Warning Signs for Cancer

Cancer is one of the hardest and deadly condition to have in once body. We all know cancer cells are present on our body. But yet this cancer cells are so minimal that couldn't do any harm and would then be just engulfed by our bodies warriors when this abnormal cells tries to multiply and spread.

So here are the warning signs for cancer. I just want to spread out so that many could know and be aware. It comes in an abbreviation CAUTION US

CAUTION US by the American Cancer Society

Warning signs for Cancer

C Change in bowel or bowel habits.

• Changes in stream/flow of urine or its color and amount

• Changes in the caliber and color of stools

• Presence of blood in stools

• Difficulty in urination and defecation.

A A sore that does not heal.

• Skin irritations are usually self limiting. It changes in the skin and underlying muscles take time to heal, it is recommended to have it examined.

U Unusual bleeding or discharge.

• Unusual discharges in the breast, for non-breast feeding women.

T Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere.

• Skin and underlying tissues should normally be smooth to touch. Unusual lumps or thickening need to be examined closely.

I Indigestion and difficulty in swallowing.

• This could be explored further by interviewing the client to assess for associated events.

O Obvious change in wart or mole.

• Warts or moles are circumscribed cutaneous discolorations to skin elevations that should not increase in size, nor ulcerate.

N Nagging cough or hoarseness in voice.

• Evaluate for symptoms related for persistent cough and its quality (dry, hoarse, productive)

U Unexplained anemia

• Monitoring the hemoglobin levels of suspected clients is important.

S Sudden weight loss.

• Awareness and monitoring of changes in body weight is a common warning sign.

Emotional Side of Cancer Patients

When you are told the frightening words, “Your diagnosis is cancer”, a sequence of events occurs, sometimes overwhelming both patient and family. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness and the inability to cope are common after hearing the shocking news. Often, patients are so overwhelmed and distressed that they become non-functional and may not hear or comprehend many of the explanations given to them - explanations that could often put their disease in perspective and help them cope better with the diagnosis. Many patients have commented that the emotional aspects of dealing with both having cancer and being treated for it, are one of the most difficult parts of this experience.
Cancer and its treatment pose physical and psychological problems for patients. Depression and anxiety are often under-diagnosed and under-treated. Emotional and adjustment problems could impair patients’ ability to cope with their treatment. The stress of coping with a cancer diagnosis ranges from mild to severe, often depending on the severity of the diagnosis and treatment and the prior mood of the survivor. A third or more of patients report emotional distress (mostly depression and anxiety) during the early months of treatment, and there may be similar levels of distress ongoing into survivorship.
Counseling, group therapy, and good supportive care can help patients and survivors effectively deal with these challenges. In addition, effective medications for depression and anxiety can help reduce distress. In particular, antidepressants can improve energy and mood, breaking the cycle of despair and poor self-esteem that can spiral into a worsening depression. It is important to treat depression vigorously with appropriate psychotherapy and medication, since depression is an independent risk factor for shorter survival time with cancer.

Bevacizumab-Irinotecan Treat Deadly Brain Cancer

Recent studies by Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, have showed that having the drug bevacizumab (brand name Avastin) and the standard chemotherapy agent irinotecan can help patients with one of the deadly tumor in the brain, the giloblastoma multiforme.

The treatment result shows that it could not only help prolong but it could also increase the rate of survival of those patients with giloblastoma multiforme.

Dr. James J. Vredenburgh, the lead of investigation said “These results represent tremendous hope for these patient and their families.”

He noted that 75 percent of patients with recurrent giloblastoma multiforme treated with standard therapy, such as chemotherapy alone, have tumor progression at six months, and fewer than 50 percent are alive after six months.

The study included 35 patients whose giloblastoma multiforme s returned after they'd had standard therapy, possibly including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. After the patients received the combination bevacizumab/irinotecan therapy, almost half had no tumor progression after six months, and 80 percent were still alive six months after diagnosis.

"We speculate that bevacizumab and irinotecan each attack a particular characteristic of the tumor independently, or they work together, with bevacizumab suppressing the growth of blood vessels which makes the tumor more susceptible to the chemotherapy. Further studies will tease out the exact mechanism of the therapy's success," Vredenburgh added.

We will be expecting more from this kind of therapy soon. And thus this would bring hope to those people out there having giloblastoma multiforme.

Testicular Cancer

One of the concerns of the people today is having cancer. A disease that is deadly. Cancer cells that are rapidly dividing in result thus form a tumor. The only cure for this is therapy like chemotherapy or radiation. Well these therapies have a bad side effect to the body. Let’s take chemotherapy for an example. It’s a therapy that destroys those rapidly dividing cells (as explained earlier cancer cells divide rapidly). But not only cancer cells are rapidly dividing cells in the body. There are other rapidly dividing cells in the body which is normal. That’s why you observe to people who under goes this therapy they go bald.

Well talking of cancers let us talk about testicular cancer. A cancer that is common among teenage to early adulthood in males of course. What are the concerns of most men here is that will their sex drive or should I say libido be affected? To tell you frankly no it doesn’t affect at all as long only “one” testes is only removed. And besides you still got another one to provide you with hormones. So guys don’t be afraid. You’ll still enjoy one of your physiologic needs which is sex. Another concern is will they be sterile? Again no if only “one” testes is removed. The other testes will compensate for the removed one.

And here is the good news guys’ testicular cancer is easily curable and lesser risk to metastasize.