Oral cancer is generally described as cancer of head and neck. It can affect any part of the mouth like tongue, cheeks, lips, hard palate, soft palate, floor of the tongue, internal lining of the cheeks, gums, lymph nodes etc. the most common form of oral cancer is squamous cell carcinoma which affects the flat skin like lining of the mouth. 90% mouth cancer patients have been detected with this form of mouth cancer.
There are other types of oral cancers affecting different areas of the mouth like the salivary gland cancer affecting the saliva producing gland, lymphoma which is caused in lymph around the tonsils and base of tongue and melanoma affecting the skin pigmentation cells around the mouth and lips.
Causes:
The causes of skin cancer are many and can't be restricted to anything in particular. Few major causes of oral tumor are smoking (cigarettes, pipe, hand rolled cigarettes like bidis or the one containing canabis) , alcohol, chewing of tobacco, beetlenut, gutka or pan, UV rays from sun which affects lips or pale skin and at times previous cancer which might reoccur. Other probable causes are poor dietary habits lacking essentially zinc, vitamin A, C, E, selenium .infection from HPV (human papilloma virus) which generally infects vulva, vagina and cervix.
Symptom:
The symptoms for oral cancer are very general which might sometimes turn out to be some other disease but nevertheless it is better to go to a dentist or a general physician or ENT specialist to rule out any possibility. The few visible symptoms are: white or red patch on the lips, inside of the mouth or around mouth which has been there for long , loose teeth, bleeding from mouth, soreness of lips and tongue, swelling in mouth, swelling in throat, ulcer of mouth and lips, a lump or thickening of lips mouth or tongue.
Treatment:
After mouth cancer has been established using X- Rays, MRI scan, endoscopy, CT scan and biopsy confirms the multiplicity of cells then the medical practitioner suggests treatment based on the physical stat and age of the patient, extent of infection and location of infection. Radiotherapy is commonly used method where radiation is used to destroy the cancerous cell in the affected area. At times surgery is performed to insert radioactive pellets in or around the tumor which gradually destroys the infected cells.
Surgery is another method used to remove the tumor from the infected area. It may be performed before or after radiotherapy. Chemotherapy is another treatment used for destroying cancerous cells. Anti cancerous drugs are used to shrink the tumor and later on surgery is performed to remove the infection. Time period of treatment and the strength of the medicine are dependent on the extent of infection.
Oral cancer is very common and can be avoided by taking care of ones lifestyle. Excessive intake of alcohol and cigarettes etc should be avoided. Chewing of tobacco should be strictly avoided and nutritious food should be incorporated in daily diet. After all health is wealth.
To Your Health!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_S._Pendergraft
Showing posts with label Treatments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Treatments. Show all posts
Uterine Cancer - Symptoms, Causes and Treatments | breast cancer husband
Uterine Cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, which actually start in the lining of the cells in the uterus. The womb or the uterus is a vital part of the reproductive system in a woman.
Type of Uterine Cancer
That cancer may denote various types of cancers, which occur in a woman's uterus. Uterine sarcomas, commonly known to be leiomyosarcomas are a type of uterine cancer, which occurs in the muscular layer of a uterus. Endometrial cancer is another type of uterine cancer, which originates from the cells that are located in the glands of the uterine lining or the endometrium. Cervical cancer is a different type of uterine cancer, which is known to arise from the lower portion of a uterus. It extends to the transitional zone of a woman's cervix and connecting to the upper part of her vagina.
Symptoms
A woman having uterine cancer can notice some common symptoms. However, they may differ from person to person depending upon the disease in consideration. Commons symptoms include painful or difficult urination, unusual discharge or vagina bleeding, extreme pain during the time of having sexual intercourse, a typical pelvic lump, abnormal weight loss, pain in the pelvic region and having never breast-fed. In fact, uterine cancer occurs rarely before menopause, during which a woman have regular menstrual periods.
It generally occurs during the time when the regular menstruation cycle stops. If a woman notices reappearance of bleeding at this stage of her life, she should immediately bring it to the attention of her general physician, as there may be a possibility of uterine cancer.
The most common symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal bleeding from a woman's uterus after her menopause. The bleeding may be in the form of a blood streaked, watery discharge containing more blood. In some cases, a woman may experience lower abdominal pain too.
Causes
There are different causes of uterine cancer, which have been discovered till date. Diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovaries having prolonged anovulation, nulliparity or having borne not a single child, lack of menstruation, extended usage of tamoxifen for the treatment of breast cancers and taking unopposed estrogen without progestin are some of the valid causes of uterine cancer.
Diagnosing the Disease
The cancer can be diagnosed by endometrial and endocervical sampling. Apart from these techniques, vaginal ultrasonography is also used to detect the thickness of the endometrium because increased thickness of the uterus may determine some serious cancerous change. Apart from this, the Pap test can also be an accurate way detecting uterine cancer but cannot be termed as a reliable source.
Treatment
The treatment of this cancer is performed on the basis of grade and stage of the cancer. Abdominal hysterectomy is a standard therapy, which involves in the surgical removal of the woman's uterus along with both the ovaries and fallopian tubes, washing of the abdominal cavity to determine malignant cells and the selective removal of the aortic and pelvic lymph nodes. Many doctors prefer usage of hormone therapy that removes the possibility of metastatic cancer. Again, women also opt for radiation therapy for the treatment of their uterine cancer.
Although treatment is a possibility for Uterine Cancer, still you should take immediate action after noticing the symptoms. Don't let it reach a level from where it cannot be cured!
To Your Health!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_S._Pendergraft
Type of Uterine Cancer
That cancer may denote various types of cancers, which occur in a woman's uterus. Uterine sarcomas, commonly known to be leiomyosarcomas are a type of uterine cancer, which occurs in the muscular layer of a uterus. Endometrial cancer is another type of uterine cancer, which originates from the cells that are located in the glands of the uterine lining or the endometrium. Cervical cancer is a different type of uterine cancer, which is known to arise from the lower portion of a uterus. It extends to the transitional zone of a woman's cervix and connecting to the upper part of her vagina.
Symptoms
A woman having uterine cancer can notice some common symptoms. However, they may differ from person to person depending upon the disease in consideration. Commons symptoms include painful or difficult urination, unusual discharge or vagina bleeding, extreme pain during the time of having sexual intercourse, a typical pelvic lump, abnormal weight loss, pain in the pelvic region and having never breast-fed. In fact, uterine cancer occurs rarely before menopause, during which a woman have regular menstrual periods.
It generally occurs during the time when the regular menstruation cycle stops. If a woman notices reappearance of bleeding at this stage of her life, she should immediately bring it to the attention of her general physician, as there may be a possibility of uterine cancer.
The most common symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal bleeding from a woman's uterus after her menopause. The bleeding may be in the form of a blood streaked, watery discharge containing more blood. In some cases, a woman may experience lower abdominal pain too.
Causes
There are different causes of uterine cancer, which have been discovered till date. Diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovaries having prolonged anovulation, nulliparity or having borne not a single child, lack of menstruation, extended usage of tamoxifen for the treatment of breast cancers and taking unopposed estrogen without progestin are some of the valid causes of uterine cancer.
Diagnosing the Disease
The cancer can be diagnosed by endometrial and endocervical sampling. Apart from these techniques, vaginal ultrasonography is also used to detect the thickness of the endometrium because increased thickness of the uterus may determine some serious cancerous change. Apart from this, the Pap test can also be an accurate way detecting uterine cancer but cannot be termed as a reliable source.
Treatment
The treatment of this cancer is performed on the basis of grade and stage of the cancer. Abdominal hysterectomy is a standard therapy, which involves in the surgical removal of the woman's uterus along with both the ovaries and fallopian tubes, washing of the abdominal cavity to determine malignant cells and the selective removal of the aortic and pelvic lymph nodes. Many doctors prefer usage of hormone therapy that removes the possibility of metastatic cancer. Again, women also opt for radiation therapy for the treatment of their uterine cancer.
Although treatment is a possibility for Uterine Cancer, still you should take immediate action after noticing the symptoms. Don't let it reach a level from where it cannot be cured!
To Your Health!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_S._Pendergraft
Leukemia - What Are the Causes, Symptoms and Treatments? | breast cancer husband
Leukemia is cancer of your body's blood-forming tissues, including your bone marrow and lymphatic system. The 3 main forms of the disease are;
1. Acute Leukemia which is a malignant proliferation of white blood cell blasts in bone marrow or lymph tissue. 2. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia also known as granulocytic leukemia. 3. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which is common in the elderly and accounts for about 25% of all new leukemia cases.
Acute leukemia accounts for about 20% of leukemias, it's most common forms are: 1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) 2. Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) 3. Acute monoblastic leukemia ( Schilling's type )
Incidence of Acute Leukemia Leukemia can occur at any age, acute forms of leukemia can occur in children and young adults and in fact in this age group it is the most common form of cancer. It is more common in females than in males, in whites ( especially those of Jewish extraction ) and in urban and industrialized populations.
Risk Factors Several congenital conditions may increase the risk of leukemia; the most common is probably Down syndrome, which is associated with a 10 to 18 fold increase in the risk of AML.
In general, nonidentical twins and other siblings of children with leukemia have two to four times the average risk of developing the disease. Also, children who have received prior radiation or chemotherapy for other types of cancer have a higher risk of contracting leukemia.
Signs and Symptoms Signs of acute leukemia may include; high fever, abnormal bleeding, easy bruising and prolonged menses. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is more gradual with low grade fever, weakness, chills, recurrent infections or lassitude, lasting for days or months before visual symptoms occur.
In addition, all AML, ALL and Schilling's type leukemias may cause anemia, fatigue, dyspnea, palpitations and abdominal or bone pain. Specific AML symptoms include, local infections such as laryngitis, joint pain and abdominal fullness. Specific ALL symptoms include, night sweats, anorexia, weight loss and shortness of breath.
Leukemia that has spread to the brain may produce central nervous system effects, such as headaches, seizures, weakness, blurred vision, balance difficulties, or vomiting. Leukemia cells may spread to the gums, causing swelling, pain, and bleeding.
Causes of Leukemia Current research points to a combination of viruses, genetic factors, and exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation.
Treatment Medically leukemia is treated mainly with chemotherapy, although radiotherapy and biological therapy can be used in certain subtypes of leukemia.
Nutritional supplements offer help support the healthy function of the immune system, and in particular, the white blood cells in leukemia patients. In addition, some nutritional supplements are able to kill leukemia cells.
Prognosis for Acute Leukemia Untreated, acute leukemia is usually fatal, often because of complications that result from leukemic cells infiltrating into the bone marrow or vital body organs.
With treatment prognosis varies, survival rates in leukemia have risen dramatically in the last 40 years with improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Children between 2 and 8 have the best survival rate (around 50%) but overall, treatment does induce remission in about 90% of cases.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dick_Aronson
1. Acute Leukemia which is a malignant proliferation of white blood cell blasts in bone marrow or lymph tissue. 2. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia also known as granulocytic leukemia. 3. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which is common in the elderly and accounts for about 25% of all new leukemia cases.
Acute leukemia accounts for about 20% of leukemias, it's most common forms are: 1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) 2. Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) 3. Acute monoblastic leukemia ( Schilling's type )
Incidence of Acute Leukemia Leukemia can occur at any age, acute forms of leukemia can occur in children and young adults and in fact in this age group it is the most common form of cancer. It is more common in females than in males, in whites ( especially those of Jewish extraction ) and in urban and industrialized populations.
Risk Factors Several congenital conditions may increase the risk of leukemia; the most common is probably Down syndrome, which is associated with a 10 to 18 fold increase in the risk of AML.
In general, nonidentical twins and other siblings of children with leukemia have two to four times the average risk of developing the disease. Also, children who have received prior radiation or chemotherapy for other types of cancer have a higher risk of contracting leukemia.
Signs and Symptoms Signs of acute leukemia may include; high fever, abnormal bleeding, easy bruising and prolonged menses. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is more gradual with low grade fever, weakness, chills, recurrent infections or lassitude, lasting for days or months before visual symptoms occur.
In addition, all AML, ALL and Schilling's type leukemias may cause anemia, fatigue, dyspnea, palpitations and abdominal or bone pain. Specific AML symptoms include, local infections such as laryngitis, joint pain and abdominal fullness. Specific ALL symptoms include, night sweats, anorexia, weight loss and shortness of breath.
Leukemia that has spread to the brain may produce central nervous system effects, such as headaches, seizures, weakness, blurred vision, balance difficulties, or vomiting. Leukemia cells may spread to the gums, causing swelling, pain, and bleeding.
Causes of Leukemia Current research points to a combination of viruses, genetic factors, and exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation.
Treatment Medically leukemia is treated mainly with chemotherapy, although radiotherapy and biological therapy can be used in certain subtypes of leukemia.
Nutritional supplements offer help support the healthy function of the immune system, and in particular, the white blood cells in leukemia patients. In addition, some nutritional supplements are able to kill leukemia cells.
Prognosis for Acute Leukemia Untreated, acute leukemia is usually fatal, often because of complications that result from leukemic cells infiltrating into the bone marrow or vital body organs.
With treatment prognosis varies, survival rates in leukemia have risen dramatically in the last 40 years with improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Children between 2 and 8 have the best survival rate (around 50%) but overall, treatment does induce remission in about 90% of cases.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dick_Aronson
Bone Cancer - Causes, Symptoms and Treatments | breast cancer husband
Cancer having its origin in the bones is referred to as bone cancer in medical terms. Bone cancers are relatively uncommon when compared to metastatic (cancer occurring initiated in another organ and spreading to bone tissues) or secondary cancer.
Bone Cancer Causes
Underlying causes behind bone Cancer is still unclear. However, there are certain risk factors that have been identified. Most of them suggest that Estrogen, female hormone, plays an imperative role in development and progress of this cancer. It's known that women, having menstrual period for the first time before 11 or at a very later stage in their life, are more prone for developing this disease. The reason being that they remain exposed to higher levels of estrogen for a longer period of time. Again, count of menstrual cycle prior to first pregnancy is also considered significant. Experts believe that women having their first child below the age of 20 might be affected in the near future. Breastfeeding offers additional protective effect.
Bone Cancer Symptoms
Bone Cancer Symptoms are many linked to the location of the bone, which has been affected by cancer in the body. Common symptom associated with bone cancer is tenderness, swelling or pain in the affected area. Lump formation might also accompany bone cancer in a patient. Although the detection of lump associated to the cancer is difficult in the early stages, it can be felt when the disease occurs in or around the joints. Still, you cannot consider any of these symptoms as prominent signs of bone cancer.
Bone Cancer Treatment
Treatment for cancer of bone, mainly metastatic cancer, has 2 goals:
-Managing neoplasm
-Managing symptoms produced by local lesion
Prognosis is mainly affected by patient's age, primary tumor size, lymphatic & blood vessel invasion degree, symptoms duration and tumor location on arm, trunk or leg.
There are 2 methods for treating bone metastasis. Systemic Therapy is aimed for treating cancer cells spread throughout your body. It includes hormone therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Local therapy is aimed towards killing cancerous cells of a specific portion on the body. It includes surgery and radiation therapy.
Surgery:
It is often extensive and involves the removal of a wide margin of tissue surrounding the tumor. Sarcomas, which involve muscles, also require removing the entire affected group of muscles.
Radiation Therapy:
It is mainly used for preventing local recurrence of radiosensitive tumor and given either before or following the surgery.
Chemotherapy:
Several drugs have proven effective for treating bone & soft tissue sarcoma. However, required dosages for providing a great chance to cure might lead to significant side-effects. Effective agents include cyclophosphamide, etoposide, vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), dactinomycin (Actinomycin D), dacarbazine and investigational agent. In some cases, even combinations of all these drugs are used.
Hormone Therapy:
It's either removal of organs producing hormones promoting growth of specific cancer types (testosterone and estrogen) or drug therapy for keeping hormones from promoting growth of cancer.
Even after completely removing bone or soft tissue sarcoma, significant risk is there that small tumors, left undetected, may spread to other regions in the body. Adjuvant Chemotherapy attempts for eliminating such tumor deposits.
Even, there are safer and effective methods for treating pain. Medications will allow people for being free of pain and continue the activities essential to them.
To Your Health!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_S._Pendergraft
Bone Cancer Causes
Underlying causes behind bone Cancer is still unclear. However, there are certain risk factors that have been identified. Most of them suggest that Estrogen, female hormone, plays an imperative role in development and progress of this cancer. It's known that women, having menstrual period for the first time before 11 or at a very later stage in their life, are more prone for developing this disease. The reason being that they remain exposed to higher levels of estrogen for a longer period of time. Again, count of menstrual cycle prior to first pregnancy is also considered significant. Experts believe that women having their first child below the age of 20 might be affected in the near future. Breastfeeding offers additional protective effect.
Bone Cancer Symptoms
Bone Cancer Symptoms are many linked to the location of the bone, which has been affected by cancer in the body. Common symptom associated with bone cancer is tenderness, swelling or pain in the affected area. Lump formation might also accompany bone cancer in a patient. Although the detection of lump associated to the cancer is difficult in the early stages, it can be felt when the disease occurs in or around the joints. Still, you cannot consider any of these symptoms as prominent signs of bone cancer.
Bone Cancer Treatment
Treatment for cancer of bone, mainly metastatic cancer, has 2 goals:
-Managing neoplasm
-Managing symptoms produced by local lesion
Prognosis is mainly affected by patient's age, primary tumor size, lymphatic & blood vessel invasion degree, symptoms duration and tumor location on arm, trunk or leg.
There are 2 methods for treating bone metastasis. Systemic Therapy is aimed for treating cancer cells spread throughout your body. It includes hormone therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Local therapy is aimed towards killing cancerous cells of a specific portion on the body. It includes surgery and radiation therapy.
Surgery:
It is often extensive and involves the removal of a wide margin of tissue surrounding the tumor. Sarcomas, which involve muscles, also require removing the entire affected group of muscles.
Radiation Therapy:
It is mainly used for preventing local recurrence of radiosensitive tumor and given either before or following the surgery.
Chemotherapy:
Several drugs have proven effective for treating bone & soft tissue sarcoma. However, required dosages for providing a great chance to cure might lead to significant side-effects. Effective agents include cyclophosphamide, etoposide, vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), dactinomycin (Actinomycin D), dacarbazine and investigational agent. In some cases, even combinations of all these drugs are used.
Hormone Therapy:
It's either removal of organs producing hormones promoting growth of specific cancer types (testosterone and estrogen) or drug therapy for keeping hormones from promoting growth of cancer.
Even after completely removing bone or soft tissue sarcoma, significant risk is there that small tumors, left undetected, may spread to other regions in the body. Adjuvant Chemotherapy attempts for eliminating such tumor deposits.
Even, there are safer and effective methods for treating pain. Medications will allow people for being free of pain and continue the activities essential to them.
To Your Health!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_S._Pendergraft
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