Chronic Disease Cancer - Case Study Example

 Introduction: Twentieth century’s biggest global killer is chronic disease and cancer is one of them. Chronic diseases such as Cancer, Heart diseases and Diabetes are more prevalent in the underdeveloped or developing countries, or the low and middle- income countries. The two major factors that play a definitive role in this epidemic are smoking and obesity. As editor of The Lancet, Richard Horton says, “These risks and the diseases they engender are not the exclusive preserve of rich nations.” The present scenario according to a WHO Report is that the world is focusing more attention on infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria they seem to be neglecting the chronic diseases. According to Andrew Prentice, professor of international nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, he finds developing countries facing a “double burden of disease”. Nutrition and life styles play a major role where chronic diseases are concerned. What is Cancer? Cancer occurs or develops when the abnormal cells in ones body grow rapidly out of control. Normally, the cells in our body grow, divide and die in a systematic fashion. When the person is young, the cells grow rapidly until the person reaches adulthood after which the cells in the body mostly divide to repair any injury or to replace the dead or worn – out cells. In the case of Cancer, the cells are much different than normal cells. They keep on growing and dividing replacing the normal cells with abnormal ones. Causes of Cancer: Cancer occurs because of the damage caused to the DNA which is present in every cell and conducts all our activities. Usually, when the DNA becomes damaged, the body is in a position to repair it. But in case the cells are cancerous, the DNA is not repaired. Damaged DNA can also be inherited and therefore can get cancer later on in life. Substances in the environment can damage the DNA, such as smoke from tobacco. Cancer cells often travel to different parts of the body where they take root and grow and multiply while replacing normal tissue. The process by which this takes place is called “Metastasis”. Most of the Cancers form tumors but in the case of leukemia no tumor is formed but instead these cells flow with the blood and circulate through the blood forming organs. Different Types of Cancer: Different types of cancer react differently to different types of treatment. All cancers are not life threatening. The tumors may be benign or non-cancerous and do not spread or metastasize to the various parts of the body. They multiply at a different pace and needs a particular kind of treatment because different types of cancer respond differently to different treatments. Tumors that are malignant are cancerous and they invade the normal cells of the body and spread from one part of the body to another. Cancers are named from the organ where it originated such as breast cancer, stomach cancer etc. It is difficult to detect Cancer in its early stages, but once it is detected, it should be seen to immediately. The faster a cancer is detected and treatment started, the better are ones chances of living a long life. Risk Factors involved: The primary risk factor for Cancer is the damage done to the DNA because of various environmental factors such as smoking. The chances of developing different types of cancer may be reduced if the person makes changes to his life- style such as quitting smoking or preventing oneself from being a passive smoker which is worse than smoking itself. Incidence: The World’s primary cancer organizations showed that there was a decrease of cancer death rates on an average of 2.1% every year from 2002 to 2004. This was nearly twice of the annual decrease of 1.1% each year from 1993 to 2002. There were significant decrease in death rates for the top 15 cancers in both men and women. The three primary causes of cancer deaths in men were prostrate, lung and colorectal cancers. There was significant decrease in death rate for women suffering from breast and colorectal cancers. Speaking on this subject, Director of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Julie L. Gerberding, M.D. stated “The significant decline in cancer death rates demonstrates important progress in the fight against cancer that has been achieved through effective tobacco control, screening, early detection, and appropriate treatment." The overall incidence rates of cancer for different races for both sexes declined substantially between 2001 and 2004. The incidence rates of colorectal cancer in both men and women dropped by about 2% due to the removal of precancerous polyps. Symptoms of Cancer: One of the most important tools for fighting cancer is prevention. It is of utmost importance to report any signs of cancer before it spreads. Some of the symptoms of Cancer are – Small lumps or thickening of either testicles or breast. A nagging or persistent sore throat that does not seem to heal. Difficulty in swallowing and constant indigestion. Nagging cough sometimes accompanied by blood. Change in bladder or bowel habits. A change in the look of moles and warts. Unusual vaginal discharge or bleeding. Experiencing tiredness or chronic fatigue. Specific Cancers have specific symptoms – for example the symptoms in lung cancer would be persistent wheezing and coughing for long periods of time. A constant nagging ache in the chest region because of the congestion in the lungs. There may also be sputum which is blood streaked and the presence of enlarged lymph nodes in the neck region. Every cancer is different and hence has its own symptoms. Impact of Nutrition: Nutrition plays a very important role where cancer patients are concerned because the treatment of cancer places a very high demand on the body and hence the patients have to maintain their body weight and level of energy in order to cope with it. Firstly the persons BMI (Body Mass Index) should be checked to find out if they are healthy, over- weight or under- weight. Cancer and its treatment of it have a direct impact on the way the body uses nutrients and the person’s intake of food. This in turn leads to insufficient dietary problems which would worsen the patient’s condition. Patients who undergo treatment find that they are losing weight rapidly because of their inability to absorb nutrients well. Eating less of proteins and calories results in one of the very common nutrition problems. If the patient has a tumor in the stomach or in the intestine, the body’s absorption of carbohydrates and protein is badly affected and this may induce some side effects. Very often many sick people may be seeming to consume enough food but the body would not have been in a position to absorb the nutrients present in the food. Treatment options: Some of the treatment options for cancer are: 1. Chemotherapy 2. Radiotherapy 3. Hormone Therapy 4. Immunotherapy and 5. Surgery Prevention: Today, due to modern Science and technology, we have traveled a long way in finding better and faster ways to detect and prevent Cancer. More than ever before, we feel better equipped in fighting Cancer than in days gone by. This is due to giant strides been taken by the government and community at large in encouraging research work to be carried out in order to find new scientific breakthrough to give us a better understanding to prevent Cancer. Spreading the word around to everyone would help in detecting any telltale signs of it at an early stage. Another primary point to be considered in cancer prevention would be to hanging ones life- style and incorporating a good balanced diet with a lot of fresh air and exercise. References: American Cancer Society/ What is Cancer? www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1x_What_Is_Cancer.asp Chronic Disease is the biggest global killer. www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8099 National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/what-is-cancer Cancer Symptoms www.cancure.org/cancer_symptoms.htm Nutrition in Cancer www.nutritionincancer.co.uk/ Prevent Cancer Foundation www.preventcancer.org/ Read More