Cancer is a group of diseases characterised by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal caells. If the spread is not controlled, it can result in death. Cancer is caused by both external (chemicals, radiation, and viruses) and internal (hormones, immune conditions, and inherited mutations) factors. Casual factors may act together or in sequence to initiate or promote carcinogenesis. Ten or more years often pass between exposures or mutations and detectable cancer. Cancer is treated by surgery, radiation, chemotheraphy, hormones and immunotheraphy.

Can Cancer be Prevented?

All cancers caused by cigarette smoking and heavy use of alcohol can be prevented completely. Scientific evidence suggests that about one-third of cancer deaths are related to nutrition and other lifestyle factors and could also be prevented. Regular screening examinations by a health care professional can result in the detection of cancers of the breast,colon,rectum,cervix,postrate,testis,mouth and skin at earlier stages, when treatment is more likely to be sucessful. Self examinations for cancers of the breast and skin may also result in detection of tumours at earlier stages. The screening accessible cancers listed above account for about half of all new cancer cases.

Who is at Risk?

Anyone, since the occurance of cancer increases as individuals age, most cases affect adults middle-aged or older. Nearly 80% of all cancers are diagosed at ages 55 and older. Cancer researchers use the word risk in different ways. Lifetime risk reffers to the probability that an individual, over the course of a lifetime, will develop cancer or die from it. In the US, men have a 1 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer, and for women the risk is 1 in 3 . Relative risk is a measure of the strength of the relationship between risk factors and the particular cancer.It compares the risk of developing cancer in persons with a certain exposure or trait to the risk in persons who do not have this exposure or trait. For example, smokers have a 10-fold relative risk of developing cancer compared with nonsmokers.

How can one Reduce the Risk of developing Cancer?

The risk of developing the most types of cancer can be reduced by changes in a person's lifestyle, for example, by quitting smoking or adopting a better diet. The sooner a cancer is found, and the sooner treatment begins, the better a patient's chances are of a cure. Cancer is a disease that has created fear in patients and frustration in doctors for thousands of years. Today over half of all cancer patients are cured and the disease can be prevented in many ways.

How does Cancer spread?

Cancer cells accumulate and form tumours that may compress, invade , and destroy normal tissue. If cells break away from such a tumour, they can travel through the bloodstream, or the lymph system to other areas of the body. There, they may setle and form “colony” tumours. In their new location the cancer cells contunue growing.The spread of a tumour to a new site is called metastasis.When cancer spreads, though, it is still named after the part of the body where it started. For example, if prostrate cancer spreads to the bones, it is still prostrate cancer and if breast cancer spreads to the lungs it is still called breast cancer. Leukemia, a form of cancer does not usually form a tumour. Instead, these cancer cells involve the blood and blood forming organs (bone marrow, lymphatic system, and spleen) and circulate through other tissues where they can accumulate.

Are all tumours Cancerous?

Not all tumours are cancerous. Being (noncancerous) tumours do not metastasize, and with very exceptions, are not life-threatning.

How are Cancers Classified?

Cancer is classified by the part of the body in which it began, and by experience under a microscope. Different types of cancer vary in their rates of growth, patterns of spread, and responses to different types of treatment.That's why people with cancer need treatment that is aimed.at their specific form of the disease.

What types of treatment are available?

Treatment choices for the people with cancer depend on the stage of the tumour, that is if it has spread and how far. Treatment options may include surgery, radiation, chemotheraphy, hormone theraphy and immunotherapy. Surgery is the oldest form of treatment for cancer. Before the discovery of anaesthesia and antisepsis .Surgery was performed with great discomfort and risk to the patient.Today surgery offers the greatest chane for cure for many types of cancer.About 60% of people with cancer will have some type of surgery or operation. Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays or gamma rays to destroy or damage cancer cells. Chemotherapy is the use of medicines (drugs) to treat cancer. Systemic chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs that are usually given into a vien or by mouth. These drugs enter the bloodstream and reach all areas of the body, making the treatment ppotentiallyuseful for cancer that has spread.
Hormone therapy is treatment with hormones, drugs that interfere with hormone production or hormone action, or surgical removal of hormone-producing glands to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Immunotherapy is the use of treatments that promote or support the body's immune system response to a disease such as cancer.
Complimentary therapy refers to therapies used in addition to standard therapy. Some coplimentary therapies may help release certain symptoms of cancer, relieve side effects of standard cancer therapy or improve a patient's sense of well being.

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