INTRODUCTION
We all know about and have been touched by cancer somehow. Cancer is the world’s leading cause of death today and therefore is the reason scientists are scrambling for a cure. In this report, Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy will be reported and explained, but also more in depth details on the DNA born disease.
WHAT IS CANCER?
Cancer is a deadly disease caused by uncontrolled cell division triggered by mutations in the DNA of the cell. Cancer is a process where healthy cells change their immortality and divide more than naturally allowed. Then the cells carry on with living and still dividing, therefore spreading the disease.
Cancer is also influenced by lifestyle choices like smoking, exposure to strong UV rays or an
…show more content…
obese diet. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the world as the World Health Organisation (WHO) states in 2018. CHEMOTHERAPY What is it? Chemotherapy is a treatment that is used to slow down and decrease the spread of disease or viruses in the body. The procedure in the case of cancer, is an injection of medication that will destroy and attack cancerous cells at a rapid speed. The injection contains a mixture of drugs depending on the cancer type. The most common injection consists of a prednisone mixture, a cytotoxic medication used to kill off cells. Effects on Cells Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that can harm normally dividing cells while still helping by killing off the cancerous cells. In the result of chemotherapy being used for cancer is relatively new, all the cytotoxic injections contains drugs that kill off healthy white, red and platelet cells too. These cells are the most affected because these are the most rapidly dividing cells in the human body next to cancer cells. Chemotherapy patients can develop multiple *deadly diseases because of the loss of healthy cells. Neutropenia is a condition where someone doesn’t have enough white blood cells in their circulatory system. Anemia is where there are not enough red blood cells carrying oxygen throughout the body. Thrombocytopenia is the condition where one doesn’t have enough platelet cells to stop bleeding. (*If medical attention is not provided) Patient Recovery Chemotherapy overall is a great way to fight against cancerous cells using cytotoxic injections to rapidly kill them off. As the white, red and platelet cells need to recover from the virus, the patient would need to as well. Chemotherapy can do many things to your body, and depending on the type and severeness of the virus, different approaches can be made during recovery. Below are some ways to help chemotherapy patients recover and changes after chemotherapy is over. Over the months depending on the type of cancer and severity, hair will start to grow back as chemotherapy kills off hair cells too You will regain your lost energy and will notice less fatigue from the treatment slowly After the chemotherapy you will feel less emotionally drained because you will be under a smaller dosage of drugs Chemotherapy is done in cycles over a total of 3-6 months on average, therefore time is given your your body to recover.
During the time between treatments, you are considered to be immunocompromised, meaning that your immune system isn’t able to fight diseases until your immune system recovers which could take up to 9 months. The cycle is setup this way to allow time for your body to recover before more injections are made, where a patient would still be cleared by a doctor first.
(If there was no cycle created, patients would die from being overdosed and would lose to many cells to be able to live.)
“Chemo” is proven to be one of the most effective cancer treatments in statistics.
Precautions To Take When
…show more content…
Immunocompromised Use hand sanitizer and wash hands frequently Wear a sanitary N95 mask when visiting the hospital Avoid ill people Don’t take any aspirin products (Advil) unless instructed by doctor Avoid citrus juices Do not swim in possibly contaminated waters (ig. Ocean or public pool) Do not garden or use dirt because of bacterias and bugs that could carry disease RADIATION THERAPY What is it? Radiation therapy is a treatment where cells are demolished from the usage of ionizing radiation beams of light. Radiation therapy is performed by a radiation oncologist who operates a linear accelerator machine (LINAC). The procedure is quick and painless, however side effects could be severe. Radiotherapy patients are awake during the procedure and can’t feel or see the radiation. This treatment to cancer is the most effective because it doesn’t affect any other part of the body that tumors aren’t located in. This can be delivered externally with the radiation coming from outside of the body, or internally with the radiation placed into the body near the affected area. Radiation therapy is given 5 days a week for 2-10 weeks to a single patient. Effects on Cells Radiation therapy overall has a lower effect on normal, cancer-free cells because the beams of ionizing radiation are only targeting the tumor on a miniscule level. However, depending on the types of radiation delivered, the amount of cells affected or killed is still smaller than chemotherapy. There are 3 main types of radiotherapy, the first one is externally where beams of radiation in directed from a rotating linear accelerator machine, the second one is internally implemented into the tumor with a high dosage of radiation for a temporary amount of time and the final one is again a form of brachytherapy where lower dosage of radiation in put into the body but for a permanent amount of time. Both internal forms of radiotherapy kills off normal cells too because the radiation isn’t restricted to a miniscule area, it is to treat a larger and broader area but could spread to normal cells near the tumor. This is the largest way non-cancerous cells are affected from radiation therapy. Patient Recovery Radiotherapy destroys cancer cells but can harm healthy cells around the treated area. Depending on the treatment area, age, health prior health to treatment and dosage amounts different side effects can occur. The most affected cells are the most rapidly dividing one's, skin cells, blood cells, mouth cells and gastrointestinal cells (cells in the stomach or intestines) are affected the most. Some common side effects and recovery times are listed below, Temporary hair loss (alopecia) will occur in only the areas treated by radiation beams. If treatment in done to the brain or head, hair will be lost 2-3 weeks after sessions are over, but will grow back in 3-6 months. When a patient's hair grows back after receiving this treatment, hair can come back a different colour, patchy or thinner. Patients may discover red or dry patches of skin where the treatment was directed towards because the radiation had to pass through the skin to get to the tumor. (This will only potentially occur if one were to receive external radiation therapy.) Vomiting is most likely to occur because of radiation sickness which will only last for a few weeks after a treatment. Red blood cell loss could occur if a cancer patient receives both chemotherapy and radiation therapy close together or if radiation is received even near the pelvic bones because that is where blood cells are developed. For a patient to recover from radiotherapy, it could take from weeks to even years depending on the amount of radiation they were exposed to. Precautions To Take After Radiation Therapy Wear extra sunscreen in places treated by radiation Don’t scrub the treated area when in the shower, dab Don’t eat extremely spicy, hot or cold foods for a couple weeks after if treatments are done to throat or esophagus STATISTICS Canadian Childhood 1 in 2 Canadians will get cancer.
Childhood cancer accounts for 1% of cancer cases in Canada.
49% of men will get cancer and 45% of women.
19% of childhood cancer cases will involve the brain and\or nervous system.
206 200 Canadians will get cancer in 2017.
Cancer is the most popular cause of death among Canadian children
CONCLUSION
As you can see, we all know about and have somehow been touched by cancer. Cancer really is a destructive disease physically and mentally. Cancer is only expected to get worse in the coming decades and with only 3 main treatments functioning today, we are in need of a cure more than ever. Something to remember is that the cure of cancer could be in the mind of someone who lives in a 3rd world country or someone that can’t afford an education, another world issue.
VOCABULARY
Cytotoxic - a substance with a toxic effect of certain
cells Ionizing - to seperate or change into ions Oncology - the branch of medical science dealing with tumors Brachytherapy - a form of radiotherapy where sealed sources of radioactive material are put into the body Linear Accelerator Machine - an accelerator that propels particles in a straight pattern Immunocompromised - having an impaired or compromised immune response Gastrointestinal - relating or referring to intestine or the stomach Alopecia - the loss of hair
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
..., while a cell undergoes cell cycle, when a cell comes in contact with another cell, it stops reproducing. However, cancer cells continue to duplicate repeatedly until there is a mass of cells or a tumor to form (see figure 9). Lastly, in cell division when there is a mutation or abnormality in the DNA, a normal cell stops dividing. However, a cancerous cell will continue to duplicate and form mutations (“Cell Biology and Cancer”). Also, cancer cells are harmful because they grow and duplicate with complete disregard to the functions and limitations of the body (see figure 10). Also, cancerous cells have the ability to spread through metastasis throughout parts of the body through the bloodstream. In terms of similar behavior to that of normal cells, cancerous cells also duplicate, but at a very different rate ("Cancer Cells vs. Normal Cells: What's Different?").
Isn’t it overwhelming to consider the fact that approximately one in eight deaths in the world are due to cancer? To make this more comprehensible, the number of deaths caused by cancer is greater than caused by AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Along with the idea that this disease does not have a definite cure is a mind-staggering concept to grasp. If not caught in time, cancer means guaranteed death. These types of thoughts were floating around my head when my mother had told me that my father had mouth cancer.
Cancer has been an active concern in our society for the past couple decades, since we truly discovered the nature of cancer and the potency it brings along with it. However, it was not until the mid-20th century that scientists were beginning to truly understand the origin of cancer. Scientists dating back all the way to the Renaissance, when they first began performing autopsies to learn more about the human body and form, noticed abnormalities but it never clicked that it was something much worse than it seemed. Research has continued since then, and it has continued to thrive even to this day. When James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA and it’s chemical structure in 1962, it opened up doors that even they could not expect. With the understanding of DNA and how it affected the way we look at life, came the beginning of the understanding of mutated DNA (which is a cause of the growth of cancerous cells). In this past century, researching scientists discovered that cancer is linked with the DNA that resides in a cell’s nucleus. By ways of damage to the cells via chemicals or radiation, or even introduction of a new DNA, the cancerous cells begin to form and duplicate. We are learning more and more about cancer and how to fight it, but we still have much more to learn.
As modern humans, we understand that the quality of our health is affected by the negative impacts, such as air pollution, water and food. Science is developing in much faster way but at the same time number of problems are also arising. Problems like infectious diseases, diseases without any treatment or whose treatments are available up to a lesser extent such as Lung cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, penile cancer etc. Cancer is responsible for one in seven deaths. It is epidemic disease thefore its consequences can be seen worldwide. More than twelve million new cases diagnosed yearly and the rate is increasing much faster (Hegde, j.j. 2009). Large number of patients die after developing cancer despite the availabity of various treatments, therefore there is a increase demand for a developing new approaches to cancer therapy. There are number of treatments available but the problem is that they have number of side effects, disturbance or effect on the norm...
Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
Cancer is a deadly disease that millions of people die from a year. Many loved ones are killed with little to no warning affecting families across our world. My family happened to be one that was affected by this atrocious disease. This event changed the way my family members and I viewed cancer.
Cell cycle is a complex mechanism that governs the cell growth and proliferation. Cell proliferation contributes to the continuity of life by producing cells, replenishing cells which undergone to cellular differentiation to acquired specialized phenotypes (function and morphology) to carry out living mechanism and towards the end-point-cell-death. Cell proliferation is determined by both extracellular signals such as cytokines and mitogen, and intrinsic cellular factors. Interactions of extracellular signals with intrinsic cellular factors trigger the biochemical events of cell proliferation. In the case of acquired immunity, proliferation is the important state after lymphocytes encountered to antigen presentation, and then leads to their effectors functions. Cell cycle regulators control the appropriate entry and progression throughout the cell cycle event. Thus, any cell cycle deregulation will potentially lead to tumourigenesis. (Malumbres and Carnero 2003)
Cancer has become the one of the most feared things for human beings. The various type of cancer have been discovered and there are still a lot of it that undiscoverable. Cancer is a complex disease that have a group of disease. The cancer itself cannot be describe by words. The causes of this cancer is still not being able to be discovered fully. There are only minor factor that can lead to this disease. The carcinogens are believed to be one of the causes that lead to cancer such as asbestos, radon gas, tobacco, PVC and much more from our chemical industries. The environment especially near to the industrial that produce chemical waste can be one of the causes lead to cancer. Cancer also have relation with our age, lifestyle, and diet and also can be genetically inherited. It is believed that older people have higher tendency to get cancer than younger people. Our lifestyle and diet also plays a role causing a cancer by our daily life routine. Smoking tobacco and eating unconsciously (still in research) can also increase the possibility to get cancer especially lung cancer that cause by smoking tobacco. There are several cases, cancer were inherited from their parents. Various type of viruses such as HIV, HPV, EBV and many more virus has a high capabilities to increase the chance a patient to get a cancer because these viruses lower their body immunity to disease.
Another treatment that is used to help a cancer patients overcome the disease is radiation therapy. Although very affective and used commonly, thi...
An ordinary human body contains approximately one trillion cells and precisely 46 chromosomes in each cell. However, the human body can be altered by a genetic mutation. Over the course of history, genetic mutations have had a large impact on the human race. They have brought harm to numerous amounts of people. Cancer, in particular, is one of the most lethal diseases. Cancer begins when a portion of DNA inside a chromosome is damaged, causing a cell to mutate. Then, the mutated cell reproduces multiple times and creates a tumor. Afterwards, cancer cells break off of the tumor, enter the bloodstream, and disperse throughout the body. If the cells break off, the tumor is considered malignant - this type of cancer is very difficult to cure. Many patients today stay optimistic for a medication to heal cancer. It is imperative to address a few of the causes and effects of cancer in order to gain a general knowledge of genetic mutations.
Since 1979 the diagnoses of cancer have gone up nearly 20% in a generation as there is more people smoking, drinking, obesity and unfitness (theguardian website, 2011, para. 1). There has been in increase of women with the diagnosis, the diagnoses have risen up by 50% (459 per 100,00), men have risen from 20,000 to 24,000 (the guardian website, 2011, para. 2). Socioeconomic class does have an effect in some cases as cervical and lung cancers are more common in poor people while rates of breast cancer and melanoma are higher in the wealthy (ScienceDaily website, 2008, para. 1). Demographics could also have some effect as those of the wealthier group have more exposure to UV by traveling abroad for the holidays (ScienceDaily website, 2008, para. 5). In regards to smoking, deprived groups continue to smoke while the wealthier groups have quit smoking (ScienceDaily website, 2008, para. 7). Researchers have linked cancer to not only demographics, socioeconomic class but also race and
Cancer is a disease that affects human somatic cells. It causes the cells to divide uncontrollably and form masses known as tumors. There are two different types of cancer tumors. Some tumors are benign and other tumors are malignant. Benign tumors look similar to the tissues that they came from and develop slowly. The tumor remains in the same area that the tumor originated in. Malignant tumors are formed from cells that do not resemble the tissue that they came from. They vary in shape and size. This enables pieces of the tumor to break off and spread to other places in the body. Over the past few decades cancer has become a very prominent disease. There are many different types of cancer and many different causes for the the disease. Most cancers are because of a genetic mutation. The most common type occur when a cell is dividing. Proto-oncogenes, which are alleles in a normal cells, mutate to form oncogenes. These oncogenes cause cancer because they do not allow the cells to self destruct or become epistatic. There have been several research projects which have been testing epistatis.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Tumors are then created and interfering with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems. It is one of the most leading causes of death, reaching at about 8.2 million deaths in 2012. It is expected that cancer will rise from 14 million to 22 million within the next 2 decades. With over 100 cancer research centers in the United States studying how to treat this disease, people need to understand the importance of donating also with the awareness of signs and symptoms in the early stages. But, what are we doing about it? Do we have the technology to finally be able to put this deadly disease to an end?
...n tell us that we can support one another for cancers. There are numerous good things that can come out of media, but we must know the difference between what is good and what is not.