Most common types of cancer in men
Most common types of cancer in women
Most common types of childhood cancers
“Crab” is the sing of cancer. The word cancer comes from the Greek word Carcinos, which means crab. This is because the cancer can spread out from the original mass just like the legs on crabs that stretched out from their body. The first person to use this term was Hippocrates, the father of Western medicines.
Cancer is a condition that arises from abnormal cells in our body that can go rogue and grow uncontrollably. These calls will continue to divide and spread to other organs causing the normal tissues/organs, such as lungs, liver, brain, kidney, bones, and bone marrow, to fail to do their job, leading inevitably to death.
A tumor is a group of cells grow faster than other normal cells, causing a mass. They can be classified into two types: benign and malignant tumors.
Benign tumors are masses that grow slowly, but do not invade nearby tissues or organs. They may push against nearby organs, but will not spread to the lymph nodes or through bloodstream and lymphatic system. They can be treated by surgery.
Malignant tumor or cancer differ from benign tumor because they will grow faster and interrupt the functions of nearby organs. Cancer can spread through the lymphatic system and bloodstream and can be found in the lymph nodes and other organs throughout the body. They tend to metastasize to the lungs, liver, brain, bone, and bone marrow. Thus, cancer is a chronic, aggressive condition. Treatment is also complicated and needs to be continuous.
Once the body is exposed to carcinogens, such as chemicals, viruses, or radiations, changes occur at the cellular level and eventually, a normal cell will turn malignant. If the immune system cannot destroy the cells, they will continue to divide rapidly and form a mass.
Currently, several known factors that contribute to cancer are:
There is no specific symptom, but it may seem like inflammation of a certain tissue or organ. The only difference is that it gets worse or becomes chronic. If any symptom persists for more than 1 – 2 weeks, it is best to visit a doctor. Some suspicious symptoms include:
There are several ways to diagnose cancer:
Stages of cancer is an indicator of the severity of the situation (whether it has spread or not). It can help determine treament options and doctors can use staging to study cancer.
Typically, there are four stages of cancer. In some cases, they may be subdivided into A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3 so that the oncologist can assess treatment options. As for 0 stage, it is not considered a real cancer because the cells seem cancerous, but they have not yet invaded nearby tissues.
The sooner the cancer has been detected, the better the treatment outcome will be. Some treatment options are:
Estimated 5-year survival rate (chance of a cure) after treatment are:
|
Cancer Stage |
% |
|
Stage 0 |
90 – 95% |
|
Stage 1 |
70 – 90% |
|
Stage 2 |
70 – 80% |
|
Stage 3 |
20 – 60% |
|
Stage 4 |
0 – 15% |
Most causes of cancer are unknown, but the cause of certain types of cancer can be inferred and thus can be avoided. Thus, everyone should perform self-examination regularly or if you notice any irregularity, please consult a doctor immediately.
Cancer screening can help find cancer from when symptoms have not yet appeared (mostly during stage 0 or stage 1). Since there is a higher chance of a cure for these two stages, it is quite effective since treatment can begin immediately. Afterwards, the survival rate will be higher or inversely, the death rate from cancer will be lower.
The best prevention is to avoid risks. Most importantly,
If you experience any of these symptoms, please consult your physician immediately:
