Private Health Care Management: Cancer

Showing posts with label Cancer. Show all posts

Monday, October 5, 2009

Melanoma

Jared Harper's face had a small spot that looked different. It was growing and itched. That spot had developed because a melanocyte had grown a cancerous tumor. He was informed by his personal physician that he had a melanoma.

Melanocytes are the cells that produce melanin. Melanin gives dark or tan color to the skin. But, when one of these cells gets out of control, it can produce one of the most dangerous cancers known. And more than 51,1916 people are told that they have melanoma every year just inside the United States of America.

Risks for getting Malignant Melanoma

The most common risk factor for melanoma known is over exposure to ultraviolet rays. When melanoma was first studied, it was found that people who had jobs outside were those who tended to show up with melanoma. Furthermore, people who had gotten a sunburn that caused blisters were at risk to get a malignant melanoma.

People with fair skin are much more likely to get melanoma. This might likely be related to the fact that they are more likely to get skin damage by sun exposure. But, this is not a hard and fast fact.

Those who have lots of nevi (moles) are more likely to get melanoma, particularly those who have more than 50. Also, those who have a particular type of mole called a dysplastic nevus are at higher risk.

Some people have had other skin cancers successfully treated including basal cell carcinoma. Those people are more likely to get melanoma.

If you have had other family members that had malignant melanoma, then you are more likely to get a malignant melanoma as well.

Finally, those who have a problem with their immune system get malignant melanomas more often. Whether a person has AIDS, an organ transplant needing medications to curtail the immune system or others using those medications, that person will have a higher risk.

There was one case that showed the role of genetics in malignant melanoma. A man who was a chimera got malignant melanoma. A chimera is someone who has different parts of the body having two different sets of DNA. This apparently happens when twins are formed and somehow join into one body. This man had large metastatic lumps on one side of his body and none at all on the other!

How to Identify a Melanoma

The only way to be sure whether a bump on your skin is a malignant melanoma or not is to have your doctor take it off and get it studied by a pathologist. However, there are some ways to know if you should be suspicious of one of those lumps or bumps.

Uneven Border - A malignant melanoma will usually have an irregular border. The usual mole has a sharp border. You can point to any spot on your skin and say for sure whether it is part of the mole or not. This is not the case with malignant melanoma.

Assymetric Shape - The malignant melanoma lesions typically have two halves that are not the same.

Different Color - Melanomas often will have different parts of the tumor that have different colors.

Size - most melanomas are larger than other moles. And they also tend to grow and may bleed or itch.

If you have a supicious lesion that you have a question about, get it checked by your dermatologist early. Getting that tumor removed early gives you a much better chance of survival. Especially if the bump is still tiny.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Cancer Prevention Diet

You may be able to imagine how painful it is to die from Laryngeal Cancer or Retinoblastoma. You have heard right, but there is good news.

Physicians have known for lots of years that diet can help you avoid disease. In fact, it is now thought that about 38% of all cancer is associated with your diet. And it has also been shown that diet can help you avoid cancer.

Nutrients in some food can decrease your chance of cancer. You can also improve your chances of not getting cancer by avoiding some foods. You might have to cut out the Basil Brush Crispy Chicken Bites and Mahón cheese.

The Power of Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits (like Cranberry and Neem and Black sapote and Salak (Salacca edulis) and Okra) and vegetables have been shown to help prevent many cancers including cancer of the mouth and stomach. Currently, it is unknown if there are any specific nutrients in these foods that provide the protection. There have been experiments on some of the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables like beta-carotene. However, isolating these substances from the original source have not been found to prevent cancer. In fact, some by themselves are found to be harmful. So remember - the whole fruit is many times better than some supplement taken from that food.

So, you should eat at least one serving of a fruit or vegetable with each meal. They can be fresh, canned or dried. But, they should not be fried like chips.

Whole Grains Keep You Moving

Whole grains like wattleseed brown rice, cracked wheat and corn on the cob are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber. These are well known to help prevent cancer of the colon. Although fiber is very important, just using a fiber supplement is not as effective because you need the other nutrients in the whole grain.

Physicians think that the high fiber content of the grain helps to keep the stool in the bowel moving smoothly. This prevents constipation in the colon. That being said, there is no evidence that laxatives or any colon cleansing regimen is of any help. In fact they have often been shown to be harmful.

Foods to Avoid

Red meat is a proven contributor to cancer especially cancer of the colon and cancer of the prostate. The important thing is that you limit your intake to less than three ounces a day. Cutting it out altogether is even better.

Any food with lots of fat will have a similar effect. All of those corn dogs and corn chips that you have been eating? It turns out that they may contribute to your chance of getting cancer.

This might be the worst news for some of you, alcohol is another culprit. The latest research gives strong evidence that any alcohol can bump up your chance of getting cancer. But, it is especially a big problem if you take in more than two drinks a day for men and one for women. Sorry ladies. Alcohol along with cigarettes contribute to cancer of the mouth, esophagus and larynx (your voice box). So, be sure you limit those Mild ales and Hierbas de Mallorcas.

The Four Rules of Diet

1. Most of your food should be directly from plants.

2. Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources.

3. Be physically active: Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Ok. So this one is not directly diet related - but, you should limit your intake to the amount needed to keep your weight at a good level.

4. No more than one or two drinks a day, if you drink at all.

Use these laws of health and you will dramatically decrease your chances of getting diet related cancer.

To your health!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

What is Cancer?

There are many varieties of malignant tumors - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Islet Cell Pancreatic Cancer and Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumor and Prostate Cancer and Gestational Trophoblastic Tumor and Hairy Cell Leukemia - just to list a few examples. But, all of these malignancies have a few things in common.

Loss of Control

Every individual cell in your body is influenced by hormones like Antidiuretic hormone and Enkephalin from outside the cell and some other chemical regulators in the cells. These substances will control the actions of the cell. They will instruct the cells when to grow and how much, when to be inactive and how they will interact with other cells.

Cancer cells have those controls shut off. They do their own thing without limit. They are always active at the maximum level. Those same cancer cells also lose their ability to interact with their neighbors and then can mobilize and metastasize.

Changes in DNA

All malignant tumors have lost their controls because the DNA in the cell has been damaged. DNA is the programming mechanism in the cell that controls all of its functions. That DNA is damaged by mechanical means, x-rays or toxins. It will start to act out of control. Viruses are also known to cause the DNA damage known to cause malignancies.

Damaged DNA can also be passed from parent to child. That DNA can change a cell into a cancer if there is either some trigger that the cell contacts or further damage to that DNA.

Immortal Cells

The cells in the body normally will live a certain amount of time and then die (with some exceptions). They will then be replaced by new healthy cells. Cancer cells don't usually die. Even if they are exceptionally abnormal, they continue to grow and divide. So, those cells produce tumors and spread.

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Mr. O'Malley - Grey's Anatomy

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Types of Cancer

The many cancers can be organized into five basic types. Those are Central nervous system cancers, Leukemia, Carcinoma, Sarcoma as well as Lymphoma and Myeloma.

Central nervous system cancers - these are cancer tumors that start in the brain and spinal cord. Leukemia - these cancers start in the tissues that produce blood - such as the bone marrow - and then release the cells into the blood. Carcinoma - these are cancers that start in the skin or the tissues that line internal organs. Sarcoma - Sarcomas are cancer tumors that start in connective tissue. Connective tissue is the tissue between the organs and other structures. Those tissues include things like fat, bone, muscle, blood vessels and cartilage. Lymphoma and myeloma - these cancers start in the cells that normally protect the body - the immune system.

Now that you know what a cancer is, you can learn how to possibly prevent it, or if needed how to treat it.

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