News and Articles on Health. Medical research topics.

Cancer is a disease that weakens a person once they hear it. It is a disease wherein there is only a fifty-fifty chance of getting well. It is sad to know that more and more people across the globe are dying every single day because of cancer. If we are not precautious with regards to proper care of our bodies, then we might be candidates of this disease.

Who gets cancer? Anyone can get the disease. It is not only a hereditary disease but it may also be acquired or develop by itself if we have poor immune system. Lifestyle attributes to the development of this type of illness. For instance, if an individual is a chain smoker, he is at high risk of getting lung cancer. If he loves to eat carcinogenic food preparations or perhaps have irregular bowel movement, then he is at high risk of colon cancer. There are still so many types of cancer that we really need to know about. Unfortunately, due to having busy lives, some people have taken learning important facts for granted not knowing that it will be very helpful to them.

Treatment of cancer depends upon the severity. There are several options for a cancer patient to consider. We all have heard of the treatment chemotherapy. Chemotherapy works through the use of chemotherapeutic drugs that will destroy cancer cells. This treatment does not really cure the disease but it helps in alleviating the symptoms. One advantage of chemotherapy is that it has the ability to reach cancer cells that have already metastasized in other parts of the body.

Another popular treatment is through undergoing surgery. Through surgery, the cancerous part or the tumor is surgically removed. Like for example in breast cancer, the patient undergoes mastectomy which is the removal of the affected breast. Through the surgery, it will prevent the cancer cells from affecting other parts of the body. Cancer surgery will help in removing localized tumors so that follow-up treatment like radiation and chemotherapy will be more effective.

And lastly, there is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy can be a curative treatment for cancer or it could also be a palliative one. In radiation therapy, the DNA of cancer cells is damaged through the help of protons, electrons and neutrons that will ionize the DNA cells and thus will break its chain. In other words, it helps destroy cells and shrink the tumor. To prevent damage of normal tissues, radiation oncologist will make sure that the external beam radiation are focused on several angles of exposure that will intersect at the tumor and will then receive a much larger and absorbed dose. This type of treatment is proven effective in some childhood types of cancer.

Before a cancer patient is treated, he needs to briefly talk with his physician in order for him to know the different options that he can take to survive. It is hard to accept that our loved ones or perhaps a dear friend has this disease. Our support and our presence will always be the best treatment that they will ever receive.

There is a worldwide campaign against the use of asbestos, and laws have been laid banning its production. Asbestos was named after the Greek word for indestructible. A great reason why asbestos is such a deadly mineral is its indestructibility. Asbestos was used as a cheap and stable ingredient of construction that was resilient to corrosion, heat, fire etc. Chrysotile is the most popular form although Crocidolite and Amosite are used too.

Asbestos is a stable mineral which was used for lot many purposes before its potential risk was discovered. It is used along with concrete for ceilings, as a thermal insulation layer, and also as fire retardant, because of the nature of its particles which are not easily affected by heat, or pressure.

Asbestos is dangerous because the particles of asbestos could live on and on for a long time. Through demotion of buildings, renovation etc, asbestos fibers can be released in air and might find their way into water resources too. These particles are extremely small, sometimes 700 times smaller than human air, which makes them extremely difficult targets for cleansing. This particulate matter finds its way into the body where it causes numerous health issues. Most of the asbestos particles can enter the human system through inhalation or ingestion.

Asbestos has been deemed as a category 1 carcinogen, and most people with prolonged exposure to this deadly mineral have been seen to develop cancer in the long term. The asbestos particles are very durable, and do not evaporate in heat or dissolve in liquids. Hence these particles cannot be easily destroyed and hence remain in the human system once they enter it causing irreparable damage.

People exposed to asbestos debris have a high chance of developing lung cancer, and the survival rate is rather low over a one to five year period. Asbestos fibers that are breathed also injure the delicate lining of the lungs and other internal organs. The scar tissues due to abrasion caused by asbestos fibers also known as pleural plaques result in asbestosis. Mesothelioma is another cancer caused by breathing in air with high asbestos content. This develops from Mesothelium which is a protective lining of most of the internal organs.

Even family members, who wash clothes of the person exposed to asbestos, are susceptible to this form of cancer. This cancer could develop, in some cases, years after a worker has stopped working at construction sites. This fact is what makes asbestos exposure all the more dangerous.

The law prohibits hiring workers for asbestos removal or renovation, without proper certification or approval. There are special contractors, who specialize in dealing with asbestos and only they should be hired for the task. Removing asbestos while destroying older buildings is hence done very careful after lot of wetting. This ensures that the asbestos powder is not dry and released in the air as small particles. Instead, the wet asbestos and concrete particles could be collected in polythenes that can be later sealed and disposed off. The disposal of asbestos too needs special permissions.

The pancreas does some very important functions for the body. This organ produces enzymes that helps the small intestines with digestion and absorbing nutrients. The pancreas also has the important function of producing insulin. This is why you really need to make sure if you have any family history or any of the risk factors of pancreatic cancer to have it regularly checked. Most of the time with pancreatic cancer it will start out with absolutely no symptoms at all. This means that by the time anyone really notices that they have any pancreatic cancer symptoms, the cancer may be in more advanced stages.

The symptoms, after the cancer has become more advanced, may cause one to believe that it is just a simple stomach virus or other digestive problem. You may develop pain near the stomach. Some people may experience extreme tiredness and being weak which will also possibly make you think it is just some kind of virus. Some may experience insomnia which is a common problem for people even if they do not have pancreatic cancer. Some people will experience weight loss. While others may have jaundice. Jaundice is when you have a yellowing color of your skin and the whites of your eyes will turn a yellowish color. Unfortunately, these symptoms may not even be noticed until you are in some of the more advanced stages of the disease. Anyone who has been experiencing any kind of discomfort in their abdomen or upper back or have had any of these symptoms need to be checked out by a doctor to be properly diagnosed. The earlier pancreatic cancer is diagnosed the greater chance you have at surviving it. Often even if you do have pancreatic cancer treated, there is always that chance that you may have a recurrence which may mean that if will be more severe.

The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is often very unfavorable no matter if it is caught in the early stages or in the more advanced stages. This is due to how rapidly it will spread to different parts of the body before you will even notice a problem. This is what makes pancreatic cancer so life threatening to people. If the cancer has spread, then many people do not make it for more than one year after diagnosis. If it has not spread to other organs then there is a higher rate of survival if it is treated promptly.

Cancer is, as we know, a life changing experience for the cancer sufferer, their friends and families. Cancer and cancer treatment both have instead drastic psychological and physiologic effectuates on the diseased person. Knowing of these effectuates earlier treatment may give you a head start and a adventure to mentally prepare yourself, just a little, for what is to come. This info may also helper you weigh up the odds, on whether you prefer to go through with treatment or not.

Physiological Effects of Cancer

• Sexual Dysfunction: a few cancer patients and sub sisters may know a level of sexual dysfunction. This can occur to both male person and female person and there are ways around them.
• Chronic Pain: The cancer patient may experience consistent, chronic pain later prolonged cancer treatment.
• Infertility: Both male and female patients and survivors may experience infertility.
• Constant Fatigue: Patients and sub sisters may feel like they’re constantly tired and don’t have the motivation or energy to total easy, daily tasks.
• Numbness: Numbness is caused by a condition called Neuropathy. The numbness is common in the patient’s hands and feet.
• Osteoporosis: Is a condition which causes your bones to get really fragile and weak.
• Incontinence: Uncontrollable urination is effectuating a few patients may know.
• Multiple Cancers: it’s possible to get a 2nd cancer, other than the one diagnosed for. It’s better to find this out through with your doctor, as soon as possible.
• Hair Loss: Hair loss is basic during the treatment of cancer. Whenever this is a problem, consult with your doctor on ways to deal with the hair loss.
• Ostomies: An Ostomy is a surgical opening, with a pipe linking to a bag on the outside of the body.

Psychological Effects of Cancer

• Stress: A high ranking of stress is often attributed to cancer and can be common fallout.
• Low Confidence: Due to the physical and mental changes cancer and cancer treatment can have on the patients it can often result in down self esteem and self confidence.
• Depression: Depression is generally found in cancer patients and sub sisters. This could be attributed to the physical effects of the cancer treatment.

Whenever you see these side effects in either yourself or a dearest, later operation, please alert your doctor so that they can give advice on what steps to take next. If you’ve found out that you’ve cancer, or someone you know is named with cancer, try to help them understand fully what they’re up against before they’ve start the treatment. Get your doctor to explain everything in particular, the pros and cons and everything middle so that you can be mentally prepared for what is ahead.

Fear getting cancer? You are not lonely. The fear of cancer is one of the biggest long run anxieties plaguing modern man. A United Kingdom nonprofit survey has newly demonstrated that more than 15% of United Kingdom citizens consider the fear of cancer to be their biggest fear. In several persons, this fear can result in such that debilitating panic that it interferes with normal life. Has not cancer caused sufficiency pain already, to those who have it and their grieving friends and relatives? It’s a real tragedy that, in addition to the devastating effects of the disease itself, cancer must cause this second order anxiety among people who do not even have it.

Cancer Anxiety Can Hurt Your Life

several of those who live their lives dreading this fearful disease are embarrassed about their fearful state. These victims of phobia headache that their anxieties are not legitimate even though they cause them important pain, After all, what’s to be afraid of? Does not their imaginary suffering do ill service to real victims of the disease?

However, cancer phobia is a critical problem in one’s own right. This sort of terror can seriously interfere with a sufferer’s medical health. Those who fear cancer routinely reject to see medical health care provider or clinics, out of irrational dread of catching the disease or because they dread the prospect of being diagnosed.

When a diagnosis of cancer is given, the patient is often left with a feeling of loss. Questions soon start running through the mind and many of the answers will be dependent on the ability of current treatment methods to stop the spread of the cancer and kill the offending cells. The process of treatment commonly involved the use of diagnostic tools that provided a more general location of the tumor of cancer cells. Nanomedicine has the ability to pinpoint specific locations for targeted treatment.

The Three Steps to Curing Cancer With Nanomedicine

Once the diagnosis is made, time is of the essence. The sooner treatment is started, the better the chance of the medications and therapies working to destroy the cells. Here is how nanomedicine helps that process become more effective.
Targeting Medication Injected – Targeting medication is used to surround the cells. Once injected, they move to the cancer site and surround the area needing treatment.
Focused Diagnosis and Treatment – The nanomolecules are visible on imaging tests that help doctors to focus treatment on just the right area. X-rays show the nanos are a bright ring around the cells.
Treatment and Cure – When doctors know precisely where the cancer cells are located, they can increase the chance of cure by directing radiotherapy at the cells without damaging surrounding tissues.
The only thing holding back the mass use of nanotechnology in medicine is the lack of long term effect knowledge. How these nanos affect the body after treatment is not well known which means more research is needed into this area.

Occupational hazards have always existed in many industries. In the years dating back to the 1940’s asbestos was considered a miracle discovery due to the insulation values. Asbestos was used in the retention of heat in ship building, construction, and equipment manufacturing.
Today however, asbestos has been recognized as a highly dangerous airborne fiber that lodges in the pleura area of the chest cavity. This fiber bonds with normally healthy cells and corrupts the ongoing natural mutation of cell reproduction. The resulting disease is known as asbestos lung cancer or Mesothelioma. There is little known about asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma cancer treatment. The standard cancer treatments have had little or no long term success. The three most common types of treatment available are surgical removal of the cancerous tumor, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The use of radiation therapy consists of placing concentrations of high intensity x-rays directly to the affected area to shrink tumors and or to kill cancer cells.
Up until this last year, the use of radiation therapy has been the norm in combating this terrible disease. Chemotherapy is becoming more popular in the health care field as a treatment for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy is defined as a use of drugs to kill the cancer cells in one particular area. Chemotherapy drugs are general ingested in pill form or are injected into a vein or directly into the affected area. When chemotherapy is applied by injection the most popular method is to deliver the medication straight to the chest cavity or tumor. Chemotherapy has some downsides or side affects. Generally the patient suffers from extreme nausea, hair loss, and exhaustion. Due to the extreme side effects this treatment it is not recommended for extremely ill or physically weak patients.
The most invasive form of mesothelioma cancer treatment is surgical removal of the tumor or the entire affected lung.
The procedure known as pleurectomy decortication is the removal of the abdominal lining and the tissue that surrounds it. This is done to relieve pain and avoid the fluid build up between the lung and the chest cavity. A more invasive form of surgery is referred to as extrapleural pneumonectomy. This procedure is designed to remove the lung and the lining along with the diaphragm. Health care professionals have found that a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy have increased success by a larger percentage. The combination of different chemotherapy drug types and experimenting with dosages have also increased the survival rate to 9 to 12 month longer that with out the treatment. We all know that as with many forms of cancer there is no cure for this dreaded disease.

The health care professionals mentioned in this article are fighting an uphill battle in an attempt to bring a cure to this disease. Many health care professionals believe that any cure that may be derived will come from research and development in the DNA make up of a single human cell.