Pathophysiology of Cancer - Essay Example

?Cancer When cell division and multiplication goes out of the normal controlled process, it results to excessive growth of the affected organ, and this is referred to as cancer. Cancer can affect any part of the body, but the most affected areas are the breast, the lung cervix and prostrate cells. Cells are naturally designed to multiply in a controllable manner, failure to which a cancer may develop. The uncontrolled cell multiplication can be attributed to mutation of genes (a molecular unit in our DNA, which contains information of how cells operate). Cancer is a deadly disease, with its victims undergoing painful chemo and radiotherapies. With early diagnosis, we can fight cancer cells before they spread, and cancer treatment can easily be management with great improvement (Noreen 1). Cancer has a very negative psychological effect on the victim diagnosed with it. The victims may fear death, painful treatment and other negative effect that comes with surgical operation and removal of cancer cells. The effect of cancer can be felt by family and friends through changes in relationship, family finances, and change in life styles. When Cancer is detected in young children, their normal life schedule is disrupted, as they may miss school, games and other social life in the course of their treatment. Cancer also has an adverse psychological effect on the patient, because some can lose hope, or the pain, strain and sudden shift in lifestyle can be disturbing. The victims who get diagnosed at a late stage have a lower late of survival. Breast cancer, for instance has various treatments, for both early and advanced diagnosis. This includes surgery, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and radiotherapy; the treatments can cause side effects, including loss of libido, regular fatigue (Fallowfield 6). The society also suffers various repercussions from cancer, as the cost of treatment for it is very high for individuals, governments or insurance firms to cover it fully. Therefore, many economic resources are therefore directed towards cancer prevention and treatment, at the expense of other issues like development, investment, education and so on. Moreover, cancer is responsible for many deaths, especially for elderly members of the society, and this is closely experienced when we lose our loved ones. Cancer therefore contributes to reducing the size of our population, which can be either negative effect (when we lose the intellects and best brains in our economy to cancer) or positive effect (creating nature balance). It has also shaped the behavior of people, and forced the society to observe certain principles, for health reasons. Because of cancer, people’s feeding habits are changing day by day, with people avoiding caseinogens, smoking and excessive drinking, as well as avoiding high cholesterol foods. Moreover, obesity caused by poor diet with high fatty content, junky food and lack of regular exercise statistics have shown high rate of cancer among obese people, and this has resulted to people changing their lifestyles to prevent themselves. With cancer being a great threat to humanity, scientists are working day and night to find a solution to this problem, preferably to find a cure, with some of them being positive that there is a way our immune system can be engineered to free us from cancer. International laws have put broad measures to control exposure of radiations to the general population, and this is mainly by discouraging weapons that emit radiations in the atmosphere, at the endangering the coming generations. Chemicals that can cause cancer are also regulated and contained by governments. There is a direct relationship between age and likelihood to develop cancer. The relationship between age and cancer exists because some cancer cells take as long as 40 years to cause the disease. However, other factors like hereditary are also determinant and cancer has continued to affect even children regardless of their age. For cervical cancer prevention and management, doctors recommend that young women should start screening at the age of 21, and middle-aged men should screen for prostate cancer. About 50% of breast cancer cases are detected in women who are 65 years of age and above (Owusu Lash and Silliman 238). However, people with a history of cancer in their families are advised to go for medical checkup, frequently, and as early as possible for early diagnosis. Cancer treatment and Diagnosis A diagnosis of cancer involves evaluating the specific body tissue, in a process known as biopsy. A process of staging, which involves determining how widespread this cancer is, accompanies this diagnosis, but with early diagnosis, widespread of cancer cell in patients’ body can be prevented. In this regard, various organizations have come up to sensitize people on ways to avoid late diagnosis, mostly by recommending regular checkups to them, to ensure they are free from cancer. For instance, girls and women are encouraged to undergo medical check – ups for breast cancer starting from an early age, so that in case they are victims they can discover early. Some common characteristic among cancer patients, which can indicate a possibility of having cancer includes, fever, fatigue, loss of weight. Cancer can be treated through various procedures, and the adopted treatment depends on the affected cells, stage of the cancer and other individual patient details. Surgery is the most ancient form of cancer treatment, and it involves undergoing a surgical operation to remove the cells affected by cancer, and prevent them from affecting other cells. This form of treatment is very effective, especially when the cancer has not spread so much, and the surgery for the affected area can easily be undertaken. When the cancer cells are too small to undergo surgery, radiotherapy can be used, whereby the cancer cells are eliminated using these waves. When cancer has spread a lot, and it is difficult to undertake surgery or radio therapy, Chemotherapy is used. It involves using anti-cancer drugs to treat cancer, and these drugs are usually injected in the bloodstream, or swallowed as pills. The discovery of hormone therapies and using antibody development has yielded great improvement in treatment of breast cancer, and genetic test is used to determine the best treatment for individual cancer patient (Mantel). Prevention of Cancer Some of the cancers victims are young children, and little or nothing can be done to prevent the m form getting sick. However, cancer in adulthood can easily be prevented by adopting a health lifestyle. Some commodities that people consume have statistically proved to cause cancer. Lung cancer for example is attributed to smoking cigarette, and obviously, it can be avoided by quitting the habit. Some local authorities in some countries have even put laws to prohibit smoking in public places. Alcohol likewise, when consumed excessively can have the same effect. Red meat and fatty food is another thing to be avoided, if you want to avoid cancer. There is also a high rate of cancer among obese people; therefore, it is recommended that people should practice a lifestyle that prevents obesity. This can easily be done by avoiding junky food and exercising regularly. Surgical operations can also be administered, to remove the excess fat from the body. Chemicals that can cause cancer should not be used in cosmetics, or in any commodity that can find its way into a human’s system. Some chemical like Asbestos and benzene put those exposed to them at a higher risk of getting cancer and so strict laws should regulate their use. Research has also shown that cancer is not common among regular consumers of fruits and vegetables. People should therefore make a habit of eating fruits and vegetables, to prevent cancer The other way of fight cancer is through early diagnosis, which will prevent the cancer form advancing to a critical stage, as cancer discovered early is easy to manage. Governments through the world should install equipment in hospitals for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, free of charge or at cost an affordable by the population. Medical services like screening for cervical cancer and for hepatitis should be made more accessible, especially in developing nations. Works cited Noreen Aziz, Cancer survivorship research: Challenge and opportunity. The Journal of Nutrition, suppl. International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and...132. 11S (Nov 2002): 3494S-3503S. Fallowfield, L. J. "Treatment Decision-Making in Breast Cancer: The Patient-Doctor Relationship." Breast cancer research and treatment 112 (2008): 5-13. Mantel, Barbara. "Breast Cancer." CQ Researcher 2 Apr. 2010: 289-312. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Owusu, Cynthia, Lash, Timothy L., and Silliman, Rebecca. A. Effect of undertreatment on the disparity in age-related breast cancer-specific survival among older women. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 102(2), (2007). 227-36. Read More