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More articles below:
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Advance Toward Test for Aggressive Prostate Cancer
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Health Tip
Make A Great First Impression With Your Appearance
Beyond taking a shower every morning, here is some basic tips:
Check your face
You don't necessarily have to shave, but at least ensure that your face is clean and free of "debris." A quick look in the mirror to check for nose hair, stuff in your beard or crust in your eyes doesn't take more than a few seconds, and is well worth the effort.
Groom your hair (ear, nose, chest, head, etc.)
Hair growth happens with regularity, so make trimming and upkeep part of your routine. Wash and condition your hair every day (or every other day, depending on your hair type and length). Set aside one day a week (preferably a Saturday or Sunday, when you have more time) to tend to ear, nose and chest hair.
Clean your hands
In the business world, handshakes can make or break you; in the dating world, a woman expects to see nice hands. So all you have to do is cut your nails regularly, scrape away the dirt with a "nail cleaner" or a nailbrush (which you can keep in the shower to save time), wash your hands frequently (to avoid sweaty, sticky hands), and use lotion on occasion (to keep them smooth).
Apply lip balm
There is nothing worse than looking at chapped lips, and trust me, no girl will want to kiss them. Find a good lip balm and use it regularly. Just don't put too much on, or it will end up looking like lip gloss. And if you don't like applying it in public because of the unmanly look it portrays, then do it in private when you go to the bathroom.
Dress well
You don't need a suit (unless the occasion calls for it), but you should always wear clean clothes that are wrinkle-free and smell good. In other words, wear clothes that were just in your drawer or closet, not your hamper.
On a related note, select clothes that fit. After you put on your clothes, take a look in the mirror for a few seconds to make sure they fit properly. Yes, their preferred fit will vary over time as styles change (along with your body and taste), but the key here is to pay attention to what you're putting on.
Use some sort of scent
Many guys go to town wearing some sort of fragrance, using everything from scented soap and deodorant to aftershave and cologne. Other guys prefer not to use anything. Like most things in life, the answer is moderation. Pick one scent (otherwise you'll combine fragrances, which will result in a weird smell) and go with it. Just make sure it isn't too strong and make sure not to bathe in it. One final note: Don't skimp on cost here; cheap cologne will act like repellant.
Shine your shoes
People tend to look at your shoes right away. If dress shoes are appropriate, make sure they're shined. If you're wearing casual shoes, make sure they look clean and new. Tattered shoes tell the world that you either don't have money or don't care -- neither option is attractive.
Virus May Drive Some Prostate Cancers
TUESDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A new study tightens the suspected link between a virus and prostate cancer, and raises the possibility that infection with the virus could be an indicator of aggressive tumors that require swift treatment.
"We're not making any causal association at this moment," stressed Dr. Ila R. Singh, an associate professor of pathology at the University of Utah, lead author of a report on the virus, known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV).
"There probably are multiple causes of prostate cancer, but for the first time we have analyzed prostate cancer and normal prostate tissue and found cancers are much more likely to have [the virus]," Singh said.
The research is published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A link between XMRV and prostate cancer was first reported two years ago by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of California, San Francisco. They found the virus in cells around tumors.
The new study, involving more than 300 prostate cancer specimens, found that 27 percent of them carried the virus.
"It was also more likely to be present in more aggressive tumors," Singh said. "We found it in 20 percent of the least aggressive tumors and over 45 percent of the most aggressive tumors."
So, a test for presence of XMRV could be at least a partial solution to the major problem facing doctors who treat prostate cancer: distinguishing the minority of virulent, life-threatening cancers from the majority of tumors which grow so slowly that "watchful waiting" may be enough.
Prostate cancers now are diagnosed by a test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by the gland. However, PSA tests cannot single out aggressive cancers, and there is a major debate on whether widespread use of these tests leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
"I don't know yet if this is the better test, but it might be linked to more aggressive prostate cancers," Singh speculated.
Robert A. Silverman, a professor of cancer biology at the Cleveland Clinic, was one of the researchers who first reported the association of XMRV with prostate cancer. He called the new study "very exciting."
"Finding it in cancer cells makes it easier to reconcile with the idea of a cancer-causing virus than in our prior study," Silverman said. "The prior study found the virus in cells surrounding the cancer. We can't say with certainty that XMRV is a cause of cancer, but it still is a candidate for a cancer-causing virus."
Even if causation is not proved, "XMRV could be a marker for aggressive tumors," Silverman said.
His group has continued research on the virus, one of which indicates that human semen promotes the activity of XMRV, Silverman said.
The new study also overturns a previously reported association between XMRV infection and a genetic variation carried by a small percentage of men. "We don't find any such association," Singh said. So, the new research appears to expands the population at risk from the virus to all men -- whether they carry the genetic variant or not.
Singh and her colleagues are expanding their research on XMRV. "We don't know if women have the virus, and we are looking at cervical cells from Pap smears," she said. "We are looking at seminal fluid from men and also at tissues other than the prostate. We have two large series of autopsies of male and female organs. We are also looking for antibodies to the virus in serum as a way to detect infection."
More information
Find out more about prostate cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
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