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Informative Articles

8 Steps for a Woman Dancing with Cancer
Susun Weed offers 8 steps to follow after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Submit. Give up. Make room for the miracle. Inform yourself. Listen to your intuition. Examine all the options, but only use what feels right to you. ...

Benefits of a High Fiber Diet
Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber are associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers, diabetes, digestive disorders, and heart disease. Diets low in fat and rich in fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and...

Dietary Carcinogens That Increases The Risk Of Cancer
One way our diet may increase the risk of cancer is by dietary carcinogens. There are four groups of carcinogens: • Naturally present carcinogens • Carcinogens forming during food preparation • Preservatives and coloring agents added to food...

Estrogen Side Effects - Do You Know Them?
Estrogen side effects definitely exist, and one should understand the difference between natural estrogen and synthetic estrogen. The most commonly prescribed synthetic estrogen is Premarin, currently manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals....

How Second Hand Smoke Threatens Your Health
Secondhand smoking, breathing in of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is also called passive smoking. It is when a person breathes in smoke given off into the environment by other people. Secondhand smoke or ETS is a combination of side stream...

Menopause and Bioidentical Hormones
Can menopause symptoms be safely comforted with bioidentical hormones? Recent research suggests that menopause can be treated with bioidentical hormones, a natural replacement for a woman's body, with no reported side effects. In the past,...

The Facts About Lung Cancer - Better To Be Aware
Keep yourself abreast of facts about lung cancer, as the statistics of affliction are staggering and in most cases, lung cancer can even be prevented. Cancer, the dreaded disease, is a malady marked by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells,...

Victorious
“There it is again.” I muttered to myself, frustrated as I washed my arm. Every morning for five or six days in the fall of 2003, I noticed rust-colored sticky stuff appearing on my left forearm and thigh. Finally, to my shock and horror, I...

Which Self Help Group is Right For You?
Are you going through a tough time in your life? Do you feel like you’re all alone with your problem? Chances are that there are a lot of other people who are facing a similar difficulty right now, perhaps even other people in your own...

Why Are Antioxidants Important To Me?
Did you know that when we breath oxygen, it interacts with certain molecules in our bodies to create free radicals and that these free radicals damage important cellular structures such as DNA and cell membranes? Well, it is true and this damage...

 
 
 
Cancer- The Real Facts

Cancer has a fearsome reputation. Not without reason either. It is a disease that has not yet fully yielded to the skills and intelligence of medical scientists and doctors. And, as if the pain from the disease is not enough, the treatment for cancer, too, inflicts heavy suffering on the body.

Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled and abnormal cell division. Cancer spreads in the body and destroys tissues when the cancer cells travel through the blood stream or the lymphatic system. The runaway growth of cells is caused by mutations to the DNA in the cells that makes the cells unable to control cell division. This mutation can either be inherited or acquired. The mortality rate in cancer depends on the type of cancer and where it develops.

Among cancers, lung cancer is the biggest killer, causing up to 3 million deaths every year worldwide. It affects the above-50 age group population most and is one of the most common types of cancers that occur in the Western countries. The main risk factor for lung cancer is smoking. Cigarette smoke, especially, contains several carcinogens. It is estimated that 80 per cent of all lung cancers are caused by smoking. The role of passive smoking in causing lung cancer is also being recognized by studies.

Another carcinogen that causes lung cancer is asbestos. This substance, which is widely used because of its fire-resistant qualities, causes a rare type of cancer called mesothelioma cancer. In mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer or asbestos cancer, malignant cells develop in the pleura, the outer lining of the lungs and the chest cavity.

The problem with asbestos cancer is that diagnosis is difficult. For one, the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer occur only 30-50 years after the exposure to asbestos. Second, the symptoms of asbestos lung cancer, such as shortness of breath and chest pain, are similar to those of many other

 


medical conditions.

The incidence of mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer has increased in the last two decades. Still it is considered a relatively rare form of lung cancer, because the incidence rate is only 1 per 1,000,000 people. This could be as high as 7-40 per 1,000,000 in the industrialized nations. By contrast, the incidence of lung cancer is 1,000 per 1,000,000.

The common lung cancer treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, the conventional treatment methods have not been very successful in the case of asbestos cancer, yielding only a median survival rate of 6-12 months after the presentation.

Again, surgery does not have much effect on small-cell lung cancer. A treatment method for lung cancer that has become increasingly popular in recent years is radiofrequency ablation. This technique is especially effective in destroying the cancerous cells inside the tumors. These cells are 'cooked' by inserting a small heat probe into the tumor. This technique is also non-toxic and causes very little pain for the patient.

However, there is hope for the cancer-affected. Scientists are developing new techniques of treatment, such as molecular targeted therapies, for lung cancer. Better and more effective therapies can be expected as scientists and researchers coax out more secrets from the human cells.


About the Author: Lisa Hyde-Barrett, a registered nurse and wellness advocate, understands the relationship between awareness and prevention and make breast cancer awareness a top goal! Please visit her site: http://www.support-cancer-awareness.com

Source: www.isnare.com