described and illustrated
I had this about 10 years ago. Fortunately, it was duing the 6 weeks I spent in Oklahoma as a midwifery student, so my husband and kids were spared the worst of how bad I looked.
health and illness: October 2005 Archives
Of course, my medical mind wants even more information!
There are some cancers whose progress is monitored by hormonal assays. For example, choriocarcinoma is followed by checking levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - the pregnancy hormone looked for in pregnancy tests. Another cancer marker that is followed with blood tests is Alpha Feto-Protein - and this is also a chemical that is measured in a very common genetic test during pregnancy.
For me, the icing on the cake of this story would have been if the baby's cord blood had been used to further treat mom's cancer. It has happened.
Article from Today's Nature journal.
Wash your hands!
