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Informative Speech On Cancer

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WHAT IS CANCER

The word cancer actually encompasses many diseases, not one. In fact, there are more than 100 types of diseases known collectively as cancer. What they all have in common is the uncontrollable growth and division of cells, tiny units that make up all living things.

Normal body cells cultivate and divide over a period of time until they eventually die. But cancerous cells continue to grow and divide infinitely. Eventually, they gather to form tumours. Tumours are lumps that can interfere with the body's normal processes. Sometimes cells from a tumour break away and spread to a different tissue or organ. This is called metastasis.

As terrifying as all this sounds, most cancers can be treated and controlled, if detected early. …show more content…

If you haven't been feeling well, it's better to tell an adult who can make sure that you see a doctor who will evaluate your symptoms. Cancer, like most illnesses, is easier to treat when it's detected early, so when in doubt, check it out.

If a doctor suspects that a person has cancer, he or she will order various tests. These might include blood tests, (in which doctors scrutinise blood cells under a microscope to look for abnormalities), X-rays, or an MRI, (a scanning technique that can be used to detect tumours). Doctors also often use a biopsy to diagnose cancer. In this procedure, a doctor removes a small tissue sample to examine it for cancer cells.

CANCER TREATMENT

Most cancers can be treated, especially the types of cancers teens are likely to get, if detected early. The number of people who overcome cancer goes up every year because of new cancer treatments.

There are three widespread methods for treating cancer: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. As cancer is different in each patient, each person's treatment plan will be individually designed for him or her. A person with cancer may undergo any one of these treatments or a combination of them. A doctor who specialises in treating people with cancer is called an …show more content…

Depending on the location of a person's cancer, surgery can be simple or complex, so the operation may be an outpatient procedure (where a person is in and out of the hospital on the same day) or may require that the person stay in the hospital. Generally, the surgeon removes the cancerous tissue along with a small amount of the healthy tissue surrounding it to make sure that all the cancer is removed and has not spread.

The treatment of cancer using medication is called chemotherapy. Specific cancers respond well to chemotherapy, which can often be given on an outpatient basis. A person who is having chemotherapy may experience nausea, fatigue, hair loss, or other side effects. Some of these side effects happen because chemotherapy medicines may destroy some healthy cells in the process of getting rid of the malignant cells. In time, these healthy cells will start to grow again and most of the side effects will disappear.

Radiation, or radiotherapy, is an additional method of treating cancer. A person being treated with radiotherapy, will most likely be treated by a radiation oncologist, someone who specialises in using radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiotherapy machines deliver powerful X-rays or high-energy electrons to the part of a person's body that is affected by cancer. After repeated doses of high levels of radiation, many cancerous tumours shrink or

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