Annual of the Cancer Program Essay

Annual of the Cancer Program Essay

Pancreatic cancer is one among the many forms of manifestation of the cancer disease. This paper will review the various cancer treatment modules and procedures at the Sinai medical centre, one of the leading cancer treatment and monitoring centres in the world. The table below is a summary of all the number of different cancer patients who visited the facility in 2009. All the operations undertaken at the facility with regard to cancer treatment and discharge are represented in the pie chart drawn below shows the various types of cancer diseases that were treated with success in the centre in the year 2009.Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.
As can be evidenced in the data above. The most prevalent type of cancer that is common in the region according to the report found out is the breast cancer whose number of patients highly dominated the facility followed by the bronchus cancer in that order. The low number of pancreatic cancer in the region can be attributed to the presence of the facility in the area which has been vigorously dealing with the disease reducing chances of its attack on their neighbouring communities and the people living within the locality where the facility has been instituted.
The number of people seeking treatment at the facility has however greatly reduced as compared to the previous years. At the inception of the project in the region, quite a number of people used to check at the facility for an alone reason or the other mainly cancer patients at various stages and of different types. Skin cancer is as well another elephant in the area that requires special attention. Most people suffering from the disease either have strong effects from the sun or use certain oils and lotions that are not favourable to their skins thus always causing the dangerous disease to them. We have regularly advised the patients to approach skin experts for consultations before using a new skin oil or lotion on their skins in order for them to avoid this illness.

Cancer is a broad term.Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.  It describes the disease that results when cellular changes cause the uncontrolled growth and division of cells.

Some types of cancer cause rapid cell growth, while others cause cells to grow and divide at a slower rate.

Certain forms of cancer result in visible growths called tumors, while others, such as leukemia, do not.

Most of the body’s cells have specific functions and fixed lifespans. While it may sound like a bad thing, cell death is part of a natural and beneficial phenomenon called apoptosis.

A cell receives instructions to die so that the body can replace it with a newer cell that functions better. Cancerous cells lack the components that instruct them to stop dividing and to die.

As a result, they build up in the body, using oxygen and nutrients that would usually nourish other cells. Cancerous cells can form tumors, impair the immune system and cause other changes that prevent the body from functioning regularly.

Cancerous cells may appear in one area, then spread via the lymph nodes. These are clusters of immune cells located throughout the body. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.

Causes

There are many causes of cancer, and some are preventable.

For example, over 480,000 people die in the U.S. each year from smoking cigarettes, according to data reported in 2014.

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In addition to smoking, risk factors for cancer include:

  • heavy alcohol consumption
  • excess body weight
  • physical inactivity
  • poor nutrition

Other causes of cancer are not preventable. Currently, the most significant unpreventable risk factor is age. According to the American Cancer Society, doctors in the U.S. diagnose 87 percent of cancer cases in people ages 50 years or older. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.

Is cancer genetic?

Genetic factors can contribute to the development of cancer.

A person’s genetic code tells their cells when to divide and expire. Changes in the genes can lead to faulty instructions, and cancer can result.

Genes also influence the cells’ production of proteins, and proteins carry many of the instructions for cellular growth and division.

Some genes change proteins that would usually repair damaged cells. This can lead to cancer. If a parent has these genes, they may pass on the altered instructions to their offspring.

Some genetic changes occur after birth, and factors such as smoking and sun exposure can increase the risk.

Other changes that can result in cancer take place in the chemical signals that determine how the body deploys, or “expresses” specific genes.

Finally, a person can inherit a predisposition for a type of cancer. A doctor may refer to this as having a hereditary cancer syndrome. Inherited genetic mutations significantly contribute to the development of 5–10 percent of cancer cases.

Treatments

Innovative research has fueled the development of new medications and treatment technologies. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.

Doctors usually prescribe treatments based on the type of cancer, its stage at diagnosis, and the person’s overall health.

The side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss. However, advances in treatment are improving the outlook for people with cancer.

Below are examples of approaches to cancer treatment:

  • Chemotherapy aims to kill cancerous cells with medications that target rapidly dividing cells. The drugs can also help shrink tumors, but the side effects can be severe.
  • Hormone therapy involves taking medications that change how certain hormones work or interfere with the body’s ability to produce them. When hormones play a significant role, as with prostate and breast cancers, this is a common approach.
  • Immunotherapy uses medications and other treatments to boost the immune system and encourage it to fight cancerous cells. Two examples of these treatments are checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell transfer.
  • Precision medicine, or personalized medicine, is a newer, developing approach. It involves using genetic testing to determine the best treatments for a person’s particular presentation of cancer. Researchers have yet to show that it can effectively treat all types of cancer, however.
  • Radiation therapy uses high-dose radiation to kill cancerous cells. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay. Also, a doctor may recommend using radiation to shrink a tumorbefore surgery or reduce tumor-related symptoms.
  • Stem cell transplant can be especially beneficial for people with blood-related cancers, such as leukemia or lymphoma. It involves removing cells, such as red or white blood cells, that chemotherapy or radiation has destroyed. Lab technicians then strengthen the cells and put them back into the body.
  • Surgery is often a part of a treatment plan when a person has a cancerous tumor. Also, a surgeon may remove lymph nodes to reduce or prevent the disease’s spread.
  • Targeted therapies perform functions within cancerous cells to prevent them from multiplying. They can also boost the immune system. Two examples of these therapies are small-molecule drugs and monoclonal antibodies.

Doctors will often employ more than one type of treatment to maximize effectiveness.

The most common type of cancer in the U.S. is breast cancer, followed by lung and prostate cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute, which excluded nonmelanoma skin cancers from these findings. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.

Each year, more than 40,000 people in the country receive a diagnosis of one of the following types of cancer:

  • bladder
  • colon and rectal
  • endometrial
  • kidney
  • leukemia
  • liver
  • melanoma
  • non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • pancreatic
  • thyroid

Other forms are less common. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are over 100 types of cancer.

Cancer development and cell division

Doctors classify cancer by:

  • its location in the body
  • the tissues that it forms in

For example, sarcomas develop in bones or soft tissues, while carcinomas form in cells that cover internal or external surfaces in the body. Basal cell carcinomas develop in the skin, while adenocarcinomas can form in the breast.

When cancerous cells spread to other parts of the body, the medical term for this is metastasis.

A person can also have more than one type of cancer at a time. Annual of the Cancer Program Essay.