Cancer

Cancer consists of more than 100 different types of diseases. It can

develop anywhere in the body and potentially all of them are life
threatening.

What provokes cancer?

The human body is made up of hundreds of billions of cells. Through a
process called mitosis, these cells are divided every day to make perfect
replication of themselves to either replace a defected cell or to provide a
substitute for the cells whose life span is completed. Contact inhibition
provides prevention to the cells from dividing inordinately. However
due to some genetic mutation cells uncontrollably divide and grow.
These extra cells form a mass of tissue, called tumor. Cancerous tumors
are malignant and can invade other parts of the body through lymph or
blood vessels. The process is called metastasis.
Gene mutation can be by birth or acquired after birth through a number
of factors for example smoking, radiations, carcinogens, viruses,
hormones, etc.

Types of cancer
Cancers are named after the area in which they begin, even if they
escalate to other parts of the body through lymphatic and blood systems.
In women, the most common cancer is breast cancer. In men, prostate
cancer is the most usual. However, lung cancer is common in both men
and women.
All cancers are divided into five types:

 Lymphomas begin in immune system.

 Carcinomas develop in the skin or tissues that line the
internal organs.
 Sarcomas develop in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle or
connective tissues.
 Leukemia starts in the blood and bone marrow.
 Central nervous system cancers begin in brain and the spinal
cord.

How Cancer is Diagnosed

During physical examination or through a screening test, cancer might
be suspected. Sometimes, x-rays carried out for other injuries shows
abnormalities that might be the sign of a cancer. Your doctor might ask
about your personal and family medical history during a physical exam.
The doctor prescribes other tests like lab tests, imaging tests (scans), and
biopsy, which is the only test up to date that provides surety of cancer in
your body.
Once cancer is diagnosed, it is staged. Staging is a step, which tells how
much cancer has spread, it indicates whether cancer is in its initial stages
or has been metastasized to nearby lymph nodes or organs.

 Screening test
Screening tests detect the presence of disease before the
occurrence of the symptoms. However, they are not definitive
results and your doctor will need to carry out other diagnostic
tests to confirm cancer in your body. A screening test can be
beneficial as they lead to the identification of the disease at an
early stage when it is still treatable hence, they might lower the
chances of dying from the disease.
In women, mammography for breast cancer and Papanicolaou
(Pap) test also known as Pap smear for cervical cancer are most
commonly performed as screening tests. Mammography and
Pap test has been successful in reducing the mortality rate of
their respective cancers in certain ages.
In men, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is performed to
identify prostate cancer. PSA is a protein produced by normal
cells, as well as malignant, cells of the prostate gland. An
elevated PSA level in man’s blood is not a definitive sign of
having prostate cancer as benign (non-cancerous) conditions can
raise the PSA levels in blood. Due to this PSA test has ample
amounts of false-positive results hence, the requirement of more
invasive test like a prostate biopsy. There is still an ongoing
debate amongst doctors and other professionals in the medical
field on usefulness of prostate-specific antigen test. This test is
also a form of tumor marker test.
Tumor markers are proteinous substances, secreted by normal
and cancerous cells. These protein bodies are identified in
blood, body tissue, or urine. However, it is not a conclusive test
as usually to some extent tumor markers can be present in the
blood.
 Biopsy
For a definitive and confirm diagnosis of the cancer, your doctor
obtains a piece of tissue from the suspected area through needle
biopsy or surgically. The obtained tissue is examined under the
microscope.
Biopsy is carried out in several ways
Needle Biopsy
The tissue or fluid is withdrawn using a needle. This type of
biopsy is ideal for bone marrow aspiration, breast, prostate,
liver, or spinal taps biopsies.
Surgical Biopsy
Surgeon removes the entire abnormal mass or lump during
operation. The surgery can be excisional or incisional.
Endoscopy
A thin, lighted tube is inserted through the open areas of the
body such as mouth or anus. If there is a presence of an
abnormality, the doctor extracts part of the suspected tissue
along with some normal tissue. Colonoscopy for colon and
rectum, and bronchoscopy for the examination of lungs,
bronchi, and trachea are some types of endoscopy.