As a start to the cancer awareness week programme, we provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on cancer; things bothering the minds of people concerning cancer. Some of these questions and the answers given, we shall be buttressing in the course of week. Below are some of these questions:
WHAT IS CANCER?
Cancer, also known as a MALIGNANT TUMOR, is a group of diseases involving the uncontrolled growth and division of abnormal cells, withthe potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?
The origin of the word cancer is credited to the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC), who is considered the “Father of Medicine.” Hippocrates used the terms carcinos and carcinoma to describe
non-ulcer forming and ulcer-forming tumors. In Greek, these wordsrefer to a crab, most likely applied to the disease because the finger-like spreading projections from a cancer called to mind the shape of a crab. The Roman physician, Celsus (28-50 BC), later translated the Greek term into cancer, the Latin word for crab. Galen (130-200 AD), another Greek physician, used the word oncos (Greek for swelling) to describe tumors. Although the crab analogy of Hippocrates and Celsus is still used to describe malignant tumors, Galen’s term is now used as a part of the name for cancer specialists – ONCOLOGISTS.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF CANCER?
Cancer is a complex group of diseases with many possible causes. Cancer is caused by a number of factors; hereditary (from parent to offspring), excessive exposure to Ultraviolet Rays from sunlight, smoking of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, etc, the kind of diet we take, obesity or being overweight, alcohol intake, infectious diseases, radiation (both ionizing and non-ionizing, from mobile phones, power transmission etc), stress, lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.
HOW MANY TYPES OF CANCER?
There are more than 200 different types of cancer. Cancer can be developed in any organ of the body. There are over 60 different organs in the body where a cancer can develop. Each organ is made up of several different types of cells. Cancer can develop from almost any type of cell in the body. So there is usually more than one type of cancer that can develop in any one part of the body. Often though, one type of cancer will be much more common in a particular organ.
WHAT ARE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF CANCER?
The American Cancer Society uses the word C-A-U-T-I-O-N to help
recognize the seven early signs of cancer:
* C - Change in bowel or bladder habits
* A - A sore that does not heal
* U - Unusual bleeding or discharge
* T - Thickening or lump in the breast, testicles, or elsewhere
*I - Indigestion or difficulty swallowing
*O - Obvious change in the size, color, shape, or thickness of a wart,
mole, or mouth sore
*N - Nagging cough or hoarseness
Other symptoms that may also signal the presence of some types of cancer include: persistent headaches, unexplained loss of weight or loss of appetite, chronic pain in bones or any other areas of the body, persistent fatigue, nausea, or vomiting, persistent low-grade fever, either constant or intermittent and repeated infection.
ARE THERE ANY TREATMENTS FOR CANCER?
There are quite a number of treatments which are applied to terminate cancer, some of these include: Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, transplantation (of the organ with the affected cell), hormonal therapy, and targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy). Other treatment methods include the use of Angiogenesis Inhibitors, Biological Therapies, Cancer Vaccines, Cryosurgery (the use of extreme cold), Hyperthermia (treating tumors with heat), Lasers in Cancer Treatment, Photodynamic Therapy, amongst others.
The choice of therapy depends upon the location and grade of the tumor and the stage of the disease, as well as the general state of the patient (performance status). NOTE: some of these treatment methodsalso have their side effects (which we'll be treating later in theweek).
WHO CAN CONTRACT CANCER?
Anyone can get cancer. One of the biggest factors that makes a person more likely to get cancer is age: 3 out of 4 cancers are found in people age 55 or older. But there are many other factors that affect cancer risk and some of them can be changed. It’s only natural that people are looking for more ways to prevent cancer.
IS CANCER CONTAGIOUS?
Cancer is NOT contagious. A healthy person cannot contract cancer froman infected person. There is no evidence that close contact or things like sex, kissing, touching, sharing meals, or breathing the same air
can spread cancer from one person to another. Cancer cells from one person are generally unable to live in the body of another healthy person. A healthy person’s immune system recognizes foreign cells and destroys them, including cancer cells from another person.
WHAT IS CANCER'S MORTALITY RATE?
In the year 2012, 14.1 million adults were diagnosed with cancer, and in that same year, 8.2 million deaths were recorded from cancer aroundthe world.
Cancer is no child's play at all, it's affecting millions of livesaround the world, and thousands of people die on daily basis from whatthey could have easily prevented. Spread the information, share with friends, family, and relatives. Remember, we're "BUILDING A CANCER-FREE GENERATION".
REFERENCES:
Wikipedia
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