Cancer News Information

There are many kinds of cancers that affect our health. In order to understand this deadly disease it is necessary to know the main categories of this disease and their different stages. Though there are many different types of this disease, they all are called cancer due to some characteristic similarity. All varieties of cancer cause cell growth in an abnormal proportion, in the affected parts and they tend to spread to the other parts of the body through blood and lymph vessels. The diseases categorized as cancer invade the body tissues and infect them.

What causes the different types of Cancer?

The occurrence and causes behind cancer are still being researched. This disease is caused by the mutation of normal body cells that lead to unruly growth of cells, which spins out of control. Our bodies are composed of millions of body cells and their activities are controlled by DNA. Thus, their functions are well-coordinated and occur in an organized manner. The normal body cells grow, divide and then die after a certain period of time. But the cancerous cells never die and continue to grow. They obstruct the normal functioning capability of the organs and intrude into the different types of tissues.

Some Types of Cancer You Should Know About:

1. Anal: An inch and a half long anus connects the large intestine to the passage through which stool is excreted. Any tumor which is not benign in nature that occurs here can be cancerous. This will cause bleeding, and you might observe discharge or lump formation.


2. Bone: The most common type of this disease configuration is termed as Osteosarcoma and it occurs commonly to people aged between 10 to 30 years of age. The tumor generally starts from the arms or pelvis or the leg bones. Chondrosarcoma is another variant of the bone cancer which is affects the cartilage tissues.


3. Breast: This is another severe type of cancer that occurs in the breast tissues of both female and male. A malignant tumor formed by malignant cells is formed which then grows out of control and metastasize or starts spreading to other parts of the body.


4. Cervical: The lower part of the uterus that connects the upper part of the uterus with the vagina is termed as cervix. The cells of cervix show some pre-changes which if not treated in time leads to cervical cancer. Through the Pap test the doctors can determine if the cervix cells are showing the symptoms of pre-cancerous symptoms.


5. Stomach: The lining of stomach is affected by this type of cancer for a long, unnoticed period of time. The pre-cancerous changes are often unobserved and that is why the cancer is not detected early.


6. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: This type of Leukemia affects the white blood corpuscles and the bone marrow, where it is produced.


7. Lung: There are several types and sub-types of lung cancer. The most common of them is the non-small cell lung cancer. It starts from the alveoli and spreads elsewhere.


8. Ovarian: Cancer that occurs in the ovaries is termed as ovarian cancer.


9. Rectum/colon: The disease occurring in these parts of the body can be controlled by regular screening tests.


10. Thyroid: This disease affects the thyroid gland is called thyroid cancer.

What is the harm caused by cancer?

The cells do not function normally. They obstruct the different body tissues or the organs; they also cause hindrance to their normal functioning. By damaging the body tissues and destructing those, different types of cancer can be very dangerous for the affected person.

Breast cancer charities alone will raise more than six billion dollars this year. The money raised for all forms of cancer is impossible to estimate, but it is easily in the tens of billions. And for anyone who has ever had cancer or knows someone who has suffered from the terrible disease, they know that every penny raised is vital towards the ultimate discovery of a cure. Everything from t-shirts to key chains, lanyards to water bottles are used to entice people to donate to cancer charities, but what is the biggest selling non-profit product over the years? Cancer awareness ribbons. With their instantly recognizable shape, familiar colors, emotional ties and wearability, no matter your age or gender, these pieces are the backbone of any and all cancer awareness campaigns.

Back in the late 1960's and early '70's, at the height of the Vietnam War, yellow ribbons were popularized as a way of honoring young men fighting in the military. The ribbon phenomenon can actually trace its roots to the Tony Orlando song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree," and the rest is history. HIV/AIDS organizations ran with the ribbon theme some ten years after, and by 1992, dubbed "The Year of the Ribbon," every cause had adopted these pieces, including cancer organizations. And, with that, cancer awareness ribbons were born.

In the 21st century, every cause, be it medical, financial, social or environmental, has a designated color or pattern to attribute to their awareness ribbon. Cancer awareness ribbons though, are by far the most recognized, especially when it comes to pink breast cancer ribbons. Wearing one indicates to the rest of the world that you're fighting for your life, or love someone who is, and you're dedicated to winning that fight. These small promotional items have become powerful marketing tools, tugging at heart strings and opening up purse strings for over two decades.

With the popularity of cancer awareness ribbons, the ability to play with their design and put them in unexpected places has become a fad thing to do. Changing the solid pink color to stripes or polka dots does not confuse people, because the color and the shape are so distinctive and widely known. And the shape of the ribbon is showing up on hats, water bottles, Frisbees and even as tattoos of survivors or family and friends of those battling cancer. It doesn't seem to matter how you integrate cancer awareness ribbons into your fundraising plan as long as you do it.

Scientists since the 1970's have been aware of the importance of angiogenesis in controlling cancer growths and have been searching for ways to stop these new blood vessels forming. To date they have had limited success. When cancer cells first develop they are supplied with nutrients from nearby blood vessels but to grow larger than 1 to 2 millimetres they need their own blood vessels. New blood vessels then have to grow which will feed the new cancer cells and allow them to increase in size. That is an absolute requirement.

One of the latest drugs to inhibit angiogenesis is Avastin which is extremely expensive, has serious side effects but has not had the results they had hoped for. Another drug also in use today for cancer is one that caused huge problems during the late 60s. It is Thalidomide which back then was given to women suffering from morning sickness during pregnancy but one of the side effects was angiogenesis. It stopping the formation of new blood vessels and thousands of children were born without limbs.

Researches for cancer today are looking for a drug that will stop cancer from growing, without side effects and also is harmless to normal body cells. While there are a couple of drugs that have some ability to do just that, what we are not told is that we already have many natural products that have the same result and without any side effects. These natural products are of course some of our natural food that has been grown and produced by nature.

The many products that nature has supplied us with and are angiogenesis inhibitors are;

• Food that is high in vitamin A, C and E. Some examples for vitamin A are carrots and sweet potatoes, vitamin C, strawberries and citrus fruit, and vitamin E, almonds and broccoli.


• Bromeliad which is found in fresh pineapple.


• Mistletoe which is also known as Iscador, and is also well known to boost the immune system.


• Green tea which is one of Mother Natures wonders.


• Milk-Thistle, also known as Silymarin, this herb is known for its liver protection effect.


• Artemisia Annua also called sweet wormwood and has also been helpful for people with malaria.


• Omega 3 Fatty Acid which is used in the popular Joanna Budwig diet and is found in flax­seed oil and salmon.


• Mushrooms, especially the varieties reiski and maitake.


• Resveratrol which is found on the skin of red grapes and also in red wine.


• Quercetin; is in apples, onions, red grapes, citrus, cherries, broccoli and leafy green vegetables and it inhibits angiogenesis.

Many of the foods listed above not only do they inhibit blood vessels forming but many of them are also known as cancer fighting foods. One of the best foods a patient can eat is food from the cruciferous family which is broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts.

We are all part of nature so therefore to fight cancer successfully we must turn to nature to solve the problem. Nature has always had the answers to cancer whereas man does not.

Cancer can be of many different types. In the recent days, with the immense progression of medical science, some kind of Cancer Treatment has been effectively found, but when cancer is detected in the early stages, the treatment can prove to be the most effective. Unfortunately, in most cases, the symptoms of the disease appear at a very advanced stage when the disease seems to have spread in many other parts of the body. The oncologists diagnose and determine the ideal condition, and on the basis of that, they recommend the most ideal and suitable treatment effective for the patient. With these different treatment options, the disease cannot be completely cured, but the spread of the disease can be prevented.

Different Forms Of Cancers::

There are different types of cancers with which people might be affected differently. However, among some of the most common forms of cancers, breast cancer is one of them. This cancer can also be again detected in several stages, and based on the condition the doctor determines the ideal Breast Cancer Treatment. In some cases, the cancer cells are found to be quite sensitive to the hormones, and in such a case, the doctor determines a different kind of treatment that might prove to be effective.

Surgery And Chemotherapy:

Most women go for surgery as part of breast cancer treatment, whereby it is believed to completely cure the cancer. On the other hand, the doctors also often recommend going for chemotherapy or hormone therapy largely based on the stage of the cancer, as well as the health condition of the patient. Radiation is also considered to be an effective form of treatment option by means of which the patient can get relief from the condition.

Getting A Second Opinion:

If you happen to go through breast cancer, it is wise on your part to consult with your doctor regarding the ideal breast cancer treatments that are available and effective for you. Apart from that, if you want, you can also go for a second opinion in order to reach the right conclusion about the ideal treatment option. There is nothing to be worried, because this form of cancer can be cured, and you can also expect to live a long life without any worries and tensions. Make sure that you do not delay in getting the right treatment in order to get relief from the condition at the earliest.

An unsolved mystery surrounds the reason alcohol causes cancer and takes years off of one's life. The mystery may remain because scientists hesitate to address the dangers of the socially accepted drug, alcohol. Alcohol is placed in a social category of its own outside the drug pill box and therefore treated differently.

Breast cancer is the most common alcohol-related cancer among women. It is reported that alcohol contributes fifteen percent (15%) to all breast cancer deaths. Alcohol related cancer deaths in men is primarily of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, and esophagus.

To understand the mystery of the alcohol-cancer link may be more simple than previously thought. Alcohol is a solvent that accelerates the assimilation of tobacco chemicals and other toxins into the blood stream. Alcohol alters estrogen levels in women and causes hormonal malfunction in men. As the liver is damaged, life is shortened and diabetes becomes more problematic.

It is estimated that the average cost of human life in years eighteen (18). This means a person who dies at age sixty (60) from alcohol-related cancer would have otherwise probably lived to the age of seventy-eight (78).

The National Cancer Institute at the NIH reports that US cost of cancer care in 2010 was $157 billion and is expected to be $174 billion by 2020.

A recent study reported in February 2013, published in the American Journal of Public Health, is the first major analysis of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in recent years. The study's authors acknowledged that moderate alcohol consumption can have health benefits but estimated that alcohol causes ten (10) times as many deaths as it prevents. There's no known safe level of drinking, they said.

Regular table sugar compounds the dangers by fermentation. The fermentation conversion of sugar is simply into carbon dioxide gas (CO2) and alcohol. Xylitol is beneficial for the teeth but Xylitol is itself a sugar alcohol. Other common sugar alcohols include mannitol, sorbitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH).

The molecular polyol structure of a sugar alcohol, as sorbitol for an example, is part sugar and part alcohol. The negative side effects of sugar alcohol may include bloating, diarrhea, and laxative effect. Polyol (polyalchol) contains three or more hydroxyl groups which make a polyhydric alcohol which is rapidly and nearly completely metabolized to carbon dioxide that results in undo cell stress by messing with the mitochondria and interfering with the RNA that results in cell death. Synthetic sorbitol is an artificial sweetener.

The sugar Trehalose does not feed alcohol like sucrose and other sugar alcohols do. Trehalose remains stable in high acid conditions and strengthens the cell membrane enabling the cell to withstand stress. Trehalose lowers sugar craving and studies show that other Smart Sugars can reduce addiction.

I have a long-standing argument with my professor brother, a brilliant intellectual trained in the hallowed halls of Berkeley. It usually starts with me saying something like: why is it that so and so never seems to make it our parties? Then my brother would reply that it is because they are busy, to which I would counter that we are all busy and can always make time. And then he would retort, that sometimes life takes over and people who might want to do something don't always get that choice. That's when I say, but we always have a choice, and that's how we would start to argue about the concept of freedom and choice.

Our discussions have been legendary, often spanning hours and clearing rooms. I think there is some family drama dynamic that drives it, but there is also a piece where we are confronting something important in ourselves. Can we really have choice, go for it, do what we really want to do? Is there something external stopping us making us victims of fate? Is it a mix?

I will concede this much, that we are not in control of life. Much of it is predetermined, like our birth, gender, sexual orientation, family, environment. But as Andy, the character in Shawshank Redemption, reminds us - there are things that no one can take away from us. In his case it was the music, but for us it can be our dreams, passions, possibilities, whatever we choose it to be.

I say this because it is true for me. There have been times when things really did not seem to work, when the game seemed over, and somehow there was a way. But rather than go onto some personal and possibly irrelevant examples, I would rather, in deference to Cancer Awareness month cite two very powerful cases that have inspired this line of thinking for me.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, who I studied with a number of years ago, is a unique individual. She is the first Grandmaster in traditional Korean martial arts, who won many competitions against men, coached the American Tae Kwon Do team, and who also met a number of American presidents. Yet, in her early 30's she was diagnosed with cancer and was told she would die. A fighter till the end, she said she would heal herself with fasting and meditation and for 30 days she locked herself in a room and did that. When she came out she was cancer free.

Dirk Benedict, who I enjoyed in my formative years, for TV shows that were my staple like Battle Star Galactica and The A-Team, always seemed like a cool guy. What I didn't know at the time was that at the height of his career, he developed Prostate cancer. Already a vegetarian of many years he turned to Macrobiotics and fasting to help save his life. In his book the Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy, he explains how he went into the woods thinking he will be healed by living naturally or die there. But as the book proves, he came out healthier than he went in.

We often think of cancer as a death sentence, and it is for many people. But like those mentioned above, and a number of people I know personally, this isn't the case. For them it was a way to reconnect to themselves and find ways to really live.

Bernie Siegel in one of his early books, Faith, Hope and Healing, talks about a number of people who have chosen a different way and freed themselves of disease and other burdens, finding a new, and sometimes more inspired life as a result. As he will point out, not everyone who embarks on this path is always successful, but usually they live longer and have decidedly better lives than they started out with. They knew they had a choice, and made the best of their circumstances.

While I may never win the debate with my brother, for me that does not matter as much as the idea that if all these people can face something so scary and so impossible as cancer and still live as they choose, then I have to ask myself, why can't we?

Do you know somebody who is currently going through chemotherapy? If so, you know that your friend is going through a difficult, challenging period in their life. It's easy to feel helpless when you're not the person going through the struggle, but there's no reason to feel bad and sit on the sideline. As a friend, you can do a lot of great service helping somebody who is going through intense radiation treatments. How can you be supportive? Consider the following ways in order to become a great help during a difficult time.

Accompany Your Friend to Appointments

There's no doubt that your friend will absolutely appreciate having you join them for their appointments, if they ask. Even if you're there just to hold their hand, your presence can allow them to be at ease when the doctor is giving them difficult information. If you're close to the person, you can also remind them about past medical issues or current side effects in case they forget. Being at the consultations and the meetings will allow your friend to be less stressed during the conversations. They'll also appreciate the fact that you're driving them around after any radiation sessions. Going through chemotherapy can take away the energy of the person going through the treatment, so you'll be making the life of your friend a lot easier if you're doing the little things such as driving.

Provide Your Friend with Fun Activities

As a friend, it's important to help keep the person who is going through chemotherapy mind off of their pain. Try to think of fun activities that will keep you both happy and motivated. You can do something simple like a movie, game night, or a sightseeing tour that will provide your friend with an unforgettable experience. Either way, it's up to you to take the big step of being the planner. Your friend will absolutely appreciate your effort to make their life that much brighter.

Take Care of Your Friend's Errands

There are definitely going to be some times when your friend needs to get some tasks done, but they lack the energy. Try to work out a system where you come by on occasion to take care of some basic tasks, so your friend can rest. Make sure they still live a high quality of life even though they're sick.

Again, even if you're not the one who is going through chemotherapy, you can still provide an important presence for your friend who is going through the hard time. Always be patient, attentive, and willing to help out if possible. You would like somebody assisting you if you had a medical issue, right? Don't be afraid to give your friend a call and ask them what you can do to help improve their life. Just picking up the phone and showing consideration is a major step, so get in contact with the person you and try to make their life a lot better if possible.