Cancer Disease Types
There is a long glossary of types of cancer of which following are the most common ones:
- Bone Cancer
- Brain Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Endocrine Cancer
- Gastrointestinal Cancer
- Gynecologic Cancer
- Head & Neck Cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung Cancer
- Lymphoma
- Multiple Myeloma
- Prostate Cancer
- Skin Cancer
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
From the names listed above a few are commonest of them e.g. Brain Cancer, Leukemia, Lung Cancer and Skin Cancer.
Brain Cancer
Brain Cancers are occurs because of unusual growths of cells in the brain. Brain cancers can occur from primary brain cells, from the cells that form other brain components or from the growth of cancer cells from other parts of the body that have spread to the brain by the bloodstream.
Types of brain cancer
Primary brain tumors
Brain tumors vary in their growth speed and ability to display symptoms. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) categorizes and provides grades to classify tumors as follow:
- Grade I: The tissue look almost identical to normal brain cells with slow growth rate.
- Grade II: The tissue is pernicious. The cells look different form normal cells.
- Grade III: The dangerous tissue has cells that look entirely different from normal cells. The abnormal cells are grows very fast. These cells are coined anaplastic.
- Grade IV: The cells of malignant tissue look most abnormal and exceptionally very fast.
Metastatic brain tumors
Metastatic brain tumors consist of dangerous cells and disseminates through the bloodstream from a tumor located elsewhere in the body. The most common cancers that spread to the brain are arising from the breast, lung, and kidney as well as malignant. The process of spreading of cells to the brain from another tumor is termed as metastasis.
Metastatic brain tumors are the most general tumor found in the brain and are more often witnessed than primary brain tumors.
Causes of Brain Cancer
The following causes of brain cancer have been considered:
- Radiation to the head
- HIV infection
- An inherited (genetic) risk
- Cigarette smoking
- Environmental toxins
Brain Cancer Symptoms
Not all brain tumors display symptoms, and some are found after death.
- The symptoms are manifested by the tumor spreading on other parts of the brain and keeping them functioning normally
- Some symptoms display swelling in the brain caused by the tumor
- The symptoms of primary and metastatic brain cancers are almost identical
The following symptoms are generally witnessed:
- Headache
- Weakness
- Seizures
- Clumsiness
- Changed mental status
- Abnormalities in vision
- Difficulty in walking
- Nausea, vomiting especially early morning
- Difficulty with speech
- Changes in intellectual or emotional capacity
In many people, the inception of these symptoms is very gradual and may be avoided by both the person and the person's family members, even for long periods.
Brain Cancer Treatment
Treatment for brain cancer should be customized for each patient. Treatments are based on the patient's age and general health status as well as the size, type, location and grade of the tumor. In most cases of brain cancer, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the major types of treatment. Often, multiple treatment type is used.
What is lung cancer?
Cancer of the lung results from an abnormality in the body's cell. Disruption in the maintenance of a system of checks and balances on cell growth results in an uncontrolled multiplication of cells that eventually creates a lump known as a tumor.
What are the types of lung cancer?
Lung cancers are widely categorized into two types: small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). These two kinds of cancers grow and spread in varied ways.
SCLC comprises about 20% of lung cancers and is considered to be the most aggressive and fast growing of all lung cancers. SCLC is strongly because of cigarette smoking, with only 1% of such tumors occurring in nonsmokers.
NSCLC are the most common lung cancers, comprising about 80% of all lung cancers. NSCLC can be segregated into three main types of cancers i.e. Adenocarcinomas Squamous cell carcinomas, and Large cell carcinomas. Sometimes mixtures of various types of NSCLC are also seen.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Symptoms of lung cancer are different depending upon the location and the intensity of the tumor is.
A person may display the following symptoms:
- Cough,
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Chest pain
- Coughing up blood
- Shoulder pain
- Paralysis of vocal cords leading to hoarseness.
- Invasion of the esophagus often lead to difficulty swallowing
- Blurred vision
- Seizures, or symptoms of stroke
- Weight loss
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Mood changes
Stages of lung cancer
NSCLC assigned a stage from I to IV:
- In stage I, the cancer is within the lung
- In stages II and III, the cancer is confined to the chest
- In stage IV cancer has spread from the chest to different parts of the body
SCLC is staged using a two-tiered system:
- Limited-stage (LS) SCLC refers to cancer that is confined to the chest
- In extensive-stage (ES) SCLC, the cancer spreads to other parts of the body
How is lung cancer treated?
Treatment for lung cancer can consists of surgical removal of the cancer, either chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, or combinations of both treatments.
Surgery: Surgical removal of the tumor is generally done for limited-stage (stage I or sometimes stage II) NSCLC. 10%-35% of lung cancers can be removed surgically but removal does not always guarantee cure, since the tumors may already have spread and can recur at any time.
Radiation: Radiation therapy may be used as a treatment for both NSCLC and SCLC. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to eliminate cancer cells. This is generally conduced through a bronchoscope.
Radiation therapy is done if a person is not ready for surgery, if a tumor has spread to other areas making surgical removal impossible, or if a person has other conditions that unable them to undergo major surgery. In this procedure, multiple rays of radiation coming from different directions are centered on the tumor for some times to hours.
Chemotherapy: Both NSCLC and SCLC can be treated with chemotherapy. In Chemotherapy drugs are administered that stop the growth of cancer cells by killing them or preventing them from multiplying.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT): One other therapy used for different types and stages of lung cancer is photodynamic therapy. In this the physician applies a certain wavelength of light through a handheld wand directly to the location of the cancer and surrounding areas. The energy from the light destroys the tumor cells.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA): Radiofrequency ablation can be considered as an alternative to surgery, particularly in cases of early stage lung cancer. In this a needle is inserted through the skin into the cancer, usually under guidance by CT scanning. Radiofrequency (electrical) energy is then provided to the tip of the needle where it generates heat in the tissues, killing the cancerous tissue.
Cancer has become a common disease these days an early detection of cancer will enable you to get the treatment on time and you can lead a healthy and cheerful life for years!
