General Symptoms and signs of Cancer

As the studies suggests that there are over 200 types of cancers that can affect the life of a man and its risk increases with two factors one of which is environmental factor like radiation, pollution effect, radioactive exposures, alcohol, smoking, intake of tobacco in different forms and other factor is the heredity factor in which cancer is transferred to its heir through genetic factors. Cancer is a group of diseases which follows uncontrolled cell division which is capable of spreading to nearby organs. As cancer can develop in any body part and symptoms of different cancers are different but there are some general symptoms by which we can predict if cancer prevails in body or not and if these symptoms are taken care early and cancer is diagnosed at early stages then he/she may survive cancer. So here are some symptoms which are to be taken care and if any of these symptoms are observed then we should go for whole body scan.

Some of the general symptoms are as :-

1. Formation of lump :- There are many cancers which can be felt through skin. If our body develops lump and that lump experience changes like thickening and change in texture of that part then it may be a cause for concern as many breast cancers have experienced these kind of changes.

2. Sudden loss of weight :- People who have cancer loose weight at some point of the time in their life. If weight loss id without  any reason then it is considered to be as unexplained weight loss and it is the foremost symptom of cancers of esophagus, lung, pancreas or stomach.

3. Unexplained pain :- If your body part is aching for a long time without any prior injury or explanations then it is a thing to worry and it may be the symptom of cancer.

4. Changes in skin :- Apart from skin cancer many other cancers also accompanied with changes in skin in which skin undergoes following changes that are darkening of skin, yellowing eyes and skin, redness of skin and unusual growth of skin hair.

5. Extreme tiredness :- As cancer is is a group of diseases and it affects our immune system due to which our body feels extreme tiredness without much amount of physical activity.

6. Prolonged fever :- Cancer weakens the immune system and it is accompanied with fever and if fever is not relieved for considerable amount of time then it is a cause of worry and it may be the symptom of cancer.

7. Pain while urination :- If you are feeling pain while urination or blood in your stool then you must visit the doctor as it may indicate cancer.

8. White patches on tongue and mouth :- People who smoke regularly and chew tobacco forms white patches on their tongue and mouth and these are known as leukoplakia which is pre-cancerous area and if these are not taken in care and tread as soon then it can become mouth cancer.

9. Indigestion and constipation :- Indigestion and constipation for a long period of time can indicate the cancer prevailing in esophagus or food pipe, pancreas and stomach.

10. Unusual bleeding :- Unusual bleeding from open parts of the body could be the sign of cancer. Blood in sputum while coughing can indicate lung cancer. Cervix cancer can led to abnormal vaginal bleeding. Blood from stool may indicate rectal or colon cancer and blood from nipples is symptom of breast cancer.

11. Prolonged Hoarsenes and coughing :-  Prolonged hoarseness and cough can indicate lung cancer and cancer of voice box.

Above mentioned are the general symptoms of cancers and if any of the symptoms and sign is observed then you should immediately move to the doctor and get our whole body examined. Prevention is always better than cure.

REFERENCES :-

American Cancer Society

Wikipedia

National Cancer Institute

WebMD

Cancer Quest

Major causes of the cancer curse

Now the question arises before us is that the curse of cancer which has engulfed 7.9 million people, what are the causes of this fatal disease? It has been observed and studied by the scientists that causes of cancer are almost same in every part of the world. There are various biological, chemical and environmental factors which are responsible for mutations in the cells which led to the uncontrolled division of cells forming a lump of cells known as tumor or on large scale as cancer. It also interacts with the other healthy parts of the body and also starts corroding them through blood stream. The causes of cancer are both internal and external. Internal causes such as inherited mutations, hormones and immune conditions. External causes include dietary habits, living conditions, alcohol, tobacco, radiation and various environmental factors, viruses, bacteria. Causes of cancer are not so big but small small things if not taken care can lead to formation of cancerous cells and these causes are as follows :-

1. Dietary habits:- It has been surveyed that one of the major cause of cancer is the improper and unbalanced diet. It has been observed that the person taking diet rich in trans fats and red meat are at the higher risk of cancer. In western countries cancer is prevailing at faster rate as they take diet rich in non-vegetarian products. In the countries like India, vegetarianism is followed on large scale thus here the cases of breast cancer and esophageal cancer is less. A relation has been observed between the meat eaters and colorectal cancer or colon cancer or bowel cancer. It has been estimated that about 1.23 million colon cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide and out of which 608,000 has lost their lives due to this. It has been advised to keep your diet balanced and to take diet rich in vegetables and fruits.

2. Alcohol:- Consumption of alcohol has increased the risk of cancer to an great extent. It has been observed that alcohol intake is the one of the major cause of colorectal cancer or colon cancer. About 9.5% colorectal cancer are caused due to intake of alcohol. It has been studied that women who consumes 10 gm of alcohol are at the highest risk of breast cancer than those who does not consume alcohol.

3. Tobacco:- Consumption of tobacco in any form like smoking, chewing and direct intake is responsible for  causing maximum number of  cancer cases. About 51% of cancers worldwide are caused by the intake of tobacco in different forms. Tobacco is major cause for cancer of oral cavity, lungs, esophagus, larynx, pharynx and urinary bladder. Tobacco contains about 70 cancer causing substances which spread in your body through lungs when you smoke. These chemicals affect the DNA and change the genes which lead to multiplication of cells in abnormal way.

4. Radiation:- About 10% of cancers are caused due to the radiation. The effect of radiation is same in developed as well as developing countries. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can affect your skin and can mutate the skin genes as sunlight contains UV or we can say ultra violet rays and can lead to skin cancer. Other radiations like magnetic and radioactive radiations can also affect our body and led to cancerous affect in body.

5. Environmental pollutants:-  It is estimated that 90% of cancers are owed to the environmental pollutants and parasites. Various viruses and bacteria are also responsible for the cancer to different parts of the body. Risk of lung cancer increases due to the outdoor pollutants.

6. Obesity and immune system:- Cancer is more prevalent in the body whose immune system is weak due to any early health problem. It has been observed that people who are obese are more prone to cancer.

                                                      All these factors are responsible for prevailing cancer in our society. There can be many other factors also but these are some of the major causes which can lead to the deadly cancer. If we take care of these causes we can save ourselves from this fatal disease to some extent.

REFERENCES :-
American Cancer Society
National Cancer Institute
WebMD
Wikipedia

CANCER : A curse to mankind...

CANCER : The name seems to be deadly now a days as cancer is the reason for maximum number deaths worldwide. According to the data collected by different agencies who are in involved in research work of cancer estimated that in 2007, 13% of deaths(approximately 7.9 million) are caused  by cancer worldwide and these death rates are climbing even more as the mass lifestyle is changing at very fast rate due to changes and developments prevailing in society. What kind of devil is this???

Cancer involves a wide group of diseases in which involves growth of cells in an abnormal fashion. It is also known by its medical name that is malignant neoplasm. Cancer is a situation in which cells divide rapidly and sooner they lost control over their cell multiplication and form a lump of uncontrolled cells that is known as tumor and these tumors can also attack the nearby organs by invading them. Tumors may also invade or enter into far flung body parts through blood stream.

As stated above cancer is a wide group of diseases and it does not grow at once. It does not spread to other parts of the body in early stages but it may spread if cancer is not diagnosed at early stage. There are more than 200 different type of cancer that can affect us. These may include lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, blood cancer, prostate cancer and much more.

Now the question arises that how cancer is caused? The causes of cancer are partially known to us. Its very complex to exactly state the cause of  cancer but there are so much things which are supposed to increase the risk of cancer such as obesity, very less physical activity, chewing of tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, exposure to radiations and environmental pollutants such as emissions from motor vehicles and factories. All these stated factors can increase the risk of cancer by causing cancerous mutations in our genes by manipulating them. Many cancers can be prevented by taking care of small small things like not to smoke, to eat as many as vegetables and fruits, minimizing sun radiation, to exercise daily, taking food full in whole grains, avoiding fried dishes and minimization of meat and non-veg food.

However cancer start taking its place silently but we can take care of ourselves by keeping in mind the symptoms of cancer so that it can be diagnosed at early stage and we can protect ourselves from this dangerous curse. Some general symptoms of cancer can be sudden loss of weight, formation of lump on and inside the body, bleeding from open holes of body, loss of appetite, dizziness, prolonged coughing and any sort of unwanted pain in the body. Cancer can be predicted by these symptoms and after this we must go for whole body screening and medical imaging. In this whole of body is examined and if any sort of cancer is detected it is then diagnosed by carrying out biopsy in which cells of infected tissue are observed under microscope and behavior of these cells can further led to the treatment of cancer.

Cancer is usually treated with the techniques radiation therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. There are a very few patients also which are cured with the help of Ayurveda treatments. We cannot predict the chances of survival for this deadly disease or we can say deadly curse as the chances vary according to the extent of tumor or cancer and also the location of disease.

REFERENCES:
American Cancer Society
Wikipedia
National Cancer Institute
WebMD