Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada, responsible for nearly 30% of all deaths in Canada (Canadian Cancer Statistics, 2013). According to Statistics Canada, nearly half of Canadians (45 % of male and 42 % of female) develop the cancer in their life and quarter of them has a terminal prognosis (Statistic Canada, 2013). Due to increased mortality rate over a period of time, cancer became the first priority of Oncologist and health care professionals to develop any method to stop or at least limit the fast killing action of cancer. An urgent need of a procedure which can detect the abnormal cells in their early stages had become a necessary task for the Oncologist and other Health care professionals, which lead them to the invention of the “cancer screening” process. Physical examination of the patient’s body in order to find the signs and symptoms of infection such as lumps, patient history along with laboratory test (blood, serum, urine tests), genetics test (in order to find any gene mutation which can cause the cancer) and imaging procedure (make pictures of body’ inside area) are the different kinds of screening tests which are available today (Health Canada, 2009). Cancer screening “is a procedure which is used to detect the cancer before symptoms appear” (NCI, 2009). The first revolutionary step in the cancer treatment was taken by a famous Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793). According to Hunter, surgery could be used to cure the cancer if it is diagnosed early by the health care professionals. The introduction of new area of exploration i.e. “early diagnosis” not only changed the views of Oncologist and Health care professionals but also changed the direction of their cancer research toward early diagnosis. A...
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...the choice of screening. Research literature is salient about the main demerit of the screening (i.e. false negative and positive results of the screening) and there is ample room of progress to make the screening system the life saver not life taker (pulse, 2006). Misdiagnosis is considered to be the most significant drawback of screening which could be the wastage of money and time but saving the life of one person is far better and important then money or time. Screening is not the problem but the solution of many diseases like cancer. Misdiagnosis is the issue of concern which can be addressed by advancing the instruments, improving the screening procedure and giving proper training to the health care professionals. Although there is ample room for progress in screening procedures but early cancer screening remains the best source of saving lives (pulse, 2006).
Note that the introduction of screening may produce short-term rises (AIHW, Cancer incidence projections) due to greater detection.
As the author highlighted in this book, the quickest way to be diagnosed for prostate cancer is to be screened for it; the same notion applies for many other diseases and illness. With the advent of the technological age, doctors are now able to see more than they did before, and therefore, are more quick to diagnose illnesses and cancers early. As Welch explains, the problem with that is that not all illness or cancers will kill you; some cancers will stick around, but never cause any harm. So, this leads to screening for cancers that were never going to kill a patient, that end up being detected early on and dealt with, thus giving credit to early screening as a success story. As Welch explains, most illnesses and injuries that undertake a natural course of events, without medical intervention, usually heal on their own. This is problematic because it creates this idea that medical intervention is helpful and necessary, when that is not always the case. In general, as a society, the benefits of medical care have been over-exaggerated, while the harms of medical care have been largely ignored. If Welchs’ instructions were followed, a closer examination of the effect of screenings and tests would be the new medical
Surgery is the oldest type of treatment for cancer. In its earlier use, surgery was not as successful as it is today. This was due to the difficulties involved with the anesthesias, excessive blood loss, respiratory distress, and a number of other complications. Tumors were removed, but metastases had formed, and the cancer returned quickly. In modern day surgery, namely laser surgery, these difficulties do not occur as readily. There are four basic ways to use surgery. One way is a diagnostic biopsy. This is a technique that involves removing part of the tumor, in order to test for malignancy. Another technique is surgery that removes the primary tumor. A third technique is removal of lymphatic tumors and metastases, which can help reduce the recurrence of cancer. The fourth technique is a combination of surgeries to detect and treat a malignant or benign tissue mass (1).
There are many risks that affect breast cancer. One of the reasons it is more common, is because we have better medical equipment that detects breast cancer at an earlier stage than before. An estimated 192,370 new cases of breast cancer will occu...
The American Cancer Society is a volunteer-based organization that is present across the United States. Its main purpose is to raise money and awareness about the severity and prevalence of cancer. Cancer education and research is where most of the focus and monetary donations are used for. The American Cancer Society strives to fulfill their goal of “less cancer and more birthdays” across all generations and populations (ACS Inc., 2011).
Over the years, our scientists and doctors have made a substantial amount of progress. As we prepare for the future, we must wonder if we will have enough doctors, nurses, and researchers who specialize in cancer. Even though we know a great deal about Biology, we will always continue to uncover new knowledge in the future. Hopefully our knowledge of Biology will help scientists and researchers to develop new cancer screening methods and cancer drugs that will be effective against cancer. An ideal solution would to be able to figure out how to destroy cancerous cells without them returning or spreading to other areas of the body, and without killing off healthy cells. Our knowledge of cancer is still expanding, and will continue to over the years to
In this day and age Cancer has started become an epidemic. Doctors have diagnosed hundreds of different types of cancer which can strike at anytime. Soon everyone will suffer or will have suffered from this social problem. “ Cancer is a general term used to indicate more than 100 separate diseases, but all marked by the common characterists of abnormal cell growth regulating mechanisms” ( Rodgers 14). Fortunately, with the advance in technology growing every day, many cancer diagnoses can be regulated or even cured with simple surgery.
In the early stages of lung cancer it is hard to detect the cancer. The cancer is silent and can grow and develop for years undetected. When the few symptoms...
There are over 13.7 million cancer survivors in the US today, and over 1.5 million people will be newly diagnosed this year. Over the last several years that has been substantial progress in cancer treatments resulting in increased life expectancy. While certainly desirable, the dynamic has changed to more people are now living with cancer as a chronic illness. All of these individuals face a series of complex decisions related to their care that include screenings, treatment choices, and the financial challenges of cancer care. Yet less than one third of all people facing cancer receive appropriate counseling and support. A 2008 Institute of Medicine (US) Committee noted that: “The remarkable advances in biomedical care for cancer have not been matched by achievements in providing high-quality care for the psychological and social effects of cancer. Numerous cancer survivors and their caregivers report that cancer care providers did not understand their psychosocial needs, failed to recognize and adequately address depression and other symptoms of stress, were unaware of or did not refer them to available resources, and generally did not consider psychosocial support to be an integral part of quality cancer care.” (Institute of Medicine 2008)
“Since 1990, over 6 million Americans have died of cancer, more than the combined casualties from the Civil war, WWII, and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts combined” (Faguet, p. 5). According to American Cancer Society projections, there were 1,529,560 new cases of cancer in 2010. Cancer is becoming more and more common around the world. New cancers are constantly being discovered. Researchers are finding new ways to detect cancer and treat it so that the fatality rate does not rise. However, there are some cancers that researchers have not yet discovered a cure for. It is very important for Cancer Research to continue so that one day these cancers will no longer be a treat.
Researchers over centuries have been examining various cellular aspect of cancer as well as the knowledge of what separates a normal cell from a cancerous cell. The advancement of technology plays a large role in the research development of cancer. It is evident that there are different factors that contribute to the rapid growth of cancer cells. Thu, justifying the complex nature of cancer and the need for continual research needed to be able to have a complete understanding of the disease cancer.
“Cancer affects all of us, whether you’re a daughter, mother, sister, friend, coworker, doctor, or patient” (Aniston). Cancer treatment is a very sore subject, but many people are diagnosed with this disease. However, doctors have ways of finding cancer and treating it. Cancer is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with in each person who is diagnosed with it. To understand the solution, one has to know the causes, effects, and problems of cancer.
The East Pennsboro elementary school raised money for a statue at a local park. The statue was a ring of children that were holding hands. There was one child missing; the link was broken. The statue was dedicated to East Pennsboro students that did not make it to their graduation. My sophomore year of high school inspired this piece of artwork.
Trevena L. (2009) Cancer screening Reprinted from Australian Family Physician: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales. Vol. 38, No. 4
During the 15th century, scientists started grasping a better understanding of the human body. Giovanni Morgangi was the first to perform autopsies on patients to relate to their illnesses along with the finding of cancer after death. This laid the foundation of scientific oncology, the study of cancer. Over the years, scientists have realized that the disease they thought they distinguished was very dissimilar to the diseases they currently study today. There are over 200 types of cancer in the world today. Scientists continue to study every day to be able to come closer to finding a cure finding for this awful disease.