7.6 million people each year, worldwide die from cancer (“Cancer”). The most common types of cancer include breast, prostate, skin, lung, and brain. Cancer can form anywhere in the form a tumor or mass. Cancer starts out when abnormal cells grow out of control. Metastasis is when the cancer cells get into the lymph vessels or the blood stream and it can flow to different organs. Most cells with damaged DNA either die or repair themselves, but with cancer cells which is when the cell growth is out of control, they don't die or repair themselves. Instead they replicate the damaged DNA cell and infect the body with damaged cells. In the past 30 years, cancer treatment has evolved by genetic mapping, advances in treatment, and early detection. …show more content…
Genetic mapping is one way that cancer treatment has progressed throughout the past thirty years. Genetic mapping is researching one’s genes to identify gene markings for certain diseases. Genes are found in the DNA in each cell that makes up the human body. There are typically 30,000 different genes per cell, and they control every function and aspect of every living organism (“Genetics”). People have forty-six chromosomes in two sets of twenty-three, one set from your father and one from your mother (“Genetics”). Genes control how a person is made by making proteins. Each gene has a "code" for making proteins. This is because each cell needs to perform a certain task. Cancer begins when one cell becomes mutated which creates an abnormal protein or nonprotein, then the cancerous cells multiply (“Genetics”). There are a few different types of gene mutations; acquired mutations and germline mutations. Acquired mutations are the most common cause of cancer. These occur from damage to genes during a person’s life, not hereditary. Factors such as tobacco, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, viruses, and age cause these mutations. Cancer that occurs because of acquired mutations is called sporadic cancer (“Genetics”). Germline mutations, which are less common, are hereditary. The mutation can be found in every cell of a person’s body because the mutation affects reproductive cells, it passes from generation to generation. Cancer caused by germline mutations makes up about 5% to 10% of all cancers (“Genetics”). Mutations happen normally, and the human body corrects them. DNA repair genes are cells that can fix mistakes when DNA is copied, but if the DNA repair gene is damaged then the mutations can be bad and may lead to cancer. This alteration in the genes can be germline or acquired. One genetic mutation won’t cause cancer but many will, which is why cancer is more likely to happen in older people (“Genetics”). The next step in the process of genetic mapping is the identification of genetic mutations. Identification is important when an oncologist begins genetic mapping. This is relevant because finding certain diseases linked to genetic mutations can help with treatment. “Plos Genetics” identifies fourteen cancer types and 527 mtDNA mutations tumors (Stewart et.al.). BRCA 1 and 2 are identified as breast cancer and ovarian cancer genes. BRCA 1 and 2 are tumor suppressing proteins. The proteins help fix damaged DNA to keep stability of genetic material in cells. BRCA 1 and 2 are inherited mutations that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA 1 and 2 account for 20% of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (National Cancer Institute). Genes that have also been identified include the HER2 and the Ras family. HER2, which is a specialized protein that controls cancer growth and spread, and it is found on some cancer cells, such as breast and ovarian cancer cells. The ras family of genes, which make proteins involved in cell communication pathways, cell growth, and cell death (“Genetics”). The final step in the process of genetic mapping is the testing. Testing is crucial in finding if a mutation in a person's genes is present. Genetic testing helps predict the likelihood that a person will develop a disease, including some types of cancer. Genetic testing for cancer risk can help estimate your chance of developing cancer in your lifetime. More than 2,000 genetic tests are available for many different diseases, including breast, ovarian, colon, thyroid, and other cancers (“Genetics”). The tests analyze your genes, chromosomes, or proteins to help detect diseases or mutations. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests, which can be bought online or without talking with a doctor, are used to estimate a person’s risk of developing specific diseases, such as cancer (“Genetics”). DTC genetic test kits include instructions for collecting a saliva or blood sample that is mailed to a laboratory for testing. Mutations, Identification, and Testing are all important steps in the Genetic Mapping process. Treatment for some people can save there life, and advances in treatment in the past thirty years such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation are crucial. Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, and Radiation are the most common form of treatment, but surgery, stem-cell transplant, and hypothermia are also used depending on the type of cancer. Cell therapy or stem-cell transplant is replacing cells, but its retrieving cells from that person's body and inserted into bad tissue to improve the condition of it. This can be used for cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Stem cell therapy: is performed using adult stem cells, but it could be more successful if embryonic cells are used. Embryonic stem cells would be created through the process of therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. This could save so many children that are suffering from childhood cancers. Chemotherapy is a way that cancer is treated.
Chemotherapy was created between the 1940's and 50's (ONCOSEC). Chemotherapy is a drug treatment. It has evolved to cytotoxic drugs: substances that kill, shrink or otherwise hinder cancer cells. Cytotoxic drugs come in many forms like some that attack genetic material, some slow the spread of cancer, and others stop cell division. Chemo as treatment depends on what stage and type of cancer one has. Some results are total remission, slowing the spread of cancer, and palliative care (which is aiding to the symptoms). Treatments are usually more effective when the chemo drugs are combined, which would lead to more results in eradicating the cancer. Chemotherapy is changing the way that cancer is being …show more content…
treated. Immunotherapy (also called biological therapy and biotherapy) uses the body's immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy works by either stimulating the immune system to attack cancer cells or providing the immune system with what it needs, such as antibodies, to fight cancer. Monoclonal antibodies are man-made versions of immune system proteins (CTA). Antibodies can be useful in treating cancer because they can be designed to attack a very specific part of a cancer cell. Cancer vaccines are substances designed to trigger an immune response in the body against certain diseases. Non-specific immunotherapies are treatments stimulate the immune system in a general way to increase activity against cancer cells. Some examples include man-made versions of cytokines, a chemical in immune cells, such as interleukins and interferons (CTA). Immunotherapy has become a crucial treatment in the past few years and is saving lives. Radiation therapy uses x-rays, gamma rays in order to attempt to shrink tumors and eliminate cancer cells.
The radiation kills cells by damaging their genetic structure in several different ways. Radiation gets into the body by an mechanical delivery system, it can be injected, or placed somewhere in the body during surgery. While we encounter radiation in everyday life, radiation therapy provides the body with a very high dosage. It can be injected on its own or in a combination therapy, sometimes with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is generally much more specific; that is to say that, while chemotherapy treats the whole body, radiation is used on a more targeted area. The range of uses is also similar to chemo, as it can be used with the intention of destroying the cancer, slowing it down or being used to lessen symptoms of the disease. In brief, Radiation is a treatment that continues to be advanced and is saving many lives. Radiation, Chemotherapy, and Immunotherapy are three ways that cancer treatment continues to
evolve.
1. Chemotherapy tends to be the conventional lung cancer treatment used that everyone has heard of. Today it uses a cocktail of over 100 different drugs and works by destroying the cancerous cells and stopping their spread. However, although considered to be an acceptable treatment, it does tend to cause many unwanted side-effects.
During the winter of my sophomore year of high school my aunt, whom I am very close with, was diagnosed with stage three ovarian and cervical cancer. She underwent various surgeries and chemotherapy treatments, spent weeks in the hospital, and many more weeks battling the effects of the chemotherapy from home.
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.
There are essentially three main types of cancer treatments; surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgery allows doctors to effectively remove tumors from a clear plane. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat the tumor; but often the drugs affect other healthy cells in the process. Using radiation as a treatment can be either precise or vague. Many health stigmas can come from the vague forms of radiation or conventional radiation therapy. Conventional radiation treats both the unhealthy and healthy cells, therefore exposing healthy cells to harmful radiation (Radiation Oncology, 2011, p.6). When healthy cells are exposed to gamma radiation they are also exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization can cause “breakage of chemical bonds or oxidization (addition of oxygen atoms)” in a cell; the main impact of this is on a cell’s DNA, if two strands of DNA break it can result in “mutations, chromosome aberrations, ...
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.
I have elected to transcribe my proposal argument on issues regarding cancer chemoprevention. I selected this topic because reasonably minute devotion has been given to cancer chemoprevention research in ethical writings, particularly in relation to the huge quantity of moral studies in cancer treatment exploration. Cancer chemoprevention trials test the ability and care of medicinal agents in averting cancer before its manifestation. I believe that phase III chemoprevention issues can be less prevalent by simply ensuring enhanced communication and etiquette between researchers and investigators.
Radiation therapy is a complex treatment plan to treat cancer in patients. Its treatment can be used alone or in conjunction with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is delivered by a team of individuals who specialize in the treatment of cancer. There are several ways in which the radiation can be delivered to the patient with specialized equipment. Radiation therapy is an exciting field of study that can be beneficial to patients who are affected by cancer.
The topic of this article is medication error related to chemotherapy drugs. Forty percent of medication errors have been related to chemotherapy drugs. It is imperative that the nurses are properly trained on these medications and fully understand what is being administered before giving it to the patient as well as know what the proper dose is before administering anything to the patient. More importantly the nurse must pay close attention to their patient’s response to the chemotherapy given to the patient or it could lead to a serious injury or death.
...effects that can come with chemotherapy such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, mouth sores, and more. Radiation therapy is pretty bad but not as painful with side effects. Side effects for radiation therapy are coughing, fever, fullness of chest, soreness and scaring. Many times surgery is not an option but when is it is one of the best options due to the fact there are less side effects and no strenuous treatment. One of the reasons cancer is such a bad thing is because the treatment is not good but research is taking place and working to get more effective.
If one is affected by cancer, there are treatments to help take away this illness affecting their body. This essay is about a specific type of treatment for cancer, radiation therapy. There are different types of forms of particles for radiation, for example, protons and waves like x-rays and visible light. These types of radiations are grouped on how much energy they contain because they can cause different effects. A low type of energy radiation can be radio waves and heat, also known as non-ionizing radiation.
What is Radiation Therapy? Radiation Therapy is one of the principal modalities that are used in the treatment of cancer (Frank, Long, Smith 2012, p. 467). What is cancer? Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. This uncontrolled growth of cells can over time develop into a tumor. Then, this tumor can continue to grow and cause problems, and even spread if it is left untreated. Cancerous cells are also called malignant cells. In this modality, high energy x-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles are the forms of radiation used to shrink the cancer cells (Lawrence, Ten Haken, pg.1). In this field the patients have been diagnosed with cancer, have tumors, or they have cancerous lesions that are present. The objective
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.
Conventional chemotherapeutic agents are usually administered via the intravenous (i.v.) route. However, the major drawbacks with i.v. administration of therapeutic agents is their widespread distribution throughout the body via the bloodstream affecting both malignant and rapidly dividing normal cells in the bone marrow [64]. This leads to increased side effects, higher patient risks, decreased biodistribution of drugs to the tumor site and development of multidrug resistance against the chemotherapeutic drugs by the cancer cells[65]. Chemotherapeutics are also rapidly cleared by the reticuloendothelial system (RES), which results in a reduced amount of drugs reaching the target site leading to decreased efficacy [66]. Most of the anticancer drugs are hydrophobic and due to their toxicity to normal and cancer cells, they have to be developed in a formulation to be delivered via an i.v. route [67].
What exactly is Chemotherapy and why would it also kill “good” cells? Cancer could be described as the disease that sends cells out of control, rapidly multiplying the cells, until it harms the body. Chemotherapy is an effective drug treatment intended to treat individuals with various forms of cancer. Generally, this type of treatment is nonspecific, and non-molecular that uses chemical agents to break down all dividing cells. Chemotherapy, or chemo for short, destroys cancer cells, and can also cease the reproduction or spreading of these cells. Despite having apparent benefits, this type of treatment comes at a cost, presenting several disadvantages and side effects. Chemotherapy comes with a heavy burden, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, infections, and fatigue is a few of the short-term side effects. This analysis examines chemotherapy as a type of cancer treatment, as well as evaluating complimentary and alternative medicines.
The energy in ionizing radiation can cause chemical changes in the the cells that can lead to damaging them. Most of the cells can either permanently or temporarily become abnormal or they can just die. Radiation can cause cancer by damaging the DNA in the body. The damage of the cells can also depend on how long the organs are exposed (environmental protection agency, 2017, unknown). If someone has many exposures at one time that radiation in the body keeps adding on. As well as if its only a little bit of exposure in on day and years later you get exposed again it keeps adding on the radiation will never leave the body. Having radiation in your body doesn’t affect you right away but as you get older it starts to show and you feel it. Chronic exposure is when someone is exposed many time for long periods. When this happens the type of effects it will carry is having harmful generic change, cancer, tumors, and even cataracts. Partial health effects can also depend on if it was internal or external exposure. Internal exposure is when either by drinking, breathing, eating and even an injection cause radiation to get inside your body. External exposure is when taking an x-ray out of your body and letting it go through letting all the energy go as it goes in (environmental protection agency, 2017, unknown). In the dental world radiation gets into the patients when we take x-rays on there teeth. In order to avoid to much radiation on them we put a lead apron on them and make sure to cover their thyroid which is the most common way of getting cancer when taking an x-ray. When we take the x-ray we stand behind a wall at least 6 feet away to avoid ourself from getting