Cancer is characterized by abnormal, uncontrolled cell growth, and it disrupts normal body function, as it increases energy demands and alters body systems. There are many factors that can lead to the development of cancers, including genetic, behavioral, and environmental influences. The presence of disease is not always obvious; therefore, it is imperative for individuals to participate in screening interventions to promote early detection. Cancer diagnosis and treatment requires a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach to care, which is inclusive of definitive diagnosis and staging, and the management of associated disease complications and side effects related to treatment.
Diagnosis and Staging of Cancer
Cancers may be identified through a variety of ways, including lab and imaging studies, and tissue biopsy. While lab studies provide important data to clinicians, the results are typically not conclusive enough to make a cancer diagnosis. Similarly, imaging studies are useful in determining characteristics vital to tumor assessment. However, a definitive diagnosis is almost always made through the microscopic examination of biopsied tissue (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2015). Tissue biopsies can be obtained through fine-needle aspiration, endoscopic or surgical intervention. Once a cancer diagnosis has been made, a system of staging is initiated. Staging is determined, concurrent with diagnosis, and generally describes the extent to which a cancer has
The phase of cancer at the point of diagnosis varies for different cancers. Therefore, staging is performed by means of various methods such as MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging), CT (Computed tomography), X-rays, blood tests and special surgery. The three main reasons why staging of cancer is performed are: it determines the depth of the disease, helps determine the treatment by the phase of the cancer and helps determine the patient's projection of treatment and survival.
There are many different type of cancers, there are also many different types of treatments. One of the most known types of treatments would be chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can be used for a wide range of different types of cancers and diseases, and each of the different types of cancers or diseases require a different group, and sometimes order, of chemicals to properly treat the cancer or disease. These chemicals include: Alkylating agents, Antimetabolites, Anthracyclines, Topoisomerase inhibitors, mitotic inhibitors, corticosteroids, and more. Each of these drugs previously listed have its own cancer type(s) or disease(s) that it can assist in treating. Some of these cancers include: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple
Staging is the process of finding out how much cancer there is in the body and where it is located. It is how the doctor learns the stage of a person's cancer. Doctors use this information to plan treatment and to help predict a person's outlook (prognosis). Cancers with the same stage tend to have similar outlooks and are often treated the same way. The cancer stage is also a way for doctors to describe the extent of the cancer when they talk with each other about a person’s case.
Biopsy of the tumor. This is when a sample of the tumor is removed with a needle and studied.
Staging is the process of finding out how much the cancer is advanced . A new staging system called the international staging system for
Physicians can perform tests on DNA, RNA and cell proteins to determine if cancer is present within the body. After an individual discovers a sign that leads them to believe that cancerous cells are present within their body, an assessment of a biopsy is the most accurate and common procedure to determine the presence and type of cancer. A biopsy is a process in which a small sample of body tissue is removed and examined by an expert. These processes of detection lead to the declaration of cancer type and viable treatment plans.
Staging is used to locate cancer and to see if it's affecting any parts of the body. Doctors use staging in order to understand what stage of lung cancer a patient has. Once the stage is determined doctors will figure out what she should be used to cure the cancer. Lung cancer is different in each person, and treatment works differently for each tumor. Stages are determined by the size of the tumor, the location of the tumor, and whether the cancer has spread throughout the body. The first stage is stage 0. This stage means that the cancer is in place and it has not moved through the body. The
- Clinical staging is what health care professionals use to provide an idea at phase the tumor is at. This is helpful in determining the outcome of the patient’s cancer. This also aids in deciding what course of treatment that would confine and eliminate the cancer.
Many people believe that the symptoms of cancer are not present until the malignant tumor has spread beyond the stages at which it can be treated. This is not entirely true. Some types of cancer tend to be particularly "elusive" and do not manifest themselves in any way. However, most forms of the condition have noticeable symptoms. The problem is that they are usually similar to the ones of common and much less serious illnesses.
A biopsy of the suspected cancer tissue is the only definitive diagnosis (Davis, 2016). There are several different ways a biopsy can be obtained such as through an endoscopy, needle biopsy, and surgical biopsy. Once the biopsy is obtained the tissue is examined under a microscope to determine whether the tumor is malignant or benign, type of cancer, and the tumor grade ("Module 6: Cancer," 2011). The tumor grade refers to how similar or different the cells resemble the normal tissue. If the tumor cells resemble the normal tissue it is referred to as well differentiated and tends to be slow growing and leads to good prognosis. However, if the tumor cells do not resemble or only slightly resemble the normal tissue it is referred to as poorly differentiated or undifferentiated. This is usually indicative of a fast growing and more aggressive cells that may ultimately lead to a poorer prognosis (“Module 6: Cancer,” 2011).
According to Khalil et al. (2016), normal people also may experience some anxiety and fear as a part of their life. But, the high frequency of anxiety may be due to a lot of physical symptoms caused by cancer itself like sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness etc. This may be due to excessive fear about cancer progression or the impact of the illness. Patients having anxiety problems may also experience depression, but it should be remembered depression can make anxiety worse or vice versa (National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), 2012; https://www.nccn.org). According to a study by Khalil et al. (2016), gender is not a significant contributor to depression and anxiety in cancer patients. These results contradict a study by West et al.
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
In modern day medicine, the use of tissue biopsies is a well-established method for diagnosing cancer and other diseases. However, such procedures are often accompanied by technical limitations that can make obtaining the necessary amount of sample material from patients
Cancer is a disease that can change the life of a person no matter their age or nationality. Cancer can range from being life threatening to a low risk of death. Cancer cells are cells that do not follow the regular cell growth and division pattern. They go through cell division and produce rapidly. Cancer cells differ from regulating cells in the body because normal cells eventually die. Cancer cells, on the other hand, do not die when they should causing it to be very hard to cure cancer in your body.
My question being why is cancer becoming more common in firefighters and what are we going to do to help this situation? It’s not a faceless issue...it’s an issue affecting the heroes that put their lives on the line everyday serving and saving others. Now the lives of our firefighters are at risk and they need help.