Types of Cancer
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Cancer
Cancer is a disease where cells multiply without control and destroy healthy tissue.
Cancer can endanger life and is the leading cause of death in many countries.
About 100 kinds of cancer affect human beings. With other kinds affecting plants and animals.
Cancer strikes people of all ages.
It occurs in both Male and Female.
Cancer can start anywhere in the body and spread.
The most common parts where cancer occurs are the skin, the digestive organs, the lungs, the cervix (neck of the womb) and the female breasts.
Things that incite cancer are the tar in tobacco, and some of the other chemicals in cigarettes, and certain kinds of radiation.
Today about half the cancer patients survive at least five years after treatment.
Cancer develops as a result of abnormal cell reproduction.
The genes in cancer cells dont respond to the growth regulating signals and as a result the cells just keep multiplying and eventually after a mass of cells join together a tumor or neoplasm appear.
Some tumors are noncancerous or benign.
Benign tumors do not spread to healthy tissue or other body parts.
Cancer produces malignant tumors, which invade, compress and eventually destroy healthy tissue.
A huge danger is that cells can break away from the malignant tumor and move to other parts of the body and form other tumors.
This process is called metastasis.
The ability to spread to other parts of the body makes cancer hard to treat unless it is detected early.
Cancer is classified in two ways (1): by a cancers primary body site (the part where it first develops) and (2): by the type of body tissue it originates in.
SKIN CANCER:
The most common form of cancer in the world.
Most skin cancers dont spread which makes them easy to treat.
A malignant melanoma (a rare form of skin cancer), which is more serious, starts in the pigment of the skin cells and rapidly spreads to other parts of the body.
Over exposure to the suns ultraviolet rays causes malignant melanomas.
LUNG CANCER:
Lung Cancer is strongly linked with smoking.
Smokers are much more likely to develop cancer.
The single greatest cause of death among men and women in most industrial countries.
STOMACH CANCER:
Stomach cancer was a very common disease but no it is a lot less common.
People who eat well E.g. Fresh food and a well balanced diet, hardly ever get this disease. Which shows you that diet plays some part in it. Alcohol and smoking also put people in risk of it.
BREAST CANCER:
Is the most common cancer affecting women in affluent countries.
The number of children and the diet are linked to breast cancer.
COLO-RECTAL CANCER:
Occurs mainly in industrial countries.
Lack of fibre in diets has been linked to colo-rectal cancer.
CANCER OF THE CERVIX:
Occurs mostly in countries where women live in poor conditions.
Good diet and personal hygiene reduces incident of this disease.
Most experts agree that people develop cancer mainly through repeated or prolonged contact with one or more cancer causing agents. Cancer is also hereditary.
The cancer starts because of a mutation of the DNA (a blueprint of the cell). It may also occur with external agents such as ionizing radiation, cigarette smoke, certain viruses, and some chemicals.
This does not lead to cancer but the damaged cells makes you even more susceptible to it.
The three main groups that cause cancer are (1) various chemicals, (2) certain forms of radiation, and (3) viruses.
CANCER DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS:
Only doctors can diagnose cancer but in a lot of cases people go to doctors after the cancer has advanced. People should be alert to ant physical changes that may indicate cancer. Early detection greatly increases the chance of the cancer being cured and the person surviving.
Doctors have many ways to detect cancer in its early stages. There are mammograms (detects breast cancer) and computerized tomography (detects cancer in vital organs such as brain and the lungs).