 15. "I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well," Brown said. Brown, best known for seminal hits like "I Feel Good," "Please, Please, Please," and "Cold Sweat," is also a diabetic. Dubbed the hardest-working man in show business, he finished a two-week Canadian tour on Thursday night.

Former Kentucky and New Mexico State football coach Hal Mumme has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Mumme's agent, Russ Campbell, confirmed the diagnosis yesterday to the Associated Press. He said the prognosis is good because the illness was detected early. Mumme, 56, was head coach at Kentucky from 1997 to 2000 and his teams were 20-26. He left amid a recruiting scandal that led to the football program being sanctioned by the NCAA. He was fired by New Mexico State in December after a 4-year stint.

In rejecting PSA screening for prostate cancer, an influential federal panel has chipped a cornerstone of preventive medicine, declaring that it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. "At best, PSA screening may help only 1 man in 1,000 avoid death from prostate cancer," the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday. "Most prostate cancers found by PSA screening are slow growing, not life threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime.

DeSean Jackson can relate to LeSean McCoy. Both were second-round picks. Both became Pro Bowl pieces of the Eagles offense while still on modest, by NFL standards, rookie deals. But while Jackson held out of training camp last summer before playing out the final year of his contract, he urged McCoy to take a different approach as he enters the last year of his deal this offseason. "I think it would be in his best interest to come" to offseason practices and camp, Jackson said Friday.

Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston? In a revelation unexpected, strange, and a bit crazy, Michael Jackson's bodyguard tells London's The Sun that the King of Pop had a secret, weeks-long, sexually torrid affair with Whitney Houston. Matt Fiddes says the diva and the divo, who ultimately shared a similar fate, became lovers in 1991. "Whitney practically moved into Michael's [Neverland] ranch — and they had a fling like any other young couple," says Fiddes. But, alas, Houston broke it off. "I know [Jackson]

Technological advances are a major factor in rising U.S. health-care spending. Often, they lead to better care for patients. But now, nonprofit hospitals and private investors across the country are spending fortunes to build a wave of expensive, high-tech proton-beam cancer treatment centers before researchers have established that the treatment works better than cheaper alternatives for many types of cancer. Grassroots support for proton therapy is especially strong among victims of prostate cancer who say the treatment has spared them the nasty side effects of impotence and incontinence associated with surgery and other common treatments.

"I couldn't connect to anyone. I felt like a zombie. I felt very detached. " Words not usually associated with that most joyous, accomplished thesp, Gwyneth Paltrow . But that is exactly how Paltrow, 39, says she felt after the birth of her second baby, Moses, in April 2006. Paltrow tells talk-show host Amanda de Cadenet she didn't realize it at the time, but she was in the throes of postpartum depression. "I couldn't connect with my son the way that I had with my daughter [Apple, now 7]

OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, he told his company's shareholders in an open letter Tuesday. The 81-year-old billionaire investor and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said his condition is "not remotely life-threatening" or debilitating. He said he and his doctors have decided on a two-month treatment plan that is to begin in mid-July. "I feel great - as if I were in my normal excellent health," Buffett said in the letter.

The more red meat you eat, the greater your disease risk Eating red meat is associated with a sharply increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease, according to a new study, and the more of it you eat, the greater the risk. The analysis, published online in Archives of Internal Medicine, used data from two studies that involved 121,342 men and women who filled out questionnaires about health and diet from 1980 through 2006. People who ate more red meat were less physically active and more likely to smoke and had a higher body mass index, researchers found.

In the Region J&J pill improves cancer rates Johnson & Johnson said Thursday its prostate cancer pill Zytiga improved survival and delayed the progression of cancer in patients who had not been treated with chemotherapy. The company said patients treated with Zytiga and a steroid had a longer time to death or disease progression than patients treated with a placebo and the steroid. Zytiga met secondary goals in the late-stage study, and the independent monitoring committee recommended that the results from the study be released and that patients taking the placebo be offered Zytiga.

SAN FRANCISCO - Rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, 64, who formed the band that bore his name and performed with some of rock's heavy hitters, has died. His booking agent, Jim Douglas, said Mr. Montrose passed away at his home in Millbrae on Saturday. Douglas said Mr. Montrose had been in declining health for some time, battling prostate cancer and what Douglas termed "personal demons. " Besides forming his own band in 1973, Mr. Montrose performed with a number of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, and the Edgar Winter Group.

The New Jersey Nets honored the late Whitney Houston by playing her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" from the 1991 Super Bowl before their game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The Newark-born singer died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday at the age of 48. Her funeral will be Saturday in Newark at the New Hope Baptist Church, where she sang as a child. She will be buried in Fair View Cemetery in Westfield, where her father, John Russell Houston Jr., was buried in 2003.