Most cancers are caused by genetics although lifetstyle and eating habits can play a role in increasing your risk of developing cancer.
Being inactive and eating high fat foods can put you at an increased risk of developing cancer.
Cancer is a genetic disease that is caused by changes in genes that control the way cells grow and multiply.
Cells are the building blocks of your body.
Each cell has a copy of your genes, which act like an instruction manual.
Your odds of getting cancer are very low and only one in 2 men have a chance of being diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime and women have a one in 3 chance of being diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
You should suspect cancer if you experience any sudden and unexplained weight loss, tiredness, fatigue or other possible signs of cancer which include a lump that suddenly appears.
Fatigue. Lump or area of thickening that can be felt under the skin. Weight changes, including unintended loss or gain. Skin changes, such as yellowing, darkening or redness of the skin, sores that won't heal, or changes to existing moles.
The 12 signs of cancer include.
Abnormal periods or pelvic pain. Most women have the occasional irregular period or cramps.
Changes in bathroom habits.
Bloating.
Breast changes.
Chronic coughing.
Chronic headache.
Difficulty swallowing.
Excessive bruising.
Fatigue.
Lump or area of thickening that can be felt under the skin.
Weight changes, including unintended loss or gain.
Skin changes, such as yellowing, darkening or redness of the skin, sores that won't heal, or changes to existing moles.
Other signs of cancer include.
Changes in bowel or bladder habits.
Persistent cough or trouble breathing.
Cancer can still spread even while someone is on chemo.
While most chemo is successful at getting rid of cancer and keeping the cancer from spreading it's still possible for cancer to spread when on chemo.
You can sleep next to someone with chemo and even have sex with someone with chemo as long as the person is feeling up to it.
The chemo poses very little risks to other people around the chemo patient.
Cancer is least likely to develop in people under the age of 20 years of age and those over 80 years of age.
The incidence rates for cancer overall climb steadily as age increases, from fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 people in age groups under age 20, to about 350 per 100,000 people among those aged 45–49, to more than 1,000 per 100,000 people in age groups 60 years and older.
You cannot smell cancer itself but sometimes tumors that develop with cancer can cause some unpleasant odors.
For the average person it's not easy to detect the smell of cancer, but they may notice changes in the odor of body fluids when they're receiving treatment for cancer.
The sense of smell may be more sensitive to people undergoing cancer treatments.
Strong odors, such as those in foods, are especially offending.
The slowest growing cancer is Carcinoid Cancer.
You can have Carcinoid cancer for several years without knowing it which is why it's called a slow growing cancer.
The deadliest cancers are lung cancer, colerectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.
Lung and bronchus cancer is responsible for the most deaths with 130,180 people expected to die from this disease.
That is nearly three times the 52,580 deaths due to colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer death.
Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer, causing 49,830 deaths.
The five types of cancer are Lymphoma, Leukemia, Melanoma, Carcinoma and Sarcoma.
When a cancer patient stops eating or drinking it means the cancer patient is in the last stages of the cancer is the cancer patients body is shutting down and preparing for death.
Signs that a cancer patient is dying include.
Breathing stops.
Blood pressure cannot be heard.
Pulse stops.
Eyes stop moving and may stay open.
Pupils of the eyes stay large, even in bright light.
Control of bowels or bladder may be lost as the muscles relax.
The amount of rounds of chemo which are normal is between 4 to 8 rounds of chemo.
A person may get chemo treatments daily, weekly, or monthly, but they're usually given in on-and-off cycles.
This means, for example, that you may get chemo the first 2 weeks and then have a week off, making it a cycle that will start over every 3 weeks.
The time off lets your body build healthy new cells and regain it's strength.
Chemo is usually not worth it for terminal cancer as if the terminal cancer is severe enough the chemo will only extend your life for around a month or two at most or if it extends you life a bit longer you'll usually suffer more.
Stage I: Cancer is localized to a small area and hasn't spread to lymph nodes or other tissues.
Stage II: Cancer has grown, but it hasn't spread.
Stage III: Cancer has grown larger and has possibly spread to lymph nodes or other tissues.
Stage IV: Cancer has spread to other organs or areas of your body.
Stage 4 cancer is not always a terminal cancer and in some cases treatments can help and you may live a long life with Stage 4 cancer depending on the type of cancer.
People who are diagnosed in stage 4 who decide against treatment live an average of 6 months.
In contrast, those diagnosed with stage 1A disease who elect no treatment live an average of two years.
Stage 4 cancer is caused when the cancer cells are left untreated and left to spread and grow to other parts of your body.
Stage 4 cancer which is also sometimes called advanced cancer or late-stage cancer, is cancer that has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body from the original site.
This occurs when cancer cells break away from the primary tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system.
Surviving Stage 4 cancer is sometimes possible but it depends on the type of cancer.
The sooner you get treatment the better chance you have at surviving Stage 4 cancer although in most cases Stage 4 cancer cannot be cured.
Stage 4 cancer is serious and requires immediate medical treatment to stop it from getting worse and causing death.
Stage 4 cancer usually can't be cured.
In addition, because it will have spread throughout the body, it is unlikely it can be completely removed.
The goal of treatment is to prolong survival and improve quality of life.
In some rare cases Stage 4 cancer can be cured with chemotherapy although it's not always the case.
But even when it cannot be cured the chemotherapy can keep the stage 4 cancer from getting worse and can help you live longer.
Stage 4 cancer is challenging to treat, but treatment options may help control the cancer and improve pain, other symptoms and quality of life.