Everything You Need to Know About Cancer Basics

The word Cancer generates anxiety in many people along with a sense of fear for this deadly disease which is directly considered a ‘Sure Cause of Death’. No doubt cancer is one of deadliest diseases but that does not mean, at all, that cancer can’t be cured. An early detection of this horrible disease not only can help in getting rid of this disease completely. In simple words, majority of times, cancer is completely curable if detected at early stages. In this blog, you’ll learn about cancer and its various types, their general conditions in India and cure by going through:

Cancer- All about it and why does it happen
General conditions of all types of Cancer in India
Curing cancer

Let’s talk about Cancer-What it is and why does it happen?

Cancer itself incorporates about 100 diseases. Cancer, in generally, is a class of syndromes that are characterized by ‘out of control’ growth of cells in human body. In general, there are more than 100 types of cancer existing in the world and every type is characterized by the kind of body cell that it affects. In simple words, cancer can be defined as the diseases occurring due to unregulated growth of human body cells.

How does it occur?

Cancer occurs when human body cells start dividing hysterically in an unregulated manner and start forming some masses or lumps of tissue in body. These lumps are termed as tumors (unlike leukemia, where cancer proscribes standard blood function in the body’s blood stream by irregular cell division). These lumps can grow while interfering with the circulatory, nervous and digestive systems of the body which results into releasing some special type of hormones that affects badly the body function.

General conditions and symptoms of Cancer:

The general conditions and symptoms of major cancer types in India are as follows -

Breast Cancer –

A painless lump or a bump in the breast area or underarm. These appear after the menstrual cycle and is perhaps the first apparent noticeable condition of breast cancer.
Tenderness with pain in the breast
Unusual swelling in the armpit
A noticeable indentation or flattening on the breast
Any change in contour, size, temperature or even texture of the breasts.
A marble like area under skin.
An area that is specifically dissimilar from any other area on breasts.
Abnormal discharge from the breast’s nipple that may be clear, colored or even bloody
Unusual itching, retraction, a burning sensation or dimpling or even ulceration in nipple.

Leukemia –

Irregular weight loss
Constant weakness or tiredness
Loss of appetite
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, or groin
Constant fever
Night sweats
Bleeding or bruising
Constant headaches
Joint or bone pains
Painful swollen belly

Oral Cancer –

A red or white patch in mouth
An irritation or sore or lump with thick patch in the lip or mouth or throat
Difficulty in swallowing or chewing
Numbness in the tongue along with some other areas of the mouth
Difficulty in moving the tongue or jaw
Swelling in some areas of the jaw
Pain in one ear but without any hearing loss

Skin Cancer –

A waxy or pearly bump
A flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface
A red firm nodule

A big brownish spot having darker speckles
A mole that changes in size or color or start giving a feel or bleeds
A tiny lesion with an asymmetrical border that appear blue-black, white, red or blue
Dark lesions on your soles, palms, toes, nose, fingertips, mouth or vagina

A flat brown scar or flesh-colored lesion

Curing Cancer

For the treatment of cancer, two factors are into consideration.

Age of the person
Severity of cancer

The treatment of cancer involves three steps depending on the stage of cancer a patient has reached.

Surgery – This is the primary treatment that is used to remove the tumor physically by a surgery. This process may further involve chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy – If a person’s cancer is not at highly advanced stage to go for surgery, they are suggested only chemotherapy along with medication where the tumor cells are burnt with the help of radiations. Chemotherapy is also given to cancer patients who have underwent surgery to prevent further growth of tumor.

Palliative Care – This treatment is associated with improving the ‘quality of life’ of patients instead of focusing treating the cancer. This is given to the patients who are on the final stage of cancer and no treatment can treat their cancer.

Cancer has been associated with so many myths and for a layman it is a disease of certain death. But this is not true since proper care and timely treatment can help a patient fight this disease. Moreover doctors suggest that a healthy lifestyle with proper exercise and diet significantly lowers the chances of cancer to a great extent.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/skin-cancer/DS00190/DSECTION=symptoms

http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/guide/breast-cancer-symptoms-and-types

http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/leukemia-topic-overview

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/cancer-oncology/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_signs_and_symptoms

http://www.medicinenet.com/oral_cancer/article.htm