Over 12 million people, nearly 4% of the US population are diagnosed with cancer annually.
Cancer can attack any part of the body and treatment is always necessary. Early diagnosis and intensive treatment can help doctors cure patients and ensure that once the cancer is treated it stays perpetually in remission. Cancer specialists help you stay positive during your treatment and make a full recovery possible and achievable.
With the 78 million baby-boomers living their lives today, circumstances of cancer cases will rise dramatically. However, fewer individuals are dying from cancer than previous to date. Rapid advances in screening and treatment technologies have prevailed as cancer is becoming more of a chronic circumstance than a terminal illness. Just over half of current cancer survivors underwent treatment for breast, prostate or colon cancer.
Half of these survivors are women and three out of five are over 65 as stated in a report from the Centers for Disease Control.
A Few Types of Cancer Include:
Breast Cancer- Development of breast cancer starts from one impartial genetically abnormal cell. The cell splits apart and reproduces rapidly to become a mass of cells, or a tumor.
Prostate Cancer- Developing in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system, encircling a malignant tumor growth that consists of cells from the prostate gland.
Colorectal Cancer- Forms in the tissues of the rectum, the last six to ten inches of the large intestine before the anus.
As new types of therapy are being united with traditional cancer treatments surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy now offers more treatment options. The expansion of treatment options and the use of combinations of treatments mean that you will most likely be treated by an entourage of doctors, each with a different expertise, who will together grind the coordination of a treatment plan that is best for you and your particular cancer.
According to the BBC, the entire genetic codes of skin and lung cancer have been cracked by scientists, who say the breakthrough could unravel a new era in the treatment of deadly diseases. The genetic code discovery could expose the endless possibilities to cancer drugs attacking many different forms of the disease.
Finding the right specialist for your cancer treatment can ease the emotional anxiety of cancer, leaving you to freely concentrate on re-establishing full capacity of health. Trusting your doctor is vital during the fight against cancer.
Bladder cancer is a slow developing cancer that affects more men than women. Bladder cancer is a type of cancer that is often detected early and is curable in 90% of cases. Over 70,000 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer annually and three of every four people diagnosed are male. Learn more about bladder cancer and contact an oncologist for treatment advice.
Bone cancer can originate as a ‘primary tumor’ that arises in the bone or bone-derived cells or as a ‘secondary tumor’ that arise in other sites and spread or metastasize. Bone tumors are more common in children and teenagers than in older people. In older people, this cancer is generally due to a metastatic spread from some other tumor.
Bowel cancer or colorectal cancer is the cancer that develops in the larger bowel (last part in the digestive system and rectum).Normally, cancer in the small bowel is very rare.Bowel cancers generally develop from tiny non-cancerous (benign) growths called Polyps which may become malignant over time.
Brachytherapy, an advanced cancer treatment, uses Radiation therapy (ionizing radiation) to treat cancer. As a part of this procedure, an upraised dose of radiation is used to treat a relatively smaller area in a much shorter time than was possible by external radiation treatment.
Abnormal growth of the cells in the brain causes brain tumors or brain cancer. This condition can develop either in the primary brain cells and the cells that constitute other brain components such as membranes or in other tissues and reach the brain by bloodstream. The type of treatment imparted to a brain cancer patient is individualized as per the severity of the condition.
10% of women around the world will develop breast cancer and breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Breast cancer can affect men as well and of the 50,000+ people diagnosed with breast cancer yearly, 1% of those diagnosed will be men. For more information about breast cancer, read here
There are more than 200 types of recognized cancer and more strains of the disease are diagnosed frequently. As cancer cells can develop in and affect any part of the body, no one test in conclusive in diagnosing all types of cancer. If you are experiencing symptoms that suggest cancer may be present, oncologists will run a series of tests before making a diagnosis. Screening for cancer may include blood tests, a cell biopsy, or slightly more invasive tests such as a tumor biopsy.
Interventional oncology is a part of interventional oncology. With the help of interventional oncology, doctors can work on tumors without having to actually perform surgery. The main aim of interventional oncology is to ensure minimal invasive techniques in cancer treatments.
Cancer that originates in the kidneys is known as kidney cancer. There are two principal types of kidney cancers, the Renal Cell Carcinoma and Urothelial Cell Carcinoma (UCC) of the renal pelvis. Each of these types of cancer originates in a different location in the kidney.
Leukemia refers to cancer of the blood or bone marrow, the place where blood cells are produced. A person suffering from leukemia has an abnormally high production of blood cells, especially the white blood cells or leukocytes.
Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer. Lung cancer affects over 200,000 people each year and 1 in 13 people will develop lung cancer. Learn more about lung cancer and the available treatments before contacting an oncologist.
With over 200 types of cancer that can target different areas of the body, it is impossible to remove all possibility of cancer from developing. With the right choices however it is possible to limit the risk of cancer developing.
Prostate cancer is a cancer that affects males and is commonly diagnosed in men over the age of 45. Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer following lung cancer and affects over 200,000 men every year. Learn more about prostate cancer and contact an oncologist for prostate cancer treatment advice.
The number of people diagnosed with skin cancer, or non-melanoma, is rising and every year over 1 million people are diagnosed with cancer of the skin. Learn more about skin cancer and contact an oncologist for treatment advice.
Some people are unaware that what they are feeling could be symptoms of cancer. Many symptoms of cancer are mistaken for signs of other illnesses and are not detected until the disease has spread. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms below, or have a family history of cancer, a routine examination with a doctor can help detect the disease before it progresses.
Cancer can attack any part of the body and the symptoms will vary. Cancer may be symptom less for some patients and others may experience all symptoms of cancer. If you experience any of the symptoms listed below, or feel unwell and have a family history of cancer, contacting a cancer specialist immediately will ensure you receive the most effective treatment.
Musculoskeletal oncology is the evaluation and treatment of patients with non-cancerous as well as cancerous tumors of the bones, muscles, and other soft tissues (fat, nerves, blood vessels) of the spine, pelvis, and limbs. It also concentrates on those afflicted with metastatic bone disease. There are several correlating conditions which include benign bone and soft tissue tumors, malignant bone and soft tissue tumors, and bone disease from cancer that has spread.
In the United States, 37,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed annually; in the UK this figure is equivalent at around 3,000. The number of thyroid cancer cases diagnosed has doubled in the past 30 years. The number of women diagnosed is higher than men, with a 3 to 1 ratio. Learn more about thyroid cancer here.
Radiation therapy targets cancer cells directly, using high doses of radiation to prevent the cells from dividing. Radiation oncologists can administer radiation to cancer cells externally or internally.
Chemotherapy is a combination of drugs used to fight cancer cells in the body. Chemotherapy prevents the cancer cells from multiplying and can often be effective at putting cancer into remission.
Chemotheapy is used to control cancer and stop the spread of the disease and as a palative remedy to ease the symptoms of cancer. Chemotherapy is frequently used alongside radiation therapy to treat cancer, or before surgery to shrink cancerous tumours.
Depending on the circumstances and when the breast cancer is detected, patients can elect between total removal (Mastectomy) or partial removal of the breast (Lumpectomy), with radiation treatment after. A mastectomy is the complete removal of all the breast tissue, resulting in a flat chest wall closure. A lumpectomy is surgical resection of a primary tumor with the goal of achieving widely negative margins. This procedure is applied to patients that are with stage I or stage II invasive carcinomas.
Nose cancer, also known as nasal cancer, is a malignant tumor that begins on the inside of the nose or paranasal cavities surrounding the nose. The cancer forms from the flat thin cells in the epidermis lining the nasal cavity, eventually multiplying without control or order.
Oral cancer is the growth of cells in the mouth that attack surrounding tissue, and includes the lips, tongue, cheek, hard and soft palate, sinuses, and the throat. If left untreated and not detected early enough, it can be life-threatening.
Ovarian cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow in one or both of a woman's ovaries. The most common form of ovarian cancer is called epithelial ovarian cancer. It is the 7th most common cancer among women in the United States, affecting women primarily between the ages of 40 and 65 years of age. Although cured if detected early on, ovarian cancer is referred to among physicians as the silent killer because of its difficulty to detect.
Stomach cancer or gastric cancer as it is called medically, starts when cells in the stomach lining become abnormal and grow in an uncontrolled fashion to form a tumor. A tumor may be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous or spreading).
Pancreatic cancer effects the primary functions of the pancreas, which is one of the most versatile and vital of the body's human organs. As the cells grow and attack the pancreas, the effectiveness of the pancreas decreases, resulting in a host of symptoms.
Pediatric oncology deals with the treatment of children up to the age of 18 suffering from various forms of cancer. Oncology deals with the diagnosis of cancer, therapy, follow-up of patients suffering from cancer, palliative cancer of patients with terminal cases, and the ethical questions surrounding cancer care. This medical specialty is considered one of the most difficult as there is a high mortality rate involved even against ongoing treatments.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a drug called a photosensitizer that produces a form of oxygen that kills cells in those affected by cancer. Each photosensitizer works on a specific wavelength that determines how far the light can travel into the body to treat areas of the body. In most cases, this technology is for cancers detected at an early stage.
This article was written by the medical research team at WhereismyDoctor.com
WhereismyDoctor.com does not intend for any of the information on this site to be regarded as medical advice - it is meant as a starting point for understanding treatment details and options before contacting a registered, licensed doctor. We advise all patients to seek medical advice from a doctor. View sources
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