When it comes to cancer treatments, most people are familiar with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. 

Yet there is another emerging, lesser-known therapy that is showing promising results in treating blood cancers.

With CAR T-cell therapy, the patient’s T-cells are taken from the blood, engineered to attack cancer cells and then infused back into the patient’s body through an IV, Dr. Noopur Raje told Fox News Digital.

Raje is the director of Multiple Myeloma at Mass General Cancer Center, which is a member of the Mass General Brigham system. Mass General Brigham has a Gene and Cell Therapy Institute that helps advance gene and cell therapies like CAR-T.

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"I think it's made a big change in people's lives and how we take care of people," she told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

"It's one of the most personalized ways of taking care of some of the blood-related cancers."

At Mass General, Raje and her team treat patients with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer that attacks the plasma cells. 

Most of their patients are between 60 and 70 years old, she said.

CAR stands for chimeric antigen receptors, which are proteins that enable T-cells to target the tumor antigens produced by cancer cells.

T-cells are a type of white blood cell that helps to fight germs and prevent disease, per the Cleveland Clinic.

There are currently six CAR T-cell therapies that are FDA-approved to treat leukemia, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and other blood cancers.

"We are taking our patients’ T-cells, which are the immune cells, and then activating them and putting a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which can recognize a protein on a cancer tumor," Raje said.

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Because Raje treats multiple myeloma, her team started off by doing studies against a protein called BCMA, which is found in cancerous plasma cells.

The re-engineered T-cells continue multiplying in the body, so they can seek out and kill more tumor cells, the doctor said.

"We are seeing extremely high response rates, between 82% and 100%," she told Fox News Digital. "Now we need to do a better job of maintaining that response."

Before CAR T-cell therapy, Raje said, patients were started on a treatment and then stayed on it for an indefinite length of time.

"This is the first time that patients are getting a ‘one-off’ treatment, and then we're just watching them with no more treatment at all," she said.

While the treatment can be a little "involved" at the beginning, Raje said, once it’s complete the patient receives no new therapies for up to three years.

"And I have some patients who are on no treatment for way longer than that, which is a big advancement," she added.

"Obviously, we need to do better — we need to cure people," Raje said. 

"We're not quite there, but the next step is to start the treatment earlier, so we can start seeing more control of the disease over a longer period of time."

As of now, the FDA has approved CAR T-cell therapy as a "last resort" when the disease has persisted through all other available treatments; but Raje hopes that soon, it will be available to patients earlier in the course of their cancers.

CAR T-cell therapy is expensive — costing anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000, per WebMD. Raje pointed out, however, that many insurance plans cover at least some of the cost. It is also covered by Medicare.

"I think one has to start looking at the time saved in terms of quality of life in not coming back to the hospital and not being on any other meds," she said.

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There is some risk of side effects for those receiving CAR T-cell therapy, primarily a condition called cytokine release syndrome (CRS). It can occur when the immune system responds too aggressively to infection.

"When the CAR T-cell kills the tumor, it produces a bunch of proteins, and when it does that, it can make you quite sick," Raje said.

"But as we've used more and more of these therapies, we've gotten pretty good at managing this, and we have the antidotes for these kinds of toxicities," she added.

Another potential side effect is a condition called ICANS, or immune effector-mediated neurotoxicity. 

"With this, people can get confused, sometimes to the extent that they can actually go into a deep coma," Raje said. "It's important to recognize and treat these conditions earlier."

Sandy Caterine, a retired accountant who lives in Rye, New Hampshire, was part of a clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy. 

She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in August 2019. 

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"It kind of came out of nowhere," Caterine told Fox News Digital. "In retrospect, maybe I had a couple of little symptoms."

Caterine had experienced some back pain, fatigue and nausea, but initially chalked it up to dehydration. 

When the symptoms didn’t go away on their own, she saw her primary care physician and got some blood tests, which led to her diagnosis.

"I had never even heard of multiple myeloma," Caterine said. "All I heard was that it was incurable and no one could predict what the life expectancy might be."

For several months, Caterine was on a regimen of numerous drugs, infusions and radiation, none of which fully resolved her cancer. Then she learned about the clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy.

"Sandy has what is known as high-risk disease, based on the genetics of the cancer," said Raje. "This usually doesn’t have good outcomes, but Sandy had a great response to the trial."

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Caterine, who is 62, did experience the CRS illness as a side effect, which caused her to endure nausea, fatigue, fever and disorientation. 

She remained in the hospital for 15 days.

"It took me a while to get my strength back," she said. "I do remember them taking very good care of me."

Caterine has gotten periodic bone marrow scans every three months since her infusion.

"So far, there has been no sign of the disease," she said. 

"Dr. Raje told me the hope was that it would work for two to three years, and I am already over two years."

Caterine’s experience has helped her appreciate each day more than she did before, she told Fox News Digital.

"These are two years that I never thought I would get when I was first diagnosed," she said. 

"It's just great that I can continue to live my life and be with my family."

CAR T-cell therapy started out for use in leukemia, later branching out to other blood cancers like lymphoma and multiple myeloma. 

Raje is hopeful that the treatment eventually will become available for other types of cancers, including cancers of the breast, colon and brain.

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"We have an ongoing study where we are looking at CAR T-cell therapy in glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, which we would have never thought of doing early on," she said. 

"And we have a whole host of new CARs coming down the pike against different antigens."

The doctor emphasized the significance of teaching the body’s own immune cells to fight against cancer cells.

"In my mind, it's probably the most personalized way of being able to take care of your own disease, which is amazing," she said.

For more than five million women in the U.S., getting maternity care is difficult or impossible.

More than one-third (36%) of U.S. counties are considered "maternity care deserts," which means they do not have any obstetric providers or birth centers.

In just one year, the number of birthing hospitals has decreased by 4%. Since 2018, a total of 301 birthing units have closed.

These are some of the key findings from the March of Dimes’ latest report, "Where You Live Matters: Maternity Care Deserts and the Crisis of Access and Equity," which explores the state of maternity care throughout all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

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A nonprofit organization based in Arlington County, Virginia, the ​​March of Dimes aims to improve the health of mothers and babies. 

This is the sixth iteration of the maternity report, but it’s the first one to break down the numbers by state and county.

"In the report, we’re looking at every aspect of these maternity care deserts, from miles being driven to chronic conditions, as well as socioeconomic and racial backgrounds," explained Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, the newly appointed CEO of March of Dimes in New York City, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

As more units and providers are closing, the number of maternity deserts is on the rise, putting women and babies at risk, warned Cherot, who was an OB/GYN for 30 years.

Dr. Suzy Lipinski, a board-certified OB/GYN at Pediatrix Medical Group in Denver, Colorado, has seen firsthand the impact of what she calls a "maldistribution of care."

Where Lipinski practices in Denver, there are six to seven hospitals that offer obstetric care and high-risk specialty care within 30 minutes between each facility — but some are receiving patients who are transported from the rest of Colorado and surrounding states.

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"In the entire state of Wyoming, there is not a hospital with a dedicated high-risk OB team or neonatal intensive care unit to take care of preterm infants," Lipinski said. 

"The high-risk patients are transferred, often by helicopter or plane, to Denver and Salt Lake City."

She added, "As I meet these patients, they tell me they drove over an hour to get to the hospital they were transferred from — and now they are getting care six to eight hours away from home, without family support and potentially without the ability to keep their job."

In Colorado, many of the mountain towns do not have maternity units, so patients must travel 60 to 100 miles over mountain passes — which may close during snowstorms — to get to the closest hospital, Lipinski said.

Before coming to Denver, she trained and then practiced for 10 years in Iowa, where about 70% of rural obstetrics units have closed since the late 1990s. 

Many of her patients drove 100 miles to get specialty care — or were brought in by ambulance after delivering their babies in their cars while trying to get to the hospital.

A pregnant woman who lives in a maternity desert will have to drive to the next county that has available care. For the lucky ones, that might mean crossing a nearby county line — but for others, it could require hours of driving, which could be dangerous during active labor or a medical emergency.

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"Women will do anything they can to overcome these barriers," Lipinski said. "I cannot begin to name all the ways they struggle to get the care they need."

Some women choose to limit the care they get, perhaps only attending half of the recommended prenatal visits, for example. 

Others might choose to live with a family member who is closer to a maternity care provider, so they know they can get to the hospital in time, Lipinski said. 

"Some will seek out community midwives who aren’t licensed and do not have consistent training," she said. "Or they might go to their closest ER when they think something is wrong, but never have consistent care from a regular provider."

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More dangerous still, some women are bypassing prenatal care. 

"Women who don't get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a worse outcome," Cherot said.

Some women go into labor while trying to reach a hospital.

"It’s not uncommon for me to get a call that the mom just delivered at the gas station, and then I just wait for them at the emergency department," Dr. Kristy Acosta, a family medicine/OB provider at Brownfield Regional Medical Center in Texas, told March of Dimes.

Kali Bautista, who lives in Terry County, Texas, gave birth while living in a maternity desert in Texas. Her hometown is 30 to 45 minutes away from the city of Lubbock.

"One of my biggest fears and concerns was what if I deliver on the way there, and not knowing what to do," she told March of Dimes. 

"Living in rural areas, there’s a lack of resources in general. There’s a lot of poverty here."

The states with the highest rates of maternity care deserts include North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Oklahoma and Nebraska, which are all states with more rural populations, according to the March of Dimes report.

In North Dakota, 71.3% of rural residents live at least 30 minutes from a maternity care hospital, with an average distance away of 54.7 miles, Cherot said.

In terms of quality of care, New Mexico has the highest rate of inadequate prenatal care — closely followed by Hawaii.

There is a racial and socioeconomic component as well, Cherot said, with Black and Native American women experiencing the worst outcomes and the highest rate of inadequate prenatal care.

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Many factors contribute to the closure of a hospital or maternity unit, with staffing-related struggles topping the list.

Obstetricians have been shown to have one of the highest burnout rates in health care, according to the March of Dimes press release — which makes it harder to attract and keep staff.

"We need more trained obstetricians," Lipinski said. "There is a shortage in the U.S., and as many [doctors] are in their 50s and 60s, there will be a large wave of retirements in the coming years, and there are not enough new OBs coming out of training to replace them."

Midwives can provide support, she noted — but they don’t perform any of the surgical procedures, such as Cesarean sections, operative vaginal deliveries, cervical cerclage (stitches to prevent a preterm birth), turning a breech baby or any of the procedural elements of obstetrics care.

Low birth volumes, rising costs and lack of financial reimbursement also contribute to the problem, per the March of Dimes report.

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More than half of the births in maternity care deserts are reimbursed by Medicaid, according to the American Hospital Association. 

This means the hospitals have lower reimbursement rates, which can cause them to actually lose money by providing obstetrics care.

"It all goes back to economics," Cherot said. "We're not prioritizing moms and babies, even though they’re the entry point for all of health care."

She added, "We are not prioritizing families and that first year of life and all the support that moms need. 

The complicated issue of maternity deserts requires a "multi-layered approach," Cherot said. "If there was one clear solution, we would have done it already."

The March of Dimes has several programs in place that aim to improve the availability and quality of maternity care.

These include working to expand postpartum care in the Medicaid space, bringing mobile care units into high-risk areas to provide prenatal visits and offering a range of support mechanisms for families, Cherot said.

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Additionally, the March of Dimes is helping to find, train and provide doulas — trained childbirth professionals who help patients during and after delivery.

The organization is also funding Prematurity Research Centers (PRCs) to assist with the care of premature babies. 

Through its Innovation Fund, the March of Dimes also invests in early-stage companies that aim to overcome maternal and infant health challenges.

"We need more support for rural hospitals in maternity care deserts to reopen units to provide care," Lipinski said. 

"This requires systems that are designed to provide these hospitals with support. To provide care, they may need to partner with specialty doctors who will either come do satellite clinics or arrange transport to the higher levels of care."

Added Cherot, "Every baby deserves the healthiest start to life, and every family should expect equitable, available, quality maternal care."

She added, "These new reports show that the system is failing families today, but it paints a clear picture of the unique challenges facing mothers and babies at the local level — the first step in our work to put solutions in place and build a better future for all families."

The World Health Organization warned on Friday that cases of dengue fever could reach close to record highs this year, partly due to global warming and the way that climate has helped the mosquitoes that spread it, Reuters reported.

Rates of the disease are climbing worldwide, "with reported cases since 2000 up eight-fold to 4.2 million in 2022," according to the same source.

"Europe has reported a surge in cases and Peru declared a state of emergency in most regions."

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However, international travelers in the U.S. who are looking for protection against this tropical infectious disease spread by mosquitoes will have to wait a little longer. 

On July 11, the Japanese drug-maker Takeda voluntarily withdrew its application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its dengue vaccine candidate in the U.S. after the agency requested more data that the current trial could not capture, according to a press release. 

A dengue vaccine from the company is already approved in multiple endemic and non-endemic areas, such as the European Union, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and Thailand.

There is only one dengue vaccine approved by the FDA in the U.S., but it is indicated only for children and teenagers ages six to 16 living in endemic areas — mainly Puerto Rico — who have previously had the infection.

The World Health Organization listed dengue fever as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.

Roughly half the world’s population, or about 4 billion people, live in places that are at risk for dengue fever, with some 400 million people infected every year.

One country, Peru, is currently battling its worst outbreak in history.

"Dengue is occurring in urban areas where it did not exist before," Dr. Coralith García, associate professor at the school of medicine at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru, told Fox News Digital. 

Experts blame warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, but even in Lima, the second largest desert city in the world, dengue is flourishing because "it’s so crowded that anything can happen," she added.

"But Peru had the highest COVID mortality rate [in] the world and now we have several patients dying of dengue, confirming that the Peruvian health system is very weak." 

Most Americans get infected with dengue fever while traveling internationally. 

Yet it can spread locally in several states with hot, humid climates, such as Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and Arizona — although this is not common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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From January to June 1 of this year, there were 129 reported cases in the U.S. and 256 reported cases in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.

Dengue fever is caused by four viruses: dengue virus 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

It is spread primarily by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which bites generally during the day, per the CDC.

A person can get infected as many as four times because one virus strain only confers immunity against that specific serotype; people are at higher risk for a life-threatening condition called dengue hemorrhagic fever when they are infected twice, per the CDC.

About one in four people with dengue fever become sick, which can be either a mild or severe illness; but some 40,000 die from severe disease every year, according to the CDC.

Dengue fever is the leading cause of fever among returning travelers to Europe from all continents except Africa, according to a recent study on the tropical disease.

International travelers often complain of a fever with dengue within two weeks after returning home, but symptoms generally resolve within one week.

Dengue has 3 phases of disease: 1) fever phase; 2) critical phase; and 3) recovery phase.

The fever phase, named after its most common symptom, is characterized by severe joint pain and headaches, but most patients recover without complications, Dr. David O. Freedman, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Fox News Digital.

The disease’s hallmark bone and joint pains have earned it the nickname "breakbone fever."

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"In a small proportion of patients, just as the fever is resolving, a second critical phase develops where fluid leaks out of the circulation and gets into body spaces, such as the chest and abdominal cavities," he added. 

During this phase, the blood pressure drops; severe bleeding may also occur.

Freedman recommends watching for abdominal pain or tenderness; 2) persistent vomiting; 3) fluid in body spaces; 4) bleeding from the mouth or rectum; and 5) lethargy and restlessness.

Any of these combined with a fever increase the likelihood of patients becoming very sick and needing to be hospitalized.

He also reminds people that "a total body rash often develops during the critical or early recovery phase."

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Freedman noted, "If the patient survives the critical phase usually with medical intervention, the third phase, recovery, occurs about 3-4 days after that."

A recent paper analyzed nearly 6,000 returning travelers with dengue using the GeoSentinel network surveillance platform.

The network is a collaboration between the CDC and the International Society of Travel Medicine. It monitors infectious diseases in 29 countries on six continents that affect international travelers and migrants.

The researchers looked at the patients with dengue fever, which was relatively mild illness without any complications, or "complicated dengue," which included those who had warning signs or severe illness.

They found only 2% of dengue cases were considered "complicated," but approximately 99% had warning signs, with 31% classified as severe.

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"Most of the time it is an uncomplicated course," lead author Ralph Huits, M.D., PhD, department of infectious tropical diseases and microbiology at IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar, Verona, Italy, told Fox News Digital. 

"You can feel very sick, such as [with] a headache, anorexia, but then get better," he added.

"But some 2% of travelers can have a severe dengue," he continued.

"What you should remember is if you have any of the warning signs, then you or the doctor should monitor them very closely, preferably by hospitalization."

The first new Alzheimer’s treatment in 20 years was given full FDA approval earlier this month — and now two patients who participated in the clinical trials have spoken about their personal experience with the drug to Fox News Digital.

Lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, works by reducing amyloid plaques in the brain, which is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. 

In early trials, the drug was shown to slow cognitive decline by 27%.

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Two Ohio patients who participated in the trials recently spoke to Fox News Digital about how Leqembi has impacted their Alzheimer’s journeys — and changed their lives.

Joan Murtaugh, 77, lives in Lakewood, Ohio, with her husband, Larry. 

She first started noticing memory problems nearly seven years ago, just after her 70th birthday.

"Timing is everything," her husband, Larry Murtaugh, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "It was Joan who made an appointment at the brain center clinic."

In 2017, Murtaugh was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. 

The next year, after having a 3-D MRI and spinal tap, she learned that she had an enzyme in her spinal fluid that predicted a 65% chance of getting Alzheimer’s in her lifetime. 

In February 2020, Murtaugh received some good news: She was eligible to participate in a double-blind study trial for a new drug, Leqembi, at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. 

"I assume it was because it was obvious there was some plaque in my brain, which they realized was causing Alzheimer’s," Murtaugh told Fox News Digital.

This was Phase 3 of the clinical trial, which included some 1,800 people worldwide. Murtaugh was one of only eight people to receive the drug at Cleveland Clinic.

A few months later, she began getting twice-monthly infusions of what was either a drug or a placebo.

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To this day, Murtaugh still doesn’t know if she was getting the real thing or a placebo — she won’t find out until the very last person has received the very last dose of the double-blind study. Yet she said she "has a hunch."

"I am fully functional — I’m still doing everything I always did," Murtaugh said. 

"I can still drive my car, shop, garden, cook, read — all those things."

Throughout the entire trial period, Murtaugh said she never got any worse. She just experienced the same mild symptoms she’d had before starting the drug — and she may have even improved a bit. 

Although Leqembi has been linked to some potential side effects, she experienced none.

"When you first hear the word ‘Alzheimer’s,’ a chill goes through you — it’s like you’re looking into a dark abyss," Murtaugh said. 

"But this new drug offers great hope."

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In September 2021, the trial portion of the study ended and Murtaugh was eligible to start receiving the actual medication, which she still takes today. 

Instead of the lengthy infusions, she now gets the medication via an EpiPen injection once a week with the help of her husband.

The drug is currently covered by Medicare, which means Murtaugh gets it for free — and she hopes that will continue for the foreseeable future.

While the Murtaughs realize that the future may bring challenges, they regard Leqembi as "a ray of sunshine in a very cloudy sky."

Paired with other approaches such as cognitive speech therapy, they’re optimistic that the drug will continue to keep Alzheimer’s symptoms at bay.

"We’re not going to declare victory, but we’re on the right path and we have the right team at Cleveland Clinic," said Larry Murtaugh. 

"It’s not a miracle, but it’s gradual progress."

A retired attorney in Aurora, Ohio, John Domeck was just 57 years old when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The people around him — his colleagues at the law office and his family at home — started noticing his memory lapses before he did.

After 30 years of never having to take many notes at work, Domeck, now 61, had started to write things down to avoid forgetting them.

"Over time, I wasn't able to continue doing as much work as quickly as I once did," he told Fox News Digital during an interview.

His wife of 40 years, Ann Domeck, had also started noticing some red flags at home, but said the last thing they expected was Alzheimer's disease.

The Domecks made an appointment at Cleveland Clinic for some cognitive testing, which led to a spinal tap and, ultimately, an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in July 2019.

Domeck’s wife, a TV news producer in Cleveland, left her job to help care for her husband.

Given Domeck’s young age and early-stage decline, a Cleveland Clinic doctor told him he was the perfect candidate for a clinical trial for a new Alzheimer’s drug.

For 18 months, Domeck went in for twice-monthly infusions, which lasted up to six hours per session — without knowing whether he was getting the drug or the placebo.

A year ago, he was switched to the "open-label" Leqembi medication, which he takes via injection at home once a week.

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The Domecks suspect that John has been on the drug the entire time, as he has not declined much at all in the past four years.

"Everyone's like, he had to have been getting it before — he's doing so well," Ann Domeck said. "His cognitive deficits have only increased minimally. After four years of Alzheimer’s, his scores should be a lot lower."

"The fact that he’s still able to maintain his day-to-day activities and do the things that he enjoys is just so promising," she added.

"John gets up and drives and golfs and reads every day," she said. "He got to see our son get married, and we’re planning to visit our daughter in Europe."

Throughout the process, the Domecks said they have been "astounded" by the compassion and support of their care team at Cleveland Clinic.

"They're professionals, and they know their stuff about Alzheimer's, but they're also some of the nicest people we've ever met," Ann Domeck said. 

While the couple understand that Leqembi is not a cure, they’re more optimistic now than they were a few years ago. 

"Alzheimer's kind of rocked our world, and this drug kind of rocked it back a little bit the other way," said Ann Domeck. 

After initially being "shell-shocked" by the unexpected diagnosis, the Domecks feel that the drug has given them time they were told not to expect.

"I thank God every day that we got in this trial," Ann Domeck said. "It's the best thing that's happened to us."

While it's the first Alzheimer’s drug to receive full FDA approval in 20 years, Leqembi is also the first medication to target the underlying disease and not just the symptoms, explained Dylan Wint, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Leqembi is approved only for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer's for people who have been shown to have amyloid plaques in the brain.

"Lecanemab labels abnormal amyloid and tells the immune cells to remove those fibers from the brain," Wint told Fox News Digital. 

In testing, about two-thirds of patients went from amyloid positive to amyloid negative — and cognitive and functional decline was 27% slower for study participants compared to those on placebo, the doctor said.

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"Taking this drug is a long-term commitment," said Wint. "Doctors need to make sure the patient can tolerate this rigorous regimen — intravenous infusions every two weeks for 18 months, interspersed with MRI scans and memory testing."

More care and support are needed for people with moderate and severe Alzheimer’s disease and their families, not to mention people with other forms of dementia, he added.

As with any medication, lecanemab can have some side effects. 

Most commonly, it can cause various brain reactions, like swelling and bleeding, explained Manisha Parulekar, M.D., co-director of Hackensack University Medical Center’s Center for Memory Loss & Brain Health in New Jersey.

"Patients will have to stop the medication if these changes are noted on MRIs," Parulekar told Fox News Digital. "People who are taking multiple blood thinners will not be able to take Leqembi."

Headaches and confusion are also commonly reported. 

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Now that Leqembi is fully approved, Medicare will cover the medication, with other insurance companies likely to follow, said Parulekar.

"Without Medicare or insurance, the out-of-pocket costs are around $26,000 per year," she noted. 

Alzheimer’s disease involves many complex factors, Wint noted, and the new medication targets just one factor: amyloid. 

"While this new approach is excellent news, removing amyloid is not a cure," he said. 

"We still need to find better symptomatic and disease-modifying treatments in the future." 

Leqembi is most effective when combined with existing treatments, said Wint, including symptomatic medicines, rehabilitation and family support.

“So far this year, 5 people have died by suicide, and that number is too many”

View the full post Ministry of Social and Community Development: Statement on suicide on NOW Grenada.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released its official statement this week on the potential health risks of aspartame, with a committee classifying the non-sugar, low-calorie sweetener as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."

Many industry experts, however, are speaking out in defense of aspartame, which is commonly used in diet sodas, chewing gum, some dairy products and many other low-calorie foods and beverages.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a cancer-focused organization within WHO, was the agency that called out the sweetener’s potential cancer risk.

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The IARC uses five different levels of cancer risk: Group 1, "carcinogenic to humans"; Group 2A, "Probably carcinogenic to humans"; Group 2B: "Possibly carcinogenic to humans"; Group 3, "Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans"; and Group 4, "Probably not carcinogenic to humans."

Aspartame was placed in Group 2B based on "limited evidence" of causing cancer in humans and animals — particularly a type of liver cancer, the press release stated.

In the same announcement, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), another group within WHO, seemed to contradict the IARC’s classification.

"JECFA also considered the evidence on cancer risk, in animal and human studies, and concluded that the evidence of an association between aspartame consumption and cancer in humans is not convincing," the press release stated.

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame remains 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, JECFA also said. That amount is the equivalent of nine cans of 12-ounce diet soda per day for a 150-pound person.

(The FDA recommends an even higher ADI, at 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.)

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"Our results do not indicate that occasional consumption should pose a risk to most consumers," Dr. Francesco Branca, director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the WHO, stated during a press conference in Geneva.

Dr. Mona S. Jhaveri, a biotech scientist and cancer researcher in Ridgefield, Connecticut, told Fox News Digital that the likelihood of getting cancer depends on the types and the number of carcinogens that one is exposed to, as well as genetic factors. 

"Carcinogens can work either alone or in combination with other substances," she said. 

Often, she added, "people who are subject to multiple carcinogens can increase their risk of getting cancer exponentially."

Many industry experts maintain that aspartame is still safe for consumption — including the FDA, which released a statement refuting the cancer risk.

"The FDA disagrees with IARC’s conclusion that these studies support classifying aspartame as a possible carcinogen to humans," the statement read. 

"FDA scientists reviewed the scientific information included in IARC’s review in 2021 when it was first made available and identified significant shortcomings in the studies on which IARC relied."

"We note that JECFA did not raise safety concerns for aspartame under the current levels of use and did not change the acceptable daily intake (ADI)."

Additional agencies, including the European Food Safety Authority and Health Canada, have also deemed aspartame to be safe at the current recommended levels, the FDA added.

"Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply," the FDA stated. 

"FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is used under the approved conditions."

Dr. Arnold Baskies, a New Jersey-based surgical oncologist and past chairman of the National Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society — he's also a member of the Coalition for Safe Food and Beverage Choices Expert Advisory Committee — pointed out that the WHO agencies, IARC and JECFA, reviewed previous research. They did not review new evidence.

"The WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives’ (JECFA) review says that aspartame is safe for human consumption," Baskies said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "JECFA is the authoritative international agency when it comes to food safety."

The FDA relies on JECFA’s assessments as part of its process of determining the safety and risks of foods and beverages, Baskies noted.

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"It is irresponsible to needlessly scare or confuse people," he said. "If there was any cause for concern, they would have adjusted the current acceptable daily intake (ADI)."

The Calorie Control Council (CCC) in Atlanta, Georgia, also spoke out in defense of aspartame as a safe food additive.

"The JECFA ruling not only confirms the four decades of science concluding aspartame is safe, but also provides real-life ‎context around the safe consumption of this ingredient," said Robert Rankin, president of the CCC, in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

Any risk is highly unlikely given the JECFA’s guidelines for recommended daily intake, Rankin also said.

"The average 150-pound person would need to consume about 14 12-oz. cans of diet beverages or about 74 packets of aspartame-containing tabletop sweetener every day over the course of their life to raise any safety concern," Rankin said.

"Obviously, that level of consumption is not realistic or recommended, nor is it ‎aligned with the intended use of these ingredients."

Regarding IARC describing aspartame as "possibly cancer-causing," Rankin stated that IARC is not a regulatory agency or food safety authority, and said that its classification is "misleading, inaccurate and [constitutes] fearmongering."

He said, "IARC looks for substances that could potentially cause cancer without considering actual dietary intake, and has found many things, such as drinking hot water and working at night, to be probably carcinogenic."

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"It is not only wrong, but potentially damaging to certain populations to position IARC’s report alongside true scientific and regulatory agencies like JECFA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the European Food Safety Authority," Rankin added.

Dr. Ernest Hawk, head of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, also spoke to Fox News Digital about aspartame’s safety.

"IARC classified aspartame as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ based on limited evidence for cancer in humans and experimental animals, and limited evidence that it might behave as a carcinogen," he said. 

"Because all of the evidence was limited, aspartame was added to WHO’s list of possible carcinogens."

The list begins with 126 agents known to be carcinogenic in humans (including tobacco and alcohol) and 94 agents that are "probably carcinogenic" — followed by 322 agents that are "possibly carcinogenic," Hawk explained.

"Aspartame will now be included in that final group, but keep in mind that none of those have been convincingly proven to cause cancer," he added.

The FDA, the National Cancer Institute, the American Institute for Cancer Research and the American Cancer Society all have evaluated the same evidence in the past, and all of them concluded that there was no clear evidence that artificial (non-nutritive) sweeteners cause cancer when consumed at typical levels, Hawk said.

While he believes that the WHO agencies did a careful review and have the public’s best interest in mind, Hawk called for additional research on the long-term health risks of consuming non-sugar sweeteners.

The FDA and other health agencies do not agree that aspartame is a cancer risk, so some medical professionals recommend using sugar instead of artificial sweeteners.

"Although it’s approved by regulatory bodies, potential risk factors are associated with preferring aspartame over sugar," noted Jhaveri.

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"Sensitivities or allergies to aspartame can result in adverse reactions, and excessive consumption may contribute to weight gain due to heightened cravings for sweet edibles," she said.

For some people, aspartame may cause physical symptoms that include headaches, dizziness, digestive ailments and allergic responses, Jhaveri noted.

"Avoiding aspartame when possible and opting for natural sugars in fruits and vegetables is prudent," she said. 

In May, the WHO advised against the use of non-sugar sweeteners like aspartame for the purposes of controlling body weight or lowering the risk of non-communicable diseases.

"Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term," said Branca, the WHO’s director for nutrition and food safety, in a press release at the time. 

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For the general public, Hawk recommended "paying attention to the science" as it continues to develop regarding the possible health consequences of artificial sweeteners.

"In the meantime, continue to work on consistently eating a balanced, healthy diet that contains whole foods that are high in nutrient density," he suggested.

People with a rare inherited disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU) should avoid aspartame, medical experts say.

Those with PKU don’t have the enzyme to break down an amino acid called phenylalanine, so it builds up in the body. 

Consuming foods and drinks with aspartame can cause dangerous levels of phenylalanine that can lead to serious health issues, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website.

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Aspartame-containing products will include a warning on the label stating "PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE." 

Anyone with PKU should avoid any food or drink with this warning.

View the full post Counselling needed for youthful Grenadians on NOW Grenada.

Every year, there are some 4,000 fatal drownings and 8,000 nonfatal drownings in the U.S., per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and not all of them meet the textbook definition.

Even if a child appears to be "safe" after a water incident, the child could still be in danger if even a small amount of water has entered the lungs.

Unofficially known as "dry drowning," this condition can cause inflammation or swelling and make it difficult to breathe even after a child is out of the water, according to Dr. Denise Scott, a pediatrician who is co-founder of Oklahoma City’s first after-hours pediatric urgent care clinic. 

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"While ‘dry drowning’ is actually not a medical term or diagnosis, it does describe a condition that is a complication of a water event, termed ‘post-immersion syndrome,’" Scott told Fox News Digital.

"Post-immersion syndrome, considered a nonfatal drowning, describes an event in which a person was submersed in water but the lungs were not filled with water (thus dry)."

When this occurs, water has been inhaled — not swallowed — through the nose or mouth. 

"Water in the airways can lead to laryngospasm, or vocal cord spasm, making it difficult to breathe," explained Scott, who also works on the JustAnswer.com platform fielding questions about a wide variety of children’s health issues. 

"This makes it difficult to get air into the lungs."

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Post-immersion syndrome can occur after anyone has been in any body of water, whether it’s a lake, swimming pool, bathtub or hot tub.

"Technically, any drowning is the result of not getting air in the lungs, whether the lungs are wet or dry," Scott said. 

The most obvious sign of post-immersion syndrome is excessive or continuous coughing, Scott said.

"If someone inhales water, their response is to cough, which often expels the water," the doctor said. "The concern is when the cough continues after an episode of 30 to 60 minutes or longer."

Other warning signs that occur immediately after an episode or within an hour include difficulty breathing or speaking, rapid and hard breathing, chest pain, wheezing or vomiting.

Later symptoms, usually within two to three hours, can include confusion, sleepiness, and continued coughing and breathing difficulties, all of which can be signs of decreased oxygen, said Scott.

"A child who has either been rescued from water or inhaled water and has any of the above symptoms should be taken in for a medical evaluation," Scott said. "For any child who is not breathing, CPR should be given and 911 should be called."

A child with symptoms of post-immersion syndrome usually will be observed at the hospital for up to eight hours before the physician decides whether to pursue further treatment, Scott said.

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"Keeping a child calm can sometimes help the muscle spasms to relax," she added.

Although this condition is uncommon, it can be fatal if symptoms aren't addressed and lack of oxygen occurs, the doctor said. 

"A severe laryngospasm that isn't relieved ultimately can lead to lack of oxygen and cardiac arrest," she warned. "Long-term effects are the result of poor oxygen to any organ system, especially the brain, which can result in seizures or brain damage."

Drowning is the most common cause of unintentional death in children between ages 1 and 4 and the second leading cause of death in children between ages 5 and 14, per the CDC. 

Most drownings are preventable. 

"First and foremost, children should never swim unsupervised or alone," Scott said. 

"Young children who cannot swim should have an adult within arm's reach and wear a personal flotation device."

Private swimming pools should have a fence around them to prevent someone from wandering in, she went on. Children should always wear life vests when they're near or around lakes. 

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While it’s a good idea to have young children take swim lessons, Scott emphasized that it is not a safeguard, nor should it give a false sense of security or take the place of close adult supervision.

Parents also should learn CPR, she added.

While post-immersion syndrome can happen to someone at any age, children are at the greatest risk, Scott said.

"Adults and teens are more likely to be at risk if they go swimming after consuming alcohol, but anyone can accidentally inhale water when submersed," she said. 

"The vast majority of the time, this clears up with coughing. For persistent symptoms, one should seek medical care."

Fewer than 40% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients receive CPR before EMS teams arrive, according to the American Heart Association. Even fewer patients are treated with an automated external defibrillator or AED. 

New initiatives and partnerships are working to change that, with the goal of doubling the survival rate for heart attacks.

"The idea is to ensure that lifesaving policies are in place at the high school level to make sure that our kids, if they suffer sudden cardiac arrest, have the best possible chances of success," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president for health and safety innovation.

The NFL and other professional sports leagues are working with the Red Cross and the American Heart Association to promote their Smart Heart Coalition.

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"With schools being a focal place for gathering in the community, it's really important that we have emergency response plans," said Nancy Brown, the American Heart Association's CEO. 

"We know that although the statistics are true, that older people are more likely to have a cardiac arrest or a cardiovascular event, young people still have these events as well. So we want to be sure that someone is prepared everywhere to save a life."

When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a live Monday Night Football game about six months ago, his team’s doctors were prepared.

"The people were in place; they were practiced," said Miller. "They had trained their emergency action plan. They knew to take Damar to a level one trauma center when he was evacuated from the field. They had the device there and they knew what to do with it."

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Miller said the NFL and Hamlin wanted to take advantage of all the attention received from this incident — and encourage everyone to have a response plan.

"We learned a lot and have tried to share a lot," Miller said. "But at the high school level, obviously they don't have the same sort of resources or setup that the NFL does. And so we want to translate some of those learnings alongside the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross and others to make sure that our schools are in the best possible place to help out kids who might need it."

Every year, an estimated 350,000 people experience a heart attack outside the hospital. One in 300 kids has an undetected heart condition.

"There isn't sufficient awareness. Parents, coaches and others should insist upon these very basic, simple, easy-to-enact solutions to what is a thankfully not very common, but at the same time all too common phenomenon," Miller said. 

"Those deaths are simply preventable by these three simple policy adjustments: CPR education, an emergency action plan and the availability of an AED nearby [within] one to three minutes of an athletic contest or practice so the kid can be saved."

Athletes and health officials have also taken the effort to Capitol Hill. Lawmakers have introduced the Access to AEDs Act, which would provide additional funding for schools.

"It’s grants that would enable communities and athletic facilities to get access," Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) said.

Welch said a reaction plan is important, and a quick response helped save his brother’s life.

"My brother was playing basketball and he collapsed. They had, right there at this gym, a defibrillator," Welch said. 

"And 20 years later, John's still playing basketball. So we're really grateful in the Welch family that this community has done it."

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Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall is a medical doctor. He believes if more people know where AEDs are located and how to use them, they can help save additional lives.

"The chances of a person surviving this goes up from one out of 10 to three out of 10 if someone's able to start CPR. It probably goes up to seven out of 10 if we have an AED available as well," Marshall said. 

"I'm committed to getting them across the country in the right locations, but also figuring out everyone should have some type of an app downloaded that could show us those locations."

MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., is partnering with professional athletes from the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards to demonstrate how to perform CPR and how to use an AED.

"Getting the athletes on board, with their star power, definitely makes people excited about it," Dr. Alex Koo said. 

When they show "how easy it is without any training, I think people can get really excited about and say, ‘Hey, I can do it as well.'"

MedStar Health hopes the videos make people more comfortable about learning and performing CPR.

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"Black communities, as well as Hispanic communities, sometimes don't have as high rates of bystander CPR. And so that's something that we want to highlight, that this is something that's accessible to everybody," Dr. Koo said.

CPR training no longer includes mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The American Heart Association also says that hands-only CPR can really make a difference.

"We recognized that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was a barrier for some people in administering CPR," Brown told Fox News. 

"Generally cardiac arrests, if they are witnessed, are generally witnessed by someone who knows the person that might be having the cardiac arrest. So the skill of learning CPR is really important because you might be saving the life of someone you know and love."

The American Heart Association believes that while formal CPR training is important, simple videos and easy-to-learn methods can still help save lives.

"We do intend at the AHA to create a ‘Nation of Lifesavers’ and we encourage everyone to learn CPR," Brown said. "I think that CPR and AED training should be part of everyone's summer safety plan."

You can watch MedStar Health's videos at MedStarHealth.org/CPR. 

If you are interested in getting CPR-certified or learning to use an AED, you can find a class in your area at CPR.heart.org.

The most common type of gynecologic cancer in the U.S. has been on the rise in recent years — and there’s no standard screening for it.

Uterine cancer will affect about 66,200 women in 2023 in the U.S. — and around 13,000 will die from the disease, per the American Cancer Society (ACS).

"While we are seeing a downward trend in overall cancer cases, uterine cancer is one of the few types where we're seeing an upward trend," said Dr. Brian Slomovitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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"We’re anticipating that the number of deaths in the United States due to uterine cancer is soon going to outnumber the deaths due to ovarian cancer," he added.

To help raise awareness, the International Society of Gynecologic Cancer announced the first-ever Uterine Cancer Awareness Month in June.

Slomovitz — who also serves as chair of the Uterine Cancer Awareness Month initiative — spoke to Fox News Digital about the state of uterine cancer and what women need to know.

The terms "uterine cancer" and "endometrial cancer" are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference, Slomovitz said.

A vast majority of these types of cancers occur in the outer and inner layers of the uterus, known as the endometrium — hence the term "endometrial cancer."

About 4% to 5% of the cancers occur in the muscle of the uterus. These are known as uterine sarcomas.

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"Sarcomas are aggressive diseases with a tremendously high death rate," Slomovitz explained. "But all of them fall in the category of uterine cancers."

Obesity is the biggest risk factor for uterine cancer, Slomovitz said.

"Fat tissue increases the amount of estrogen in the body, and endometrial cancer is a hyper estrogenic," he explained. "It stimulates the lining of the uterus to the point of uncontrolled proliferation into cancer."

Overweight women (with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9) have twice the risk of developing uterine cancer as women at a healthy weight, the ACS website states.

Obese women (BMI of 30 or higher) have three times the risk.

Those with diabetes, which is closely related to obesity, are also at a higher risk.

A less common risk factor could be polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is a hormonal disorder that can lead to enlarged ovaries and the formation of cysts. 

PCOS leads to elevated estrogen levels and lower progesterone levels, which can raise the risk of endometrial cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS) website.

Some hereditary syndromes can make women more susceptible to uterine cancer.

"One of those is Lynch syndrome, which was often associated with colorectal cancer," said Slomovitz.

"We know that half the women who develop cancer from Lynch syndrome develop endometrial cancer."

Age is also a risk factor, as most patients are diagnosed in their 50s and 60s, the doctor said.

"The increase in cases may be due to obesity, but we're also seeing longer life expectancy," he noted. "The older people get, the more likely that they are to get endometrial cancer, obviously."

While other cancers have specific, recommended screenings — such as mammograms for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colorectal cancer — there are no pre-symptomatic screenings for uterine cancers, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Pap smear (Pap test) checks for cervical cancer and precancerous cells in the cervix, but does not screen for uterine cancer.

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The most common sign or symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal bleeding, Slomovirz said.

"Most uterine cancer patients have postmenopausal bleeding as an early sign or symptom — however, that's not the case for everyone," he said.

In premenopausal women, it can be more difficult to determine what constitutes "abnormal" bleeding, the doctor noted. 

"They shouldn't just assume it's changes in their menstrual cycle," he said. 

In the absence of a formal screening process, Slomovitz stressed the need to recognize symptoms and take quick action.

"We need to better educate patients to come see their doctors sooner if they have symptoms," he told Fox News Digital. 

In addition to bleeding, other symptoms may include pelvic pain or pelvic pressure.

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"We always tell people that if they have symptoms that are worsening or if they persist after 10 to 14 days, they should come in to see their doctor just to make sure everything's OK," Slomovitz said.

"We're still seeing a large number of patients who are diagnosed with advanced and recurrent disease."

The diagnosis process typically starts with an ultrasound to take images of the uterus, followed by a tissue biopsy — either to diagnose or rule out the disease, said Slomovitz.

In cases of advanced cancer, patients will usually get additional tests — such as chest X-rays, CT scans, MRIs or PET scans — to determine if the disease has spread.

"It traditionally spreads through the lymphatic system, which means lymph nodes can be enlarged," Slomovitz explained. "It can also spread to the liver or the lungs through the blood system."

In patients who have had endometrial cancer in the past, a gynecologic oncologist will instruct them that for any future symptoms, recurring cancer must be ruled out. 

"They're cancer patients — so even in the non-specific symptoms, it's worthy of seeing their oncologist again to make sure it's not coming back," Slomovitz said.

In women who are diagnosed with uterine cancer, one of the first steps is usually a hysterectomy, which is the removal of the uterus.

"Eighty percent of women are cured with a hysterectomy," Slomovitz said.

To further minimize risk, the doctor said medical professionals will often do lymph node sampling as well to make sure the cancer hasn't spread.

"But for the additional 20% of patients who have advanced or recurrent disease, systemic therapies are needed," he said. "We need to do better with treatment options for uterine cancer."

For these aggressive cases, the systemic therapies have been chemotherapy or hormonal therapy, which uses progesterone to slow down tumor growth.

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This year, Slomovitz said, some breakthrough studies have shown that immunotherapy can be given in the first-line management of the disease.

Immunotherapy treatments work by helping the immune system to slow, stop or destroy cancer cells. It’s shown to be effective for lung cancer, oral cancer and melanoma, the doctor pointed out.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in May 2023, researchers presented promising results for a new class of drugs called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCS), a targeted therapy for treating cancer, Slomovitz said.

Future studies will continue to look at these types of targeted drugs.

"One of my career goals is to use immunotherapy and targeted therapy to eliminate the need for chemotherapy and its associated toxicities and side effects," Slomovitz said.

Another "groundbreaking" advancement Slomovitz is particularly excited about is molecular classification, which divides uterine cancers into four different subtypes — thus allowing for more precise, personalized treatment options.

"We're in a very exciting time," he said. "There are some game-changing studies that are coming out, as we try to fill this unmet need to help our patients live longer."