Being told by a physician after undergoing an evaluation that you have cancer can be a life-changing. Cancer is a major factor in the global burner of disease.
It is not just one disease. There are many types of cancer. It can develop in many different places in the body, such as the lungs, the colon, the throat, the breast or even in the blood. Each type of cancer is different in a way it spreads and grows.
Different cells in the human body have a certain job to do. Normal cells in our body grow and divide to replace the worn out or damaged cells. While cancer cells start to grow and multiply out of control. The cancer cells can also be called as abnormal cells, and they keep on growing and multiplying for making new abnormal cells..
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These abnormal cells have a tendency to spread to other parts of the body. For instance, if there is a growth of cancer cells in the lungs, then it is quite likely to spread to the bones and multiply there. When cancer cells spread, it is called metastasis. When the lung cancer spreads to the bones then also it is called as lung cancer because the origin of cancer is the lungs. It cannot be called as bone cancer until the growth started in the bones.
Certain types of cancers tend to grow and multiply very quickly while others progress slowly. Different types of cancers respond to treatment in different ways. Some are best treated with drugs called chemotherapy while others respond best to surgery. The disease can also be treated by two or more treatments to get the best results.
Determine the stage which one is yours
Once you are diagnosed with cancer, then the next step is to determine the stage of cancer. It is very important for the treatment of cancer cells. Your healthcare professional needs to know whether the abnormal cells spread to from the place or origin or not. If it has spread to other parts of the body, then he/she needs to know how far it has spread to determine the best treatment for cancer. Once your health care professional has determined this, then he/she will be able to tell you the stage of your cancer.
There are different tests for different types of cancers that need to be performed to find out the stage of cancer. Cancer has been divided into the following stages:
- Lower stage (stage I or II) – This means that cancer has not spread very much.
- Higher stage (III or IV) – These stages indicate that the growth of cancer cells has spread more.
For more information, ask your healthcare professional to explain about the stage of your cancer and what that means for you. Whether your condition is at a dangerous level or you still have time to recover.
Treatment of Cancers
Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery are the three most common treatments for cancer.
- The method of surgery is used to remove cancer when it is limited to the organ where it started. All parts of the affected organ will be removed by the surgeon to prevent the multiplication of cancer cells. For prostate cancer, the prostate gland will be removed while for breast cancer cure, if it is restricted to one breast, then one part is removed, but if both sides affect the surgeon will take out all of the breasts.
- Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy these abnormal cells to slow down the growth. Some chemotherapy can be given via injections while others are swallowed as a pill or liquid. Chemo drugs are extremely useful for metastatic cancers as they are well known to travel to all parts of the body.
Also Read: How to Prevent Breast Cancer?
Radiation is another cancer therapy that is used to kill the cancer cells and stops their growth. It can be used as a monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy and surgery.
