Cancer Information
Cancer Risk Factors:
Cancer, in most cases, develops for unknown reasons. There are
risk factors that seem to increase the risk for developing
a certain type of cancer, but while some people develop the
disease, others will have the same risk factors and never
become sick. Several common risk factors associated with most
cancer types are: age, race, diet, exercise and heredity.
Age - your chances of developing most types of cancer
increase with age. Most patients diagnosed with cancer
are around or over the age of 50.
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Race - certain types of cancer are more often found in
certain races. Cancer development is sometimes also dependent
on location. On a whole, more cancer patients are found
in the Western Hemisphere than the Eastern Hemisphere.
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Diet - those who derive the majority of their food sources
from animals are more likely to develop cancer. Any diet
high in fat can increase your risk.
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Exercise - those who are constantly inactive can increase
their chances of developing cancer. Incorporating exercise
into your daily routine can decrease your risk.
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Heredity - Those whose family members and relatives have
been diagnosed with cancer have a higher risk of developing
the disease.
Treatments:
There are many treatment options that patients can choose
from when deciding how to effectively treat their disease.
The three most common forms of cancer treatment are surgery,
chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery:
Depending on the stage of cancer, surgery is probably the
best option for effective treatment. Surgery allows for the
removal of the cancerous tumors, as well as surrounding tissue
and lymph nodes. During surgery, it is very difficult to determine
if every cancer cell has been removed. When doctors remove
lymph nodes, these nodes can tell them how far the cancer
has spread. This allows for optimum removal of abnormal cells.
Combining surgery with chemotherapy or radiation therapy will
ensure that all cancer cells have been effectively diminished.
Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy is a class of drugs that effectively kill off
rapidly dividing cells such as cancer cells. Inhibiting rapid
cell division can slow down the growth of the cancer. This
therapy can be beneficial to many patients because it is injected
or absorbed into the blood stream. This allows the chemo to
kill cancer cells throughout the entire body; it doesn’t
limit itself to one specific place.
Chemotherapy is most often used in conjunction with surgery
on those patients that are in the more advanced stages of
cancer. Even when surgery removes cancerous tumors, patients
often experience recurrence. Chemotherapy can help keep the cancer
cells out of the body.
Radiation Therapy:
Radiation involves shrinking tumors and killing the cancer
cells and surrounding tissue with radioactive material. This
is generally a treatment option used by patients in conjunction
with surgery. Surgery does not always guarantee the removal
of all cancerous cells; radiation is a way to more effectively
remove the cells from the body.
Prevention:
There is no way to completely prevent the occurrence of cancer.
The best prevention methods are to alter the risk factors
that are under your control. Maintaining a healthy diet and
exercising daily can reduce your risk of developing any cancerous
disease. Also, regular checkups can help to detect cancer
early, so that if it does occur, you will have greater chances
to aggressively fight the disease.
When patients find out that they have cancer, it is some
of the most difficult news they will ever receive, but this
disease can be beaten. Educating yourself on the type of cancer
you have will help you to make the best decisions concerning
your disease. It is very possible for people once infected
with cancer to live long, healthy, cancer-free lives.
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