What to know about cancer
According to a research by the American cancer society in 2018, an estimated 15.5 million people living in the United States as of January 1, 2016 were found with a history of cancer.
In this article, We will bring you the types of cancer, causes and the many treatments that help improve the quality of live and survival rates of cancer patients.
What to know about cancer? First and foremost, our understanding of what cancer is will help us understand this article better. Cancer is a disease in which abnormal damaged cells grow uncontrollably, multiply and spread to other parts of the body where they are not needed. Usually, the human cells grow and multiply through a process called cell division to form new cells which will replace the old damaged cells but often times, these process is altered as the damaged cells grow and multiply where they shouldn’t. These cells sometimes forms tumors through a process called metastasis, tumors are also known as lumps of tissue and they can form malignant tumors which are known to be cancerous.
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Types of cancer:
According to a report by the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer followed by lung and prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer. Every year, an estimated 40,000 people in U.S get a diagnosis of the different types of cancer below.
1. Bladder cancer
2. Kidney cancer
3. Liver cancer
4. Leukemia cancer
5. Colon and rectal cancer
6. Endometrial cancer
7. Melanoma cancer
8. Pancreatic cancer
9. Thyroid cancer
10. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer
There are more than 100 types of cancer, though others types are less common. Cancer can be classified based on it’s location in the body and the tissue in which it forms in.
For instance, the sarcomas develop in the bones or soft tissues while the carcinomas are formed in the cells that cover internal and external surfaces in the body. Basal cell carcinomas develop in the skin while the adenocarcinomas can form in the breast. Kindly note that a person can have more than one type of cancer at a time.
Causes of cancer:
There are different factors that causes cancer and some of these factors are preventable. Example, more than 480,000 people in the United States die every year from smoking. In addition to smoking, other risk factors for cancer include:
1. Heavy alcohol consumption
2. Excess body weight
3. Poor nutrition
4. Physical inactivity
In a recent research by the American Cancer Society, doctors in the United States diagnose an estimated 87 percent of cancer cases in people ages of 50 years and above. It is therefore proven that age is the most significant unpreventable risk factor.
You might want to ask if cancer is genetic? Well, genetic factors can also contribute to the development of cancer because a persons, genetic code tells their cells when to divide or expire, therefore changes in the gens can result to faulty instructions which can lead to cancer.
Is cancer genetic?
Genetic factors can contribute to the development of cancer.
A person’s genetic code tells their cells when to divide and expire. Changes in the genes can lead to faulty instructions, and cancer can result.
Chemical signals can also lead to cancer, as it determines how the body deploys or expresses specific genes.
Lastly, a person can inherit cancer through a predisposition, doctors refer to this as hereditary cancer syndrome. Inherited genetic mutations contribute to 5-10 percent of cancer cases.
Treatment of cancer:
Research has helped in the development of new medictaios and treatment technologies.
Usually, treatment is prescribe based on the type of cancer, its stage and the patients overall health.
Some of the approaches to cancer treatment are:
1. Chemotherapy
2. Hormone therapy
3. Immunotherapy
4. Radiation therapy
5. Precision medicine
6. Surgery.
Doctors often times employ more than one type of treatment for maximum and effective result.
