Bladder Cancer:Methods of treatment

People with bladder cancer have many treatment options. They may have surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or biological therapy. Some patients get a combination of therapies.

The doctor is the best person to describe treatment choices and discuss the expected results of treatment.

What is the treatment for bladder cancer?

Treatment for bladder cancer

Staging


If bladder cancer is diagnosed, the doctor needs to know the stage, or extent, of the disease to plan the best treatment. Staging is a careful attempt to find out whether the cancer has invaded the bladder wall, whether the disease has spread, and if so, to what parts of the body.

What are the symptoms of bladder cancer?

Common symptoms of bladder cancer include:

Blood in the urine (making the urine slightly rusty to deep red),


Pain during urination, and


Frequent urination, or feeling the need to urinate without results.

What are causes and risk factors for bladder cancer?

No one knows the exact causes of bladder cancer. However, it is clear that this disease is not contagious. No one can "catch" cancer from another person.


People who get bladder cancer are more likely than other people to have certain risk factors. A risk factor is something that increases a person's chance of developing the disease.

What is the bladder?

The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower abdomen. It stores urine, the liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine passes from each kidney into the bladder through a tube called a ureter.

Symptoms of Brain Tumors

Night and Day Pharmacy:

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Diet and Cancer Prevention

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Treatment For Laryngeal Cancer

Get a dental checkup before starting treatment
Some treatments for laryngeal cancer may make your mouth sensitive and put you at a higher risk of infection. It’s important to have a dental exam and get any necessary dental work done before you start treatment.
Radiation therapy
External beam radiation therapy is the most common treatment for laryngeal cancer. A machine is used to carefully aim a beam of radiation at the tumour. The radiation damages the cells in the path of the beam – normal cells as well as cancer cells.
Small tumours may be cured by treating them with radiation only. For larger tumours, external radiation is often used together with chemotherapy.
You may have a mask made especially for you before radiation therapy. This custom-made mask is worn for the treatment planning and for all radiation treatments. The mask helps make sure you’re in the exact same position for every treatment and helps keep your head and neck from moving during treatment.
Radiation therapy works better if you avoid tobacco
To get the most out of radiation treatment for laryngeal cancer, experts recommend that you:
● Quit smoking, if you’re a smoker.
● Avoid second-hand smoke.
Side effects of radiation will be different depending on what part of the head or neck receives the radiation. You may feel more tired than usual or notice changes to the skin (it may be red or tender) where the treatment was given.
Radiation for laryngeal cancer may irritate your mouth and throat, making them dry and sore. This can make it difficult to swallow. If your throat becomes too sore for you to eat or you lose too much weight, you may need a feeding tube until you are able to eat and drink on your own. The feeding tube is placed in your nose or your stomach to give you liquids and nutrients. It’s usually temporary.
You may also notice changes to your sense of taste and smell. These side effects are a result of damage to normal cells. The side effects will usually go away when treatment is over and the normal cells repair themselves. A few side effects, such as a dry mouth, can last a long time.
Side effects of radiation therapy
Chemotherapy
For laryngeal cancer, chemotherapy is most commonly used with radiation therapy for large tumours and tumours that have spread to the lymph nodes.
Chemotherapy may be given as pills or by injection. Chemotherapy drugs interfere with the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread, but they also damage healthy cells. Although healthy cells can recover over time, you may experience side effects from your treatment like nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, hair loss and an increased risk of infection.
Side effects of chemotherapy
Surgery
A decision to have surgery depends on the size of the tumour and where it is. During the operation, all or part of the tumour and some healthy tissue around the tumour are removed. Surgery is done under general anesthetic (you will be unconscious) and you will stay in the hospital for several days after the surgery. After surgery, you may have some pain or weakness. These side effects are temporary, and can be controlled.
An operation to remove all or part of the larynx is called a laryngectomy. The surgeon may also remove nearby lymph nodes in the neck. Sometimes, the thyroid gland is also removed.
For a partial laryngectomy, the surgeon removes the part of the larynx affected by the tumour. Usually one or both of the vocal cords are left in so that you can still speak. Your voice may be different than it was before.
For a total laryngectomy, the surgeon removes the entire larynx. A tracheostomy is done at the same time to create an opening in the lower part of the neck for you to breathe through. Air enters and leaves the windpipe and the lungs through the hole (called a stoma). This opening is permanent. After a total laryngectomy, you will have to learn to speak in a different way.
For the first few days after surgery you will be given liquids through an intravenous (IV) drip into a vein. You may also need a feeding tube in your nose or your abdomen to give you liquids and nutrients until you are able to eat and drink on your own.
It’s important to discuss your operation with your surgical team before the surgery so that you know what to expect and how it will affect you. If both your vocal cords are to be removed, speech pathologist will talk to you before the operation about the different ways you can learn to speak again.
Laser surgery
Laser surgery uses an intense, narrow beam of light to remove cancerous tissue with little or no damage to surrounding healthy tissue. It is usually done under general anesthetic. Laser surgery may be used for very small laryngeal tumours. Laser surgery may not be available at all cancer centres or hospitals.
Relieving pain
Learn more about ways to manage and control your pain and discomfort, side effects and stress when you are having cancer treatments.
Coping with cancer
Whether you are newly diagnosed, in active treatment, or are caring for someone with cancer, you will probably need to deal with many day-to-day issues, make tough decisions, and cope with a range of emotions.

What is Laryngeal Cancer?

Laryngeal cancer starts in the cells that line the larynx (which is sometimes called the voice box). The larynx is a tube, about 5 cm long, that connects the back of the throat to the trachea (also called the windpipe). Two bands of muscle in the middle of the larynx – the vocal cords – make the sound of your voice. The front of the larynx is protected by thyroid cartilage, a layer of tough, flexible tissue (sometimes called the Adam’s apple).
The larynx plays an important role in breathing, swallowing and talking.
Breathing: As you breathe in, your vocal cords open and air passes from the back of your throat through the larynx down the windpipe to your lungs.
Swallowing: At the top of the larynx is a flap. When you swallow, this flap covers the opening of the larynx to keep food out of your lungs. Instead, the food moves through the esophagus to the stomach.
Talking: The sound of your voice is made in the larynx. When you talk, the vocal cords tighten and move closer together. The air that you breathe out is forced through the vocal cords, making them vibrate. You control the amount of air passing through the cords to speak, sing or shout. Your tongue, lips and teeth shape the sound into words.
Laryngeal cancer can start anywhere in the larynx, but it most often begins in the middle part of the larynx where the vocal cords are found. Cancers that start below the vocal cords are less common.

Mesothelioma Causes

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that can develop in the membrane that lines the lungs, called the mesothelium.
Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure which occurs when fibers are inhaled or ingested into the body and become lodged in body cavities, causing inflammation or infection. Asbestos is a naturally-occurring fibrous substance that was widely used in the 20th century in a number of different industries. When the public became aware of the hazards associated with the mineral, warnings were issued in the mid-1970s and use of the product began to decline.
More than 30 percent of those diagnosed with mesothelioma are veterans

How is Mesothelioma Treated?

What is Mesothelioma ?

MesotheliomaMesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States, comprising around 3 percent of all cancer diagnoses. This cancer occurs about four times more frequently in men than in women and all forms of mesothelioma, except for benign mesothelioma, are invariably fatal.

The life expectancy for mesothelioma patients is generally reported as less than one year following diagnosis, however a patient’s prognosis is affected by numerous factors including how early the cancer is diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated.

Leukemia Overview

Leukemia Overview

Cancer is a process of uncontrolled abnormal cell growth and development. Under normal circumstances, cells are formed, mature, carry out their intended function, and then die. New cells are constantly regenerated in the body to replace those cells and to maintain normal cellular function.

Cancer represents the disturbance of this process, which can occur in several ways.

Cells may grow and reproduce in a disorganized and out-of-control fashion. Cells may fail to develop properly, so they will not function normally. Cells may fail to die normally. One or a combination of these processes may occur when cells become cancerous.

Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. These deranged, immature cells accumulate in the blood and within organs of the body. They are not able to carry out the normal functions of blood cells.

Normal blood contains 3 major groups of cells: white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. All 3 types of blood cells develop from one immature cell type, called blood/marrow stem cells, in a process called hematopoiesis.

These stem cells divide and develop to a more developed, but still immature precursor, called a blast, which then develops through several more stages, into a mature blood cell.

This process takes place in the bone marrow, which is the soft spongy material found in the center of most bones.

Each type of blood cells has its own different and essential function in the body.

White blood cells (leukocytes) are part of the immune system and help fight a variety of infections. They also help in the healing of wounds, cuts, and sores.

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) contain hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to, and removes carbon dioxide from, the cells throughout the various organs of the body.

Platelets, along with certain plasma proteins, help plug the holes in blood vessels and form clots once blood vessels are damaged or cut.

The first step in the process of stem cell maturation is differentiation into 2 groups: the myeloid stem cell line and the lymphoid stem cell line.

The myeloid stem cells, or lineage, develop into red blood cells, platelets, and certain types of white blood cells (granulocytes or monocytes).

The lymphoid stem cells, or lineage, develop into another type of white blood cell (lymphocytes).

Either lineage can be affected by leukemia. Leukemias that affect the myeloid lineage are called myelocytic (also myelogenous, myeloblastic, or nonlymphocytic) leukemias. Leukemias that affect the lymphoid lineage are called lymphocytic (also lymphoblastic or lymphogenous) leukemias.

Each of the 2 major types of leukemia, myelogenous and lymphocytic, include both acute and chronic forms.

Acute essentially refers to a disorder of rapid onset. In the acute myelocytic leukemias, the abnormal cells grow rapidly and do not mature. Most of these immature cells tend to die rapidly. In the acute lymphocytic leukemias, growth is not as rapid as that of the myelocytic cells. Rather, the cells tend to accumulate. Common to both types of leukemia is their inability to carry out the functions of healthy white blood cells. Untreated, death occurs within weeks or a few months.

In the chronic leukemias, the onset tends to be slow, and the cells generally mature abnormally and often accumulate in various organs, often over long intervals. Their ability to fight infections and assist in repairing injured tissues is impaired. However, unlike the acute forms of leukemia, untreated, these disorders may persist for many months or, as in the chronic lymphocytic group, many years. A distinctive feature of the chronic myelocytic type is its invariable conversion, if untreated, to a more rapidly fulminating acute type, leading to rapid death.

Reducing Breast Cancer Risk

What is Prostate Cancer?

What is Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer occurs when cells within the prostate grow uncontrollably, creating small tumors. The term “cancer” refers to a condition in which the regulation of cell growth is lost and cells grow uncontrollably. Most cells in the body are constantly dividing, maturing and then dying in a tightly controlled process. Unlike normal cells, the growth of cancer cells is no longer well-regulated. Instead of dying as they should, cancer cells outlive normal cells and continue to form new, abnormal cells.


Abnormal cell growths are called tumors. The term “primary tumor” refers to the original tumor; secondary tumors are caused when the original cancer spreads to other locations in the body. Prostate cancer typically is comprised of multiple very small, primary tumors within the prostate. At this stage, the disease is often curable (rates of 90% or better) with standard interventions such as surgery or radiation that aim to remove or kill all cancerous cells in the prostate. Unfortunately, at this stage the cancer produces few or no symptoms and can be difficult to detect.


What is Metastatic Prostate Cancer?


If untreated and allowed to grow, the cells from these tumors can spread in a process called metastasis. In this process, prostate cancer cells are transported through the lymphatic system and the bloodstream to other parts of the body, where they lodge and grow secondary tumors. Once the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, cure rates drop dramatically.


In most cases, prostate cancer is a relatively slow-growing cancer, which means that it typically takes a number of years for the disease to become large enough to be detectable, and even longer to spread beyond the prostate. This is good news. However, a small percentage of patients experience more rapidly growing, aggressive forms of prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know for sure which prostate cancers will grow slowly and which will grow aggressively – complicating treatment decisions.


The spread of cancer outside the prostate can be detected by the presence of prostate cancer cells in areas surrounding the prostate such as the seminal vesicle, lymph nodes in the groin area, the rectum and bones. When prostate cancer spreads to another site, such as bone, the new tumor is still considered to be prostate cancer, not bone cancer.


How Common is Prostate Cancer?


It is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting 1 in 6 men. A non-smoking man is more likely to develop prostate cancer than he is to develop colon, bladder, melanoma, lymphoma and kidney cancers combined. In fact, a man is 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer.


In 2009, more than 192,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease. One new case occurs every 2.7 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 19 minutes.


It is estimated that there are more than 2 million American men currently living with prostate cancer.


How curable is prostate cancer?


As with all cancers, "cure" rates for prostate cancer describe the percentage of patients likely remaining disease-free for a specific time. In general, the earlier the cancer is caught, the more likely it is for the patient to remain disease-free.


Because approximately 90% of all prostate cancers are detected in the local and regional stages, the cure rate for prostate cancer is very high—nearly 100% of men diagnosed and treated at this stage will be disease-free after five years. By contrast, in the 1970s, only 67% of men diagnosed with local or regional prostate cancer were disease-free after five years.


Yet being diagnosed with prostate cancer can be a life-altering experience. It requires making some very difficult decisions about treatments that can affect not only the life of the man diagnosed, but also the lives of his family members in significant ways for many years to come.

What is lung cancer?

What is lung cancer?

Cancer of the lung, like all cancers, results from an abnormality in the body's basic unit of life, the cell. Normally, the body maintains a system of checks and balances on cell growth so that cells divide to produce new cells only when new cells are needed. Disruption of this system of checks and balances on cell growth results in an uncontrolled division and proliferation of cells that eventually forms a mass known as a tumor.

Tumors can be benign or malignant; when we speak of "cancer," we are referring to those tumors that are malignant. Benign tumors usually can be removed and do not spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, grow aggressively and invade other tissues of the body, allowing entry of tumor cells into the bloodstream or lymphatic system and then to other sites in the body. This process of spread is termed metastasis; the areas of tumor growth at these distant sites are called metastases. Since lung cancer tends to spread or metastasize very early after it forms, it is a very life-threatening cancer and one of the most difficult cancers to treat. While lung cancer can spread to any organ in the body, certain organs -- particularly the adrenal glands, liver, brain, and bone -- are the most common sites for lung cancer metastasis.

The lung also is a very common site for metastasis from tumors in other parts of the body. Tumor metastases are made up of the same type of cells as the original (primary) tumor. For example, if prostate cancer spreads via the bloodstream to the lungs, it is metastatic prostate cancer in the lung and is not lung cancer.

What causes lung cancer?

What causes lung cancer?
Smoking
The incidence of lung cancer is strongly correlated with cigarette smoking, with about 90% of lung cancers arising as a result of tobacco use. The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the time over which smoking has occurred; doctors refer to this risk in terms of pack-years of smoking history (the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years smoked). For example, a person who has smoked two packs of cigarettes per day for 10 years has a 20 pack-year smoking history. While the risk of lung cancer is increased with even a 10-pack-year smoking history, those with 30-pack-year histories or more are considered to have the greatest risk for the development of lung cancer. Among those who smoke two or more packs of cigarettes per day, one in seven will die of lung cancer.


Pipe and cigar smoking also can cause lung cancer, although the risk is not as high as with cigarette smoking. Thus, while someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes per day has a risk for the development of lung cancer that is 25 times higher than a nonsmoker, pipe and cigar smokers have a risk of lung cancer that is about five times that of a nonsmoker.


Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, many of which have been shown to be cancer-causing or carcinogenic. The two primary carcinogens in tobacco smoke are chemicals known as nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The risk of developing lung cancer decreases each year following smoking cessation as normal cells grow and replace damaged cells in the lung. In former smokers, the risk of developing lung cancer begins to approach that of a nonsmoker about 15 years after cessation of smoking.
Passive smoking
Passive smoking or the inhalation of tobacco smoke by nonsmokers who share living or working quarters with smokers, also is an established risk factor for the development of lung cancer. Research has shown that nonsmokers who reside with a smoker have a 24% increase in risk for developing lung cancer when compared with nonsmokers who do not reside with a smoker. An estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths that occur each year in the U.S. are attributable to passive smoking.
Asbestos fibers
Asbestos fibers are silicate fibers that can persist for a lifetime in lung tissue following exposure to asbestos. The workplace is a common source of exposure to asbestos fibers, as asbestos was widely used in the past as both thermal and acoustic insulation. Today, asbestos use is limited or banned in many countries, including the U.S. Both lung cancer and mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura of the lung as well as of the lining of the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum) are associated with exposure to asbestos. Cigarette smoking drastically increases the chance of developing an asbestos-related lung cancer in workers exposed to asbestos. Asbestos workers who do not smoke have a fivefold greater risk of developing lung cancer than nonsmokers, but asbestos workers who smoke have a risk that is 50- to 90-fold greater than nonsmokers.
Radon gas
Radon gas is a natural, chemically inert gas that is a natural decay product of uranium. Uranium decays to form products, including radon, that emit a type of ionizing radiation. Radon gas is a known cause of lung cancer, with an estimated 12% of lung-cancer deaths attributable to radon gas, or about 20,000 lung-cancer-related deaths annually in the U.S., making radon the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. As with asbestos exposure, concomitant smoking greatly increases the risk of lung cancer with radon exposure. Radon gas can travel up through soil and enter homes through gaps in the foundation, pipes, drains, or other openings. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one out of every 15 homes in the U.S. contains dangerous levels of radon gas. Radon gas is invisible and odorless, but it can be detected with simple test kits.
Familial predisposition
While the majority of lung cancers are associated with tobacco smoking, the fact that not all smokers eventually develop lung cancer suggests that other factors, such as individual genetic susceptibility, may play a role in the causation of lung cancer. Numerous studies have shown that lung cancer is more likely to occur in both smoking and non-smoking relatives of those who have had lung cancer than in the general population. Recently, the largest genetic study of lung cancer ever conducted, involving over 10,000 people from 18 countries and led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), identified a small region in the genome (DNA) that contains genes that appear to confer an increased susceptibility to lung cancer in smokers. The specific genes, located the q arm of chromosome 15, code for proteins that interact with nicotine and other tobacco toxins (nicotinic acetylcholine receptor genes).
Lung diseases
The presence of certain diseases of the lung, notably chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is associated with an increased risk (four- to sixfold the risk of a nonsmoker) for the development of lung cancer even after the effects of concomitant cigarette smoking are excluded.
Prior history of lung cancer
Survivors of lung cancer have a greater risk of developing a second lung cancer than the general population has of developing a first lung cancer. Survivors of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs, see below) have an additive risk of 1%-2% per year for developing a second lung cancer. In survivors of small cell lung cancers (SCLCs, see below), the risk for development of second lung cancers approaches 6% per year.
Air pollution
Air pollution from vehicles, industry, and power plants can raise the likelihood of developing lung cancer in exposed individuals. Up to 1% of lung cancer deaths are attributable to breathing polluted air, and experts believe that prolonged exposure to highly polluted air can carry a risk for the development of lung cancer similar to that of passive smoking.

What is Cancer?

What is cancer ?
So the big question is: What is Cancer? Well, let me try to explain it.. but keep in mind this is a long article. So be ready!Cancer is most deadly and most of the times incurable disease in the world today. Although science has progressed to a great extent, but still medical science research has not succeeded in finding a permanent cure of cancer. All of us are now familiar with the term cancer and have a vague idea about it. As the patients of cancer are increasing world wide, the concern is increasing for knowing that what cancer is? To understand cancer in detail, one has to first of all consider its definition according to medical dictionaries.
If cancer is defined in one brief statement, it is said to be a disease caused by the development of malignancies, anti bodies and tumors in any organ of human body and has the capacity to spread to other body parts. In cancer, the cell division and growth in body turns out to be abnormal and makes the very body organ dysfunctional. It is a disease which has numerous types which are defined according to the location of body being infected by abnormal cell growth. For example, if the liver has been infected by the malignancy, than the cancer will be called as liver cancer. Moreover, if the cancer has begun from liver and has spread to other parts of body it is said to the liver cancer metastasis to the body organ being infected later on. To define and give name to the cancer, it has always been important that doctors identify the exact source in the body from where cancer has reached to other parts. On the basis of this identification, the treatment is also selected.
Cancer is basically a family of hundreds of diseases which are called its sub types. The only thing common in them is the formation of abnormal cells in body that leads to malignancies. The body consists of various kinds of cells. Cell itself is a small unit that makes up the whole body of organism when combines with other cells. The whole human boy is made of cells, tissues and bones. The cells are produced in a specific and required number in the body. Any deficiency in their relative production leads of disorders that may cause cancerous tumors later on. Hence the normality of cells is highly important for the smooth functioning of organs inside the body. These cells act as a shield against outside germs and bacteria in time of their mutual contact.
Development of cancer occurs when the cells grow in abnormal manner or in an excessive or decreased quantity. Sometimes, the dying of cells also becomes a reason for cancer. Sometimes the cancer cells grow more speedily then the normal body cells and take the nutrients from the proteins organism takes in. Mostly the tumor is formed due to the grouping of cancer cells. It also forms as a result of inflammation process of cells killing abnormal cells. The grouping tumor cells destroy the body cells and tissues around them. Such development of tumor may reach other locations of body as well. The process of cancer spread to other body parts is known as the course of metastasis. During metastasis, the tumor may change its types and continue to develop as a threat to the verve of patient.
The word cancer appears to everyone as something life threatening and truly fearsome. When it is asked: what is cancer?, the common people may not be able to answer the question due to lack of awareness. This lack of awareness about the disease, does not allow people to take steps by which they can save themselves from cancer.
Although doctors do not know the causes of cancer but it is strongly believed that cancer is not a contagious disease. Its bacteria do not transfer into the other people due to mere touching or staying with the patient. If one thinks to have developed cancer, a check up by a doctor may eliminate this suspect. The symptoms which have been mostly observed in the cancer patients include fever, recurring infections, vomit, weakness, sleepiness and significant and rapid weight loss.
Typically the tests of x ray and blood are enough for diagnosing cancer. The oncologists decide on the basis of test reports that what type of cancer a person has developed. The stage, location and physical condition of patient are focused in recommending a treatment for the cancer patient. Different cancer types have different symptoms and treatments. The doctors may prescribe a bioscopy to the cancer patient if he has metastasis cancer of any kind.
The cure of cancer depends upon the stage of tumors and condition of patient being treated. The early stage cancers and benign cancers usually get cured, where as the serious and metastasis cases have less chances of permanent cure, if the physical capability of cancer patient is unreliable.
In addition, cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radio therapy have side effects for the patients but there is no alternate option available for the treatment. Nearly all of the cancer treatments are done by the use of chemo as it is considered as a reliable way in which the cells are restored to health. The cases in which, the tumor is located in a less sensitive and operable location, surgery is used as a treatment by the oncologists to remove it. It is the aim of surgery that the doctor removes maximum of the cancer cells from the body. But the cancer is due to some inherent problem in the development of cells in the body, so the cancer cells continue to develop in the body. It is believed that if all the cancer cells are removed from the body, cancer will cure but this not so simple. The treatment and cure of cancer is very complicated.
The chemotherapy has its own implications. In this therapy, the medicines taking anti cancer drugs are given to the patient in the form of pills. It is also injected in the patients’ skin through the plastic catheter. The catheter carries the anti cancer medicine into the body via arm veins. The medicine enters the blood stream of the body and attacks the cancer cells. Chemotherapy may take days or even months, depending upon the complexity of issue.
On the other hand, in radio therapy, the waves are used instead of medicine to damage the cancer cells in the body. The energy waves like x rays destroy the cancer cells and may cause them to go forever due to termination of the source from where they develop. Many times, radio therapy has been an effective means of curing cancer permanently but it has several side effects like other cancer treatments. The patients receiving radio therapy may get destruction of useful cells along with the cancer cells. The break up of functional cells may cause tiredness, sleepiness and weakness in the patient. The radio waves may make the patient pale and dull. Vomiting and loss of appetite is observed in all kinds of cancer treatments. Where as the patients of chemotherapy suffer hair loss as its major side effect.
The side effects vanish as the treatment is over and a person recovers. Besides this, the cancer patients become more exposed to infections due to the loss of defensive power of immune system.
Medical and health science research argues that mostly, cancer is developed in human body due to defective functioning of natural immune system. The immune system can not function properly if it is weak and deficient due to lack of appropriate diet and several other factors. It has been the focus of medical doctors that the immune system of a patient must be made efficient as it is the defensive ability of body which fights against the illness. The early and quick recover of disease and infections is dependent upon the strength of immune system.
As the preventive measure of cancer, doctors recommend such practices which are liable to give strength and nourishment to the immune system. Normally, it has been believed that the psychological problems like stress and anxiety, which are caused by the social situations prevailing in almost every society now days, are a major source of weakening the functioning of immune system. In this regard, experts prescribe stress avoiding situations to the people.
Similarly stress, depression and other mental disorders give birth to diabetic disorder in human body which is also a source for weakening immune system. Research has proved that the intake of sugar after a tension generating situation increases the blood sugar level in the diabetes patients. Both, the intake of sugar in high quantity by normal people as well as the diabetics increase the risks for damaging the immune system. Hence, a limited amount of sugar must be made part of routine diet to avoid cancer infections which result due to the weakness and problem in the functionality of immune system.
Other measures that are responsible for strengthening the immune system of body include: proper diet and sleep, regular exercise, intake of green tea, and timely medical check ups.
Most of the times, the heavy smokers and the alcohol addicts develop cancer malignancies in their mouth, lungs, liver and in other related body organs. To avoid the threats of cancer one must quit such habits for ever. The smokers suffer from multiple cancer types as the cancer malignancies have the tendency to occupy the other body organs. Smoking begins to damage the oral throat, stomach and then may end damaging the bladder. The cancer cells grouping together may break up from the mass and move to the other locations in the body. Such cells make tumors in the new location as well making the situation more critical.
Not all the cancers spread to the other body parts. The leukemia is the type of cancer which does not move to the body organs. In blood cancer (leukemia) the cancer cells continue to move in the blood and bone marrow but do not invade the major body organs.
Besides avoiding smoking and alcohol, one must take energy drinks and food that reduces deficiencies in the body which may lead to cancer. Moreover it should be kept in mind that excessive sugar use may also damage the immune system so a moderate amount of energy drink must be taken. The cancer disease vulnerability also varies on the basis sex, age and psycho- physical conditions of individuals. The cancers which are related to the women physical structure do not have any risk factors for men. The cancers like bladder cancer, oral cancer and brain tumors have high risk chances for men. The uterus cancers on the other hand infect women not men. So the precautionary measures are different for both men and women.
Similarly the obese and thin structured people have different vulnerabilities for cancer types. Age factor also matters in determining the type of cancer one has. Previous medical history of having infections in various locations of body, like due to intake of alcohol or tobacco lungs get damaged or the liver gets infection due to hepatitis etc, also determines the type of cancer which is probable of infecting someone.
The types of cancers which affect old aged people like brain cancer rarely occur in the children. Where as, bone cancer may be found in both, children and aged as the children have growing bones and the aged people face deterioration in their bones due to the element of ageing. Here along with prevention measures, the diagnosis of cancer at a proper time is also very important for saving the valuable life of patient.
When a person finds him suffer from skin infections that never cure or feels swelling in the arm pit or breast, he must immediately see an oncologist. A changed eating and bladder habits is also a sign of cancer. Bleeding through nose and continuous exhaustion is also an indicator of cancer cells’ presence in the body. Besides these general indicators every cancer type has its own symptoms. These symptoms may appear rapidly or may not appear at all in some cases.
In bladder cancer, which one of the most significant type of cancer which is found in men, especially the ones who have habits of smoking and take in alcohol, often get bladder cancers. The symptoms of bladder cancer include: pain in abdomen, blood via urine, pain while urination, abnormal color of urine and recurrent urination.
Unlike the bladder cancer, the important indicators of bone cancer are: bone fractures, pain in bones, swelling that appears as a mass on the bones and can be seen as a heap inside the skin. A patient of bone cancer may feel frequent urination problem like bladder cancer patients. Due to the similar symptoms of many cancers, doctors try to investigate all the problems and abnormalities a person is having, before diagnosing a cancer.
In brain cancer, a person frequently faces psychological attacks due to increasing size of tumor in the brain. Headache is an important symptom along with weight loss and vomiting. A brain cancer patient may also find it difficult to move his body and keep eyes moving. The speech activity also gets up set due to this type of cancer.
The symptoms of blood cancer includes the frequent infections, fever, flu, pain in joints and bones, tiredness, weakness and sweating most of the times. All these or most of these symptoms appear at the same time in the patient. Like bladder cancer, blood in urine is also a symptom of kidney cancer. It is also possible that blood in urine indicates both the cancers.
Women mostly suffer from ovarian cancers. In this type of cancer, the women have a medical condition, in which they face abnormal menses bleeding, swelling in abdomen and digestive difficulties. Endometrial cancer patients have almost similar kinds of symptoms. All the cancer sub types have further types of cancers. The most common general types of cancer found in the world today are: oral cancers, ovarian cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, bone cancer, blood cancer, brain cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer.
The patients of prostate cancer also suffer from urination trouble. While in stomach cancer the distinguishing symptom is the vomiting of blood. Skin cancer and mouth cancer may be caused by sun burns; both of these may reveal the signs of burns on the skin. The difference lies in the locations of burns. In case of mouth cancer, the sunburns are found near lips and in skin cancer, the any part the whole skin can get infected.
The children are more vulnerable to cancers like blood cancer caused by anemia, neuroblastoma, lymphoma and bone cancers. The teenage cancers include: osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, blood cancer, lymphomea, brain tumors and some skin cancers. However, the liver cancer, few types of blood cancer and lungs cancer are considered as the most deadly cancer types in the world. The adult cancers are skin cancer, lungs cancer, and breast cancer. The adult women suffer prostate where as the men have been found vulnerable of suffering an ovarian cancer.
People world wide since ever, across the times, prefer alternating treatments of medical sciences. Natural herbs are still used in part of world as a cure to many diseases. Medical sciences state that cancer has no alternate treatment. It is true to maximum extent. But still research is needed to explore natural and well as scientific innovations that can be used as a treatment of cancer. Latest research has shown that sea food can be helpful in reducing cancer cells in body. Many incurable diseases can cure with the intake of sea food. Cancer of blood called leukemia as well as breast cancer. Other than cancer, neurologic disorders can also be cured with the use of sea animals in diet. As the fats and proteins in fish meat is a source of developing and strengthening the cell formation in the body.
In addition, it also helps repairing and healing the infections in the body. It develops healthy cells in the body which comes to blow the cancer cells. But the people with high blood pressure who are also having cancers should not take in excessive quantity of sea foodstuff as it can be dangerous for their life. Hence, the fish meat is highly important for various types of cancers as it can help to cure it permanently. It can also be taken to prevent cancer.
In short, cancer is a life snatching disease, which is caused by the growth of abnormal cells in the body and for which medical sciences can not state the causes. In contrast to cancer the benign cancer is not deadly, is never caused by the raid of harmful cells from outside and do not spread to other body organs. Such benign tumors can be easily removed. If not removed, they do not have destructive effects for the human body. For this reason such dead tumors are not considered as cancer by the doctors.
The branch of medicine which is responsible for dealing with the cancer is called oncology. In case of any symptom of cancer, one should seek the advice of oncologist. The timely diagnosis and treatment may cure the cancer at its early stage otherwise it becomes a threat to the life of patient. Not only human beings but the plants and animals also get infected by the disease of cancer.
The possible causes for cancer on which medical experts agree are: smoking, exposure to radiation, use of alcohol and tobacco, unhealthy food, chemicals and invasion of infectious bugs into the body. Being an inheritor of cancer from parents is also an important source.
Vaccination in some cases can prevent the individuals from the cancer development but in other cases it is not used due to medical reasons. Due to the perception of cancer and the pains that are attached to it, the cancer patients usually loose hope. Many organizations are working for the treatment as well as counseling of cancer patients. Raising their spirits and awakening hope for life in them is the chief concern of social working agencies. The support of non governmental organizations, counselors or medical staff is not enough for the cancer patients. Rather the concern and care of family and peer group matters more in emotionally supporting them.