Cancer

Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood / lymph systems.

Cancer is not just one disease but , there are more than 100 different types of cancer. The main categories of cancer include:

• Carcinoma - cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
• Sarcoma - cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue.
• Leukemia - cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood.
• Lymphoma and myeloma - cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.
• Central nervous system cancers - cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.

Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body. Most cancers are named for where they start. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis.

Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Symptoms of cancer

- Persistent Fatigue:
Fatigue is one of the most commonly experienced cancer symptom. It is usually more common when the cancer is advanced, but still occurs in the early stages.

- Unintentional Weightloss
Losing 10 or more pounds without dieting or intending to lose weight can be one of the first symptoms experienced with cancer.

- Fever
Most cancer patients experience a fever at some point.
It may be due to the disease affecting their immune system, the cancer itself, or a response to treatment. Fever normally occurs as the cancer progresses.

- Changes To Skin
Skin changes such as jaundice, darkening of the skin, abnormal hair growth, reddening, and skin itchiness can indicate certain types of cancers.

- Pain
Pain is normally present when the cancer has progressed. However, it can be indicative early on of some cancers, such as bone cancers.

Stages of cancer

There are four stages of cancer. But it depends on which cancer you are talking about and which staging system the doctor is using. There are different ways of grouping cancers. Some staging systems have more groups and some less.

Often doctors write the stage down in roman numerals. So you may see stage 4 written down as stage IV.

Here is a brief summary of what the stages mean:
• Stage 1 usually means a cancer is relatively small and contained within the organ it started in
• Stage 2 usually means the cancer is localised, but the tumour is larger than in stage 1. Sometimes stage 2 means there are nearby lymph nodes that have cancer cells in.
• Stage 3 usually means the cancer is larger and there are cancer cells in the lymph nodes in the area
• Stage 4 means the cancer has spread from where it started to another body organ, such as the liver, bones or lungs

Treatment of cancer

The three most common types of cancer treatment are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Treatment is aimed at removing the cancer cells or destroying them in the body with medicines or other agents.

Surgery:
Surgery can be very successful in treating some kinds of cancer, but it isn't an option for all people. If the cancer is in the form of a malignant tumor and the tumor is in one place (localized), it may be possible to safely "cut out" the tumor and any surrounding affected tissue. Surgery may not be possible if the cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if the tumor cannot be removed without damaging vital organs, such as the liver / brain.

Radiotherapy:
Radiotherapy uses radiation to damage cancer cells so that they can't multiply. There is usually no pain during therapy. Radiotherapy may sometimes be the only treatment needed, or it may be used with other therapies, such as surgery. A combination of surgery and radiotherapy may be used for tumors that grow in one place.

Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy uses medicines to attack the cancer cells. Just the word "chemotherapy" can cause a lot of fear because the side effects can be severe. The side effects of chemotherapy can often be reduced with other medicines. Chemotherapy is usually used when the cancer has spread to other areas in the body. Chemotherapy can also be used in combination with surgery and radiation. Sometimes the tumor is surgically removed and then chemotherapy is used to make sure all the cancer cells are killed.

Other Treatments:
Another kind of treatment is biological therapy. This treatment uses proteins to trigger the body's immune system to produce more white blood cells (or lymphocytes). Two lymphocytes that can attack and kill cancer cells are the T-cell and the B-cell. The proteins boost the ability of the T-cell and B-cell lymphocytes to kill cancer. Biological therapy can also be used in combination with surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Harmone Therapy:
Hormone therapy is sometimes used to treat breast or prostate cancer. The hormone estrogen can make breast cancer tumors grow faster. Similarly, the hormone testosterone can make cancerous tumors in the prostate grow faster. Drugs that contain other hormones may be used to block the effects of estrogen and testosterone. In other cases, surgery to remove the ovaries or the testicles may be used. Removing these organs reduces the amount of estrogen or testosterone in the body.

Other specialized treatments are also available for liver cancer.