Gone are the days when cancer used to be a rare disease or just confined to the elderly populace. Saddening; it has become widespread to an extent that we got to hear the news of some relative or friend critical or passing away of some form of cancer.
Uttering of cancer some common questions pop into everyone’s head;
What is cancer and why it is becoming so common?
Cancer is a condition when certain cells of the body fail to follow the normal genetic code and multiply uncontrollably disrupting the normal functioning of the organs they are invading. They can also move freely to other areas in the body through blood or another body fluid is known as lymph and can form pockets or clusters. Technically, this movement is referred to as metastasis by experts, and at this stage, the disease has become quite advanced.
While medical researchers believe that cancer is a genetic disease, there are certain predisposing factors (sleep deprivation, processed food consumption, smoking, environmental exposures, and sluggish lifestyle) contributing significantly to its high prevalence in the past few decades.
Moreover, the awareness and screening tests for cancer are also attributed to it appearing rampant these days compared to the past years.
How prevalent it has become and what are the common cancers?
According to cancer research,
•There were 17 million new cases of cancer worldwide in 2018. The four most common cancers occurring worldwide are lung, female breast, bowel, and prostate cancer. These four accounts for more than four in ten of all cancers diagnosed worldwide.
•Worldwide there will be 27.5 million new cases of cancer each year by 2040.
Are all cancers deadly?
Broadly, cancers are classified into four stages (I, II, III, IV). There is an additional stage zero also known as the precancer stage. The key rule is earlier the diagnosis (at early stages); the better the prognosis and survival outcomes. However, it largely depends on an individual’s health status, the response to treatment, and the type of cancer.
Once treated, can it come back?
Second cancer occurrences are common; sometimes due to the prevailing cells from the first cancer or other times cancer develops in some other part of the body because the body tended to erratic genetic coding as stated above.
How hopeful are the current management strategies and do they bear side effects?
Various treatment protocols include chemotherapy (powerful drugs targeted to kill cancer cells); radiotherapy (use of radiation to kill cancer cells); hormone therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and bone marrow transplant. They can be used singly or in combination as decided by your healthcare provider. And yes, they do have side effects like a constant feeling of exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, headache, brain fogging.
Getting diagnosed with cancer can be the harshest moment of anyone’s life as it is not just a physical battle but an equal mental battle for the body to fight with.
Still, a ray of hope through amendments to one’s lifestyle and a mental health support system cannot be undermined.
Dr Nisma Haris
The writer is a general physician, content creator
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