What is Cancer?
Cancer is a large term. It describes the diseases that outcomes when cellular changes cause the abandoned growth and division of cells. Some types of cancer cause fast cell growth, while others cause cells to grow and split at a slower rate. Cancerous cells may come into one area, then spread via the lymph nodes. These are clusters of immune cells situated throughout the body.Cancer starts when genetic changes interfere with this orderly process. Cells start to grow wildly. These cells may form a mass called a tumor. A tumor can be cancerous or benign. A cancerous tumor is malignant, meaning it may grow and spread to other parts of the body. A beginning tumor means the tumor can grow but will not increase.
Causes
In addition to smoking, risk factors for cancer include:
- heavy alcohol consumption
- excess body weight
- physical inactivity
- poor nutrition
Other causes of cancer are not preventable. Currently, the most important unpreventable risk factor is age. According to the American Cancer Society, doctors in the U.S. diagnose 87 percent of cancer cases in people ages 50 years or older.
Types
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Head And Neck Cancer
Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth (oral cancers) and the throat, as well as rarer cancers of the nose, sinuses, salivary glands and middle ear. Dr. Snita Sinukumar gives the best Head and neck cancer treatment in Pune.
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Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer among Indian women. Three-fourths of the cases of breast cancer occur in women ages 35 and 55 years. Dr. Snita Sinukumar gives the best Breast Cancer Treatment in Pune.
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Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer among women.
There are three types of ovarian cancer:
(1) epithelial ovarian cancer
(2) germ cell cancer and
(3) stromal cell cancer.
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Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer that begins in the cervix, the part of the uterus or womb that opens into the vagina. It is the part of the uterus that dilates and opens fully to allow a baby to pass into the birth canal.
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Endometrial Cancer
Endometrial cancer is cancer of the lining of the uterus (called the endometrium). The endometrium is the inside lining of the uterus that grows each month during the childbearing years.
Treatments
Doctors usually prescribe treatments based on the type of cancer, its stage at diagnosis, and the person’s overall health.
- Chemotherapy aims to kill cancerous cells with medications that target rapidly dividing cells. The drugs can also help shrink tumors, but the side effects can be severe.
- Precision medicine, or personalized medicine, is a newer, developing approach. It involves using genetic testing to determine the best treatments for a person’s particular presentation of cancer. Researchers have yet to show that it can effectively treat all types of cancer, however.
- Radiation therapy uses high-dose radiation to kill cancerous cells. Also, a doctor may recommend using radiation to shrink a tumor before surgery or reduce tumor-related symptoms.
- Surgery is frequently a part of a treatment plan when a person has a cancerous tumor. Also, a surgeon may take away lymph nodes to decrease or prevent the disease’s spread.