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The following e-mail about antiperspirants and breast cancer has made the rounds on the Internet, and many of you sent it to us for comment. The e-mail, which claims that "The leading cause of breast cancer is the use of antiperspirants," has alarmed countless women around the world—unnecessarily.

Many myths about breast cancer surgery have been passed from one generation of women to another. It's hard enough to deal with the reality of this disease, without worrying about things that aren't true. And it's important not to let those common misconceptions stand in the way of getting the best treatment available. Here are some of the most common myths about breast cancer surgery:

What is your risk of breast cancer? Which breast cancer treatment is right for you? What about antiperspirants and breast cancer?

The earlier breast cancer is found and diagnosed, the better your chances of beating it. Breast self-exam should be part of your monthly health care routine. If you're over 40 or at a high risk for the disease, you should also have an annual mammogram and physical exam by a doctor.

Treatment for Crohn's disease depends on the location and severity of disease, complications, and response to previous treatment. The goals of treatment are to control inflammation, correct nutritional deficiencies, and relieve symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding. Treatment may include drugs, nutrition supplements, surgery, or a combination of these options. At this time, treatment can help control the disease, but there is no cure.

Crohn's disease causes inflammation in the small intestine. Crohn's disease usually occurs in the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum, but it can affect any part of the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus. The inflammation extends deep into the lining of the affected organ. The inflammation can cause pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea.

Congestive heart failure  may be considered a condition in which cardiac output is not adequate to meet the metabolic needs of the body, either at rest or with exercise, usually accompanied by an increase in cardiac filling pressure and / or volume.

Implicit in that physiological definition is that heart failure can be caused by an abnormality in systolic function leading to a defect in expulsion of the blood ( systolic heart failure ), or by an abnormality in diastolic function leading to a defect in ventricular filling ( diastolic heart failure ).
 

The former is the more familiar, classic heart failure in which an impaired inotropic state is responsible. Less familiar, but perhaps just as important, is diastolic heart failure, in which the ability of the ventricle(s) to accept blood is impaired. This problem is not rare, accounting in some series for as many as one third of patients presenting with heart failure.

Although the clinical manifestations of heart failure with and without systolic dysfunction are frequently very similar, the pathophysiological processes underlying the syndromes and consequently the treatment are quite different.

This article discusses pathophysiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this form of heart failure.

1. How do I know whether I should get tested for HIV?

Consider getting tested if:

Many people do not develop any symptoms when they first become infected with HIV. Some people, however, have a flu-like illness within a month or two after exposure to the virus. This illness may include fever, headache, fatigue, and enlarged lymph nodes (organs of the immune system easily felt in the neck and groin). These symptoms usually disappear within a week to a month and are often mistaken for those of another viral infection. During this period, people are very infectious, and HIV is present in large quantities in genital fluids.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). By killing or damaging cells of your body's immune system, HIV progressively destroys your body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may get life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy people sick.

More than 700,000 cases of AIDS have been reported in the United States since 1981, and as many as 900,000 Americans may be infected with HIV. There are as many as 275,000 who may not know they are infected and can pass the virus on.