My three goals for the day are:
1. Learn about the treatments of cancer.
2. Learn the known causes of some cancers.
3. Learn about the classification of tumors.
1. Learn about the treatments of cancer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer: / http://www.cancer.gov: These articles talk about all the ways you can treat cancer (especially tumorous cancers). The treatments used by doctors all over the world are the following
Radiation/Radiotherapy: In this treatment the patient is exposed to extreme radiation directly to the part of the body where the tumor relies. The radiation kills the DNA of the cancer cells directly. Just like chemotherapy, it also damages healthy cells, so the therapy needs to be controlled. Radiation only is 100% effective when the cancer is below Stage 2 and if the cancer is not located on organs like: stomach, pancreas, liver, colon, lungs.
Chemotherapy: This is the most common treatment for cancer because it has been proven that it is effective in reducing the size of tumors. Various rounds (sessions) of chemotherapy are taken by the patient (depending where the cancer is located and in what stage is it). Chemotherapy is applied by an injection that leads a mixture of different toxic chemicals into the body. But there is a downside to this method of treatment. The chemicals do not attack the cancer cells only, but the entire body (that's why your hair falls off for example). This treatment is harsh but it can and it has helped many people all overt the world.
Surgery: This method is really simple. Surgical removal of tumor has been proven 100% effective when the cancer is below Stage 2. A combination of chemo and surgery is also an effective method of treatment. Many doctors apply direct chemotherapy when the patient is still open on the table to kill any cancer cells that might reproduce after the procedure has concluded.
Transplantation: The most common transplantation is stem cells. Bone marrow transplant is a common treatment for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Also, umbilical chord blood transfusion is 95% effective for people with these two types of blood cancer. The umbilical chord is frozen after birth to preserve the blood inside it for later use. People might be a match to another person chord blood.
Hyperthermic Therapy: This is a surgical procedure in which a probe is implanted into the tumor. The probe is controlled by a machine that makes the probe itself heat up into really high temperatures (up to 50 degrees Centigrade). The hope is that the heat kills the tumor cells for later using surgery to remove the rest of the tumor that survived.
2. Learn the known causes of some cancers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer:
Chemicals: The origin of some cancers have been studied and doctors came to the conclusions that some cancers develop because of the body's exposure to certain chemicals. The DNA of the cancer cells is trackable for mutations such as: mutagens and carcinogens. For example, all the chemicals inside cigarettes are the #1 proven cause of lung cancer. Alcohol also triggers the development of cancer cells in the liver and the endocrine glands.
Diet and Exercise: The lack of physical activity and obesity are related to approximately 30-35% of cancer deaths around the world (14-20% in the USA). Obesity makes the immune and endocrine system work not the way the should and that is a pathway to cancer. Diets that include low vegetables and high consumption of meats are linked to a high percentage of cancer (especially colon cancer). High salt diets for example are directly linked to gastric cancer.
Infection: Very few infectious diseases are linked to cancer. The most studied infectious cause of cancer is the HPV (human papilloma virus) which is directly the cause of cervical carcinomas in women. Men can also contract the virus but they will not develop the growth of cancer cells. Statistically, 8-10 women are infected with HPV. More than half of these women that are infected do not show symptoms at all.
Radiation: Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation cause 10% of all invasive cancers. The most common cancer caused by the exposure of radiation is leukemia (many of the survivors of Hiroshima's and Nagasaki's bombs were diagnosed with leukemia because of the radiation of the bomb). Ultraviolet radiation (non-ionizing) is a very common cause of skin cancer. The most common non-ionizing radiation cancer is the nevoid basal cell carcinoma (type of skin cancer).
Heredity: Some cancers can be hereditary and some are not ("sporadic cancers"). Hereditary cancers are the ones caused by an inherited genetic defect. Some of these syndromes include: certain inherited mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 that carry a 75% risk of breast cancer, non-polyposis colorectal cancer and ovarian cancer.
Physical Agents: Some of the substances that cause cancer are not chemical, but physical. The exposure to asbestos, naturally occurring mineral fibers which are the major cause a mesothelioma (lung cancer). Asbestos that are introduced to the body by the air way take up approximately 10 years to develop.
Hormones: Some hormones play a role in the development of cancer by promoting cell proliferation. An unbalanced hormone level in the body can cause the development of cancer in the breast, prostate, ovary, testicles, thyroid gland, and bones. The children (daughters) of women that have had breast cancer have significantly higher levels of estrogen and progesterone. These high levels of hormones make these girls more vulnerable to the development of breast cancer.
3. Learn about the classification of tumors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer:
Carcinoma: These are tumors derived from epithelial tissue. This group includes many of the most known cancers (mostly in the aged people) such as: breast, prostate, lung, pancreas, and colon.
Sarcoma: These are cancers arriving from the connective tissue (for example: bone, cartilage, fat and nerve). Each of these end up developing from cells originating from mesenchymal cells outside the bone marrow.
Lymphoma: This and also leukemia arise from hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells that leave the marrow and tend to mature in the lymph nodes of the blood.
Germ Cell Tumor: Cancers that are derived from pluripotent cells (cells that have stem cell power, they can cross the three layers germ layers of the human body: endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm.) They on the most part appear in the testicle or the ovary.
Blastoma: This is a specific type of tumor that are derived from immature "precursor" cells or embryonic tissue. They are more common in children than in older people. '''
• The next Google day I want to research the ways to create a free application.
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