Cancer is a broad category of illnesses that can begin in nearly any organ or tissue of the body when aberrant cells proliferate out of control, cross normal boundaries, and invade nearby organs or tissues.
The four main forms of cancer are leukemia, melanoma, sarcoma lymphoma, and carcinoma. The skin, lungs, breasts, pancreas, and other organs and glands are the sites of the most often diagnosed malignancies.
Cancers of the lymphocytes are called lymphomas. Leukemia is a type of blood cancer. Usually, it doesn’t develop into solid tumors. Bone, muscle, fat, blood vessels, cartilage, and other soft or connective tissues are all potential sites for sarcoma development. They are not very prevalent. Melanomas are malignancies that develop in the cells which provide skin its color.
Cause
Mutations or alterations to the cells’ DNA are the primary cause of cancer. Mutations in genes can be inherited. They may also be brought on by environmental factors after birth. These external causes called carcinogens can include:
- Physical carcinogens like radiation and ultraviolet (UV) light
- Biological carcinogen like viruses, bacteria and parasite
- Chemical carcinogens like cigarette smoke, asbestos, alcohol, air pollution and contaminated food and drinking water
- Tobacco, alcohol use
- Not getting enough physical activity
- Unhealthy diet
- UV radiation
Risk factor
- a lack of activity
- unhealthy diet
- exposure to radiation
- exposure to air pollution
- tobacco use
- infection by certain viruses including H. pylori, hepatitis B ,human papillomavirus(HPV), hepatitis C, HIV and the Epstein Barr virus Which causes infection mononucleosis
- high alcohol consumption
Type of cancer
- Leukemia
- Carcinoma
- Sarcoma
- Lymphoma
Learn more about specific types of cancer with the resources below.
- breast cancer
- appendix cancer
- bladder cancer
- bone cancer
- brain cancer
- duodenal cancer
- cervical cancer
- colon or colorectal canxer
- endometrial cancer
- ear cancer
- esophageal cancer
- heart cancer
- gall bladder cancer
- kidney or rectal cancer
- laryngeal cancer
- liver cancer
- lip cancer
- leukemia
- lung cancer
- lymphoma
- mesothelioma
- myeloma
- penile cancer
- ovarian cancer
- oral cancer
- pancreatic cancer
- prostate cancer
- rectal cancer
- thyroid cancer
- skin cancer
- small intestine cancer
- spleen cancer
- stomach or gastric cancer
- testicular cancer
- vaginal cancer
- uterine cancer
- uterine cancer
- vulvar cancer
Common early sign and symptoms of cancer in both men and women include:
- pain
- fever
- fatigue
- weight loss without try
- changes in your skin
- sore that don’t heal
- cough
- unusual bleeding
- anemia
- loss of appetite
- night sweat
- unusual lump or swelling anywhere
- changes in digestion
Diagnosis
- physical exam
- Blood test
- MRI
- ultrasound
- CT scan
- x-ray
- biopsy
Treatment
Various options are available for cancer treatment, contingent on the type and stage of the disease.
Systemic treatment: The body as a whole may be impacted by systemic medication treatments including immunotherapy and chemotherapy targeted therapy.
Localized treatment: Localized treatment often entails applying medical interventions, such as surgery or local radiation therapy, to a particular tumor or part of the body.
Palliative care: Palliative care aims to alleviate cancer-related symptoms like pain and difficulty breathing.
Prevention
- healthy diet
- avoiding tobacco and secondhand smoke
- limiting your intake of processed meats
- avoiding alcohol
- maintaining a moderate body weight and BMI
- exercise
- getting vaccinated against viral infection that can lead to cancer such as hepatitis B and HPV
- staying protected from the sun by avoiding direct sun exposure and wearing a broad spectrum sunscreen, hat and sunglasses
