What is cancer?
Cancer is a disease distinguished by uncontrollable cell growth. Among 100 different cases of cancer, one is separated from the other by the kind of cell it originally affected.
Our body includes various organs, muscles, skin, blood and bones. Each of these parts consists of dedicated cells and genes respectively. The functionality of the cells get interrupted with the advent of germs of cancer and readily takes over the control of the genes after they multiply and breed freely to take possession of the whole human metabolism.
In the year 2007, it was estimated that cancer alone has taken lives of 7.6 million people across the globe. It was observed that this disease was mostly detected much after the second or third stage where there was very little the doctors could do to save the cancer patients. This is pathetic but more of helplessness a person would feel being either the patient or someone close in relation.
Signs and symptoms of cancer
Cancer can often be managed more easily when it is diagnosed in the early stages. Being aware of your body and what is ‘normal’ for you, and reporting symptoms to your GP, can help to make sure that, if you do have cancer, it is diagnosed as early as possible.
There are some common signs and symptoms of cancer that may alert you to the fact that something is new or different. You should contact your doctor if you have any of the following:
• Lumps
• Coughing, breathlessness and hoarseness
• Changes in bowel habit
• Bleeding
• Moles
• Unexplained weight loss
Who gets cancer?
Each year more than a quarter of a million people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK, and 1 in 3 people will develop cancer during their lifetime. But cancer is not common in children or young people – it mainly occurs in the later years of life. Cancers can occur at any age, but the risk of developing cancer increases with age. 64% (64 in 100) of all newly diagnosed cancers occur in people aged 65 years or more. Less than 1% (1 in 100) of cancers are diagnosed in children, aged 0-14 years.
Some cancers are very common and others are very rare. The most recent statistics for the UK (from 2003) show that for men the most common cancer is prostate cancer (23%), followed by lung cancer (16%), large bowel cancer (14%) and bladder cancer (5%).
For women the figures are breast cancer (31%), large bowel cancer (11%), lung cancer (11%) and cancer of the ovary (5%).
Many people with cancer can be cured. Even if a cancer cannot be cured, it can often be controlled with treatment for months or years.
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