Cure for Cancer

“You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved “Diagnosing cancer in
its early stages also gives you the best chance of finding a cure. Speak to your doctor about
what forms of cancer screening may be right for you in this regard. Studies show screening tests
for a few cancers will save lives through an early cancer diagnosis. Screening tests are
recommended for other cancers and for those with an elevated risk. A number of professional
associations and patient advocacy groups provide Cancer screening recommendations and
guidelines. Check with your doctor the different recommendations, and together, you can
decide what's right for you based on your own cancer risk factors.

Physical review. Your doctor can feel lumps in areas of your body that could suggest a tumour.
He or she may look for anomalies during a physical examination, such as changes in skin colour
or an organ enlargement that may indicate the existence of cancer. Tests in the laboratory.
Laboratory tests, including urine and blood tests, may help your doctor recognize cancer-
causing abnormalities. For example, a popular blood test called a complete blood count can
show an unusual number or form of white blood cells in people with leukaemia. Imaging tests
allow your doctor to perform non-invasive examinations of your bones and internal organs.
Imaging tests used in cancer diagnosis area computerized tomography (CT) scan, magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), bone scan, positron emission tomography (PET) scan, ultrasound, and
X-ray scan. During a biopsy, the doctor must extract a sample of cells for laboratory
examination. There are different ways to collect a sample. What is the best biopsy treatment
for you depends on your cancer type and location? For certain cases, a biopsy is the best way to
treat cancer once and for all.

Doctors study cell samples under a microscope in the laboratory. Human cells are uniform in
shape, with identical sizes and organization. Cancer cells look less organized, ranging in size and
with no clear structure. When cancer is diagnosed, your doctor must work to determine your
cancer's extent (stage). Your doctor will use the stage of your cancer to assess your medical
choices and the chances of having a cure. Tests and procedures may include imaging tests to
see whether cancer has spread to other areas of the body, such as bone scans or X-rays. Roman
numerals— I through IV, with higher numbers suggesting more advanced cancer, usually
represent cancer stages. In certain cases, letters or words are used to suggest the stage of
cancer.

The gene mutations from which you are born, and the ones you develop during your whole life,
work together to cause cancer. For example, if you inherited a genetic mutation that
predisposes you to cancer, it doesn't mean you're going to get cancer of sure. You may need
one or more other mutations of the gene to cause cancer instead. Your genetic gene mutation
can make you more likely to develop cancer when exposed to a certain cancer-causing
substance than other people. Just how many mutations need to occur for cancer to develop is
not clear. That is likely to differ among types of cancer. Although doctors have an idea of what
can raise cancer risk, the majority of cancers occur in people with no established risk factors.
Known factors that raise cancer risk include: Cancer can take decades to grow. Therefore most
people diagnosed with risk of cancer are 65 years of age or older. While it is more prevalent in
older people, cancer is not an elderly disease, and cancer can be diagnosed at any age. It's
understood that certain lifestyle choices raise the risk of cancer. Smoking, drinking too much
alcoholic drinks a day (for women of all ages and men over 65 years of age) or two drinks a day
(for men over 65 years of age), prolonged sun exposure or constant blistering sunburn, being
obese, and unsafe sex can lead to cancer. All habits can be changed to reduce the cancer risk —
and certain habits are easier to alter than others. Just a small number of cancers are caused by
genetic conditions. If cancer is prevalent in your family, the transfer of mutations from one
generation to the next is possible. You may want to go for genetic testing to see whether you
have inherited mutations that may raise the risk of certain cancers. Note that having an
inherited genetic disorder does not automatically mean you're going to get cancer. Any chronic
health problems can dramatically increase the risk of contracting some cancers, such as
ulcerative colitis. Speak to your doctor about the danger involved.

The air around you might contain toxic chemicals which can increase your cancer risk. Also, if
you don't smoke, but you go where people are smoking, or if you live with someone who
smokes, you can inhale second-hand smoke. Chemicals, such as asbestos and benzene, are also
associated with an elevated risk of cancer in your home or workplace.

Hormonal therapy is a medication that slows or prevents the growth of cancer cells that require
hormones to develop, block, or eliminates hormones. Hormonal therapy is also called hormone
replacement therapy or endocrine therapy. Hormonal therapy can be used either alone as the
main or with other treatments. It can be performed to shrink the tumour before surgery to
make it easier to remove or shrink the tumour before radiation therapy so that radiation can be
applied to a smaller region. In addition to medical therapies such as surgery, radiation therapy,
or chemotherapy, hormone therapy can be performed to minimize the likelihood that the
cancer will return (recur).

Hormones are chemicals that travel through the blood and control how certain cells and organs
act and develop. In the body, natural hormones are created by glands or organs. One can
produce artificial or synthetic hormones in a laboratory. The ovaries contain estrogen and
progesterone, the female hormones that are involved in reproduction. The testicles contain
testosterone, the male hormone involved in reproduction. The pituitary gland develops
luteinizing hormone (LH) that stimulates the testes and ovaries, the adrenocorticotropic
hormone (ACTH) that stimulates the adrenal glands, the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) that
stimulates the ovaries and testicles and the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) that stimulates
the thyroid gland. There are many forms of hormonal therapy that change hormone levels in
the body. Normally, hormone therapy is performed along with other therapies. The type of
hormone therapy you use depends on a variety of factors like your cancer type.

Surgery removes glands or other organs in the body to stop them from producing hormones or
acting against a hormone. Radiation therapy harms or kills the hormone-producing tissue to
avoid the development of hormones. Many medicines interact with cells that generate
hormones so that they cannot create hormones. Many drugs work against the effects of a
protein or a receptor in the body. Cancer cells that are dependent on hormones have receptors
on their surfaces. Receptors are locations where the hormones bind themselves to the cancer
cells and tell them to increase.

A tumour sample can be tested to determine the type of hormone receptor on the cancer cell
surface and the receptor quantity (hormone level). Generally speaking, the higher the level of
the hormone receptor, the more responsive the tumour is to hormonal drug therapy.

Corticosteroid hormones (steroid) are used for the diagnosis of cancers such as lymphoma,
leukaemia, and multiple myeloma. To improve their efficacy, they are also paired with
chemotherapy products. Forms of corticosteroid medications include prednisone,
dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexasone), hydrocortisone, and methylprednisone (Medrol). After
performing surgery or radiation therapy for thyroid cancer, thyroid hormones inhibit the
development of thyroid tumors. These are also used when extracting the thyroid gland to
replace the thyroid hormones in the body. Levothyroxine (Synthroid, Eltroxin) is a drug used to
treat thyroid hormones. Somatostatin analogs are drugs that reduce the number of hormones
developed and released by neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). These are used mainly for the
management of carcinoid symptoms. Octreotide (Sandostatin, LAR) is an alternative to
somatostatin. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you
live.”

Cancer - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-

Treatment for Cancer. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment

Types of Cancer Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types