Cancer and their types, causes, prevention, treatment.
Cancer and their types, causes, prevention and treatment.
Cancer is a term used to describe a large group of diseases that are characterized by a cellular malfunction. Healthy cells are programmed to know to “know what to do and when to do it”. Cancerous cells do not have this programming and therefore grow and replicate out of control. They also serve no physiological function. These cells are now termed a neoplasm. Medically cancer is know ” Malignant neoplasm” . It is a broad group of disease involving unregulated cell growth. The unregulated cell growth forms a ” tumor”.
| Normal Cells | Cancer Cells |
| 1. Mortal (die after~ 50 divisions)
2. Contact inhibition 3. Stay bound together 4. Controlled cell death 5. Controlled cell division 6. Control of angiogenesis 7. Mature into functional cells |
Immortal (divide indefinitely)
Loss of contact inhibition Can easily detach from each other Unresponsive to apoptosis Increased rate of cell division Unregulated angiogenesis Do not mature into functional cells |
Types of Cancer:
- appendix cancer
- bladder cancer
- bone cancer
- brain cancer
- breast cancer
- cervical cancer
- colon or colorectal cancer
- ear cancer
- endometrial cancer
- esophageal cancer
- heart cancer
- gallbladder cancer
- kidney or renal cancer
- laryngeal cancer
- leukemia
- lip cancer
- liver cancer
- lung cancer
- lymphoma
- mesothelioma
- myeloma
- oral cancers
- ovarian cancer
- pancreatic cancer
- penile cancer
- prostate cancer
- rectal cancer
- skin cancer
- small intestine cancer
- spleen cancer
- stomach or gastric cancer
- testicular cancer
- thyroid cancer
- uterine cancer
- vaginal cancer
Cancer and their types, causes, prevention and treatment.
Type of genes that causes Cancer
Proto-oncogenes are involved in normal cell growth and division. However, when these genes are altered in certain ways or are more active than normal, they may become cancer-causing genes (or oncogenes), allowing cells to grow and survive when they should not.
Tumor suppressor genes are also involved in controlling cell growth and division. Cells with certain alterations in tumor suppressor genes may divide in an uncontrolled manner.
DNA repair genes are involved in fixing damaged DNA. Cells with mutations in these genes tend to develop additional mutations in other genes and changes in their chromosomes, such as duplications and deletions of chromosome parts. Together, these mutations may cause the cells to become cancerous.
Prevention:
Doctors have identified several ways to reduce your risk of cancer, such as:
-
Stop smoking. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Smoking is linked to several types of cancer — not just lung cancer. Stopping now will reduce your risk of cancer in the future.
- Avoid excessive sun exposure. Harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can increase your risk of skin cancer. Limit your sun exposure by staying in the shade, wearing protective clothing or applying sunscreen.
- Eat a healthy diet. Choose a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Select whole grains and lean proteins. Limit your intake of processed meats.
- Exercise most days of the week. Regular exercise is linked to a lower risk of cancer. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. If you haven’t been exercising regularly, start out slowly and work your way up to 30 minutes or longer.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese may increase your risk of cancer. Work to achieve and maintain a healthy weight through a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise.
- Ask your doctor about immunizations. Certain viruses increase your risk of cancer. Immunizations may help prevent those viruses, including hepatitis B, which increases the risk of liver cancer, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which increases the risk of cervical cancer and other cancers. Ask your doctor whether immunization against these viruses is appropriate for you.
Some Cancer Treatment:
Surgery
Surgery removes as much of the cancer as possible. Surgery is often used in combination with some other therapy in order to make sure all of the cancer cells are gone.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a form of aggressive cancer treatment that uses medications that are toxic to cells to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. It may be used to shrink the size of a tumor or the number of cells in your body and lower the likelihood of the cancer spreading.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses powerful, focused beams of radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy done inside of your body is called brachytherapy, while radiation therapy done outside of your body is called external beam radiation.
Stem cell (bone marrow) transplant
This treatment repairs diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can have a variety of functions. These transplants allow doctors to use higher doses of chemotherapy to treat the cancer. A stem cell transplant is commonly used to treat leukemia.
Immunotherapy (biological therapy)
Immunotherapy uses your body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. These therapies help your antibodies recognize the cancer, so they can use your body’s natural defenses to destroy cancer cell.
8 ways to reduce your cancer risk.
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