Cancer 
                          Molly Corcoran
March 26, 2004
Per. 3

	
						Cancer
	The cause and treatments for cancer have been discovered and predicted but finding a cure for the deadly disease is still on everyone’s list of unresolved problems. Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases on Earth. Some statistics for cancer and its impacts on the world are as follows: it is in the top two reasons for deaths in the past year. In only one year it has killed a total of 553, 768 people which makes up 22.9% of the deaths this year. It has deceased 290, 890 men and 272, 810 women. Cancer strikes two out every three families. Half of all of the men and one third of the women in the United States with develop cancer in some part of their life. The main problem about cancer is that it can affect anyone. No one is spared from this deadly disease, not even children. Scientists agree that malignancies begin in childhood, adolescence and early adult life. It even be transferred through a persons DNA. What is cancer exactly? Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control and instead of growing, dividing, and dying like normal cells, they grow, divide, and outlive the normal cells to continue to form abnormal cells. Cancer is caused from damage to the DNA where the damaged part is not repaired. Cancer cells often travel to other parts of the body where they begin to grow and replace normal tissue. 75-85% of all cancers have nothing to do with viruses or even genetics. They don’t develop because of trauma or infections but result from environmental causes and industrial pollutants. It is not restricted to any certain organs, but can arise from any cell tissue. The cells become cancerous when the cells that make them up no longer respond to the external, internal, subcellular controls, which are controls that restrain them and keep them in balance with all other cells of the body. 90% of lung cancer victims are smokers and fewer than 1 in 10 people who develop lung cancer survive more than 5 years. Smoking is one of the major causes of cancer. It can cause lung, throat, mouth, and cervical cancer. 
	Although no cure has been found, people are still donating to certain cancer foundations to raise money and find a cure. There are walks against breast cancer during mid July in Britain where people run the 10K. Against Breast Cancer is a charitable organization that funds research work into the causes of breast cancer. The Against Breast Cancer research team has a different approach to breast cancer in that it looks at the whole woman; her tumor, her response to the tumor and her environment. The research is also different because it works with human tissue instead of animal models. ABC is also recruiting women to take part in diet and Lifestyle Study. The research actually works with women who already have breast cancer, and it helps to find ways to maximize their survival. This particular group has fund-raising events, collecting days, and running events. The American Cancer Society is another group that helps cancer victims with donations and research. The ACS is the largest source of private, nonprofit cancer research funds in the US. At the research centers they do studies of adult cancer survivors to determine their needs, explore the impact of the family’s involvement in cancer care, and a study of cancer knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and risks. The aim of the Society’s research program is to determine the causes of cancer and to support efforts to prevent and cure the disease. The research program invested in 2.5 billion dollars in cancer research. They also provide education on cancer because knowing the facts about cancer can also save lives. With both prevention and detection information, people can understand how cancer can affect them. Some current status’s are things like the chances of getting different types of cancer. For men, the chances of getting prostate cancer are 1 in 6, lung cancer 1 in 13, colon 1 in 17, Leukemia 1 in 70, kidney 1 in 69, and stomach 1 in 81. For women, the chances of getting breast cancer are 1 in 7, lung 1 in 17, ovary 1 in 59, and melanoma 1 in 82. Another statistic is that African American men and women have had higher deaths from cancer and there are always more white cancer survivors than African American. 
	With research and some analyzing we have discovered some of the causes for cancer and how the chances of obtaining the deadly disease can be reduced. Some ways the chances can be reduced are to change some things in a persons lifestyle such as quitting smoking and/or eating a better diet. Cancers of the lung, mouth, bladder, or kidney have to do with chewing or smoking tobacco. Therefore, if you don’t smoke nor chew tobacco it decreases your chances of getting those types of cancers. More than half the cancer deaths in the U.S. be attributed to tobacco smoke and diet. Smoking causes 30 percent of cancer deaths, making tobacco smoke the single most lethal carcinogen in the U.S. Only diet rivals tobacco smoke as a cause of cancer in the U.S. Animal (saturated) fat in general and red meat in particular are associated with several cancers such as the colon and prostate cancer. Also, among non nutrient  foods, only salt appears to be a significant contributor to cancer. Some studies indicate that a high intake of salt can lead to stomach cancer. Alcoholic beverages have also been estimated to contribute to the cause of cancer, about 3 percent of total cancer causes. Another type of cancer is skin cancer which is usually due to unprotected sun exposure in direct and strong sunlight. Investigators are currently studying the radio waves associated with cellular phones for a possible link to brain cancer, but so far there is no evidence to support this.  Another thing that has been analyzed is, scientists can tell if someone has cancer or what type of cancer it is, by the symptoms the patient has. Some symptoms are signs of disease, illness, injury, or injury that shows that something is not right in the body. Some examples of this could be the chills, weakness, achiness, shortness of breath, and a cough. The signs and the symptoms can also show the size of the cancer, where it is, and how much it affects the surrounding organs or structures. As the cancer grows, it begins to push on nearby organs, blood vessels, and nerves so this can be seen and/ or felt. Cancer may also cause generalized symptoms such as fever, fatigue, or weight loss. 
	There are four main types of previous attempts to find a cure for cancer. These four types are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and biologic therapies. A persons cancer treatment depends completely on their unique situation. Certain types of cancer will respond differently to different types of treatment. The cancer’s stage will also determine the type of treatment that would be used. Some other treatments besides surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are Biological Therapies (which use the immune system to treat the cancer), Bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Hyperthermia, Lasers, photodynamic therapy and vaccine therapy. Internal radiation is when they place radioactive substances such as iodine near or onto the cancerous cells. About 60% of all cancer patients will require radiation therapy as a part of their care. Radiation therapy is used to help cure cancer, relieve symptoms alone, or in combination with other therapies such as surgery or chemotherapy. Most patients who need radiation with have treatments four or five days a week for five to seven weeks. Chemotherapy is a systematic treatment of cancer with drugs that can destroy or slow the growth of cancer cells. But chemotherapy does have its side effects. It can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, painful soars in the mouth, weight loss, and the reduction in the ability of the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Some new cancer treatments that have been approved by the FDA are treatments like Altima, Armidex, Bexxar, Erbitux, Eloxatin, Faslodex, Gleevec, Gliadel, Iressa, Mesnex, Sterile talc powder, Taxotere, and Velcade. For example, Altima was approved on February 4, 2004 for patients with malignant plevial mesothelioma. 
	I predict that more and more people are going to keep becoming infected with cancer because it has been proven that the United State’s eating habits are getting worse and worse. The people in our country have some of the most obese and over weight people and because cancer has a lot to do with our diets and the food we eat there will be more people with the disease. Scientific evidence suggests that about one-third of the 555, 500 cancer deaths expected to occur in 2002 will be related to nutrition, physical inactivity, obesity, and other lifestyle factors that can be prevented. But I also feel that more and more people are becoming aware of the side effects of tobacco, whether it be chewing or smoking it, more and more people are beginning to quit. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2002 about 170, 000 cancer deaths are expected to be caused by tobacco use, and about 19, 000 cancer deaths may be related to excessive alcohol use. Although people are still using tobacco and getting cancer because of it, people are becoming more aware. Another cause of cancer that I think people are becoming more aware of is skin cancer. Whenever we go to the beach or lay out in the sun everyone usually carries around sun block. This is because people are becoming more aware of the affect of the UV rays and how they can cause damage to your body. But, at the same time, teens are already starting to go to the beach with oils and sun tanning products that don’t protect you from UV rays. Teens and other women are also going to tanning booths where they are in direct Ultraviolet rays. More than 1 million skin cancers that are expected to be diagnosed in 2002 could have been prevented from the sun’s rays. Women are also becoming more aware of breast cancer and the chances of getting it. Regular screening examinations by a health care professional can result in the detection of cancers of the breast, colon, and skin at earlier stages. I think that science is getting closer and closer to the cure for cancer. Some of the things we have been using have worked and some haven’t, but we know the causes of the different types of cancers and how they react to different things. Therefore it seems like it will be a matter of time before we have found the cure and we can save millions and millions of lives.
	I think that the main solutions of this world- wide problem would be to just follow all of the precautions and preventions. These would be things like smoking tobacco or chewing tobacco. Tobacco can cause all different types of cancer and if everyone stopped doing this to their bodies, probably more than half of the cancer cases would be eliminated. Another prevention is to not use alcohol so excessively because this can also do major damage on the body and increase your risks of getting this deadly disease. Another solution would be that teens, adults, and children all wear sun-block with SPF in it to protect them from Ultraviolet Rays because too many people are getting skin cancer, just because they are either too lazy to put sun-block on or want just want to get tan and not protect their skin. Women in particular should also not go to the tanning salons because there, they are in direct Ultraviolet rays and it also increases the chances of them getting cancer. Another way to help prevent getting severe cancer would be to get annual check ups so that the cancer can be detected in a very early stage where it can still be treated without causing much damage to the body. You should always know what going on with your body too. If there are any lumps or swellings anywhere it could be a tumor, or an early sign of cancer and a doctor should be contacted. If everyone would just take the precautions,  follow the healthy guidelines in taking care of their bodies, and go in for annual check ups every now and then, there would not be as many cancer patients and if all the money raised didn’t just go to those that were unhealthy and who brought the cancer upon themselves, the money could go towards those who got it from their genes and other problems. We cou
ld also use the money to hire scientists to research cancer and all of its components to try and find the cure for the deadly disease that has killed so many innocent people. 

 british 10 K	
 american cancer societ
http://www.sciencedigest.org/0996T.HTM  Causes of cancer
http://health.yahoo.com/health/centers/cancer/  Cancer