Each type of cancer causes, symptoms, and treatments
Common cancer
Each type of cancer is different, with different causes, symptoms, and treatments. Some cancers are easily prevented and treated, and some are fatal. Even in places where people live in poverty, many types of cancer can and should be treated.
Lung cancer
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Cough
Blood in cough
• Chest pain, usually on one side
Difficulty breathing enough
The appearance of these signs in one person means that the lung cancer has gone to a very advanced stage.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer, and it is one of the most preventable cancers. This is because smoking in general, no matter how long you smoke, quitting at any time reduces your chances of getting lung cancer. Cigarette smoking also causes other cancers. If a person lives in the same room with a smoker or works from where people smoke, he will also be harmed, even if he does not smoke himself.
Other types of smoke can also cause lung cancer. For example, diesel fumes from trucks, factory fumes, and cooking fire fumes. If you smoke and come in contact with smoke in your workplace or home, you are more likely to get lung cancer.
Lung cancer is usually fatal. The best way to prevent lung cancer is to quit smoking. See Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco (being compiled) for help.
Cancer of the rectum and rectum
1. The rectum
2. Anus
3. Anus
You are more likely to get these two cancers of the lower part of the digestive tract called the intestines if one of the other members of your family has it. For example, they are more common in people who already have other intestinal diseases, including ulcers. Some clinics collect a sample of a person's stool and look for blood in it (fecal occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test - FIT) to test for these cancers.
These cancers are less common in women and men who eat vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, and fibrous foods every day. Drinking small amounts of alcohol and not smoking also prevent these cancers.
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Black or bloody stools
Abdominal (lower abdominal) pain
Changes in the way you usually defecate: Decreased or increased bowel movements, or more diarrhea or constipation
Anemia can also be a symptom. If the cancer progresses to a very advanced stage, the symptoms will be weakness, and weight loss.
Treatment:
If detected early, these cancers can be removed with chemotherapy or surgery. A temporary or permanent alternative colon is placed during the surgery (colostomy) depending on where or how much of the bowel has been removed. In a colostomy, a surgeon sews a hollow part of a healthy part with a hollow in the lower abdomen to avoid the area where the cancer was removed during the bowel movement and can be deposited directly in a container - usually a sac outside the body. As the treatment and surgery of the rectum and rectum improve, the need for colostomy decreases.
Cervical cancer:
When cancer damages the main part of the uterus, it is called uterine cancer. When cancer damages the open part of the uterus, it is called cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a very common, slow-growing cancer that can be treated very well if detected early. And it can be completely prevented through good health care activities.
A common virus called HPV spread through sexual contact is a major cause of cervical cancer. HPV is so common that most men and women end up infected with it. Only a few types of HPV cause cancer.
Cervix:
A vaccine against HPV can prevent the cancer-causing strain of the virus (there are many types). Vaccinating all girls and all boys in the area can greatly reduce the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer, but it will not eradicate the cancer as a whole. It is important to test for early detection and treatment. Cervical cancer is both easy to diagnose and treat and very successful.
Cervical cancer is more common in women with HIV because their immune system is not able to fight the infection well. So women with HIV should be tested regularly - if possible, once a year - to detect cervical cancer.
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There are no obvious signs of cervical cancer in the beginning. Later, blood may flow from the genitals during intercourse, or even outside the menstrual period. If left untreated, cancer can cause pain - first in the lower back or pelvis and then in the back of the legs.
Test:
If cervical cancer can be detected at an early stage, it is rarely fatal. Identification activities that allow all women to be screened regularly can be easily set up, even in a very small community clinic. Each of the three different tests has its own advantages:
Testing for cervical cancer can be a little uncomfortable but not painful.
Visual inspection or vinegar examination, (seeing the pelvis with vinegar or lugal iodine in the pelvis. It is very low cost, does not require a lab, and is very easy to learn how to do it. The results are confirmed by testing.For more information on how to perform visual inspection see a book for midwives available from Hesperian.
Papanicolau test, or pap coating. Pap tests are very reliable but may not be successful in every case. Therefore they have to be repeated every three years or so.
HPV testing. Tests to detect HPV that causes cervical cancer. It may be done alone or in conjunction with a Pap test or it may be used if the Pap test shows cancer.
Treatment:
Cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treated cancers if detected early. Some treatments are so simple and inexpensive that they can be done in a clinic by a trained health worker right after you have completed a cancer detection test.
Cryotherapy involves the accumulation of carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide gas in a part of the pelvis. Abnormal cells are destroyed by freezing and prevent them from turning into cancer. Cryotherapy is not painful and is very safe. Cryotherapy is cheap and learning how to do it is very easy for health workers and midwives. See a book for midwives found in Hesperian.
The loop electrosurgical access method (LEEP) removes parts of the pelvis that contain abnormal cells by conducting electricity through a metal loop. LEEP is needed if the area of abnormal cells in the pelvis is too large, or if they extend toward the inside of the pelvic floor.
Cold Knife Conjugation uses a surgical knife to cut off a large portion of the uterus if the pre-cancerous area is too large. An expert does this job. If a woman becomes pregnant after having a cold knife conjugation, she may have an abortion later or other pregnancy complications.
If the cancer is in an advanced stage, it may be necessary to remove the entire uterus through surgery (hysterectomy). This makes it impossible to conceive, but it is also very likely to protect against cancer.
Bladder cancer:
There are three main causes of bladder cancer:
Smoking.
Exposure to toxic chemicals, especially during industrial work (in factories and mines). For example, those who make or work with iron, paint, rubber, leather, textiles, carpets, cement, and plastics are the most susceptible to bladder cancer. It is also more common among miners, electricians, and those who work with chemicals and their fumes.
Cystosomiasis (other fatal illness, being compiled). This is the most common cause in areas where the disease is widespread.
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Blood with urine
Urination is very urgent or after a while.
Pain in the lower back, just above the middle of the pelvic bone on one side, or in the perineum (between the anus and vagina or testicles).
Urination can be difficult, but people with bladder cancer have no pain when urinating.
All of these are also common symptoms of other bladder problems. See urinary complications (being compiled).
Treatment:
Bladder cancer is usually treated surgically by removing the tumor or the part of the bladder that has cancer. Chemotherapy may also be used to reduce the size of the tumor before surgery or to prevent the cancer from recurring after surgery. If the tumor is very large, the entire bladder may need to be removed.
Bladder cancer comes back again. So regular follow-up tests are needed to make sure the cancer has not come back.
Liver cancer:
Liver cancer is particularly deadly and difficult to treat. It is most common in men.
Liver:
Usually no symptoms are seen. However, almost everyone with liver cancer has been infected with hepatitis or cirrhosis, so people with liver cancer may have signs of liver disease:
• Naba (yellowing of skin and eye color)
Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
Swelling of the abdomen
Feeling tired all the time (exhaustion)
Resistance:
Cancer is difficult to treat, but the hepatitis B vaccine helps prevent it in many cases. See information about hepatitis.
Avoid drinking more than one or two glasses a day to prevent cirrhosis caused by alcohol. If you already have liver disease, such as hepatitis, you can reduce your chances of developing liver cancer by stopping drinking forever.
Breast cancer:
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, although it can affect men as well. If detected early, breast cancer can be treated very effectively. Treatment may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or a combination of the two.
Anyone can learn to check to find any whole or abnormal signs. Cancerous lumps are usually hard, painless, uneven, and under the skin. Examine each breast separately. An X-ray (called a mammography) or ultrasound can determine if the whole thing is cancerous later, but you will need a biopsy to be sure.
There is little that can be done to prevent breast cancer, although eating well, avoiding smoking and alcohol, and exercising regularly can help. Breastfeeding provides some protection.
Stomach cancer:
Symptoms
Abdominal pain
Weight loss
• Throat problems
Feeling lumps in the abdomen
• The color of the stool is black (looks like tar)
Stomach cancer is usually caused by a bacterial infection called H. pylori, which causes most ulcers. H. pylori increases the risk of stomach cancer, as well as other things such as smoking cigarettes, eating large amounts of processed meat, red meat, fried foods, salted foods increase the risk of cancer.
Most stomach cancers are difficult to treat successfully. So it is best to prevent this cancer. There is some protection in eating fruits, raw vegetables, and whole grains every day.
Prostate cancer:
Men have a parietal gland just below the bladder that grows with age. Prostate cancer usually grows slowly and takes many years to grow enough to cause problems. In the case of other cancers, just like prostate cancer, if it can be detected early, its treatment gives the best results. Even spread prostate cancer can be successfully treated. Prostate cancer is more common in men over the age of 65, and many older people with prostate cancer usually survive until they die of other causes.
There are no early signs of prostate cancer. Most people do not know they have it until it is detected in a medical test.
The most common symptom is difficulty urinating, but it can also be caused by a non-cancerous enlarged prostate, which is more common in older people.
Reasons to see a health worker may be:
Complications of starting or stopping the flow of urine
Frequent urination, especially at night
Pain or irritation when urinating
Blood in your urine or semen
Acute and frequent pain in the lower back, abdomen, buttocks, or pelvis
A blood test called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can help detect prostate cancer. High levels of PSA mean cancer of the prostate, but it can also mean that your prostate has grown in size or become infected (urinary complications, see compiling).
Treatment:
How to treat prostate cancer (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or combined use of them) will depend on the type of cancer cells, whether they have spread, your age and general health, and your preferences. Some prostate cancers grow so slowly that the only treatment is regular testing.
Skin cancer:
Skin cancer is more common in light-skinned people, and rare in dark-skinned people, but can occur in any person. It is more common in adults who have had severe sunburn during childhood.
There are two main types. Commonly seen melanoma-free skin cancer can be easily treated because it grows too much and a health worker can cut it out. The other type is called melanoma which is the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
A non-melanoma-like cancer can often look like a slowly growing red or pink lump, sore or itch on the face or anywhere else on the skin. If they continue to grow, they usually need to be removed because they can spread cancer inside the body.
Melanoma is a skin cancer that grows very fast and is fatal and needs to be treated immediately. First the damaged area is cut off. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, other treatments may be needed.
Signs of melanoma skin cancer:
A melanoma looks different from a mole in one or more of the following.
Prevention:
Protect especially light-skinned children by wearing hats, arm and leg covers, and sun protection massage. If you work outdoors, cover your skin and use a hat.
Capsular sarcoma
A skin cancer that affects people living with HIV, capsular sarcoma can cause red, brown, or purple spots on the inside of the mouth or anywhere on the body.
Sign:
Pain-free spots around or inside the mouth, or anywhere else on the body that look like swollen sore spots. These spots are almost never infected or painful, unless they are ruptured.
Treatment
Show a health worker or doctor who has experience with HIV. Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) prevent this cancer in people living with HIV, and starting ARV treatment can prevent the cancer from becoming more severe. Capsicum sarcoma is sometimes treated with chemotherapy or other medications.