Introduction
According to the American Cancer Society (2015a), a total of 589, 430 citizens of the United States are expected to die from cancer this year. In the United States, it is identified as the second most common cause of death next to heart disease. The term cancer is defined as a “group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells” (American Cancer Society, 2015a). A person dies from cancer once the spread of these abnormal cells is not controlled. Aside from the negative psychological and physical impacts of cancer, both on the patients and their families, cancer also results in a financial burden. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), around $88.7 billion were spent for the medical cost of cancer in the year 2011 in the United States alone (as cited in American Cancer Society, 2015a). With these facts, there is no doubt that cancer is a serious health condition that many people face today.
There are different types of cancer treatments that are available. Two of the most popular among the treatments are radiation therapy and chemotherapy. With chemotherapy, certain drugs or medicines are used to treat cancer. With radiation therapy, on the other hand, cancer cells are destroyed using high-energy waves or different forms of radiation. However, these two treatment methods also bring negative side effects because aside from killing cancer cells, these may also damage perfectly healthy cells. For
8. After surgery, R.T. is admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) with a large
The CDC estimates that each year, more than eight million people are diagnosed, and consequently died from cancer, and this statistic was even higher in the 1950s. During this period, little was known of cancer’s effects on the
Cancer is a deadly disease that has some very serious effects on a person both physically and mentally. Cancer can result in a simple surgery that may take only a couple days, or a life-long struggle that leaves someone so fatigued and tired that it makes them want to give up. It will put fear in anyone's eyes and will devastate even the strongest of people, but cancer can bring out the courageousness in a person to fight this disease and not give up. It can be a fatal disease but it can also bring out the strength in someone which is an amazing thing. Cancer has many serious effects on a person's body and their mental health and others, but can also inspire a person to dig deep and fight this disease
Cancer is one of the leading cause of death in Australia and has a considerable social and economic influence on individuals, families and the community. Statistics shows that Australia has third highest cancer rate approximately 323 people being diagnosed per 100,000 in the world. (Begg & etal, 2007, pg.116). According to the recent disease study in burden of disease by WHO and Global Burden of disease study 2012, the findings of study showed 16% and 19% of the total disease burden in Australia (Moore & et al, 2007 pg.88)). Cancer is the sixth most expensive chronic disease due to the high expenditure of treatment and management compared to other chronic disease. It has been further described that approximately $4.5 billion were spent on cancer in 2008-09, accounting for 7% of total healthcare expenditure on chronic disease (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013b, p.7) and 79% of total expenditure that spent on cancer patients who were admitted in hospital which is 20% more than the same expenditure that was spent on all
Radiation therapy is commonly used as a proven and widely accepted way to treat cancer. The American Cancer Society attests to this because of the extensive research they have done in this field. High-energy radiation damages a cell’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). When a cell divides, its DNA splits. According to the Mayo Clinic, radiation therapy is sometimes given with curative intent (that is, with the hope that the treatment will cure cancer, either by eliminating a tumor, preventing cancer recurrence, or by both). In such cases, radiation therapy may be used alone or in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, or all three. Radiation therapy may also be given with palliative intent. Palliative treatments are not intended to cure. Instead, they are meant to relieve certain symptoms and reduce
When first considering cancer treatment plans, it helps to understand your general options. Types of cancer treatment can be categorized into four modalities: Medical, surgical, radiation, and chemotherapy. Examples of medical options include chemical medicines, immunotherapy, and biological/endocrine therapy. Many surgical options can be minimally invasive and utilize modern technologies to better suit the patient's personalized treatment plan. While you may have heard of radiation and chemotherapy, you may not realize the recent advancements that improve these therapies, creating healthy, successful outcomes every day.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. In 2011, more than 575,000 people died of cancer, and more than 1.5 million people had a diagnosis of cancer. Millions more have been affected by cancer directly post diagnosis or indirectly by taking care of a loved one that had been diagnosed with cancer. The actual cost of such a disease extends well beyond the number of lives lost and new diagnoses each year. Cancer survivors, as well as their family members, friends, and caregivers, may face physical, emotional, social, and spiritual challenges as a result of their cancer diagnosis and treatment. The financial costs of cancer also are overwhelming. According to the National Institutes of Health,
Cancer affects everyone – the young and old, the rich and poor, men, women and children – and represents a tremendous burden on patients, families and societies. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly in developing countries.
With cancer requiring colossal amounts of money from society to attempt to treat and cure the disease, it has become an important and relevant social issue in the United States. In 2016 alone, there will be an estimated 1,685,210 cancer diagnoses along with approximately 595,690 deaths in correlation with cancer in the United States (Cancer). Although with the United States having a population around 318 million, only approximately 5% of the population will be affected by cancer. With this only affecting a small portion of the total population, the topic of cancer can create a social issue and source for debate
cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy is a treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Lastly targeted therapy, is the treatment that uses drugs and other substances to attack cancer cells. Some of these treatments are standard and others are being clinically tested in clinical trials. Patients may enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment. Follow-up tests may be needed.
There are over 14 million cancer victims currently living in the United States. There are over 1,500,000 new cases of cancer that occur every year. Cancer is the number two cause of death in the United States just behind heart disease. There are over 500,000 cancer related deaths in the nation each year. Lung and bronchus cancer are the leading killers with over 150,000 deaths a year. Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer for males with over 220,000 cases a year. For females, breast cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer with over 230,000 cases a year. These statistics were pulled from www.cancer.org. Current trends suggest that these numbers may continue along their present rate but over time improved treatments will shift the
To attain an effect approach to care of cancer there need for a holistic approach on the benefits to the patient. In the year 2010, the number of new cases of cancer was estimated to at 1.52 million cases with close to 570,000 of these people expected to die. This marks a 68% improvement compared to the initial survival rate of five years upon diagnosis. Associated costs in cancer treatment are on the rise. In the United States, costs amount to $263.8 billion where direct medical cost accounts for $102.8 billion and the rest being the lost productivity in the U.S. workforce (Stjernswärd, 2011). Advances in treatment have downgraded the disease from a terminal disease to a chronic one. Drug utilization in the United States increased by 0.7% in the year 2009 and spending grew by 6.1% per person. This is an aspect attributable to new and expensive therapies offered to patients (Edge S.B. et al., 2010).
Cancer is figured to be the second leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. With approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012, alone .Why are so many people stuck suffering with this deadly disease? Millions of dollars have been invested into cancer research, yet there is no cure. Are these pharmaceutical companies focus on finding a cure for cancer or concentrating on elongated treatments in order to lengthen their pockets? We must first understand that cancer is big business earning huge profits. Nonetheless, the cancer industry is spending virtually zilch of its multi-billion dollar resources on effective prevention strategies, like dietary guidelines, exercise, natural remedies and herbs proven to cure cancer. Instead, it pours its money into treating cancer, not preventing or allaying it.
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.
When you are 12 year old you start to see and hear about cancer. Never thinking your mom would get it. I and my 9 year old sister were walking home from school on a hot sunny day. We usually get home before my mom. But today my mom got home before us. Walking in the door it felt weird felt like something was wrong. I went up stairs to see my mom and see how her day went. She was sleeping. Dinner time came around and we were having my favourite food for dinner chicken broccoli casserole. My mom was being quiet and I saw her struggling to tell me and my sister that she had news for us. Finally after seeing her struggling for some time she finally told us she went to the doctors and they told her she has stage 4 rapidly growing breast cancer. She instantly started crying. I and my sister were both confused why my mom was crying. We did not really know about cancer. Weeks went on and my mom had to have 6 chemotherapy’s and 21 radiations. My dad was never really there for my mom to take care of her. He always stayed out late or would work late always and always have an excuse for not coming home. So imagine at 12 years old checking up with your mom every few hours. Trying to hang with friends and go to school if I went. Then repeat that for a few months and also her siblings came over and try to do as much as they could. It sucked having no life at 12 years old. It was hard not to get sick myself. I felt guilty when I got sick and I was not being able to be