An Overview of Cancer with its Diagnosis and Treatments

Cancer can be defined as the uncontrolled division of the cells, which leads to tumors. The tumors can arise in any part of the body.

How is cancer classified

There are five major groups of cancer. These are discussed below:

1.  Carcinoma is the type of cancer that can be characterized as the cells covering the internal and external parts of the body including lungs, breasts, and colon cancer.

2.  Sarcoma is a type of cancer in which cells of bones, cartilage, fats, connective tissues, muscles, and other supportive tissue are divided without any control and lead to tumors.

3.  Lymphoma is the type of cancer that begins in the lymph nodes and immune system tissues.

4.  Leukemia is the form of cancer that takes place in the bone marrow and the cells of this type of cancer keep on accumulating in the bloodstream.

5.  Adenoma is the class of cancer that arises in the thyroid glands, pituitary glands, the adrenal glands, and other glandular tissues.

Cancer is related to the term that contains prefix related to the types of cells in which cancer takes place. Some of the examples are given below:

• Adeno- = gland
• Chondro- = cartilage
• Erythro- = red blood cell
• Hemangio- = blood vessels
• Hepato- = liver
• Lipo- = fat
• Lympho- = white blood cell
• Melano- = pigment cell
• Myelo- = bone marrow
• Myo- = muscle
• Osteo- = bone
• Uro- = bladder
• Retino- = eye
• Neuro- = brain

Diagnosis of cancer

It is mandatory to diagnose cancer in early stages. Regular and proper treatment can lead us to get rid of the disease. Imaging techniques to diagnose cancer are X-ray, CT scan, MRI scan, PET scan, and ultrasound scan. These are the regular treatments for the detection of cancer cells and the tumors that may be present in any organ of the body or even the outside of the skin.
Cancer treatment is dependent upon the type and class of the disease, age, health statuses, and additional personal characteristics. Some of the major treatments prescribed for this disease are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and gene therapy.
Surgery
Surgery is helpful in curing the patients that need immediate removal of the cells from the body. It keeps a control over the symptoms of the bowel obstruction or spinal cord compression.
Radiation
Radiation treatment, also known as radiotherapy, is helpful in destroying the cancer cells as it focuses much on the high-energy rays on the cancer cells. This can cause severe damages of the molecules, leading the cancer cells to disappear in a couple of months.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer that uses chemicals that are interfering the uncontrolled division of the cells. This way the patients can stay safe from the disease. This keeps a control on the cancer cells to divide without any control. Some of the side effects of this disease are hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. The combined therapies are included in chemotherapy and which one to choose depends upon the disease type.
Gene therapy
With gene therapy, doctors tend to replace the damaged genes with the healthy ones. It also includes the removal of damaged or diseased DNA from the body, and placing the correct DNA in the body.