Carsinoma Doctor

Posts Tagged ‘Cancer’

All cancers do not occur as tumors that can be seen on the surface of the body. And so these tumors are not easy to notice and monitor. In many cases ill cancer symptoms manifest as symptoms that relate directly to the organ it affects. Symptoms such as diarrhea or gastrointestinal bleeding associated with a tumor in the stomach or small and large intestines. Similarly, cancer, hormone-producing organs are manifested in the form of endocrinal disorders and tumors of the brain or spinal cord are associated with neurological symptoms.

However there are cases where the cancer produces general symptoms that point to a specific organ. For example, symptoms of liver cancer in dogs with symptoms of loss of appetite, a distended stomach and weakness, but may be associated with cancer and other ailments. Some of the other nonspecific symptoms include weight loss, fever, muscle weakness, skin rash, hair loss and lethargy.

As such, a wait and a wait can be extremely dangerous because there is always an accompanying risk of metastasis. Diagnostic procedures and laboratory research and radiological tests are very helpful in determining the existence of a cancer in the body in its early stages. The procedures used in human oncology are similar to those used to determine the prevalence of cancer in pets including feline cancer.

X-rays are probably the most commonly used technique for radiographic imaging, for advanced facilities such as CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are not widely available in veterinary medicine. The CT and MRI provide much better results in the ability to render three-dimensional images of the section of the areas hidden behind tissue.

The ultrasound imaging is commonly used by veterinarians to solid organs and Guir needles into the body to remove fluid from a tumor for laboratory examination. PET (positron emission tomography) is a recent addition to diagnostic procedures canine cancer.

The prevalence of cancer may also be determined by molecules called tumor markers. Cancer cells produce molecules that are different from those which are produced by normal cells. Several tumor markers are associated with the organs, and also provide vital information on prognosis, treatment and supervision.

Liver cancer is a disease in which cancer cells grow in the liver. The liver is located on the right side of the abdomen and has many functions, including: storing and metabolizing nutrients, and filtration and storage of blood.

The disease of cancer occurs when cells in the body (in this case liver cells) divide without control or order. Normally, cells divide in an organized manner. If cells keep dividing uncontrollably when new cells are not needed, a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor. The term cancer refers to malignant tumors, which can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor does not invade or spread.

Causes of liver cancer:

No known cause of liver cancer, but research shows that certain risk factors are associated with disease

Risk Factors:

A risk factor is something that makes your chances of getting a disease or condition.

- Sex: Male
- Age: 40 years or more
- Infection with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C
- Formation of scar tissue in the liver (called cirrhosis)
- Alcohol abuse
- Malnutrition
- Exposure to certain chemicals:
· Aflatoxin: a substance produced by a fungus that often infects wheat, peanuts, soybeans, corn and rice in subtropical regions.
· Vinyl Chloride and Thorium Dioxide: chemicals with strict control.
· Anabolic steroids: male hormones administered, sometimes for medical reasons, but also as taken by athletes to increase strength.
· Arsenic: a toxic chemical

Stages Liver Cancer:

· Stage of primary liver cancer in adults
Once detected primary liver cancer in adults, additional tests to determine if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body (staging). The following stages are used for the classification of primary liver cancer in adults:

Localized resectable:
Cancer is found in one part of the liver and can be removed completely in one operation.
Localized resectable :
Cancer is found in one part of the liver, but the cancer can not be removed completely.
Advanced:
The cancer has spread to much of the liver or other body parts.
Appellant:
Recurrent disease means the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. You can return to the liver or other body part

Liver Cancer Diagnosis:

Although the signs and symptoms usually do not occur until the later stages of liver cancer, can sometimes occur early and result in earlier diagnosis. Many signs and symptoms of liver cancer are relatively specific. Can be caused by other cancers or diseases that are not cancerous. Anyway, if you have any of these problems see your doctor immediately:

Liver Cancer Symptoms:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Anorexia (lack of appetite, persistent)
- Early satiety (feeling of being very full after a small meal)
- Persistent abdominal pain
- Abdominal swelling increases
- Jaundice (yellow skin and green eyes)
- Deterioration in the condition if you have chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis
- Enlargement of the liver or a mass that can be felt in the area of ??the liver

Some liver tumors produce hormones that act in organs other than the liver. These hormones may cause hypercalcemia (high levels of calcium in the blood), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar into the blood) and enlargement of male breasts.

High levels of calcium can lead to fatigue and low blood sugar can cause fainting or even coma. These unusual findings may make doctors suspect that the person has a disease of the nervous system or endocrine glands (hormone-producing), instead of liver cancer.

Liver Cancer Treatment:

Surgical treatment has two possibilities:
- Removal of the tumor mass
- Transplantation

In medical treatment, in the case of a single tumor with a diameter of less than four centimeters may be applied to intra-tumoral injection of ethyl alcohol. Chemotherapy alone does not give good results, so it is rarely given as a single treatment.

Liver Cancer Prevention:
a) You must perform many actions to prevent cancer. Avoid contact with carcinogenic substances: There are many substances used as cosmetics for the bath, beauty, etc. The most common of these is the Lauret (Lauryl Ether-Sodium Disulfide), which is found in nearly all soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, shaving creams, skin creams, etc.
Because many substances are in the water and atmosphere, it may be impossible to avoid all of them.
b) Avoid eating foods with carcinogens: do not eat food with preservatives, dyes and / or artificial flavors and industrially processed foods. Do not drink, smoke, combustion of snuff generates many carcinogens and alcoholic beverages contain artificial flavors and colors.
c) Eat raw garlic: Take about 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped, daily in the morning. Garlic (Allium sativum) contains sulfur compounds that inhibit organ-induced chemical carcinogenesis caused by some substance.
d) Eat vegetables, red and yellow: it was verified that alpha and beta carotene, act as antioxidants for cancer prevention, particularly to prevent liver cancer.
e) Take Alpha Tocopherol (Vitamin E): Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant to prevent liver cancer.

Studies carried out with indole-3-carbinol demonstrate the ability of this compound to deactivate a potent estrogen metabolite that promotes the growth of tumors, particularly breast cells.

It works by stimulating the activity of an enzyme that converts active estrogen in an inactive form, which has the effect of avoiding various female cancers stimulated by estrogen.

Therefore, this phytochemical content in broccoli not only suppresses the growth of tumors in the breast but also prevents the metastasis of cancer cells.

This vegetable is also capable of preventing ovarian cancer to be rich in a flavonoid called kaempferol.

There are studies that show that women who consume a greater amount of this compound are 40% less likely to develop ovarian cancer.

Cervical cancer is a common type of cancer in women, and is a disease in which cells are cancerous (malignant) in the tissues of the cervix.

The uterus is the hollow organ, inverted pear-shaped, where a fetus grows. The neck or uterine cervix is an opening that connects the uterus to the vagina (birth canal).

Cervical cancer begins to grow slowly. Before they are cancer cells in the cervix, normal tissues of the cervix go through a process known as dysplasia, in which abnormal cells begin to appear. A Papanicolaou cytology usually find these pre-malignant cells. Later, cancer cells start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and surrounding areas.

Since there are usually no symptoms associated with cervical cancer usually involves a series of tests to diagnose:

*Papanicolaou cytology: is carried out using a piece of cotton, a brush or a small wooden spatula to gently scrape the outside of the cervix to collect cells. The patient may feel some pressure, which in some cases accompanied by pain.
*Biopsy. If abnormal cells are found, the doctor will remove a sample of tissue from the cervix and observed under a microscope for the presence of cancer cells. To perform a biopsy only takes a small amount of tissue can be done in the doctor’s office. Sometimes you need to extract a biopsy sample cone-shaped, larger (cone), for which it may be necessary to go to hospital.

The prognosis (chance of recovery) and choice of treatment depend on the stage of the cancer (if only in the cervix or has spread to other places) and general health status.

Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. If the cancer is confined to the outermost layer of the cervix (carcinoma in situ), often can be removed completely removing the cancer of the cervix with a scalpel or electrosurgical excision. This treatment has the advantage of not altering the ability to bear children. But since cancer may recur, doctors advise women to have checks and Pap every 3 months during the first year and every 6 months from now. If a woman has a carcinoma in situ and do not want children, we recommend the removal of the uterus (hysterectomy).

If the cancer is in a more advanced stage, it is necessary to perform a hysterectomy plus removal of adjacent structures (radical hysterectomy) and lymph nodes. The ovaries, if they are normal and functioning properly, are not removed when women are young. Radiation therapy is very effective for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer has not spread beyond the pelvic region. Although it causes little or no immediate problem, it can cause irritation in the rectum and vagina. Injuries to the bladder and rectum can occur even later, and ovaries, in general, cease to function.

When cancer has spread beyond the pelvis, sometimes one must resort to the chemotherapy. However, only effective in 25 to 30 percent of cases treated and the effects are usually temporary.

The Pap can detect accurately and inexpensively as much as 90 percent of cervical cancers, even before symptoms appear. Consequently, the number of deaths from this disease has been reduced by over 50 percent. It is recommended that women get their first Pap smear when they start to be sexually active or after age 18 and repeat it on once a year. If results are normal for 3 consecutive years, then the test can be spaced and do it every 2 or 3 years if you do not change the habit of life. If all women had the Pap regularly, could be eliminated deaths from this cancer. However, nearly 40 percent of women in developed countries are tested regularly.

If you find a lump, ulcer or other suspicious training on the cervix during a pelvic examination, or if Pap results indicate an anomaly or cancer, must perform a biopsy (removing a tissue sample for examination under a microscope .) The tissue sample is taken during a colposcopy, which uses a viewing tube with a magnifying lens (colposcope) to examine the neck of the uterus carefully and choose the place of the biopsy. There are two types of biopsies: the punch biopsy, which removes a tiny portion of the cervix that is selected visually with the colposcope, and endocervical curettage, in which tissue is scraped from the cervical canal visually inaccessible. Both procedures are a bit painful and cause a little bleeding, but together usually provide enough tissue for the pathologist to establish a diagnosis. If it is not clear, it makes a cone, which removes a major portion of tissue. Usually, this biopsy is done by loop electrosurgical excision in one’s own doctor’s office.

Once the diagnosis is established, it must decide the size and exact location of the cancer (ie, staging is done.) The process begins with a physical examination of the pelvis and various tests (cystoscopy, chest radiography, IVP, sigmoidoscopy) to determine if cervical cancer has spread to other surrounding structures or distant parts of the body. It also can perform other tests such as CT scan, a barium enema and X-rays of bones and liver, depending on the characteristics of each case.

Although there are still many mysteries surrounding the cancer is well known that there are other genetic factors that are related to the appearance of tumors: by case, is known about the close ties between the lung and larynx cancer and smoking.

The diet also plays a major role in this field: in food can be substances that encourage tumor growth or, conversely, preventing it. Regarding the former, we can mention, for example, aflatoxins produced by molds, which although not a problem for public health control of food long did involve risk.

Also, be aware that the products may contain polycyclic smoked or benzopyrenes that could become cancerous if their use is very common in here to advise limiting intake of such foods.

Other evidence has shown that a diet low in fiber but high consumption of animal proteins and fats, also influenced the development of cancer of the colon and intestines, or tumors in the breast and uterus would also be linked to diet rich in lipids and obesity.

However, just as some food compounds would be “pro cancer”, exit others, by contrast, protect against cancer: fruits, vegetables are more allied food group, and thanks to antioxidant compounds protect against the harmful effects of free radicals and, consequently, also against cancer.

So remember to eat your five servings of fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer also. Also, in your daily diet includes high fiber foods such as legumes and cereals. Conversely, limit your consumption of foods rich in animal fat, smoked, salted and cured, and alcoholic beverages.

Surgery is usually the first treatment carried out. Often, radiation is added to complete the treatment.
This is major surgery, so that hospitalization is necessary for a variable time according to the patient (it is usually one to two weeks). It will also require general anesthesia.

The incision for the surgery has to be wide, above the navel and horizontal.

Before the intervention, it is necessary to study preoperative called (blood and clotting, electrocardiogram and chest radiograph).

Prior to surgery the patient should be informed about the technique to use, risks and possible complications and sequelae and side effects. You must then sign a paper in which he gives his consent.

The most common technique employed is the removal of the entire uterus, along with surrounding tissue, part of the vagina and lymph. Sometimes, if the tumor is more advanced, the ovaries are removed, what is known as a hysterectomy.

There are other types of surgery and cryosurgery, which involves removing the tumor by freezing, laser surgery, which uses a beam of intense light to kill cancer cells, the cone, which consists in extracting a piece of cloth into a cone shape of the place where the tumor for a biopsy or to treat early stage cancer, the loop electrosurgical excision, which used an electrical current and exenteration in the case the cancer has spread and is necessary to remove the lower colon, rectum or bladder, so it is likely that after this the patient may need plastic surgery to form an artificial vagina.
For young women with early lesions and willing to have children, the uterus can be preserved by limited resections. In these cases it is very often necessary to make revisions.

Often after surgery, radiation therapy adds to lessen the chances that the disease may reappear in the area of intervention.

Like almost all surgery, it will also have impacts and adverse effects. Upon awakening from anesthesia, the patient will feel pain in the area and will have to be moving slowly recovering when the pain is mild. Should be kept clean the wound. This will be done by medical personnel while not removed the points, and once that is done, the patient should continue to be especially careful with that issue. An important point to full recovery is the resumption of sexual activity, an issue that is important to discuss with your gynecologist.