5 Things You Can Do to Prevent Lung Cancer

by James S. Pendergraft

Lung cancer is a form that is quite difficult to treat. Simply put lung cancer is the cancer affecting the lung tissues making it difficult for exchange of gases in the respiratory system. It is very elusive and hence difficult to diagnose. The symptoms are not out of the ordinary and hence can mislead the physician.
The patients suffer a lot and treatment is limited and localized. Prevention is the best form of cure as far as cancer is concerned since all forms of cancer are torturous to the mind and body of the individual. Prevention is easier where lung cancer is concerned. Avoiding risk causing substances, the chances of developing it can be reduced or its occurrence can be prolonged.
Things That Can Be Done To Prevent Lung Cancer Are:
Quit Smoking:
The first and the foremost factor is, of course, smoking. This is the main cause of lung cancer. An estimated 87% deaths occur due to lung cancer caused by smoking. Make your body tobacco free. This is the best defense possible against lung cancer. Kicking the habit might be difficult but certainly would be better than suffering from cancer of the lung. Another aspect of smoking is the effect it has on people exposed to the smoke.
Secondhand smoke or the smoke emanating from cigarettes, cigars and pipes is carcinogenic. This smoke is known to contain more than sixty carcinogens or agents that can trigger the process of cancer development. These carcinogens cause changes in cell division and development. The abnormal divisions give rise to excess number of cells which do not have regulatory processes governing them and hence causes malfunctions leading to malignancies.
Eat fruits and vegetables:
Nature itself has provided us with the chemicals required to fight cancer. Antioxidants and flavanoids are substances that aid in repairing damaged cells and helps in protecting the nuclear material or the DNA. These substances are available in abundance in fruits and vegetables. Consuming five portions of fruits and vegetables in a day will go far in keeping cancer at bay. People who are physically active and fit have lesser chances of being succumbed by cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight would be beneficial.
Avoid Exposure to radon:
Radon is a substance that is highly carcinogenic. Exposure to radon and such other radioactive gases can cause lung cancer. Radon is a byproduct of uranium degradation. This is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas which cannot be detected easily. Homes built over natural deposits of uranium can have radon in them and exposure to this is dangerous. Homes should be checked and test for the presence of this deadly carcinogen.
Avoid Exposure to pollutants in workplace:
Pollutants like gasoline, arsenic, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, mustard gas, coal products, chloro methyl ethers, diesel exhaust are carcinogens or agents causing cancer. Workplace can expose you to these agents and it should be reduced or limited in concordance with the employer.
Chemoprevention:
Many cancer specific natural drugs can some times reverse the process of cancer. These drugs can be taken to prevent cancer from occurring in patients with history of the condition. The area dealing with chemoprevention is under active clinical research.
To Your Health!

Bone Cancer: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

by James S. Pendergraft

Cancer having its origin in the bones is referred to as bone cancer in medical terms. Bone cancers are relatively uncommon when compared to metastatic (cancer occurring initiated in another organ and spreading to bone tissues) or secondary cancer.
Bone Cancer Causes
Underlying causes behind bone Cancer is still unclear. However, there are certain risk factors that have been identified. Most of them suggest that Estrogen, female hormone, plays an imperative role in development and progress of this cancer. It's known that women, having menstrual period for the first time before 11 or at a very later stage in their life, are more prone for developing this disease. The reason being that they remain exposed to higher levels of estrogen for a longer period of time. Again, count of menstrual cycle prior to first pregnancy is also considered significant. Experts believe that women having their first child below the age of 20 might be affected in the near future. Breastfeeding offers additional protective effect.
Bone Cancer Symptoms
Bone Cancer Symptoms are many linked to the location of the bone, which has been affected by cancer in the body. Common symptom associated with bone cancer is tenderness, swelling or pain in the affected area. Lump formation might also accompany bone cancer in a patient. Although the detection of lump associated to the cancer is difficult in the early stages, it can be felt when the disease occurs in or around the joints. Still, you cannot consider any of these symptoms as prominent signs of bone cancer.
Bone Cancer Treatment
Treatment for cancer of bone, mainly metastatic cancer, has 2 goals:
-Managing neoplasm
-Managing symptoms produced by local lesion
Prognosis is mainly affected by patient's age, primary tumor size, lymphatic & blood vessel invasion degree, symptoms duration and tumor location on arm, trunk or leg.
There are 2 methods for treating bone metastasis. Systemic Therapy is aimed for treating cancer cells spread throughout your body. It includes hormone therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Local therapy is aimed towards killing cancerous cells of a specific portion on the body. It includes surgery and radiation therapy.
Surgery:
It is often extensive and involves the removal of a wide margin of tissue surrounding the tumor. Sarcomas, which involve muscles, also require removing the entire affected group of muscles.
Radiation Therapy:
It is mainly used for preventing local recurrence of radiosensitive tumor and given either before or following the surgery.
Chemotherapy:
Several drugs have proven effective for treating bone & soft tissue sarcoma. However, required dosages for providing a great chance to cure might lead to significant side-effects. Effective agents include cyclophosphamide, etoposide, vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), dactinomycin (Actinomycin D), dacarbazine and investigational agent. In some cases, even combinations of all these drugs are used.
Hormone Therapy:
It's either removal of organs producing hormones promoting growth of specific cancer types (testosterone and estrogen) or drug therapy for keeping hormones from promoting growth of cancer.
Even after completely removing bone or soft tissue sarcoma, significant risk is there that small tumors, left undetected, may spread to other regions in the body. Adjuvant Chemotherapy attempts for eliminating such tumor deposits.
Even, there are safer and effective methods for treating pain. Medications will allow people for being free of pain and continue the activities essential to them.
To Your Health!