Cancer

Cancer has a reputation for being a deadly disease. While this certainly applies to certain particular types, the truths behind the historical connotations of cancer are increasingly being overturned by advances in medical care. Some types of cancer have a prognosis that is substantially better than nonmalignant diseases such as heart failure and stroke.

Cancer Definition - Begins when one cells changes and starts growing and dividing rapidly and out of control. This cell divides to give two cells, then four, eight etc. until they end up forming a growing mass of cancer cells called a tumor.

Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age. Cancer causes about 13% of all deaths. According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007.

There are more than 100 types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma.

Metastasis Definition - The spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. They then begin to divide and grow again eventually forming a new tumor, called secondary tumors or metastases. Only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize.

Malignant Definition - A medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease, mostly used as a description of cancer.

Benign Tumor Definition - A tumor that lacks the malignant properties of a cancer. A benign tumor does not grow in an unlimited, aggressive manner, does not invade surrounding tissues, and does not metastasize. Examples of benign tumors include moles and uterine fibroids.

Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth.

Cancer symptoms vary widely based on the type of cancer and treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 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.

Radiation therapy - The use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy can be administered externally via external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or internally via brachytherapy.

Surgery - In theory, non-hematological cancers can be cured if entirely removed by surgery, but this is not always possible. When the cancer has metastasized to other sites in the body prior to surgery, complete surgical excision is usually impossible.

Chemotherapy - The treatment of cancer with drugs ("anticancer drugs") that can destroy cancer cells. In current usage, the term "chemotherapy" usually refers to cytotoxic drugs which affect rapidly dividing cells in general, in contrast with targeted therapy (see below). Chemotherapy drugs interfere with cell division in various possible ways, e.g. with the duplication of DNA or the separation of newly formed chromosomes.

Cancer symptoms can be generally divided into three groups:

Symptoms of metastasis (spreading): enlarged lymph nodes, cough and hemoptysis, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), bone pain, fracture of affected bones and neurological symptoms. Although advanced cancer may cause pain, it is often not the first symptom.

Local symptoms: unusual lumps or swelling (tumor), hemorrhage (bleeding), pain and/or ulceration. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as jaundice (yellowing the eyes and skin).

Systemic symptoms: weight loss, poor appetite, fatigue and cachexia (wasting), excessive sweating (night sweats), anemia and specific paraneoplastic phenomena, i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as thrombosis or hormonal changes.

Further Information Regarding Cancer

Heat Therapy Offers New Treatment for Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Patients with soft-tissue sarcomas at high risk of spreading were 30% more likely to be alive and cancer free almost three years after starting treatment if their tumours were heated at the time they received chemotherapy, according to new research. The finding bolsters the case for intensifying exploration of the strategy in other types of cancer.

Does Sugar Feed Cancer?
During both normal and cancerous cell growth, a cellular process takes place that involves both glucose (sugar) and glutamine (an amino acid). Glucose and glutamine are both essential for cell growth, and it was long assumed they operated independently, but Ayer's research shows they are inter-dependent.

Compound that Kills Cancer Stem Cells Found
The cancer stem cells that drive tumor growth and resist chemotherapies and radiation treatments that kill other cancer cells aren't invincible after all. Researchers reporting online on August 13th in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, have discovered the first compound that targets those cancer stem cells directly.

Declining Cancer Mortality Rates
Researchers examined cancer mortality rates stratified by age and found that for individuals born since 1925, every age group has experienced a decline in cancer mortality. The youngest age groups have experienced the steepest decline at 25.9 percent per decade, but even the oldest groups have experienced a 6.8 percent per decade decline.

Forecasting Cancer Recurrence
Two people with the same kind of cancer who receive the exact same treatment may nevertheless have different chances of their tumors coming back years later. Now a team of scientists has developed a computer model that predicts cancer recurrence in an individual based on how her tumor changes size in response to the first rounds of radiation therapy.

Boosting Immune System of Cancer Patients
If you have cancer, you must understand that once you go ahead with the cancer treatment, you must also aim to strengthen your immune system. You simply can not neglect either one; otherwise, your battle with a deadly disease will be for naught. By following three approaches that will help you nurture your immune system in the face of a disease like cancer; you increase your chances of getting back to your normal healthy life.

Thyroid Cancer Information
Early thyroid cancer often does not have symptoms. But as the cancer grows, symptoms may include a lump in the front of the neck; hoarseness or voice changes; swollen lymph nodes in the neck; trouble swallowing or breathing; and pain in the throat or neck that does not go away.

Ureter Cancer Information
Ureter Cancer forms in transitional cells in the lining of the bladder, ureter, or renal pelvis. Risk factors can include prolonged misuse of certain pain medications, smoking cigarettes, exposure to certain dyes and chemicals used in making leather goods, textiles, plastics and/or rubber.

Small Intestine Cancer
Small Intestine Cancer forms in tissues of the small intestine. The most common type is Adenocarcinoma. Most of these tumors occur in the part of the small intestine near the stomach. They may grow and block the intestine.

Malignant Salivary Tumors - Rare Cancer
Malignant Salivary Tumors is a rare cancer that forms in tissues of salivary glands in the floor of the mouth and throughout the oropharynx, the parotid glands and the submandibular glands.

Head and Neck Cancers - Carcinoma
Head and Neck Carcinoma includes those cancers that arise in the head or neck region (e.g., nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, tongue, throat, or larynx).

Gallbladder Cancers
Gallbladder Cancers includes cancers that are formed in tissues of the gallbladder and the bile ducts in the liver (biliary system). Gallbladder cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the gallbladder. It begins in the innermost layer of tissue and spreads through the outer layers as it grows.

Esophageal Cancer
Esophageal cancer originates from the lining of the esophagus and presents as either squamous cell carcinoma (cancer that begins in flat cells lining the esophagus) or adenocarcinoma (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids).

Osteosarcoma - Bone Cancer
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer. It usually affects the large bones of the arm or leg and occurs most often in younger individuals. It affects more males than females. In children and adolescents, tumors appear most often in the bones around the knee.

Bladder Carcinoma - Bladder Cancer
Bladder Carcinoma is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the bladder. Most bladder cancers are transitional cell carcinomas. Other types include squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The cells that form squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma develop in the inner lining of the bladder as a result of chronic irritation and inflammation.

Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer
Adrenocortical cancers (ACs) are uncommon malignancies that can have protean clinical manifestations. Adrenocortical masses are common; autopsy studies show that approximately 5-15% of the general adult population may have adrenal incidentalomas.

Adrenal Cancer Information
Adrenal Cancer forms in the outer tissue layer of the adrenal gland. Adrenocortical Carcinoma is also called Cancer of the Adrenal Cortex.

New Cancer Gene Identified
Researchers have identified a new cancer gene - one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes. The new example - a gene on the X chromosome called UTX - is found in 10% of cases of multiple myeloma and 8% of esophageal cancers.

Calcium Intake Lowers Cancer Risk in Women
Women with higher intake of calcium appear to have a lower risk of cancer overall, and both men and women with high calcium intakes have lower risks of colorectal cancer and other cancers of the digestive system, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Dormant Cancer Cells rely on Cellular Cannibalization to Survive
A team found that expression of a gene called ARHI acts as a switch for autophagy, or self-cannibalization, in ovarian cancer cells. Often a mechanism for cancer cell death, in this case "self-eating" acts as a survival mechanism for dormant cancer cells.

How to Help Someone with Cancer
A cancer diagnosis can be crippling in itself, inciting fear and anxiety over an unknown or perhaps dreaded future. Victims worry about their health, their looks, and their families when a doctor pronounces this terrible sentence. If a friend or family member is struggling with one of the many forms of cancer, your support and encouragement are likely to be most welcome.

What is Metastatic or Advanced Cancer
Advanced cancer is a term used for cancer that has grown beyond an organ were it initiated from usually, such a cancer is spread widely throughout the body and the stage is also known as metastatic cancer. However, an advanced cancer cannot be categorized into a stage of metastatic cancer always.

Hereditary Cancer Information
Not all cancer is hereditary, but genetic experts are beginning to see a pattern in some cancers. There are some inherited factors or genes that contribute to the development of certain cancers, such as breast, ovarian and colorectal.

Cervical Cancer Information
Cervical cancer is a disease when body cells in the cervix act up until they develop a tumor. When normal cells transform themselves to cancer cells, cervical cancer sets in. Though it is obviously scary to have cervical cancer, the good news is it can be prevented.