What Causes Brain Cancer?
There is no known cause of brain cancer. Extensive research has been conducted to pinpoint a cause to help prevent the cancer from occurring. Although there has not been very much conclusive evidence leading to a cause of brain cancer, the one thing that doctors do know is that brain cancer is not contagious and it does not occur due to head injury. There are known instances where cancer has spread to the brain from other parts of the body.(Lung cancer,Breast cancer,Liver cancer and so on.)
Brain cancer can occur at any age. Studies have shown that two major age groups are affected. From ages 3 to 12 and 40 to 70 are the age groups when brain cancer is formed. Since researchers have been able to gather this data, it has led to the discovery of some risk factors. Workers in certain industries are at a higher risk for brain cancer than workers in other industries. These include, rubber manufacturing, drug manufacturing, and oil refining. Since brain cancer often occurs with members of the same family, heredity is believed to be another cause of brain cancer.
There are many different kinds of cells in the brain, each with a different function. Sometimes the cells inside the brain begin to grow uncontrollably leading to a tumor. A tumor in the brain may or may not be malignant.If benign a tumor stays where it starts, although it can grow very large and put pressure on crucial areas. In the case of a malignant brain tumor however this has the ability to spread and brain cancer occurs. Brain cancer is dangerous and life-threatening as the cancerous cells can interrupt vital brain functions. When brain cancer occurs, the cells continue to grow at a rapid pace. The cells and tissue around these cancerous cells become crowded out and invaded.
Symptoms of brain cancer include headaches that are worse in the morning, changes in personality, abnormal eye movements, and weakness in the arms and legs. Seizures, nausea, and drowsiness are other symptoms of brain cancer.
Surgery is the treatment of choice for primary brain tumors radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are the treatments that are used when cancer has spread to the brain. The doctor will use one or a combination of these treatments depending on the needs of the patient.
What Is Cancer And How Can I Prevent It
Cancer is An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
Cancer is not one disease. It is a group of more than 100 different and distinctive diseases.
Cancer can involve any tissue of the body and have many different forms in each body area. Most cancers are named for the type of cell or organ in which they start. If a cancer spreads (metastasizes), the new tumor bears the same name as the original (primary) tumor.
The frequency of a particular cancer may depend on gender. While skin cancer is the most common type of malignancy for both men and women, the second most common type in men is prostate cancer and in women, breast cancer.
Cancer frequency does not equate to cancer mortality. Skin cancers are often curable. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer for both men and women in the world today.
Benign tumors are NOT cancer; malignant tumors are cancer. Cancer is NOT contagious.
Cancer is the Latin word for crab. The ancients used the word to mean a malignancy, doubtless because of the crab-like tenacity a malignant tumor sometimes seems to show in grasping the tissues it invades. Cancer may also be called malignancy, a malignant tumor, or a neoplasm (literally, a new growth).
ORIGIN OF CANCER
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.
The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
But sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
COMMON TYPES OF CANCER
A. Bone Cancer
B. Brain Cancer
C. Breast Cancer
D. Endocrine Cancer
E. Gastrointestinal Cancer
F. Gynecologic Cancer
G. Head & Neck Cancer
H. Leukemia
I. Lung Cancer
J. Lymphoma
K. Multiple Myeloma
L. Prostate Cancer
M. Skin Cancer
N. Soft Tissue Sarcoma
CAUSES OF CANCER
some causes of cancer, such as smoking, can be controlled. Others, like a person's age or family history, can't be changed.
Causes
Scientists have found many factors that make a person more likely to get hepatocellular liver cancer.
1.Gender
Men are more likely to get liver cancer than are women. This could be because of the behaviors listed below, such as smoking and alcohol abuse.
There are also some inherited liver diseases that increase the risk of liver cancer.
2. Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis (suh-row-sis) is a disease in which liver cells are damaged and replaced with scar tissue. This can often lead to cancer. In this country, the major causes of liver cirrhosis are alcohol abuse and hepatitis B and C. Another cause is a disease that results in too much iron in the liver.
3. Diabetes
Diabetes can increase the risk of liver cancer. This is more common in diabetics who have other risk factors such as heavy drinking or viral hepatitis.
4. Obesity
Obesity might increase the risk of getting liver cancer.
5. Aflatoxins
These cancer-causing substances are made by a fungus that can contaminate peanuts, wheat, soybeans, groundnuts, corn, and rice. Long-term exposure to aflatoxins can increase the risk of liver cancer. In the United States and Europe, these foods are tested for aflatoxins.
6. Vinyl Chloride and Thorium Dioxide (Thorotrast)
These chemicals are risk factors for several types of liver cancer. They have become much less important since Thorotrast is no longer used and exposure to vinyl chloride is strictly controlled.
7. Anabolic Steroids
These male hormones are used by some athletes to increase their strength. Long-term use of these can slightly increase the risk of liver cancer.
8. Arsenic
In some parts of the world, drinking water contaminated with arsenic increases the risk of liver cancer. This is a concern in some areas of the United States.
Less Certain Risk Factors for Liver Cancer
Birth Control Pills
Birth control pills may slightly increase the risk of liver cancer. Most of the studies linking birth control pills and cancer involve types of pills that are no longer used. Birth control pills are now made in a different way, and it is not known if they increase liver cancer risk.
Tobacco
Some studies have found a link between smoking and liver cancer, but the extent of this is not known.
CANCER SYSTOMS TO NOTE
Local Symptoms
Unusual Lumps
Swelling
Hemorrhage/Bleeding
Pain
Ulcers
Jaundice
Systemic Systoms
Weight Loss
Poor Appetite
Fatigue
Cachexia (Loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite)
Excessive Sweating
Night Sweats
Anemia
Thrombosis
Hormonal Changes
HOW TO PREVENT CANCER
Food: Eat organic produce, especially fruits whose peels are eaten, and avoid red meat. Eat low on the food chain, choosing more fresh produce and grains and less meat.
Cleaning products: Look under the kitchen sink, and avoid using anything that carries a skull and crossbones. Buy baking soda and vinegar instead - they're just as good.
Cellphones: Limit your calls as much as possible, to lower direct microwave penetration to your brain.
Non-stick cookware and stain repellents: Throw out any old, cracked non-stick pans, since the chemical, PFOA, used to make the non-stick coating has been linked to cancer. It is also presernt in stain-resistant clothing, and waterproof fabrics. Rain-proof gear is OK,, but not next to the skin.
Personal care items: Avoid anything that contains parabens - butylparaben, methylparaben - which in some studies have shown estrogenic activity, and which have also been found in human breast tumours. "We have to create political change so young mothers and fathers don't need to be chemists to decide on a shampoo for their baby." - Devra Davis.
Prevention is the best single opportunity we have to stop the cancer epidemic in The world.I invite you to join Me now!
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