Cancer

One of them is Gleevec (Imatinib mesylate), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was called a “magical bullet”. This was the first targeted therapy drug used to treat cancer. It was invented in the late 1990’s, to treat “chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal growth”. Imatinib is tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Tyrosine kinase is a protein that cells use to signal to each other to grow (Iqbal and Iqbal, 2014, p.1). It works by preventing a tyrosine kinase enzyme and therefore inhibits growth factor-induced receptor phosphorylation and blocks the PDGF/PDGFR and P13-k/Akt pathway (Kheradmand, et.al.2016, p.83). According to Richardson (2010, p.679), the drug Velcade was also known as “Bortezomib” is useful in the treatment of multiple myelomas. The main goal of this drug is to lower the tumor growth significantly. The American cancer society (2013, para.20) studies show Bortezomib is a “proteasome inhibitor”. It works by blocking or slowing down the action of proteosome is to break down protein in both healthy and cancerous cells. When proteosome activity is blocked, proteins in the cells accumulate. This accumulation may cause cells to stop growing and multiplying, and cause them to die and Sutent (Sunitinib) is a drug used to treat metastatic renal cell carcinoma. It is currently approved as a second-line treatment of MRCC. Sunitinib inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and stops the growth of tumors (Kolesar, et.al. 2008, pp.123 131). It is considered as a multi- targeted kinase inhibitor because it is a type of VEGF inhibitor, an angiogenesis inhibitor, and it blocks an enzyme called tyrosine kinase. By doing all of this, it slows cancer growth and keeps tumors from making their own blood vessels to help them grow and spread (American

Situation: The client is a 50-year-old female teacher who was notified of an abnormal screening mammogram. Diagnosis of infiltrating ductal carcinoma was made following a stereotactic needle biopsy of a 1.5 x 1.5 cm lobulated mass at the 3:00 position in her left breast. The client had a modified radical mastectomy with lymph node dissection. The sentinel lymph node and 11 of 16 lymph nodes were positive for tumor. Estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors were both positive. Further staging work-up was negative for distant metastasis. Her final staging was stage IIB. Her prescribed chemotherapy regimen is 6 cycles of CAF after a single-lumen central line was placed.

From surgery to radium exposure to such extremes as radiation therapy, as doctors’ knowledge of the varying types of cancer, and the expansion of medical research regarding cancer has changed, so has the preferred method of treatment. Doctors and researchers dedicated to studying cancer have led to a greater understanding of cancer development; consequently the development of treatments and cures that are more effective, less harmful, have fewer side effects, and in some cases serve to prevent the spread of cancer.

Some of traditional drugs may be effective in patients whose cancers have a specific molecular target, and not for other patients. To solve this problem of patient-specificity, pharmaceutical research have seen the expansion of individually tailored cancer treatment, which is an application of targeted therapy, and this is where biopharmaceuticals are. As an increasing part of the population is diagnosed with cancer and as these patients live longer, increasing care will be given to patients who have received these drugs. Moreover, in the case of cancer therapy, those drugs and especially with mABs are a promise of less side effects : recombinant DNA technology makes it possible to genetically engineer an antibody to reduce the risk of host immune response.

Finding a panacea for cancer will be an arduous task with a very lengthy and discouraging trial and error period. Inevitably there will be some trying hurdles to get past in search of this cancer panacea, but, one that seems to be the most difficult to get passed is the severity and variety of the case presented. Doctors see this as overwhelming and very daunting since they do not want to get a patient’s hopes up if the medicine turns out not to work, or cause things to get worse. If doctors believe they have found this new and astonishing drug that cures all cancer at all stages and they prescribe it but turns out to only make the cancer worse, they will have to live knowing that they hurt all of these people and their families forever. In

Abstract Cancer “Sucks” and many individuals today are dealing with it or know someone who has dealt with it. The late president Richard Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971 and we have been fighting the battle ever since (McCarthy, 2015, paras. 16). Since the declaration many possible cures were developed and chemotherapy is the one which seems to work on almost every cancer. However, this treatment has drawbacks that are either controversial or questionable as to what degree they help with defeating cancer.

I would refer a family friend or colleague to the American Cancer Society (ACS) website where a huge selection of support programs is offered throughout treatment and recovery (ACS, 2017c). There is an entire section dedicated to assisting with finding resources in whatever area someone is in or near and different programs from which to choose (ACS, 2017c). Visitors of the website can also filter their search based on an array of different choices ranging from, but not limited to, advocacy, assistance, information, referral, supplies, support groups, and transportation (ACS, 2017c). The website is also very easy to navigate with phone numbers and live chat options (ACS, 2017c).

It is no secret that cancer is leading cause of death in the world. It was estimated that in 2012, 14.1 million new cases of cancer occurred worldwide and 8.2 million people died as a result of cancer [1]. Cancer prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate, yet the progress of treatment has been slow, with benefits of treatment being measured in only months or even weeks. Most patients with a specific type of cancer at a certain stage will receive the exact same form of treatment, but it has been made clear that while the treatment works well for some, it does not for a significant amount of others. The treatment that patients receive today is based on

Every minute, two to three people die from cancer (“Cancer Statistics); some do not even know they have the disease. The world is currently facing a terrible quandary by the name of cancer. This terrible disease has killed more than five million people since the year 1990 (“Cancer Statistics”). Terminal cancer is an inevitable death which can last between days and years. Although it is inherent that terminal cancer leads to death, the assistance of family and friends in addition to the positive mindset of the one with the disease will contribute to a good spending of the patient's allotment.

In the past, most of the cancer drugs were developed to hinder the growth of tumors. The main strategy was so called “targeted therapies, which interfere with genetic signals that act like accelerators, causing tumors to grow.”1 However, because there are too many pathways and signals that can act as an accelerator of the cancer growth, a single drug was usually not enough to suppress the cancer.

As the cancer continues to spread throughout society, many treatments are creating in order to help the patients during their time in need. Although the most popular and used often

Cancer- Cancer can occur in many parts of the female reproductive system. The uterus, ovaries, and cervix. This can occur in all ages. The treatments are certain medications, surgery, and chemotherapy.

“After the Philadelphia chromosome mutation and defective bcr-abl protein were discovered, the investigators screened chemical libraries to find a drug that would inhibit that protein. With high-throughput screening, they identified 2-phenylaminopyrimidine. This lead compound was then tested and modified by the introduction of methyl and benzamide groups to give it enhanced binding properties, resulting in imatinib.”[6] The composition of Gleevec is C29H31N7O and Figure 3- Imatinib Structure

This year in the United States there will be an estimated 1,665,540 diagnosed cancer cases and 585,720 deaths due to the disease.1 Cancer ranks as the second most common cause of death in the US only behind heart disease. As cancer accounts for nearly a quarter of all deaths in the United States2, many people view the diagnosis of cancer as a death sentence. This feeling of hopelessness can lead patients to make questionable decisions regarding treatment options. While current advances have led to increasingly positive prognoses for those diagnosed with differing forms of cancer, the significant death rate among those same patients may deter cancer patients from seeking traditional therapies and treatments. What people often times do not realize is that most of these alternative forms of treatment that have not been proven to be effective may be more detrimental to patients’ health than the actual cancer itself. In order to fully understand the effectiveness of the treatments that a patient is going to receive, it is important to look not only the physiological effects of the treatments themselves, but also the effects of the disease.

As discussed, radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic agents both can negatively affect the body by causing damage to healthy cells, not just those of the cancer. This issue has led to the development of a new type of treatment, one that solely seeks out the cancer cells, kills them, and leaves the bodily cells intact for the most part. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are many different types of treatments that target the