Study: aspirin may lower risk of certain types of cancer

Cancer is a truly horrible disease. It has cost many individuals in our country their lives. Even when a cancer proves to not be fatal, its effects can be vast and deep. Impairments caused by a cancer and the treatments for it can have a wide variety of implications for an individual, both professional and personal, and can lead to a person having significant care expenses.

One question cancer victims may have is: do I qualify for Social Security Disability benefits? Many different factors play a role in what the answer to this question is for a given cancer sufferer. Disability attorneys can help cancer victims sort through the various SSD eligibility requirements, determine if they have a strong case for benefits eligibility and assist them with the process of compiling an SSD application.

Given the massive impacts cancer can have, it is of little surprise that medical researchers are constantly on the lookout for things that might decrease cancer risk. A recent study indicates that a drug that pretty much everyone has heard of and that is already taken by many in relation to heart disease prevention or treatment may reduce the likelihood of developing certain types of cancer. That drug is aspirin.

The study looked at past studies on cancer and aspirin. From this review, the study’s researchers concluded that taking aspirin on a daily basis over a long period of time could lead to around a 30 percent drop in the risk of developing stomach and esophageal cancers and around a 35 percent drop in the risk of developing colon cancer. They further concluded that it could lead to significant drops in deaths from these types of cancer. According to the researchers, a daily aspirin regime may be particularly beneficial from a cancer prevention perspective to individuals ages 50 to 65.

There are some side effects that taking aspirin can cause, including gastrointestinal bleeding and peptic ulcers. The researchers stated that this side effect risk would likely be acceptable if aspirin does in fact have cancer prevention value.

The study was not without its limitations, and these limitations mean that the study is not proof that aspirin does for sure have cancer prevention properties. However, it does raise some very interesting questions and it will likely give doctors something to think about when it comes to what to recommend to patients in regards to cancer prevention.

Source: WebMD, “Daily Aspirin May Help Prevent Cancer, Study Shows,” Steven Reinberg, Aug. 6, 2014