EARLY DETECTION OF CANCER CAN SAVE LIFE

EARLY DETECTION OF CANCER CAN SAVE LIFE

In many cases, the sooner  cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better a person's chance for a full recovery. If you develop, cancer  you can improve the chance that it will be detected early if you have regular medical checkups and do certain self-exams. Often a doctor can find early cancer during a physical exam or with routine tests, even if a person has no symptoms. Some important medical exams, tests, and self-exams are discussed on the next pages. The doctor may suggest other exams for people who are at increased risk for cancer.

Ask your doctor about your cancer risk, problems to watch for, and a schedule of regular checkups. The doctor's advice will be based on your age, medical history, family history, and other risk factors. The doctor also can help you learn about self-exams. (More information and free booklets about self-exams are available from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service).

Many local health departments have information about cancer screening or early detection programs. The Cancer Information Service also can tell you about such programs.

Exams For Both Men And Women

Skin - The doctor should examine your skin during regular checkups for signs of skin cancer. You should also check regularly for new growths, sores that do not heal, changes in the size, shape, or color of any  moles or any other changes on the skin. Warning signs like these should be reported to the doctor right away.

Colon and Rectum - Beginning at age 50, you should have a yearly  fecal occult blood test. This test is a check for hidden (occult)  blood in the stool. A small amount of stool is placed on a plastic slide or on special paper. It may be tested in the doctor's office or sent to a lab. This test is done because cancer of colon  and rectum can cause bleeding. However, noncancerous conditions can also cause bleeding, so having blood in the stool does not necessarily mean a person has cancer. If blood is found, the doctor orders more tests to help make a diagnosis.

To check for cancer of the rectum, the doctor inserts a gloved finger into the rectum and feels for any bumps or abnormal areas. A digital rectal exam should be done during regular checkups.

After age 50, you should have either a  flexible sigmoidoscopy  every five years, or a  colonoscopy every 10 years. In this exam, the doctor uses a thin, flexible tube with a light to look inside the rectum and colon for abnormal areas.

Mouth - Your doctor and dentist should examine your mouth at regular visits. Also, by looking in a mirror, you can check inside your mouth for changes in the color of the lips, gums, tongue, or inner cheeks, and for scabs, cracks, sores, white patches, swelling, or bleeding. It is often possible to see or feel changes in the mouth that might be cancer or a condition that might lead to cancer. Any symptoms in your mouth should be checked by a doctor or dentist. Oral exams are especially important for people who use alcohol Or Tobacco products and for anyone over age 50.

Exams For Men

Prostate - Men over age 40 should have a yearly digital rectal exam to check the  prostate gland  for hard or lumpy areas. The doctor feels the prostate through the wall of the rectum.

Testicles – Testicular cancer occurs most often between ages 15 and 34. Most of these cancers are found by men themselves, often by doing a testicular self-exam. If you find a lump or notice another change, such as heaviness, swelling, unusual tenderness, or pain, you should see your doctor. Also, the doctor should examine the testicles as part of regular medical checkups.

Exams For Women

Breast – When breast cancer is found early, a woman has more treatment choices and a good chance of complete recovery. It is, therefore, important that breast cancer be detected as early as possible. The National Cancer Institute encourages women to take an active part in early detection. They should talk to their doctor about this disease, the symptoms to watch for, and an appropriate schedule of checkups. Women should ask their doctor about:

·         Mammograms (x-rays of the breast);

·         Breast exams by a doctor or nurse; and

·         Breast self-examination (BSE)

A  mammogram can often show tumors or changes in the breast before they can be felt or cause symptoms. However, we know mammograms cannot find every abnormal area in the breast. This is especially true in the breasts of young women. Another important step in early detection is for women to have their breasts examined regularly by a doctor or a nurse.

Between visits to the doctor, women should examine their breasts every month. By doing BSE, women learn what looks and feels normal for their breasts, and they are more likely to find a change. Any changes should be reported to the doctor. Most breast lumps are not cancer, but only a doctor can make a diagnosis.

Cervix - Regular pelvic exams and Pap tests are important to detect early cancer of cervix. In a pelvic exam the doctor feels the uterus, vagina, ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, and rectum for any change in size or shape.

For the  pap test a sample of cells is collected from the upper vagina and cervix with a small brush or a flat wooden stick. The sample is placed in a glass slide and checked under a microscope for cancer or other abnormal cells.

Women should start having a Pap test every year after they turn 18 or become sexually active. If the results are normal for 3 or more years in a row, a woman may have this test less often, based on her doctor's advice. 

Conquering Cancer in 21st Century

                              

Conquering Cancer in the 21st Century

Today the “Cancer”, word has been transformed to curable and controllable disease. Old concept and poor understanding has been replaced by newer concept and newer technology. Along with the better definition of mechanism in development of cancer care, is allowing our patients to conquer the cancer.

The childhood cancer is curable in almost 60%-80%  and patient’s survive to live a normal life. Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Hodgkins Disease, Wilms tumor, Germ cell tumour and Ewings Sarcoma have already achieved dramatic results with chemotherapy  alone. In, addition Bone Marrow Transplantation increases the cure rate.

Today the old chemotherapy is being replaced by Targeted therapy. Targeted therapy  achieves elimination of cancer cells without damaging normal cells. Modification of the immune mechanism has allowed us to achieve tumour cells killing. This newer delivery system is making it easy to target the tumor cells and spare the normal cells.

The most remarkable progress in the past 25 years has been in our knowledge of cancer biology. We are dramatically extending our understanding of what is required to turn a normal cell into a cancer cell. Cancer arises when a single cell changes so that it divides continuously, released from the controls that constrain the replication of normal cells. This transformation results from changes in the function and activity of genes. Of the approximately 100,000 genes found in the human genome, the altered activities of only a relatively small number of genes are responsible for transforming a normal, well-behaved cell into a cancer cell. Identifying these cancer genes defines the central scientific hunt in cancer biology, and opens an unprecedented window into the nature of cancer. Up until now, our detection tools have lacked the sensitivity and the specificity that we must demand if early detection is to be useful and successful. Our interventions, despite their success, have, by and large, been the result of guesswork. But now, we are at a point where we can transform our approach to cancer.

Forty years ago, it was not clear that cancer, other than that which could be removed surgically, could even theoretically be cured. The first proof that cancer can be treated and cured came with childhood cancers, where survival was once measured in weeks to months and where now the great majority of children with cancer are cured. Now, for some cancers, our ability to cure is relatively predictable. For others, our ability to cure is remarkably unpredictable.

The progress in the field of molecular biology and molecular technology is helping scientist to produce new drugs at rapid pace. The treatment is being replaced by the newer approaches to make the disease stable for long period of time. All these developments have allowed us to conquer cancer when the disease is detected at an early stage.

Conservative surgery and Organ preservation is becoming theme of surgical oncology. Radiation Oncology has acquired precision technology  to kill the tumor cells and spare the normal cells.

Finally, the progress in every field of cancer care is progressing at a rapid pace and we might be able to see the new revolution in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Prevention of cancer

There is strong evidence that an individual's risk of developing cancer can be substantially reduced by healthy behavior:

1. Don't use tobacco 
2. Get sufficient physical activity 
3. Healthy foods in moderation 
4. Participate in cancer screening 
5. According to recommended guidelines, get vaccinated against the Human Papilomavirus (HPV) 

Can cancer be prevented?

Sometimes cancer can be prevented. Looking at the whole country, it is quite possible that more than half of cancer deaths could be prevented -- if no one used tobacco and if everyone took steps to improve their health. Of course, that is a big "if."

But is there a way to guarantee that you or your loved ones won't get cancer? So far, nothing has been found that is proven to prevent every case of cancer. Right now we know there are ways to prevent many cases of cancer in large groups of people. For example, almost all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. The virus has also been linked to cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and throat. In addition to following a healthy lifestyle and cancer screening guidelines, vaccinating against HPV will be a step toward preventing cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anus and throat cancer.

Lifestyle Choices May Prevent Cancer

For people who do not use tobacco, the most important cancer risk factors that can be changed are body weight, diet, and physical activity. One-third of all cancer deaths in the United States each year are linked to diet and physical activity, including being overweight or obese, while another third is caused by tobacco products.

Some diet and exercise recommendations developed by the American Cancer Society’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee and approved by the American Cancer Society National Board of Directors are:

• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight throughout life
• Be physically active

Adults:

Get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each day (or a combination of these), preferably spread throughout the week.

Children and teens:

• Get at least 1 hour of moderate or vigorous intensity activity each day, with at least 2.5 hours of moderate intensity aerobic activity each week.
• Limit sedentary behavior such as sitting, lying down, watching TV, and other forms of screen-based entertainment.
• Doing some physical activity above usual activities, no matter what one’s level of activity, can have many health benefits.
• Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant foods
• Get Routine Medical Care

Mammogram: 

Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health, or up to age 70 if there are no other risk factors.

Colonoscopy:

Beginning at age 50, both men and women at average risk for developing colorectal cancer should use one of the screening tests:

• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
• Colonoscopy every 10 years
• Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years
• CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years

Pap smear: 

All women should begin cervical cancer testing (screening) at age 21. Women aged 21 to 29, should have a Pap test every 3 years. HPV testing should not be used for screening in this age group (although it may be used as a part of follow-up for an abnormal Pap test). Beginning at age 30, the preferred way to screen is with a Pap test combined with an HPV test every 5 years. This is called co-testing and should continue until age 65. Another reasonable option for women 30 to 65 is to get tested every 3 years with just the Pap test.

Other Health Tips:

• Individuals should check their skin for moles that are new, large, or irregular; contain more than one color; or change color.
• An open dialogue with a family doctor supports important preventive measures on a timely basis, and if any tests suggest possible cancer, the result can be further explored quickly.
• Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of a periodic (regular) health exam by a health professional, at least every 3 years. After age 40, women should have a breast exam by a health professional every year.