Understanding Cancer

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Unlike the normal body cells that grow and divide over a period of time until they eventually die, cancerous cells divide uncontrollably thus having the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. Cancer develops when the body’s normal control mechanism stop’s working. These old cells do not die but instead grow out of control, forming new, abnormal cells. These extra cells may form a mass of tissue, called a tumor. Some cancers, such as leukemia, do not form tumors.

Cancer can occur anywhere in the body. In women, breast cancer is the most common, while in men, it’s prostate cancer. Lung cancer and colorectal cancer affect both men and women in high numbers.

There are five main categories of cancer:

1. Carcinomas begin in the skin or tissue that line the internal organs.
2. Sarcomas develop in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle or other connective tissues.
3. Leukemia begins in the blood and bone marrow.
4. Lymphomas start in the immune system
5. Central nervous system cancers develop in the brain and spinal cord.

Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to the DNA within the cells. The DNA in a cell is packed into a large number of individual genes which contains a set of instructions that tell the cell what function to perform, how to grow and divide. Errors in the instruction can cause the cell to stop its normal function and may allow a cell to become cancerous.

The most common mutations found in cancer,

1. ALLOW RAPID GROWTH. Gene mutation can tell a cell to grow and divide more rapidly, thus creating new cells that all have the same mutation.
2. FAIL TO STOP UNCONTROLLED CELL GROWTH: Normal cells knows when to stop growing in order to have just the number of each type of cell. But cancer cells lose the controls (tumor suppressor genes) that tell them when to stop growing. A mutation in a tumor suppressor gene allows cancer cells to continue growing and accumulating.
3. MAKE MISTAKES WHEN REPAIRING DNA ERRORS: DNA repair genes look for errors in a cell’s DNA and make corrections. A mutation in a DNA repair gene may mean that other errors aren’t corrected, leading cells to become cancerous.

Gene mutation can be:

1. In-born (Inherited): This is the mutation that is inherited from one’s parent. This type of mutation accounts for a small percentage of caners.
2. Mutations that occur after birth: These are mutations that occur after birth. They are not inherited. A number of forces causes these gene mutations. These include: smoking, radiation, viruses, cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens), obesity, hormones, chronic inflammation and a lack of exercise.

Gene mutations occur frequently during normal cell growth, but cells contain a mechanism that recognizes when a mistake occurs and then repairs it. Occasionally, a mistake is missed and this could cause a cell to become cancerous.

In-born Gene mutation and those that are acquired in life work together to cause cancer. An inherited genetic mutation that predisposes one to cancer doesn’t mean it’s certain an individual will have cancer. But one may need one or more other gene mutations to cause cancer. Inherited gene mutation could make one more likely than other people to develop cancer when exposed to a certain cancer-causing substance.

These varies based on the part of body that is affected.

Some general signs and symptoms associated with, but not specific to, cancer include:

1. Fatigue
2. Lump or area of thickening that can be felt under the skin
3. Changes in weight including unintended loss or gain.
4. Changes in bowel or bladder habits
5. Changes in skin such as yellowing, darkening or redness of the skin, sores  that won’t healor changes to existing moles
6. Difficulty in swallowing
7. Persistent cough or trouble in breathing.
8. Persistent, unexplained muscle or joint pain
9. Persistent indigestion or discomfort after eating
10. Unexplained bleeding or bruising
11. Persistent, unexplained fevers or night sweats.

A risk factor is anything that increase your chance of getting a disease, such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For instance, exposing skin to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer, but it’s not linked to colon cancer. Some risk factor can actually cause cancer, while others may simply be more common in people who get cancer. For example, old age does not cause cancer, but it’s a risk factor.

There are different kinds of risk factors. Some, like a person’s age or race can’t be changed, while others are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment. Still others are related to personal actions, such as smoking. Some factors influence risk more than others, and a person’s risk for cancer can change over time, due to factors such as aging or lifestyle.

Factors known to increase risk of cancer include:

1. Age: Cancer can take decades to develop. While it is common among adults, it exclusively not an adult disease- cancer can be diagnosed at any age.
2. Habits: Certain lifestyle choices are known to increase cancer risks. These include: smoking, alcoholic drink, obesity, frequent blistering sunburns  and having unsafe sex can contribute to cancer.
3. Family history: If cancer is common in a family, It’s possible mutations are being passed from one generation to the next. But having an inherited genetic mutation doesn’t necessarily mean one will have cancer.
4. Health conditions: Chronic health conditions can increase risk of developing certain cancers.
5. Environment: The environment around you may contain harmful chemicals that can increase one’s risk of cancer.

Some of the major cancer risk factors that can be controlled include:

1. Smoking
2. Diet.
3. Physical activity
4. Weight
5. Use of Alcohol
6. Sun exposure
7. Environmental exposure
8. Exposure to infections.

People diagnosed earlier with cancer are:

1. More likely to survive
2. Have better experiences of care cause its easier to treat.
3. Lower treatment morbility
4. Have improved quality of life compared with those diagnosed late.

To find cancer early, while it’s small and before it spreads, requires having a regular cancer screening tests. These tests help find common cancers before they cause symptoms. For example, regular screening tests can find cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix,  skin and mouth early.

A person’s signs and symptoms are not enough to detect if they have cancer. If cancer is suspected, a patient has to undergo more tests such as x-rays, blood tests or a biopsy. In most cases, a biopsy is the only way to be sure whether cancer is present.

To do a biopsy, a piece of the lump (tumor) or abnormal area is taken and sent to the lab. The pathologist (A doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases) looks at the cells under a microscope to see if cancer cells are present. If there are cancer cells, the doctor tries to figure out what type of cancer it is and how fast it’s likely to grow.

Imaging tests, measure the size of the cancer and can often show if it has spread to nearby tissues.

Blood tests tells about the overall health and show how well the organs are working. They also give information about blood cancers.

A person with cancer may have any or all of these treatments. In choosing a treatment plan, the most important factors are generally the type of cancer and the stage (amount) of the cancer. Other factors to consider include the person’s overall health, the likely side effects of the treatment and the probability of curing the cancer, controlling it to extend life or easing symptoms.

The 3 common methods of treating cancer are:

1. Surgery: This is often the first treatment used if the cancer can be taken out of the body. This removes cancerous tissue. The surgeon removes the cancerous tissue along with a small amount of the healthy tissue surrounding it to make sure that all the cancer is removed and do not spread. Depending on the location of the cancer, surgery can be simple or complex.
2. Chemotherapy: This is the treatment of cancer using medication. Doctors use chemotherapy or “chemo” drugs to kill cancer cells. These are usually given intravenously or taken as a pill by mouth. Chemo drugs travel throughout the body in the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells that may have spread away from the tumor. 

Patients having chemotherapy may experience nausea and vomiting, fatigue, hair loss or other side effects. All these happen because chemo medicines may destroy some healthy cells in the process of getting rid of the malignant cells.

1. Radiation: This is the use of radiation- high energy rays such as x-rays to kill or shrink cancer cells. Radiotherapy machines deliver powerful X-rays or high-energy electrons to the part of the body that is affected by cancer. After repeated doses of high levels of radiation, many cancerous tumor shrink or disappear. The radiation may come from outside the body, called external radiation or from radioactive materials laces right into the tumors (internal or implant radiation)

1 . Who gets cancer?

Anyone can get cancer, although the risk goes up with age. Your individual risk depends on factors such as whether you smoke, lifestyle choices such as what you eat and how much you exercise, your family history of cancer and factors in your environment and workplace.

2. How does cancer starts?

The human body is made up of different types of cells. Under normal conditions cells grow, divide, become old and die. Then in most cases, they’re replaced by new cells. But sometimes cells mutate and grow out of control to form a mass or tumor instead of dying.

Tumors can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Cancerous tumors can attack and kill body tissues. They can also spread to other parts of the body, causing new tumors to form there. This process is called metastasis and it represents cancer that has advanced to a late stage.

3. Is cancer genetic?

Cancer is a genetic disease. This is because cancer is caused by mutations or changes to genes that control the way our cells functions, causing them to behave irregularly.

4. Is cancer contagious?

No. Cancer isn’t and it cannot be catch from someone who has the disease.

5. Is there a vaccine for cancer?

There is no vaccine for cancer. But there are vaccines for some viruses that are known to cause cancer such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B.

HPV can cause cancer and getting vaccinated against it, help protect against the types of HPV that can lead to cervical, anal, throat and penile cancers, along with some other forms of cancer.  Hepatitis B virus, has been linked to liver cancer. Getting vaccinated against hepatitis B can reduce the risk of getting liver cancer. But just like the HPV vaccine, the hepatitis B doesn’t protect against liver cancer itself. It only protects against the virus that might lead to liver cancer.

6. Can cancer be cured?

Yes. When cancer treatment appears to be working, medical doctors says the cancer is in remission. A partial remission occurs when the cancer shrinks but doesn’t disappear. A complete remission means there is no longer any sign of cancer.

The longer a cancer is in complete remission, the less likely it is to come back, and at some point your doctor might say the cancer has been cured.

7. What are the stages of cancer and what do they mean?

Cancer has 4 stages: I through IV. Some cancers even have a stage 0.

Stage 0: This stage means the cancer is still found in the place it started and hasn’t spread to nearby tissues. Stage 0 cancers are often curable.

Stage I: This stage usually represents a small tumor or cancer that hasn’t grown deeply into nearby tissues. It’s sometimes called early-stage cancer.

Stage II and III: Usually these stages represent larger cancer or tumor that have grown more deeply into nearby tissues. They also may have spread to lymph nodes. However, they haven’t spread to other organs or parts of the body.

Stage IV: Cancer in this stage has spread to other organs or parts of the bosy. It may be referred to as metastatic or advanced cancer.

8. Does cancer has symptoms?

Sometimes, but not always. The signs and symptoms of cancer depend on where the caner is located and how big it is. As a caner grows, it pushes on nearby organs and other structures. The resulting pressures can cause signs and symptoms. While some cancers grow where they won’t cause any signs or symptoms until they have advanced.

Some general signs and symptoms include:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Pain
• Skin changes
• Bowel habit or bladder function changes
• Sores that won’t heal
• Unusual bleeding or discharge
• Thickening or lump in a part of the body such as breast.
• Indigestion or trouble swallowing
• A recent change in wart or mole
• A nagging cough or hoarseness.

9. Can stress cause cancer?

Researchers have done many studies to see if there’s link between personality, attitude, stress and cancer. No scientific evidence has shown that a person’s personality or outlook affects their cancer risk. There are many factors to look at in the relationship between cancer and stress. It’s known that stress affects the immune system, but so do many things.  Despite many studies a link between psychological stress and cancer has not been found.