By Olor

What is cancer?
It is a group of diseases comprising of unusual cell growth with the potential of attacking or spreading to other parts of the body; thus, referred to as malignant cancers. These differs from benign tumors, which do not spread. They form a subset of neoplasms (a neoplasm or tumor is a group of cells that have undergone unfettered growth and will often form a lump or mass, but might be diffusely dispersed).

The risk of developing certain cancers can be abridged by maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting the intake of alcohol, sufficiently eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, vaccination against certain communicable diseases, limiting the consumption of processed meat as well as red meat, limiting the consumption of smoked foods such as highly grilled meats, fish or foods cooked over/by open flame and limiting exposure to direct sunlight (in countries with extreme weathers, it refers to late morning, through noon till afternoon direct kind of sunlight). Early detection of cancers through screening is beneficial for cervical and colorectal cancer. The benefits of screening for breast cancer are debatable.

Signs and Symptoms
Possible signs and symptoms of the disease consist of a lump (in cases of breast cancer), abnormal bleeding (in the case of colorectal cancers etc.), prolonged cough (in cases like lung cancer), unexplained weight loss (in all case of cancers), and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes thus the need for proper medical diagnosis. Furthermore, onset of cancer shows no symptoms. Its signs/symptoms emerge as the mass ulcerates or grows. Few symptoms are precise. Several symptoms often occur in individuals with other conditions. Cancer can be difficult to diagnose thus considered a “great imitator.”

People will possibly become anxious or depressed post-diagnosis. The risk of suicide in people with cancer is approximately double.

Causes
Majorly, some 90 – 95% of cancer cases, are as a result of genetic mutations from environmental and lifestyle factors this factor refers to causes that are not inherited and includes behaviourial as well as economic factors and merely not pollution. The remaining 10 – 5% are due to inherited genetics. Common environmental factors that contribute to deaths from cancer includes the use of tobacco (25 – 30%), nutritional transition (diet) and obesity (30 – 35%), infections (15 – 20%), exposure to radiation, both ionizing and non-ionizing (up to 10%), sedentary lifestyle (lack of physical activity), and pollution. Psychological stress as believed does not appear to be a risk factor for the onset of cancer, though it may worsen outcomes in those who are at risk or already have cancer.

Generally, it is impossible to prove the cause of a particular cancer because the various causes do not have specific fingerprints. For instance, if a person who uses tobacco heavily develops lung cancer, then it was probably caused by the tobacco use, but since everyone has a small chance of developing lung cancer as a result of air pollution or radiation, the cancer may have developed for one of those reasons. Excepting the rare transmissions that occur with pregnancies and occasional organ donors, cancer is generally not a transmissible disease, however factors that may have contributed to the development of cancer can be transmissible, such as oncoviruses like hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr virus and HIV.

The occurrence of lung cancer is vastly associated with smoking. Exposure to specific substances called carcinogens have been linked to specific types of cancer.
Tobacco smoke (both primary and secondary), for instance, causes 90% of lung cancer.  It also causes cancer in the larynx, head, neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, esophagus and pancreas.  The smoke from tobacco contains over fifty known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Tobacco is known to be responsible for about one in five cancer deaths globally and about one in three in the developed world.

In Western Europe, 10% of cancers in males and 3% in females are linked to alcohol exposure, especially liver and digestive tract cancers. Cancer from exposure to work-related substance might cause between 2 and 20% of cases, leading to at least 200,000 deaths. Cancers such as that of the lung and mesothelioma can come from inhalation of tobacco smoke or asbestos fibers, or leukemia from benzene exposure.

Diet and exercise
Diet, physical inactivity, and obesity are associated with up to 30 – 35% of cancer deaths.  In the United States, excess body weight is associated with the development of many types of cancer and is a factor in 14 – 20% of deaths from cancer. A UK study comprising of data on over 5 million people showed higher body mass index to be related to at least 10 types of cancer and accountable for around 12,000 cases yearly. Physical inactivity is believed to contribute to cancer risk, not only through its effect on body weight but also through negative effects on the immune and endocrine system. More than half of the effect from the diet is due to over nutrition (eating too much), rather than from eating too few vegetables or other healthful foods.

Some specific foods are linked to specific cancers such as a high-salt diet is linked to gastric cancer.  Aflatoxin B1, a regular food contaminant, causes liver cancer Betel nut chewing can cause oral cancer. National differences in dietary practices may partly explain differences in cancer incidence. For instance, gastric cancer is more common in Japan due to its high-salt diet while colon cancer is more common in the United States for same reasons. Immigrant cancer profiles mirror those of their new country, often within one generation.

Treatment
Usually, cancer is treated with some combination of radiotherapy (radiation therapy), surgery, chemotherapy as well as targeted therapy. Pain and symptom management are an important part of care. Palliative care is particularly significant in people with advanced disease ore disease progression.  The chances of survival depend on the type of cancer diagnosed with as well as the extent of disease at onset of treatment.

Reference
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EteteOnline Team

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