CANCER TREATMENT

For a while we are going to focus our discussion on cancer. Cancer is not confined to any particular race of people, for all races are known to be affected. Even animals, birds, fish, and plants have similar growths of cancer. Every person should know something about cancer and should undergo the necessary examinations to make sure he does not have cancer in one form or the other. It is not intended to imply that every individual will have cancer. But cancer is a possibility that everyone must face. It is necessary to be aware of the danger and face it intelligently and courageously. It is important to know that even the most skilled surgeons cannot help a person get well if the cancer has progressed to far before it is discovered.
Cancer (medicine), one of the diseases described by excessive, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which attack and destroy other tissues. Cancer grows in almost any organ or tissue of the body, but certain types of cancer are more life-threatening than others. In the United States and Canada cancer ranks as the second leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease. Each year, about 1.7 million Americans and more than 150,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer, and more than half a million Americans and about 70,000 Canadians die of the disease.
For reasons not clear, cancer rates vary by gender, race, and geographic region. For instance, more male than female develop cancer, and African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than people of any other racial group in North America. The occurrence of certain cancers also varies worldwide. For example, breast cancer is more common in well-to-do {wealthy} countries, and cervical cancer is more common in poor countries.
Although people of all ages develop cancer, most types of cancer are more common in people over the age of 50. Cancer usually develops gradually over many years, the result of a complex mix of environmental, nutritional, behavioral, and hereditary factors. Scientists do not fully understand the causes of cancer, but they know that certain lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of developing many types of cancer. Not smoking, eating a healthy diet, and exercising moderately for at least 30 minutes each day can lower the likelihood of developing cancer.
Just 60 years ago a cancer diagnosis carried little hope for survival because doctors understood little about the disease and how to control it. Today about two-thirds of all Americans diagnosed with cancer live longer than five years. While it is difficult to claim that a cancer patient is disease free, long-term survival significantly improves if the patient has had no recurrence of the cancer for five years after the initial diagnosis. For years, death rates from cancer were rising in developing countries. In 2006 the American Cancer Society reported that the number of cancer deaths in the United States dropped for two years in a row. The decrease was attributed to a decline in smoking, earlier detection, and improved treatment.
The National Cancer Institute of the United States (NCI) estimates that more than 10 million Americans are living with cancer or have been cured of the disease thanks largely to advances in detecting cancers earlier. The sooner cancer is found and treated, the better a person’s chance for survival. In addition, advances in the fundamental understanding of how cancer develops have reduced deaths caused by certain cancers and hold promise for new and better treatments.

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