About Cancer
Based from worldwide statistics, cancer is the leading cause of most diseases. The estimated number of new cases of cancer is around 14.1 million. Out of that number, the most common cases that occur around the world are lung cancer, female breast cancer, bowel/colorectal, prostate cancer, stomach cancer and liver. If one considers the nature of cancer, most likely the numbers will keep on growing.
Cancer has always baffled researchers due to the nature of the disease. As most of you would probably by now, cancer is a type of disease that involves abnormal cell growth. Cancer is different from most diseases because it’s not directly caused by pathogens. Furthermore, what causes the abnormality of the cell can’t be pinpointed
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Each cell contains genes, which is constituted by our DNA. Since DNA is responsible for most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of every living organism, it also plays a role on the function of a cell. A cell becomes cancerous if something may have altered the genetic information of that DNA. In time, the cell becomes malignant and performs beyond its normal homeostatic function. It will self-replicate until it spreads throughout your body. If the cancer isn’t treated, it will result to death.
Cancer Risk Factors
While it is impossible to identify the early development of tumors, researchers have managed to list particular cancer risk factors. These factors are usually based on monitoring groups of people and compare those who develop cancer with those who don’t. Through these surveys, researchers would usually track down trends, habits, and other noticeable factors that are common amongst people who acquire cancer.
Age
As you grow older, the more you are prone to having cancer. However, it’s not always true. There are certain types of cancer that develop during childhood. For example, some children and young adolescents have been known to be prone to
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.
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).
The world we live in can be wonderful at times,but can also be dangerous and danger isn’t a good place to start at.The word cancer seems terrifying when someone thinks about it and they should be because there is a lot of types of cancer from all over the word.Cancer is the leading causes of death everywhere you go and it happens from different parts of the body.From someone that doesn’t understand cancer it’s very important to know about the aspects in which they come around.They way a cancer forms,symptons that are caused,and the way each cancer type is treated is very important to consider.
Breast Cancer is a disease that can sometime lead to ovarian cancer and has caused a lot of women’s death. “About five to ten percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result from gene defects called mutations inherited from a parent”. Related Risks early menstruation, oral contraceptives and child bearing 20 percent. (1)An environmental risk is that toxins can damage breast DNA. Over time damaged DNA can lead to cancer. Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. “1 of 8 breast cancer are found when women are younger than 45. 2 of 3 breast cancer are found in women age 55 years or older 75 percent greater chance”.(1) Breast Cancer can lead Peutz Jeghers syndrome the effects of Peutz Jeghgers is spots on your lips and in their mouths. Women with no children or who had a child after age 30 have slightly higher breast cancer risk. “Screening for breast cancer is early diagnosis increases chance of survival and annual mammogram after age 40”. Women who took Diethylstilbestrol while pregnant could have a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer. Birth control peals also cause higher risks 40 to 50 percent for breast cancer risk calms down after they have stopped taking them.(1) Using combined hormone therapy after menopause increase the risk of getting breast cancer , it also increase women chances of dying from it. If you are over weight or obese after menopause greatly increase breast cancer risk 20 percent. Drinking alcohol can cause a major effect for you to start developing breast cancer the risk increase the more you drink. Tobacco smoke, Night work, Antiperspirants, Bras and Induced abortion. Breast cancer takes a lot of toll on women and men of all races and...
One half of men and one third of women will get cancer in their lifetime. ½ million people are going to die this year, that’s more than 1,500 people per day! One in eight deaths in the world is due to cancer. Cancer causes more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Cancer is a disease that’s preventable, curable, and deadly.
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.
Cancer occurs when cells divide uncontrollably. Cells keep dividing even though new cells are not needed. Change from normal to cancerous cells requires gene alterations.
Cancer directly affects the lives of approximately 13.7 million Americans. In 2014 alone it is estimated that there will be 1,665,540 patients diagnosed with cancer (Jones). Of these people, 43, 250 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer (Douglas). 585,720 Americans are expected to die of cancer in 2014 at a rate of almost 1,600 people per day. Cancer has become the second most common cause of death in the US. It accounts for 1 in every 4 deaths despite having an 80 to 90% survival rate for oral cancer (Jones).
“Since 1990, over 6 million Americans have died of cancer, more than the combined casualties from the Civil war, WWII, and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts combined” (Faguet, p. 5). According to American Cancer Society projections, there were 1,529,560 new cases of cancer in 2010. Cancer is becoming more and more common around the world. New cancers are constantly being discovered. Researchers are finding new ways to detect cancer and treat it so that the fatality rate does not rise. However, there are some cancers that researchers have not yet discovered a cure for. It is very important for Cancer Research to continue so that one day these cancers will no longer be a treat.
Most cancer happens at different rates in other parts of the world. Lifestyle can increase a person’s risk for cancer because it can affect cells that are prepared to become cancerous by helping them grow. The environment can change genes which cause them to be cancerous in the first place. An abnormal cell is what causes a tumor. This cell appears to be no different from normal ones and only functions and divides when needed. Then, even though the organ it supports has a sufficient amount of cells, it divides uncontrollably (Weinberg 1-2).
Cancer starts with changes in one cell or small groups of cells. In human bodies cells divide or multiply when needed. If any signals to control how often to divide or multiply cell are faulty or missing, cells may start to grow and multiply and form a tumor. Cancer is genetic, you cannot “catch’ it. This is a result from damage to genes. Where the tumor is formed and officially diagnosed with cancer is where the cancer type will develop the name. This year 1,228,600 new cases are
All cells in the body contain the genetic material called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Every time a mature cell divides into two new cells, its DNA is exactly duplicated. The cells are copies of the original cell, identical in every way. In this way our bodies continually replenish themselves. Old cells die off and the next generation replaces them. A cancer begins with an error, or mutation, in a cell’s DNA. DNA mutations can be caused by the normal aging process or through environmental factors. (http://www.lungcancer.org) The risk of developing lung cancer is highest in smokers, but many people who do not smoke also develop lung cancer each year. High levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure may also
Also thirty to forty percent of all cancer deaths can be prevented. Many people think that it is just adults that are affected, but according to The National Institute of Cancer, kids are also affected by cancer “In 2014, an estimated 15,780 children and adolescents from ages 0 to 19 will be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their lives.”