Pancreatic Cancer Causes Symptoms and Treatment

Pancreatic Cancer - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
By Michael Russell

Pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare disorder, accounting for about 3 in 100 cases of all cancer in the US. However, the disease, which mainly affects people over 50, is becoming more common in the US as life expectancy increases. Pancreatic cancer occurs almost twice as frequently in men as in women and the disease is slightly more common in African-Americans and Polynesians. People with pancreatic cancer usually have few symptoms until the disorder reaches an advanced stage and often not until it has spread to other parts of the body, typically the lymph nodes in the abdomen and the liver. The disease is nearly always fatal and is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in the US. Little is known about the causes of pancreatic cancer, but it has been linked with diet, in particular with fatty foods and high alcohol consumption. A higher incidence of the cancer in certain ethnic groups indicates that genetic factors may be involved. The risk of the disease is greater in people who smoke and in those with chronic pancreatitis.

The pancreas is an organ involved in endocrine functions, such as the secretion of insulin and exocrine functions, such as the secretion of insulin and exocrine functions, such as the secretion of enzymes involved in digestion. It is located underneath the stomach and liver and adjacent to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine).

Causes: The cause of this cancer remains unknown. The most established risk factor for the development of this cancer is cigarette smoking. Other less common risk factors are:

A high fat diet

Diabetes

Chronic pancreatitis, generally related to high alcohol intake

Workers in contact with organic chemicals

Symptoms: when the cancer originates in the head of the pancreas, which is the closest area to the duodenum, patients suffer from jaundice and generalized itching. If, on the other hand, the tumor originates in the area of the tail of the pancreas, which is furthest from the duodenum, the tumor can grow to larger sizes before causing symptoms. This condition can result in the obstruction of bile excretion leading to the development of

Jaundice

Pale-colored stools

Generalized itching

Abdominal pain

Weight loss

A palpable mass.

Many patients with pancreatic cancer also have symptoms of cancer that has spread to other organs.

Diagnosis: Cancer of the pancreas can be easily seen with computed tomography or ultrasound of the abdomen. The diagnosis needs to be confirmed by obtaining a biopsy.

Complications: Complications arise from the spread (metastasis) of the cancer to other organs or from the physical size of the tumor causing obstruction of the bile duct or other internal structures.

Treatment:

Self Treatment: An overall healthy lifestyle with a well balanced diet is essential to maintain general health during the treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Medical Treatment: Although treatment with chemotherapy has not been very encouraging, promising new chemotherapy agents are always being investigated. Combinations of treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy may help control symptoms in some cases of advanced cancer. Surgical Treatment: Removal of the tumor offers the only chance for cure of this type of cancer. Unfortunately, only about 15 percent of patients can have their tumor fully removed. The rest of the patients have cancers that have grown too extensive to remove completely.

Prevention: the only well established risk for the development of pancreatic cancer is cigarette smoking. Smoking cessation should, therefore, result in a decreased chance of development this type of cancer.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Pancreatic Cancer

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=MichaelRussell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Pancreatic-Cancer---Causes,-Symptoms-and-Treatment&id=484411

Stages of Ovarian Cancer

Stages of Ovarian Cancer
By Jeanette Pollock

There are four specific stages of ovarian cancer. Knowing these stages will help you to determine what your treatment options are and what symptoms to look for so you can get the upper hand on the silent killer.

Stage one is when the cancer is limited to the ovaries only. Within this there are three stages. Stage 1A is when the cancer is limited to just one ovary, 1B is when the cancer is in both ovaries and 1C is with tumors on either one or both ovaries and a tumor on the surface.

Stage two is when the ovarian cancer involves one or both ovaries with pelvic extension. Stage 2A is when the cancer has extended to the uterus and/or the tubes, 2B is when the cancer has extended to the pelvic tissues and 2C is a tumor with a ruptured capsule that contains malignant cells.

Stage three is ovarian cancer that involves one or both of the ovaries and the cancer has spread outside the pelvis. Liver metastasis can equal stage three ovarian cancer. Stage 3A is when the cancer is limited to the pelvis but microscopic examination shows seeding in the abdominal cavity, 3B is when the cancer has become implanted on abdominal surfaces but nothing is above two centimeters in diameter and 3C is any abdominal cancers over two centimeters in diameter.

Stage four is a growth on one or both of the ovaries with distant metastasis. Stage 4A is an extension of metastasis to the uterus and/or the tube, 4B is an extension to the pelvic tissues and 3C is a ruptured capsule with malignant cells.

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of ovariancancerdomain.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about the different stages of ovarian cancer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JeanettePollock
http://EzineArticles.com/?Stages-of-Ovarian-Cancer&id=327817

Breast Cancer When Chemotherapy Is Necessary

Breast Cancer - When Chemotherapy Is Necessary
By Chris Teo, Ph.D.

Anna /M241, is a 50-year-old female from Acheh, Indonesia. She had a lump in her right breast sometime in 2000. She refused medical treatment. Instead she went to Jakarta to seek alternative treatments. These did not help her. The breast lump grew bigger and in December 2004, it developed into a lacerated wound and bled. She went back to Acheh and enlisted the help of a medical doctor to take care of her wound. At the same time she continued with other alternative treatments. Unfortunately, this doctor had been swept away by the tsunami that struck the city not long ago.

In February 2007, Anna came to Penang to seek medical treatment. Due to the advanced stage of the disease, no radiotherapy or surgery was indicated. Anna was asked to undergo chemotherapy. She underwent four cycles of chemotherapy at a private hospital. She suffered total hair loss but no other adverse side effects. Each cycle of chemotherapy, given at three-weekly interval, costs RM 3,000. However, each trip to Penang for this treatment would come to about RM 7,000. It is indeed difficult to imagine such financial burden endured by a family who had lost their home to the tsunami. Because of this, Annas husband explained that they could NOT effort further chemotherapy and asked if they could turn to our therapy instead.

Anna came to see us on 5 August 2007. She appeared healthy and did not have any problem. The chemotherapy had helped her. Her lacerated wound had dried up and the tumor had shrunk significantly. The pains that she suffered earlier had subsided. She had gain weight and felt much better than before the chemotherapy.

A CT scan done on 9 May 2007, however, was most disappointing. It showed extensive metastasis to the pectoralis muscles and ribs. There were numerous well defined 4 to 25 mm nodules scattered in both lungs. The cancer had also spread to the lymph nodes. I asked Anna if the oncologist had told her the results of the scan. Her husband replied: No. The hospital gave us the films and we went home. We did not understand what it was all about.

I asked them: What did you expect when you came to the hospital for chemotherapy? Both of them replied: I expected to be cured.

Comment

It took me a while to regain my composure after looking at her scan. I was unsure if I should explain the results. I did not want to make her life miserable by telling her the bad news after all, is this not the responsibility of her oncologist? I hesitated but her husband probed me to tell them the truth, which I did. The metastases in Annas lungs were too numerous to count. While chemotherapy had helped her with the lacerated wounds, it was obvious that the treatment did not help her lung metastases.

Chemotherapy had helped make Annas life better. The lump has also shrunk. If four cycles were good for her, does it mean that more chemotherapy (up to eight cycles) would be better? Indeed this is debatable more does not necessarily mean better! While chemotherapy did not hurt Anna, it certainly hurt the pocket I would not say bank balance because I am not sure if there was any bank left after the tsunami.

I pointed out to Anna that it was a mistake not to remove the lump (or her breast) when she first detected it. Surgery could have saved her all the miseries that followed. In this regard, I would advise women to have the lumps in their breasts removed if possible. I asked Annas husband why they still continued with the ineffective treatments after knowing that the lump had gone bigger. Why wait for so long? Common sense should tell us that if after trying an alternative therapy for a month or two and it does not work or the condition deteriorates, patients should reevaluate their strategies move on to something that is more effective or evidence-based.

However, I also highlighted the good side of what she did. I know of numerous patients who died within two to three years after doing what their doctors told them to do -- mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Some even suffered severe pains and had bloated stomach before their death. So, undergoing medical treatment would not guarantee that everything would be fine.

Anna had breast tumor in 2000 and it is now 2007 and she is still alive and did not suffer any difficulties. She ought to be grateful for this blessing. I am reminded by what I have read. At a lecture at the American Cancer Society Conference in New Orleans on 3 July 1969, Professor Hardin Jones, University of California, Berkeley, was supposed to have said: My studies have proved conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer than treated individuals. If one has cancer and opts to do nothing at all, he will live longer and feel better than if he undergoes radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.

In Malaysia, like elsewhere too, doctors often blame the herbs when things go wrong. Doctors want to have the first shot at cancer using their chemotherapy or radiotherapy. And if these fail they advise patients to go home and seek hospice help or go for herbs. Over the past decade, CA Care is the recipients of these terminally ill and medically give-up cases. I began to have the impression that going for invasive treatments at the first sign of cancer need not be a wise move. Sometimes, patients die because of the treatment rather than the cancer. Anna took the less traveled road. She sought alternative treatments and when these failed she turned to the invasive, toxic medical intervention perhaps dealing out her last card. It has been seven years and she is still alive. I repeat, many who took the well-trodden road barely manage to live three to four years. So, Annas adventure is not wrong, no matter how foolish doctors may think it is.

For more information about complementary cancer therapy visit: http://www.cacare.com, http://www.NaturalHealingForYou.com, http://www.BookOnCancer.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=ChrisTeo,Ph.D.
http://EzineArticles.com/?Breast-Cancer---When-Chemotherapy-Is-Necessary&id=680711

There Is More Than One Kind Of Breast Cancer: The Silent Killer (IBC)

There Is More Than One Kind Of Breast Cancer: The Silent Killer (IBC)
By Alfred Jones

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you'll find that the subject of IBC is certainly no exception.

Ladies have been told and frequently reminded by advertisements, Doctors, Women's Magazines and so on, that they should regularly check their breasts for a lump or lumps.If anything is found they should immediately seek medical advice. This is still true, see your doctor as soon as possible.

There is another kind of breast cancer, it is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), it is an accelerated type of breast cancer, and it usually does not show on a mammogram or ultrasound.It is a rare form of breast cancer, but it accounts for approximately 1% to 3% of all breast cancers.

It is a breast cancer that many ladies have never heard of, but it can be so serious that everyone should learn about it and what signs or symptoms to look for in its early stage of development.

Inflammatory breast cancer causes the breast to appear swollen and inflamed. This inflammation occurs, not because of an infection, but because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast, this blocks the lymph flow, which usually causes a red inflamed condition of the breast.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and IBC experts is time. If you'll invest a little more time in reading, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to IBC.

Some ladies have IBC even when they are seeing their doctor regularly, and they may remain undiagnosed for quite some time, which can be very unfortunate. The symptoms are very often similar to mastitis, a breast infection and doctors frequently fail to recognise that it is IBC, and will often prescribe antibiotics, if it has not cleared or showing signs of clearing within a week of taking the antibiotics, it is time to take further action, by seeing a specialist.

It appears that IBC can happen at a reasonably young age, in fact some ladies had the first symptoms during pregnancy or lactation. It is important to be aware of this disease, as younger ladies are thought to be at a lower risk for breast cancer, remember that IBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer, and ignorance can result in metastases.

Typical Symptoms Of IBC

Swelling, quite sudden, as large as a cup in a few days. Itching. Pink, Red, or dark colored area sometimes with a texture similar to orange skin. Ridges and thickened area of the skin. Looks like bruising, but does not go away. Nipple retraction, or inverted. Discharge from the nipple.Breast is warmer than usual when touched. Pain in the breast. Color or a change in texture of the areola. One breast larger than the other. Rash. Swollen lymph nodes under the armpit. Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

Because IBC progresses rapidly, it is so important that ladies seek medical advice as soon as possible, don't ignore things in the hope that it will go away. Time is of the essence with this disease.

More information is available through the search engines, and I will add a link in the box below, where you can see a short video, or you can email me through my websites, and I will send you the video by email, so you can see the seriousness of this disease yourself. Tell all the ladies you know, because in this case knowledge is king.

Now you can understand why there ought to be more interest in IBC. When people start looking for more information about IBC, you'll be in a position to meet their needs.

Article by Alfred Jones, Information Advisor for Health Related websites http://www.sugarsr4u.com and http://www.rusweetenuf.com

Article may be freely used without permission as long as it is shown in its entirety.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=AlfredJones
http://EzineArticles.com/?There-Is-More-Than-One-Kind-Of-Breast-Cancer:-The-Silent-Killer-(IBC)&id=313481

Some Answers To Colon Cancer Questions

Some Answers To Colon Cancer Questions
By Groshan Fabiola

1.What is colon cancer?

Cancer is a disease which can affect cells from all organs. The colon cancer affects the cells of the colon, determining them to proliferate in an uncontrollable way. This mass of abnormal cells will form a tumor inside the colon. The cancer of the intestine is quite frequent and two thirds of this type of cancer is situated in the colon.

2.Who can develop colon cancer?

You are at risk of developing colon cancer if you drink a lot of alcohol and you are obese. Also if other members of your family had colon cancer or breast cancer you could inherit some genes that make you more sensible to cancer. If you have polyps on your intestine and you leave them untreated for a long time, they can transform into malign polyps, meaning that cancer had occurred.

3.Is my diet involved in cancer development?

Following a diet which is rich in fats and proteins could expose you to cancer. If you eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and high fiber foods you can prevent colon cancer from occurring.

4.Does colon cancer come with any symptoms?

There are some symptoms which could announce that cancer is installing, but they also appear in other diseases. Some of the symptoms are: seeing blood in your bowels, alternation of diarrhea with constipation, and low abdominal pains.

5.How does the doctor know that I have cancer?

The doctor will perform a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy to examine the insides of the colon. Also x-rays of the colon will be performed. These methods will see if tumors are present inside the colon. In order to stage colon cancer CT and ultrasound will be used.

6.Can colon cancer be treated?

Generally the most indicated procedure in trying to treat colon cancer is surgery. By surgery the doctors will remove the tumor from the colon. If the cancer spread, giving metastasis, the doctors will recommend you chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These are hard bearable due to their side effects like nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, fever, and tiredness.

7.Is the treatment effective or not?

If the colon cancer was diagnosed in its early stages and it has not spread to other organs the treatment will be 90% effective and patients will survive even five years after. If the cancer has given metastasis the treatment will not be so effective any more and half of the diagnosed patients will live less that five years.

For greater resources on colon cancer or especially about colon cancer symptoms please visit this link http://www.colon-cancer-center.com/colon-cancer-symptoms.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=GroshanFabiola
http://EzineArticles.com/?Some-Answers-To-Colon-Cancer-Questions&id=465390

Discover How Breast Cancer Awareness Can Benefit You

Discover How Breast Cancer Awareness Can Benefit You
By Jon Arnold

You have undoubted run across many of the breast cancer awareness days and sessions that appear around the country sporadically. These are usually put on by a local group, a church, or sponsored by the American Cancer Society to promote breast cancer awareness in the community.

You might be wondering why your breast cancer awareness level should be raised and what benefit that represents for you, but all you need to do is look at the statistics about the reported cases of breast cancer. The reported cases of breast cancer has been rising steadily year after year, and for the coming year, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 200,000 diagnosed cases. Even scarier is that they also estimate that more than 40,000 of those cases of breast cancer will die from it.

Here is an even scarier fact for you -- did you know that breast cancer is not limited to women? Yes it is true. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 1600 cases of breast cancer in MEN this year, and that about 400 of them will die. So are you starting to see where breast cancer awareness is starting to be important to you and your health? With statistics like this, it is no wonder that they want to promote breast cancer awareness as much as possible.

Many people do not take this disease seriously, even despite these statistics. Although it is difficult to believe, there are many people who have not had a checkup or medical exam in the past 4, 5, or 10 years or more. How can you possibly take your health seriously if you do not have regular checkups and exams from your doctor or medical professional? One way is of course to raise your breast cancer awareness level since that is a disease where there is currently not a known cure.

Your best option for fighting breast cancer is to get early detection and early diagnosis. When breast cancer is detected early, your chances of being able to cope with it, to fight it, and via treatments like chemo, there are many documented cases of people who have beat it. But if it had not been detected and diagnosed early, those would almost certainly be different stories with radically different outcomes. What about those people who have not had a medical examination in the past 4 or 5 years? If they have developed breast cancer in that timeframe, it will certainly not be considered an early diagnosis and could even mean another fatality from breast cancer.

You need to become knowledgeable about the typical symptoms of breast cancer, and if you detect any of those symptoms at home, you should schedule a checkup with your doctor as soon as possible. For women of ages 18 to about 40, you should plan to schedule a checkup with your doctor once about every 2-3 years. For women over 40, that checkup should be not less than annually. Although breast cancer has not conclusively been determined to be hereditary, you might want to consider having checkups even more often is there is a history of cancer in your family tree. Keeping these statistics in mind, your level of breast cancer awareness should be raised where these regular checkups should be at the forefront of your mind.

Raise your breast cancer awareness levels and get those checkups. Be aware of the symptoms and if you see any of them, be sure to get an exam soon. Remember, the best chances for beating breast cancer are early detection and early diagnosis.

Jon is a prolific writer with expertise in a number of areas. Find out more information about Breast Cancer Awareness at his web site, http://breast-cancer-explained.com/breastcancerawareness.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JonArnold
http://EzineArticles.com/?Discover-How-Breast-Cancer-Awareness-Can-Benefit-You&id=548261

7 Stages of Cancer Development

7 Stages of Cancer Development
By Siew Yin Gark

You must have heard of this statistic that out of every 3 of us, one of us will get cancer. But do you know that back in 1901, only 1 in 8,000 got cancer? Our body actually tries in so many ways to give us all the warnings and symptoms to tell us that something is not right and we need to do something about it!

Let us see from the Holistic Health Science point of view how cancer develops in 7 stages.

First stage, Enervation.
It is not recognized as a disease yet. Most people will just feel tired, exhausted and worn-out at this stage. The best way to recover from enervation is to get enough sleep as sleep is the greatest energy charger! Inadequate sleep and rest are the main causes of enervation.

Second stage, Toxemia or intoxication.
Toxemia is a state where toxins saturate our body. This happens when we fail to observe our capacities and ignore the symptoms of enervation. We continue to overwork, sleep late and are under great stress.

Third stage, Irritation is when we feel itchy and uncomfortable, or when we have irritating but not painful areas.
Irritation results from toxic substances being sensed by our nervous system. Our body is giving us signal to move away from this condition.

Fourth stage, Inflammation.
Its only at this stage that doctors recognize it as disease as it involves pain. Maybe youve experienced this before: you completely lost your appetite; and you don't feel hungry at all even youve not been eating for the whole day, all you want to do is just to sleep and rest! Sounds familiar? The area becomes inflamed due to the continuous irritation of toxic substances. Appendicitis (appendix), tonsillitis (tonsils), hepatitis (liver) and nephritis (kidney) are all inflammation but in different areas.

Fifth stage, Ulceration.
Our body use ulcer as a way to drain toxic built-up, it will heal if causes are stopped. Cells and tissue structures are being damaged due to our bodys inability to live in increasing toxin.

Sixth stage, Induration, or often called tumor formation.
Induration is the process where our tissue hardened so that ulcer and toxic materials can be kept inside and sealed off by the hardening of the tissue around them. This is a way of quarantining the toxins. This shows how our body tries so hard to protect us even at this stage! However, if we continue with our destructive lifestyles and diet patterns, our body will eventually dissolve the hard tissue when the toxin level is so high and it can no loner take it! This means the toxins will leak and circulate to other parts of the body, and that leads to cancer...

Final stage, Cancer.
Our cells have become parasitic at this stage. Cancer is usually fatal, it can ONLY be reversible with the condition of us stopping the causes and indulge in healthful practices, as healthful practices are the universal panacea!

Siew Yin Gark's philosophy has always been that there are no quick fixes to staying healthy. She believes that we can attain health only through proper diet, exercise, sleep and rest and the results will be long term. You can get her latest tips and sharing on health for FREE at her blog: http://www.greathealthandus.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=SiewYinGark
http://EzineArticles.com/?7-Stages-of-Cancer-Development&id=511631