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Lung cancer 3 (Click to select text)
Cancer Today it seems that their is nothing that won't give you cancer and nothing that cant help save you from it. Almost everyday we find a new way to protect ourselves from it either by modifying are diet to include or disclude something or by changing the products and materials that we use day to day. It seems that every time a new bit of information comes out in the fight to find a cure; a new cancer causing item is found. In the following pages I will discuss what cancer is, where is comes from, a specific kind of cancer and what can be done to treat it.In the minds of many cancer is a death sentence but with technology and research that is no longer always the case. What is Cancer? Cancer is when abnormal cells in an organ start growing and increasing in an uncontrolled manner. Because the cells are dividing at a rate excess of normal division the cells form a tumour. The crowded cells fail to stop dividing until they push everything out of place. If the tumour is benign it will enlarge only at the site where it began. However cancerous tumours can invade and destroy. One of the reasons that cancer needs to be caught early is because it will spread. Cancerous cells lack the sticky coating that causes normal healthy cells to stay together because cancerous cells lack it they can break off and implant somewhere else in the body. The cancerous cells that break off from the primary tumour are usually carried through the blood. What causes cancer cells to be abnormal? They create extra chromosomes and more DNA then normal cells do. Lung Cancer What usually happens with lung cancer is that the cilia in your throat that usually help keep chemicals and other harmful particles out are destroyed sometimes by smoking or if you work around certain chemicals. What happens is that harmful chemicals get into your lungs and stays their. Over time they can alter the nature of the cells. Once these chemicals or particals are in your lungs your only cleansing mechanism is coughing, which is why smokers tend to cough more and why when very severe it is often one of the signs that Doctors look for when diagnosing a patient. Often when the cilia are dead the mucus in your throat will thicken. Their are two different types of lung cancer: Small cell and Non-small cell. Small Cell Small cell cancer accounts for 15%-20% of all lung cancer. Their are three types of small cell: Oat cell, intermediate and mixed. It has been speculated that oat and intermediate could be the same. Small cell cancer comes from neuroendocrine cells and spreads by lymphatic vessels to the lymph nodes in the centre of the lung (lymph nodes are small structures found throughout the body. They store and produce infection fighting cells). Simply this translates into cancerous cells are found in the tissues of the lungs. It then spreads throughout the chest to the neck and further up. This kind of lung cancer is usually caused by smoking. The problem with Small cell lung cancer is that there is know good screening process for it so it is hard to catch early. Their are some warning signs to watch for such as a change in your cough and the frequency of it, sometimes you cough up blood also shortness of breath, lung infections that come and go a lot, weight loss, swelling of face or arm. If it is a big tumour the patient may experience severe headaches, double vision, bone, abdomen and neck pains. Small cell is the most common type of lung cancer. It is treated either with radiation, chemotherapy or surgery. Surgery is used if the cancer has not spread beyond one lung. Radiation is often used in combination with surgery and Chemotherapy is used most commonly with small cell cancer and usually in the most serious cases. Non-small Cell Non-small cell also has three types: squamous cell, large cell and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell is microscopic and is related to smoking. Usually it is taken care of with surgery. Large cell tends to spread very rapidly. Adenocarcinoma is usually found in non-smoking women along the edge of the lung. Generally speaking non-small cell cancer is not related to smoking. Non-small cell spreads through the blood very rapidly it invades the whole chest, lining of chest and ribs. If it is in the top of the lung it can effect the nerves and blood vessels to the arm causing numbness. Non-small cell can be caused by old scars from a lung infection or tuberculoses. Usually depending on the stage of the cancer surgery or radiation will be used. It is uncommon to use Chemotherapy in non-small cell cases. Non-small cell is typically harder to cure than small-cell. Causes of Cancer Societal and environmental One of the main causes of cancer is smoking, tar tobacco and other harmful chemicals found inside cigarettes are very harmful to the body and have been problem as a cause of cancer. A lot of chemicals found in certain work places have been found to cause cancer such as asbestos workers ( car mechanics and people whom work with dyes,) The chemicals first create change in the cells which then causes the cells to behave abnormally. Nutritional Cancer can also come a s a result of high fat diets or low fibre diets and obesity. A high fat diet is a risk mostly for colon and rectum cancers. The more fat that you eat, the more fat that reaches the colon. When this fat is broken down it may cause damage to the cells. In addition to that, the more fat that you eat the more bile you produce (bile is a fluid produced in the liver and excreted into the gut) their is evidence that excess bile may cause cancerous changes in the cells lining of the colon. As bad nutrition can lead to cancer their is evidence that certain diets help prevent it. Such as making sure to have at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Fruits contain many vitamins and minerals that protect the body. Genes Everybody has oconogenes but sometimes they can be mutated into cancer pronotiny genes. Normal healthy genes usually cannot be mutated because of suppressor genes which help them if they malfunction. Oncongenes can lie dormant your whole life but can lead to cancer when active. Cancer treatments Their are three main types of cancer treatment: Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy and Surgery. Chemotherapy Their are two main types of Chemotherapy (hereby referred to as Chemo.): alkylating agent- this stops cancerous cells from dividing, and antimetabolites- this prevents cells from getting necessary nutrients. Chemo. uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It may be taken through injection or orally by a pill. It is a systematic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream. Travels through the body and kills the cancer cells. Chemo. is also used to kill cancer cells that have spread from the primary tumour. Radiation Radiation uses high-energy x-rays or gamma rays (radioactive atoms) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours. Radiation can come externally( from a machine outside the body) or internally from radioactive iodine which is injected into the body. Radiation stops the cells from dividing so if the right dose is given it stops the cancer cells but doesn't hurt the healthy ones to a repremandable extent. Radioactive iodine travels to the thyroid cells and when it meets up with cancerous cells it bombards them with a high dosage of radioactivity. Radiation is very hard on the body as are all cancer treatments. This is because it hurts healthy cells as well as cancerous ones. Surgery Often Surgery is used to determine what type of cancer the patient has. It is very rarely used on its own because cancer spreads so easily that to take out the primary tumour will most likely not cure the patient of his/her cancer. Surgery is often used in combination with radiation or Chemo. Cancer is not a definite death sentence as it might have once been. Although their are treatments each individual reacts and responds differently with them. Cancer research is progressing everyday and the cure can't be far off. It is not just one disease but over a hundred different ones but they all share one thing in common that is that abnormal cells are dividing at an increased rate from that of a normal cell.
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