Colon cancer is thought to be the second most common of all cancer types. It usually affects men, but women can develop colon cancer as well. If detected in its primary stages, colon cancer can be cured very easy.

The most common and best way to treat a case of colon cancer is through surgery. A colon cancer that is about three to five centimeters long can be removed through surgical resection. The drainage sites of primary lymphatic must also be re sectioned. If your colon cancer is not too low, less than five centimeters from your anus, colostomy is used. This colon cancer procedure means that your colon is taken out through your abdominal walls. Surgery is very successful in almost all colon cancer cases. Moreover, if the colon cancer is found at the beginning stage, than cure rates through colon cancer surgery are that much grater. More than eighty percent of all colon cancer patients are cured after their first surgery. However, there are people who will develop colon cancer even after they have had surgery. The number of colon cancer patients that have a second operation is a lot smaller, because
recurrence of colon cancer is rare. Although, the number of people cured by surgery is very big, when it comes to the second colon cancer surgery, numbers are not so good. Only twenty percent of all colon cancer recurrence patients actually get cured after the second resection.

This therapy increases your chances of survival if suffering from colon cancer. However, this therapy is only used for people that are in one of these colon cancer stages: THM 3 colon cancer, or Duke' s B2 colon cancer or C colon cancer. This is standard therapy and it lasts almost one year after you have had surgery. Fluoroulacil and levamisol are used for these stages of colon cancer. If you suffer from TNM colon cancer, stage 4, therapy with radiation will also be used together with the standard therapy. This has now become standard for all colon cancer patients that have had surgery, because studies have shown that the survival rate in these patients opposed to those that only have surgery is much grater.

Adenocarcinoma Colon Cancer
One form of the colon cancer is Adenocarcinoma. This usually stems from the epithelium lining the large intestine. The function of the colon aka the large bowel is to absorb water from the stool and patients of adenocarcinoma colon cancer usually report excessively hard stool.

Although adenocarcinoma colon cancer is not uncommon, it is rarely found in young adults. The greater your age the higher the chances of your suffering from adenocarcinoma cancer and especially women aged over 50 years are supposed to be at the greatest risk from adenocarcinoma. Although adenocarcinoma colon is found all over the world, it is primarily found in places of low fiber diet which make America, Europe and Australia soft targets.

Adenocarcinoma colon cancer is usually found in people who have some heredity of adenomatous polyposis or even non-polyposis colorectal cancer especially if the family history is from first-degree relatives. Hereditary factors can be to an extent that adenocarcinoma colon may be found in persons as young as teenagers. Certain types of polyps have a potential for malignancy. People having a high fat yet low fiber diet especially with a high intake of red meat are the ones that are most likely to suffer from adenocarcinoma. Even obesity is a cause of adenocarcinoma colon.

Adenocarcinoma colon cancer is known to spread after invading the wall of the bowel. On crossing the muscular layer of the bowel's wall the tumor enters the lymphatic vessels and thereafter spreads to local as well as regional lymph nodes. In case a lot of the tumor has passed the bowel's wall then they float about the abdomen as small amounts of fluid and can seed the bowel's covering. Adenocarcinoma colon is known to produce small nodules within the abdomen to irritate tissues to cause the production of huge quantities of ascites. If adenocarcinoma colon is detected at a young stage then the prognosis can be really good as at early stages treatment via surgery is really easy and predictable. The treatment of choice for early adenocarcinoma colon cancer is surgery. For tumors that are still proceeding to reach the muscular layer within the bowel wall, this will be curative in more than 90% of cases. Colon cancer surgery is usually carried out to remove the primary tumor for all cancers except those that have spread to distant organs.

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells. Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and the second most common in women,[1][2] is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually.

What causes lung cancer?

Smoking
The incidence of lung cancer is strongly correlated with cigarette smoking, with about 90% of lung cancers arising as a result of tobacco use. The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over time; doctors refer to this risk in terms of pack-years of smoking history (the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years smoked).

Lung cancer most commonly begins in the cells that line your lungs. Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers — both in smokers and in people exposed to secondhand smoke. But lung cancer also occurs in people who never smoked. In these cases, there may be no clear cause of lung cancer. Doctors have identified factors that may increase the risk.

Cancer that originates from lung cells is called a primary lung cancer. Primary lung cancer can start in the airways that branch off the trachea to supply the lungs (the bronchi) or in the small air sacs of the lung (the alveoli). Cancer may also spread (metastasize) to the lung from other parts of the body (most commonly from the breasts, colon, prostate, kidneys, thyroid gland, stomach, cervix, rectum, testes, bone, or skin).

Lung Cancer Symptoms
Lung cancer symptoms are commonly not experienced until the disease had advanced, sometimes delaying diagnosis. The symptoms of lung cancer also mimic the symptoms of other benign illnesses.

The most common lung cancer symptoms experienced are : Onset of wheezing
Recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis
Fever, rapid breathing rate, and abnormal breathing sounds heard through a stethoscope may be signs of pneumonia.

Lung Cancer Diagnosis
To help find the cause of symptoms, your doctor will evaluate your medical history, smoking history, exposure to environmental and occupational substances, and family history of cancer. Your doctor also will perform a physical exam and may recommend a chest X-ray and other tests. If lung cancer is suspected, sputum cytology — the microscopic examination of cells obtained from a deep-cough sample of mucus in the lungs — is a simple test that may be useful in detecting lung cancer. To confirm the presence of lung cancer, your doctor must examine tissue.

How can I prevent lung cancer?
The best way to prevent lung cancer is to quit smoking, or to never start in the first place. You should try and avoid being around people who are smoking; and also avoid pipes, cigars, and marijuana. Use a detector to make sure the radon levels are low.

Treatment Of Lung Cancer
Many factors must be taken into account to determine the best treatment for an individual diagnosed with lung cancer. The specific type of cell, the location of the lung tumor, the stage of the disease with possible metastasis (spread to other parts of the body), and the general health of the individual must be considered. Various treatment plans may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or surgery.

Lung Cancer: Basic Facts
We all have heard of lung cancer but how many of us are well aware of its symptoms?
The lung cancer is one of the most perilous diseases that kill thousands of Americans every year and each year the number of cases are increasing. With the occurrences of lung cancer on the rise, it is essential that we learn about the basic factors leading to lung cancer and what should be the courses of action in case of lung cancer diagnosis. Here are the basic information regarding lung cancer that will help you to understand how and when it develops and how to steer clear of this killer disease.

Lung cancer is that condition of your lungs where an abnormal reproduction of cells takes place. Sometimes lumps of cancerous cells or the tumors invade the organs. Our lungs allow the oxygen from the air to pass into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide to eliminate from the system. Now any kind of lung disease including lung cancer impairs this function of lungs to transfer oxygen into blood and remove carbon dioxide from it. The result is many kinds of disorders relating to breathing trouble and cough.

Do you know what the most dreadful part of the lung cancer is? One rarely comes to suspect that he or she is suffering from lung cancer until it is too late and goes beyond any kind of treatment. This is because, signs and symptoms associated with lung cancer are never acute or alarming until the later stages of malignancy and it is often at this stage when someone starts to experience the typical symptoms of lung cancer. So it is recommended that if you ever experience any symptom even remotely related to lung cancer, rush to the doctor without delay so that in case of diagnosis of lung cancer you can avail the treatments as early as possible.

So what are the common symptoms of lung cancer? Nagging cough that seems never to end coupled with constant chest pain may be the warning of something being grossly wrong with your lungs. The person displaying certain apathy for food followed by a remarkable weight loss may be an indication of lung cancer and the patients of lung cancer often complain of fatigue. However, swelling of neck and face is also one of the symptoms of lung cancer.

Remember lung cancer can be prevented if you give up smoking. So stay away from the cigars, cigarettes, pipes and other tobacco products. Also insist that the smokers should always smoke inside the smoking zone; do not allow the second hand smokes damage your lungs.

Until 200 years ago what is now labeled 'alternative treatment' was based on the words of Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine". Hippocrates is famously quoted as saying "Let food be your medicine." It is a compelling quote which encapsulates the very simple, very common sense idea that the most efficient healer we know, or will ever know, is a correctly functioning natural immune system. In modern cancer research this common sense approach is not only ignored it is actively forbidden by the AMA for doctors to prescribe alternative medications to fight cancer. Doctors are allowed to prescribe natural remedies to treat the side-effects of the drugs which are used to fight cancer, but not allowed to treat cancer itself with anything other than the prescribed, orthodox treatment.

The purpose of this article is not to examine the state of affairs which sees natural substances shunned in favor of expensive, and often harmful medications, but to examine what you can expect to happen and receive should you elect an alternative treatment course to deal with cancer.

One of the biggest problems with discussing alternative cancer treatments is that it covers a huge amount of ground. Anything which is outside the mainstream practice(which will usually include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment) is, by definition, 'alternative'. As such the 'alternative' label is often attacked broadly based on the ineffectuality or indeed harmfulness of specific treatments. For instance treating cancer by putting leeches on the skin to draw blood is not a mainstream medical response to cancer so it would be labeled as 'alternative' even though most alternative treatment providers would be horrified with the concept. Attacking unorthodox treatments broadly for the practices of a few extreme treatment providers is clearly not a rational response, yet it is exactly the line which has successfully kept alternative cancer treatment on the sideline for so long.

For the purpose of this article we will discuss the type of healthcare that Hippocrates was a strong supporter of and apply to it the broad label 'alternative'. This form of alternative treatment works on a few basic fundamental ideas.

The first is the concept that the most efficient entity at healing a body is itself. The body will respond to a foreign organism long before medical tests discover it, and in fact this is usually how the problem is first bought to the attention of doctors. Diseases do not have 'tiredness' causing properties, this is the bodies natural response to an invasion - it attempts to enter a restive state where it can more effectively fight the invader.

A primary focus of alternative cancer treatment then is not the direct battle against the cancer and the tumor itself, but a strengthening of the bodies defenses and natural ability to fight disease. This is done via strengthening the immune system. Vitamin C is known to have strong immunity building properties and was shown by Linus Pauling (Two time Nobel prize winner) to be an effective cancer treatment by itself. In fact it was over thirty years ago that Pauling and his research partner Ewan Cameron MD showed that just 10 grams of Vitamin C taken intravenously each day would extend a cancer patient's life 6 times longer than chemotherapy treatment. It is also worth noting that while Vitamin C builds up the immune system, chemotherapy breaks it down, which means that where chemotherapy is used it becomes the only defense the body has against cancer - the only way of continuing to fight the cancer is to continue chemotherapy. The clear conclusion is that Vitamin C is a more efficient treatment than Chemotherapy and has none of the debilitating side effects.

Alternative treatment providers have been able to use this type of research as a base for formulating a case by case plan to restore the bodies balance and fight cancer. The type of cancer it self is considered, the location of the cancer and the size of the tumor will all effect how the treatment is administered. The patients only physical state must be considered two and this will usually involve a detailed look at their body, diet and lifestyle. Everybodies DNA is different and some people are more likely to respond positively to some treatments.

This critical fact is often what is left out of a full assessment of alternative cancer treatments. Imagine an auto repair shop. If you said to your mechanic that your car isn't working he will not simply change the oil and give you your keys back. That may well work for some cars, but it will most definitely not work for them all. Only then is any attempt made to 'cure' the car. Now compare that approach to the approach of orthodox medicine that will change the oil and water, give you a new set of tires and tune the engine. In most cases an alternative treatment is going to require some type of detoxification process. In modern society we are exposed to more harmful substances and processed foods that at any previous point in history. These toxins can dwell in our system for a long time and are often part of the cause of a disease. At the very least the body is wasting resources fighting them that could be assisting in it's fight against cancer. The detoxification is an ongoing process, particularly if the other treatments are effectively killing cancer cells. The death of a cancer cell actually introduces more toxins to the system and in large doses these can be extremely harmful and even fatal. This is why all cancer treatments are undertaken gradually - because a treatment that killed all cancer cells immediately would release a massive toxic load into the system and put it in even more danger.

Alternative Cancer Treatment also puts a huge amount of emphasis on a patients diet. Conventional medicine ignores this and most orthodox cancer treatment will result in a serious loss of weight. Forty Percent of cancer patients die not from cancer but from malnutrition so it is vital to ensure that a healthy and regular diet is followed. The correct balance in the body is also going to mean less nausea and other symptoms associated with cancer treatments.

This article has touched on what you can expect in an alternative health treatment for cancer, but it must be stressed that it only touches the surface of the options available. There are over 300 treatments that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of cancer but are not part of mainstream medicines response. The important thing is not knowing how many options there are out there but knowing which options, and combinations of options are going to work in any individual case. Alternative Cancer Treatment takes a holistic approach to the treatment of cancer and seeks to assist the sufferer not just in overcoming their cancer but also in enjoying their life and living well while they do. A cancer survivor who beats cancer using alternative medicine will not just be alive, but they will be alive and healthy. This increased quality of life, both throughout the treatment and after it, is an essential element in what makes alternative cancer therapy such an attractive option to those with the good fortune to explore it.

Britain Claiming Major Breakthrough In Prostate Cancer Treatment
In July, 2008, British researchers claimed to have won a major victory for prostate cancer treatment. According to recently release reports, a new drug, abiraterone, may be used to treat as many as 80% of patients suffering from advanced forms of prostate cancer.

Researchers worldwide involved in the treatment of prostate cancer are cautiously optimistic, and welcoming what may arguably be the best news in prostate cancer treatment research in the past 15 years. It is thought that larger clinical studies now need to be conducted to determine important side effects of the new drug's use, as well as the level of its benefits versus the possible drawbacks of the drug treatment.

Abiraterone is a drug manufactured by Cougar Biotechnology Incorporated, and currently being investigated for use in treatment of prostate cancer. It works to block the production of testosterone, which enhances the growth and development of prostate cancer, by inhibiting an enzyme involved in the formation of testosterone.

In drug trials of abiraterone, it appears that the drug may reduce the levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), as well as shrink prostate cancer tumors. In the trials of the new drug conducted at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital in Britain, the symptoms of prostate cancer occurring in patients with advanced stages and/or with untreatable forms of the disease have shown significant regression. The news offers hope for thousands of men who contract prostate cancer worldwide each year.

Prostate cancer is usually diagnosed in men in the later life stages.
By the time men reach the ages of 40 (higher risk) or 50, it is recommended that they receive annual prostate checkups. Annual checkups should include both physical exams as well as blood tests, to effectively screen for the disease.

The American Cancer Society estimates 186,320 new cases, and 28,660 deaths will result from prostate cancer in the US in 2008. The Society further states that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the nation.

One in six men will get prostate cancer in his lifetime, while one in thirty-five men will die from the disease. Death from prostate cancer is currently on the decline, a fact thought to be due to advances in prostate cancer treatment and early detection.

It is of prime importance that the obstetrician's take a thorough breast examination of pregnant women to detect breast cancer. Often, the diagnosis is delayed because doctors and pregnant women assume that lumps in the breast are due to normal hormonal changes.

The threat of breast cancer is upsetting for anyone, particularly during pregnancy, but it is not uncommon. Pregnant women and physicians should become more aware of the risk associated with cancer. The obstetricians are usually more focused on the health of the unborn baby than the mother's possible illness but should be more aware of the risk of breast cancer. Women should examine their breasts regularly and tell their doctor about any changes they discover.

Not only is diagnosis often delayed, but there is a high rate of false-negative results of a mammography due to the increased density of the breast during pregnancy. Ultrasonogaphy is the best way to check for cancerous lumps in pregnant and lactating women. Pregnant women should be encouraged to know that treatment is as successful and safe as in non-pregnant women. Surgery is the best route although there is a small risk of premature labor. Radiation therapy is not offered during pregnancy but patients can be safely treated with certain forms of chemotherapy from three months onwards. This may be continued after the baby is born, although mothers should not breast feed their babies while they are having chemotherapy.
Treatments are planned around the expected delivery date and are administered as close to term as possible, Through the process, oncologists communicate regularly with a woman's obstetrician. A substantially greater number of pregnant women have been treated now than ever before, providing a growing confidence in the safety and positive outcome of chemotherapy for pregnant breast cancer patients Carter and baby Emma are perfect examples. Weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces, Emma entered the world with a "full head of hair," laughs Carter, who says she was "completely bald" when her "miracle child" was born.

Overall survival of pregnant women with breast cancer may be worse than in non pregnant women at all stages however, this may be due primarily to delayed diagnoses. Termination of pregnancy, however, may be considered, based on the age of the fetus, and if maternal treatment options, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, are significantly limited by the continuation of the pregnancy.

Nutrition for Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is said to be one of the biggest killers of women around the world today. Statistics from the University of Maryland Medical Center explain that every year in the United States, about 185,000 women are diagnosed with some form of breast cancer. Along with these statistics, about 40,000 women die per year because of breast cancer related complications. In 99% of all cases of breast cancer, women are involved. of breast cancer, and what are the possible causes of the disease? Doctors often recommend their patients to performs routine breast self examinations (BSE) to be able to detect lumps or other abnormalities in their breasts. If a woman detects a change in the shape and firmness in her breast, or if there are skin problems in the breast area, she should see a doctor right away. Some of the causes of breast cancer are genetic, while some sources explain that hormonal levels in the body can cause the growth of the tumor. In other instances, women who have breast implants develop a form of breast cancer.

Currently, the treatments for breast cancer include chemotherapy with radiation therapy. There are several drugs that have been tested and recommended for chemotherapeutic use, and it has been observed that the administration of regular radiation sessions allow chemotherapy drugs to work better against breast cancer tumors. In some cases of breast cancer, a mastectomy or surgical removal of one or two breasts may be needed.

What is the nutrition for breast cancer that should be followed? Sources from the University of Maryland Medical Center suggest that antioxidant-rich foods should be added to the diet. These foods include blueberries, cherries, squash, and tomatoes, among many others. Vegetables like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage should be eaten more often. It is best to avoid foods with trans-fat, preservatives, and foods that contain substances that can cause allergies. For protein sources, it is best to avoid red meats, and opt for leaner protein sources including tofu, soy, and some types of fish like tuna, herring, salmon, and others.

Nutrition for breast cancer also involves supplementing the diet with B vitamins, calcium, vitamin C, pro-biotics, and others. Omega-3 fatty acids are also highly recommended, and these forms of fatty acids are found in many types of nuts as well as fish. The fish types that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids are herring, salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, and sardines. Fish oil supplements come from the above mentioned species of fish, and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentenoic acid (EPA). As mentioned in a 2003 paper Indoor and Built Environment, DHA and EPA have already proven effective against tumor growth, and when added to the diet, makes a patient more receptive to the benefits of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy is treatment for cancer in which drugs are used to eradicate cancer. With chemotherapy, extended life span, better quality life can be achieved by shrinking or removing tumor. However, chemotherapy treatment is associated with some side effects.

Chemotherapy treatment is administered in cycles. Each cycle have rest period which allow patient to recover from side effect that are associated with treatment. No of cycles, duration, drugs, drugs amount given for the chemotherapy treatment is depends on type and stage of your cancer.

Also, the treatment plan has been developed and redefined in term of cycle, drug or doses to get maximum benefits. Such modification in your treatment plan is made only by your doctor. You should not miss any chemotherapy dose during treatment. Chemotherapy treatment is associated with some side effects as drugs used in the treatment also affect other healthy body cell along with cancerous cell. Side effects that are associated with chemotherapy treatment include hair follicles, nausea, sickness, vomiting, blood clotting, fatigue, diminished appetite, digestive tract and many more. Recovery period during treatment allows these healthy cells to recover and repair themselves.

Each time when you visit your doctor, make list of your question. Ask all questions that are in your mind related your cancer, chemotherapy treatment and its possible side effects. Note down the points on paper. If you don?t understand some point, ask your doctor to repeat it. When you visit your doctor, you should always accompany with your close friend or family member.

Chemotherapy drugs targets rapidly growing cancerous cell and damage them so that they can not grow or spread. Mostly chemotherapy treatment is applied at clinic or hospitals? out patient department. Sometimes chemotherapy treatment is also carried out at home or office. It depends on type of drug, your insurance, your and doctor?s wish. Mostly, it is carried out at hospital OPD so that treatment can be monitored easily.

Chemotherapy drugs are administered through vein, injection, orally or applied on skin. Mostly chemotherapy drugs are administered intravenously through a vein. It can also be administered through catheters, ports and pumps. Some chemotherapy drugs are in the form of pill, capsule or liquid form which can be taken orally. Another way of application of chemotherapy dug is through injection. In this method, drugs are administered using needle or syringe in different ways. Some drugs are applied directly on the surface of skin.

Some medicine or drugs other than chemotherapy drugs if taken during treatment may interfere with chemotherapy drug to affect effect of treatment. You should consult with doctor before taking any such type of medicine such as vitamins, laxatives and other pain relievers. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor about test result and your response to chemotherapy treatment.

Chemotherapy - is This the Real Answer to Cancer?
Before agreeing to a treatment, it is important to know what the treatment consist of. With this in mind, I have introduced below the main form of treatment used to treat cancer:
Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy was developed after scientists realised that the deadly Mustard gas used in the Second World War to kill people - Cyclophosphamide - could kill rapidly dividing cells such as those of cancer. Chemotherapy will kill all rapidly dividing cells (Our T and B cells responsible for our immune system would also be targeted as they divide rapidly).

Let's see what reputable scientists are saying about this drug:
* Late Dr Hardin Jones, professor at the University of California in Berkeley concluded in 1975 after analysing cancer survival statistics for several decades that "patients are as well, or better off, untreated".
* Dr Charles Moertel of the Mayo clinic in Baltimore said that the major chemotherapeutic drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) only produces an objective response in 15 to 20% of patients. Even then, improvements were only partial and temporary. This very poor result is offset by the toxicity of the drug and the disastrous emotional upsets caused by the side effects.
* A German epidemiologist Dr Ulrich Abel studied most of the published reports on chemotherapy and wrote to a further 350 cancer centres and experts and stated that "the success of most chemotherapy is appalling. There is no evidence for its ability to extend in any appreciable way the lives of patients suffering from the most common organic cancer". Often, patients who do not respond to chemotherapy survive longer than those who do".

Dr Abel also published details of survival rates for cancer patients treated with chemotherapy as follows:
* Bladder - No statistics available
* Breast - No evidence of an increase in life expectancy
* Cervical/Uterine - No evidence of an increase in life expectancy
* Colorectal - No increase in life expectancy
* Gastric cancer - No evidence of improvement
* Head & neck - No improvement in life expectancy (tumours may shrink)
* Ovarian - No evidence of an increase in life expectancy
* Pancreatic - More negative than patients who were not treated

Depending on which specific chemotherapy drug is used, side effects include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, potential damage to nerves and kidneys, hearing loss, seizures, bone marrow suppression, anaemia, blindness, irreversible loss of motor function, thrombosis, mucositis, heart problems, destruction of bile ducts, bone tissue death, restricted growth, infertility, lower white and red cell count, increased risk of leukaemia (specially for women who received chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer), ovarian failure, early menopause, lactose malabsorption etc..

Chemotherapy also often destroys the patient's liver and kidneys with its harmful effects and negatively assaults their immune system. Mechlorethamine, one of the drugs used is so toxic that medical staff handling it are advised to use gloves and avoid inhaling it.

A reference for medical personnel handling chemotherapy advises:
The potential risks involved in handling cytotoxic agents have become a concern for health care workers.

The literature reports various symptoms
Many chemotherapy agents, the alkylating agents in particular, are known to be carcinogenic [cancer causing] in therapeutic doses.

Medical personnel handling these drugs are advised to wear double latex gloves, mask, goggles and protective gown. Amazingly, needles used for injecting the lethal drug is classified as "hazardous waste" ! Incredible when we are told that this drug will cure our Cancer.

The medical journal (Lancet 1998) stated that Irinotecan, a new chemotherapy drug only extends survival by about 3 months but with many side effects.

Chemotherapy is also useless at helping with metastases in the liver (Arch Med Res, 1998). It has however been shown to increase the life of patients suffering from ovarian cancers by a few years and that of lung cancer patients by a few months.

Treatment of Hodgkin's disease with chemotherapy has also shown positive results. However, girls treated this way also have a 35% chance of developing breast cancer in later life. All children treated this way also are 18 times more likely to develop secondary tumours.

As Chemotherapy has been found to be (1) carcinogenic (2) immunosuppressant (3) toxic (4) futile, why is it then that doctors keep prescribing it?

Although most know that chemotherapy only has a very small chance of success, they feel that unless they prescribe something, the patient will go elsewhere and, in most cases (for allopathic medicine), be prescribed chemotherapy. In a survey of 79 cancer doctors conducted by McGill University in the United States, 58 doctors stated that they would not be part of trials on Chemotherapy drugs. Why? Because of the ineffectiveness of Chemotherapy and its toxicity.

It removes harmful material from the blood, produces enzymes and bile that help digest food and converts food into substances needed for life and growth.

How can cancer involve the liver?
The cancer can arise from the liver itself (primary liver cancer) or it can spread to the liver from a primary tumour at another site (secondary, or metastatic, cancer). In the UK, secondary liver cancer is about 28 times more common than primary liver cancer. Each year there are about 70,000 patients in the UK with secondary liver cancer and about 2,500 with primary liver cancer.

Liver cancer can arise in two ways:
• Primary liver cancer (most commonly hepatocellular carcinoma) originates in the liver.
• Metastatic liver cancer results from the spread (metastasis) of cancer from other areas of the body.

What is primary liver cancer?
Primary liver cancer starts in the cells, bile ducts, blood vessels or connective tissue of the liver. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that started somewhere else in the body and spread to the liver (called secondary liver cancer or metastatic liver cancer).

The liver is one of the largest organs in the body. The liver has two parts, called lobes – the right lobe and the smaller left lobe.

Causes
Your liver is a football-sized organ that sits in the upper right portion of your abdomen, beneath your diaphragm and above your stomach. Your liver processes most of the nutrients absorbed from your small intestine and determines how much sugar (glucose), protein and fat enter your bloodstream. It also manufactures blood-clotting substances and certain proteins. Your liver performs a vital detoxifying function by removing drugs, alcohol and other harmful substances from your bloodstream.

What are the main treatments for liver cancer? Surgery for primary liver cancer. Surgery for liver cancer is the best treatment we have if the cancer hasn't spread.

There are two main options
• A liver transplant
• Surgery to remove the cancer from your liver

Liver transplant
Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is more likely to develop in people with chronic cirrhosis. Your specialist may suggest a liver transplant if you have cirrhosis of the liver because of previous liver disease, infection with a hepatitis virus or from drinking alcohol.

Other Treatments
Your specialist may suggest one of the following treatments to help control liver cancer
• Percutaneous ethanol injection
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Chemoembolisation
• Cryosurgery or cryotherapy

New Treatment Targets Liver Cancer
In the interventional radiology suite, physicians use Selective Internal Radiation Therapy to treat patients with inoperable liver cancer. Physicians at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center are performing a new treatment for inoperable liver cancer known as Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT). SIRT is a non-surgical outpatient therapy that uses microscopic radioactive spheres, called SIR-Spheres®, to deliver radiation directly to the site of the liver tumors.

Liver Cancer - Diagnosis, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prognosis
Liver cancer also known as primary or metastatic hepatic carcinoma is a fairly rare form of cancer in the western world (1% of all cancers) but much more common in Africa and parts of Asia (10% to 50% of all cancers). Liver cancer is rapidly fatal, usually within 6 months from gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hepatic failure or metastasis.

TYPES OF LIVE CANCER
Most primary liver tumors are known as hepatomas (hepatocellular carcinoma and primary lower cell carcinoma). Some primary liver cancers originate in the bile duct and these are known as cholangiomas. Some rare liver cancers include Kupffer cell sarcoma and hepatoblastomas (which occur almost exclusively in children and are usually respectable and curable). Metastatic liver cancer is 20 times more common than primary liver cancer and after cirrhosis this is the leading form of liver related death.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Liver cancer does not normally cause symptoms until it is in an advanced stage.

Clinical effects of advanced liver cancers include:
1. A mass in the right upper side.
2. Tender, nodular liver on palpation
3. Severe pain in the epigastrium or upper right side
4. Weight loss, anorexia, weakness, fever
5. Occasional jaundice or ascites (fluid in the abdomen)

CAUSE OF LIVER CANCER
The exact cause of liver cancer is unknown in adults but in children it may be a genetic disease. Adult liver carcinomas may result from environmental exposure to carcinogens such as mold, contrast media (no longer in use), androgens and oral estrogens, the hepatitis B virus or by damage to the liver due to cirrhosis caused by too much prolonged imbibing of alcohol.

DIAGNOSIS
Liver cancer is difficult to diagnose in the presence of cirrhosis, but several tests can help identify it: The combination of an imaging study (ultrasound, CT, or MRI scans) and an elevated blood level of alpha-fetoprotein will most effectively diagnose liver cancer, electrolyte studies may indicate increased sodium retention, a liver biopsy can make a definitive diagnosis.

TREATMENT
Treatments for primary liver cancer depend on the extent (stage) of the disease, age, overall health, feelings and personal preferences. Radiofrequency ablation is an option for people with small, unresectable hepatocellular tumors and for some types of metastatic liver cancers. During this procedure, the hepatic artery (the artery from which liver cancers derive their blood supply) is blocked, and chemotherapy drugs are injected between the blockage and the liver. Cryoablation may be an option for people with inoperable primary and metastatic liver cancers. Removing the whole liver and replacing it with a liver from another person is another possible form of treatment for primary liver cancer.

Even when treatments fail to provide much improvement in the liver cancer itself, pain and other signs and symptoms caused by liver cancer can be aggressively treated to improve quality of life.

PROGNOSIS
Prognosis is poor when cancer is advanced, but for small tumors that are confined to the liver, ablative therapies are palliative and surgical resection or liver transplantation

Metastatic colon cancer is one of the leading causes of death from cancers and tumors in the USA and unfortunately the survival rate for those diagnosed with it is below 10%.

Colon cancer occurs when a tumor appears in the colon or in the rectum. The colon and the rectum together form the large intestine. First, only a tumor appears either in the colon or in the rectum, but if it is not treated then the tumor will spread, and in time it will affect other organs, such as the liver and the lungs, causing tumors to appear in them too. This is the final phase of colon cancer, when it has spread too much and there are too many cancerous cells in the body. It is also called stage IV colon cancer or metastatic colon cancer.

When doctors discover colon cancer they usually immediately recommend surgery to remove the part of the large intestine where the tumor has grown. After the surgery several tests are performed to see if the cancer has spread. If the result is positive and the cancerous cells are discovered in other distant places of the body then you will receive the stage IV colon cancer diagnosis.

You still have several treatment options after the metastatic colon cancer diagnose. The treatment is very influenced by how far has the metastatic colon cancer has spread. If it has only spread to a single organ different from the large intestine then the treatment has higher chances of success because it can be directed to that single site. The most common place where metastatic colon cancer spreads is the liver, and sometimes the lungs.

The problem is that at most patients colon cancer has spread to many other locations, and the treatment can not be directed to a single site. The best treatment option in this situation is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is done by injecting, directly in the blood, certain substances that have the ability of killing cancer cells. Chemotherapy has severe side effects like loss of hair, fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, and many more. The survival rate for chemotherapy-treated patients is not too high, but it increases each year and new techniques are continuously researched and developed.

We can only hope that the future will bring good news for those with metastatic colon cancer, and also remember that some manage to survive it and you could be among them.

Colon Cancer Risk Reduced by Vitamin Supplements
A very new study states that there is a correlation between smaller colon cancer rates and the use of vitamins A,E,C calcium, potassium and folic acid. The study has shown that long-term vitamins use could decrease the risk of colon cancer by 57 percent.

This study was made on an group made of over 500 women and men between the ages of 33 and 62 who were found having colon cancer. The patients were asked a lot of questions regarding the dosage, frequency, and duration of the vitamins they took. Two classifications were made: multivitamin packs token once a day and high concentration packs. The study showed that the majority of the patients who took the multivitamin packs took the high potency supplements too.

Most of the studies that predate this one agree that the risks of colon cancer are greatly reduced by using vitamin supplements but none of them was able to identify the specific components of the vitamins that are responsible for this. Antioxidant vitamin and folic acid rich vegetables and fruits are known for lowering the colon cancer risks, but yet again no specific components of these foods were identified.

An increase in the fruit and vegetable consumption rate was tried by several educations programs but none of them had a real success. It is recommended to eat at least five different types of these aliments but in the current society the intake of these foods decrease year by year. Society is being plagued by the fast food industry. These foods are very rich in carbohydrates that are very bad for the health, especialy for people that have a risk of developing colon cancer. Fast food alliments have a very low vitamin and protein content but it seems that the american society became addicted to them. Knowing the current society, the researchers of colon cancer recommend supplementing the diet with multivitamin packs rather then eating fruits and vegetables because they hope it will be more appealing to the general public.

The pancreas is a spongy, tube-shaped organ about 6 inches long. The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen. It is connected to the duodenum, the upper end of the small intestine. The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the body.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious of cancers. It develops when cancerous cells form in the tissues of your pancreas — a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate the metabolism of carbohydrates.

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas. Each year about 33,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with this condition, and more than 60,000 in Europe. Depending on the extent of the tumor at the time of diagnosis, the prognosis is generally regarded as poor, with few victims still alive five years after diagnosis, and complete remission still extremely rare.

Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer
Loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss. Unintended weight loss is a common sign of pancreatic cancer. Weight loss occurs in most types of cancer because cancerous (malignant) cells deprive healthy cells of nutrients, and this is especially true in pancreatic cancer.

As the cancer grows and spreads, pain often develops in the upper abdomen and sometimes spreads to the back. Cancer of the pancreas can also cause nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, and weakness.

Jaundice is caused by a buildup of bilirubin (a substance produced in the liver) that causes a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Jaundice may also cause brown urine and clay-colored stools. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are generally vague and can easily be attributed to other less serious and more common conditions. This lack of specific symptoms explains the high number of people who have a more advanced stage of disease when pancreatic cancer is discovered.

Treatment for Pancreatic cancer
Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. You may receive radiation treatments before or after cancer surgery, often in combination with chemotherapy. Or, your doctor may recommend a combination of radiation and chemotherapy treatments when your cancer can't be treated surgically.

Surgery may be done to remove all or part of the pancreas. Sometimes it is necessary to remove a portion of the stomach, duodenum, and other nearby tissues. This operation is called a Whipple procedure. In cases where the cancer in the pancreas cannot be removed, the surgeon may be able to create a bypass around the common bile duct or the duodenum if either is blocked.

Endoscopic stent placement: A stent (flexible tube) is placed in the bile duct to drain the bile into the small intestine or outside the body as needed. This is done when the tumor is blocking the bile duct and there is a build up of bile to prevent further build up.

Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells but also damage some normal cells. Short-term side effects might include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, hair loss, and mouth sores. Because chemotherapy can damage the bone marrow, where new blood cells are made, blood cell counts might become low.

Pancreatic Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Pancreatic cancer: Malignancy of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a "silent" disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does not cause symptoms. If the tumor blocks the common bile duct and bile cannot pass into the digestive system, the skin and whites of the eyes may become yellow (jaundiced), and the urine darker as a result of accumulated bile pigment called bilirubin.

Pancreatic Cancer Causes
The exact as to what damages DNA in the vast majority of cases of pancreatic cancer is not clear. In other words the exact pancreatic cancer causes are not clear. But it is known that a small percentage of people develop the disease as a result of a genetic predisposition. These people who have a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, with pancreatic cancer have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer themselves.

As age increases the probability of pancreatic cancer also increases. The incidence of Pancreatic Cancer is relatively low in individuals up to age 50, after which it increases significantly. The age group 65 - 79 has the highest incidence of Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms
In many cases, pancreatic cancer symptoms do not occur until the advanced stages. When pancreatic cancer symptoms do occur, they are often ignored because they are so vague and nonspecific. The first pancreatic cancer symptoms are usually pain in the abdomen and weight loss. Additional pancreatic cancer symptoms to look for include jaundice, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, chills, and muscle spasms.

Many of these pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of a less serious ailment. However, only a doctor can accurately diagnosis whether or not your pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of cancer.

Pain
Pancreatic cancer can cause pain and discomfort in your upper abdomen, which sometimes spreads to your back. The pain pancreatic cancer causes is often worse when you are lying down or eating. This type of pain tends to affect people whose tumour has formed in either the body or tail of the pancreas.

Pancreatic Cancer Treatment:
This cancer is difficult to diagnose because there are no symptoms in the early stages and because , when symptoms appear, they match other diseases. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be used. If the cancer has not spread beyond the pancreas, therapy can be successful, but, as stated earlier, it's very unlikely to find pancreatic cancer in the early stages. Obstruction of bile flow may be temporarily relieved by placement of a tube (stent) in the lower portion of the duct that drains bile from the liver and gallbladder. In most cases, however, the tumor eventually obstructs the duct above and below the stent. An alternative treatment method is the surgical creation of a channel that bypasses the obstruction. For example, an obstruction of the small intestine can be bypassed by a channel that connects the stomach with a portion of the small intestine that is beyond the obstruction.

There are several ways of giving radiation dosage to a cancerous tumor. The most common method is to deliver the required dosage from an external beam of radiation produced outside the body. In this case the source of radiation beam is located 80-100 cm from the body of the person receiving radiation. Sometimes placing the source of radiation within the tumor might have advantages over delivering radiation from an external source. This method of delivering required radiation from an internal source embedded within the tumor is called brachytherapy.

If you are aware of the inverse square law in physics you would know the dosage of radiation therapy delivery changes by a great proportion depending upon the distance of the radiation source to the intended target. In brachytherapy the source of radiation is within the tumor volume and the proper placement of these sources of radiation within the tumor is of crucial importance.

There are several radioactive isotopes used in the brachytherapy. These include radium-226, cesium-137, cobalt-60, iridium192, iodine-125, gold-198 and palladium-103. Radium has a longer half-life compared to some of the other radioactive isotopes. In the past radium was the primary isotope used in brachytherapy, but recently radium has been largely replaced by cesium, gold and iridium, which have relatively shorter half-life and lower energies and because of this the radiation from these isotopes can be easily shielded.

Brachytherapy can be delivered with devices known as implants. Brachytherapy can be delivered with permanent or temporary implants. These implants might be temporary or permanent. Temporary implants usually have a longer half-life and higher energies compared to the permanent implants. All temporary implants are inserted into the tumor during surgery. The duration of treatment for the temporary implant is usually 1-3 days.

Interstitial low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy is usually used for cancers involving the mouth and oral cavity, pharynx. This mode of treatment is often used in the treatment of sarcomas. Prostate cancer treatment is the most common form of LDR brachytherapy using seeds. Uterine cancer is the most common application of intracavitary LDR treatment. These patients are often isolated to prevent radiation exposure to nursing and other supportive staff during the care of the person.

The most common uses of high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy includes treatment of esophageal cancer, lung cancer and recently breast cancer and prostate cancer. Most HDR treatments are done as outpatient procedures allowing the patients to return to home the same day as treatment.

The Key Facts Behind Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of UK men. Modern surgical techniques, combined with drugs such as Viagra, mean that an operation to treat prostate cancer does not signal the end of a patient's sex-life.

The prostate itself is a small, walnut-sized gland situated near the bladder in men that produces one component of semen. There are a broad range of prostate cancers, some of which are extremely gentle and indolent and may not cause any significant ill health. However, others have the ability to spread to other parts of the body and cause more significant damage if not treated. This means it is important to catch prostate cancer early and then it is possible to treat it using a radiotherapy and surgery.

The Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
The first sign of prostate cancer can be noticed when you go to the toilet. The symptoms of prostate cancer are caused by the growth of cells, whether malignant or benign, pushing against the urethra, the thin tube which links the bladder to the penis. If you are suffering from the above symptoms then you should also look out for painful urination or ejaculation, blood in urine or semen, and pain in lower back, hips or thighs.

There are several ways that a doctor can check for prostate cancer. The simplest way is the digital rectal examination, in which the doctor insert a gloved finger into the rectum to feel for an an enlarged prostate. Following this a blood test can be conducted to look for any rises in any chemicals in the blood, and after this comes more sophisticated tests, such as ultrasound scans, and x-rays.

The Causes of Prostate Cancer
The exact causes of prostate cancer are still unclear but there are a number of factors which may increase your chances of developing it. These include, but are not limited to, a family history of prostate cancer, and a fat-rich diet.

There have been a number of studies into the link between prostate cancer and vasectomy but these have so far proved to be inconclusive.

Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Sometimes the best treatment for prostate cancer can be to not treat it at all. This is sometimes the case of older men when it is judged that surgery or other treatments may cause more harm than good.

If the cancer has spread from the prostate, or it is believed that it will spread, then surgery is normally the first course of action to remove it whilst is still possible and prevent further spreading. A prostatectomy is when the prostate gland is removed, usually along with small parts of the lymphatic system near the gland. However, this type of surgery can cause nerve damage which can prevent men from getting an erection ever again, or maintain complete control over urination. This does not mean that a man's sex life is over though as modern "nerve-sparing" surgical techniques, when combined with drugs such as Viagra, can ensure that the effects on both function and quality of life are minimised.

Other treatment option is radiotherapy which will be precisely targeted on the pelvic area, whilst other doctors are fighting prostate cancer by using the body's own hormones. In the latter's case, prostate cells, including cancerous ones, which are sensitive to levels of certain male hormones, can be rendered far less active if levels are reduced. However, this can reduce the sex-drive of the patient.

Advances in Prostate Cancer Surgery
Advances in prostate cancer surgery mean that surgeons can now successfully remove the prostate without causing the problematic nerve damage which has been inevitable in the past. In addition, radiotherapy technology advances mean that far higher doses can be targeted more precisely on the prostate, killing more cancer cells with fewer treatments.

A technique called prostate brachytherapy has also made some great advances in recent times and its use is becoming more and more common. There are two methods of brachytherapy - permanent seed implantation and high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy.

Permanent seed implantation involves injecting approximately 100 radioactive seeds into the prostate gland, which give off cancer-killing radiation at a low dose rate over several weeks or months, and the seeds remain in the prostate gland permanently.

HDR temporary brachytherapy involves placing very tiny plastic catheters into the prostate gland, and then giving a series of radiation treatments through these catheters. Another option is High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound, which uses sound waves to "melt" away the cancer.

Is there such thing as hormone driven invasive breast cancer?
At present, the number of breast cancer patients have drastically reduced in the US and some experts say that this was due to the reduction of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use.
In the United States, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is quite popular. HRT and mammography are chosen by the individuals themselves and certain factors influence the choice they make.

In some countries, mammogram is administered in state levels and it is already considered a routine activity especially among women aged 40 years and older. The relationship between HRT and breast cancer is still not yet established. The evident reason behind it is probably the lack of worldwide coverage. The data collected are often limited in some states or countries only. Other countries don’t gather info as to the number of HRT prescriptions and breast cancer patients.

In the US, there was a considerable drop of breast cancer patients. Many women (and men) are now aware of breast cancer and so they undergo mammography every month. Some of them also made lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. Physical exercise also plays a very important role in maintaining a healthy body and since many individuals are now more concerned about their body’s health, the incident of cancer also decreased. Estrogen metabolism is also affected by exercise. Some say that endogenous estrogens influence the breast cancer receptors. HRT provides exogenous estrogens and not endogenous estrogens. Indeed, further studies should be conducted in establishing the relationship of breast cancer and HRT.

Perhaps some of the studies were only able to show that HRT increases the density of the breast and it also reduces mammography’s sensitivity. Since a large percentage of the population is now undergoing mammography, there will be fewer people who will utilize HRT. Breast cancer patients will definitely decrease because the disease is detected early through mammography. Some breast cancer cases are even identified before they cross any clinical threshold.

Still, hormone replacement has something to do with the increased risk of developing breast cancer. In fact, HRT is already included in the list of the possible causes of breast cancer. But if today’s medical experts want to prove the exact relationship of the reduction of HRT prescriptions and breast cancer patients, they will need to gather more pertinent data.

For now, people should make the necessary lifestyle changes since cancer has a lot to do with nutrition and lifestyle. By maintaining an active and healthy body, cancer can be prevented. There is also increased awareness about breast cancer these days because of the joint efforts of cancer survivors. Hormone driven invasive breast cancer is possible especially among individuals with a history of breast cancer in their family. Older women, even men, should have regular mammograms or they conduct self examinations to check for mass or lumps. Breast cancer is deadly especially when detected late. Check your lifestyle now. If you’re currently taking HRT, perhaps you need to double your awareness about breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Awareness
Awareness about the different- different types of breast cancer and their difference will help in determining the most excellent mode of cure. If breast cancer is suspected, the subsequently thing your doctor does is distribution a tissue sample of the lump to a pathologist. The pathological test guides the physician to choose on your cure plan. The biopsy report details on matters such as the type of the disease, if it is invasive or not, evaluation of the tumour based on the likeness of affected cells to ordinary ones, understanding to hormonal therapies, amount of protein called HER-2 present in it etc.

The most widespread type of breast cancer starts also in the breast milk ducts (ductal carcinoma) or in the glands that produce milk (Lobular carcinoma). The opening point is firm by the look of the cancerous cells under a microscope. In case of non invasive breast cancer, the cancer cells stay within their place of origin. Ductal Carcinoma in Situ is the most normally found kind of non invasive breast cancer. This disease is restricted to the lining of the milk product.

Invasive breast cancers effortlessly spread out of the membrane that lines the milk duct or the lobule. The neighboring tissues are all exaggerated. The cancerous cells still get to the lymph nodes. Around 70% of the total breast cancer patients suffer from Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. The cancer cells get transported mostly through blood or lymph.

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma is yet another type of the disease which is comparatively less common. Originate from the milk producing lobules; they break into the nearby tissues as well. Less common types of breast cancer are those that get originate from the fibrous connective tissue, blood vessels or lymphatic system which all serves as supporting tissues. In number of cases, the cancerous cells get increase to the breast from other parts like lymph, lungs, skin, colon etc. Rare types of breast cancer include inflammatory breast cancer, phyllodes tumor, and angiosarcoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma Paget’s disease of the breast, osteosarcoma and metaplastic breast cancer. Strange subdivision of invasive ductal carcinoma is classified as mucinous, tubular, medullary and papillary.