Early Diagnosis is key to fighting Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the developed world and is responsible for most cancer deaths. It accounts for 13.3 percent of all cancer cases worldwide and in India, it ranks fourth amongst all cancers, second in males and sixth among females.
Tobacco consumption:
Smoking tobacco is a primary factor for causing cancer with the risk increasing with the number of packs, years smoked etc. Exposed non-smokers also have an increased risk from second-hand smoke. It is responsible for 85-90 percent cases of lung cancer. Screening for lung cancers is not routinely advised and is only recommended for high-risk current or former smokers who have smoked more than one pack daily for at least 30 years or more.
Types & Symptoms of Lung Cancer:
Broadly, lung cancer is divided into two types — Small-cell Lung Cancer and Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. In the non-small cell variety, there are subtypes like squamous and adenocarcinoma. Most cases usually present in advanced stages (65-70 percent) i.e Stages III and IV. The common symptoms are persistent cough, breathlessness on exertion, chest pain and blood in sputum. Spread to distant organs may also occur which may lead to bone pains due to spread to bones and seizures, loss of consciousness or weakness of one half of the body due to brain metastases. In the early stages, the disease is usually picked up during evaluation for some other cause.
Diagnosis:
The primary steps in evaluation are biopsy or CT scans of the chest and abdomen. In early stages surgery is considered as it offers the best chance of cure. For a patient to be fit for lung surgery (lobectomy/ pneumonectomy) they would have to fulfill fitness criteria as prescribed by the physician. Post-surgery chemotherapy is usually given in stages B3 and beyond. In those patients who are medically inoperable stereotactic radiotherapy is an option. Combined modality treatment with radiation and chemotherapy is usually offered in stage III.
Management of metastatic lung cancer or stage IV lung cancer has undergone a paradigm shift in the last few years. With the advent of new drugs the outcome of stage IV lung cancer (NSCLC) has changed for the better with the average survivals reaching almost two years. But as patients live longer, they develop new problems like brain metastases and need for supportive care. The main message for the society must be to avoid smoking and promote healthy living. Those having persistent cough or unexplained breathlessness or blood in the sputum must get themselves evaluated to rule out lung cancer.

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Facts about Blood Cancer and Treatment options

Blood cancer:

The term blood cancer encompasses disorders that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. In the majority of the blood cancers, the red blood cells development is interrupted with uncontrolled division resulting in the abnormal type of cancerous blood cells. These cancerous cells prevent the normal functions like defence or prevention of serious bleeding.

There are three main groups of blood cancer disorders, namely leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. World over, their prevalence varies. Leukaemia affects white blood cells, which play a vital role in infection-fighting in the immune system. Leukaemia produces a high number of immature white blood cells and impacts other blood cells which help balance the immune system and healthy blood.

Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system, which helps to protect the human body from infections and diseases. Lymphoma can develop in multiple body, including bone marrow, blood and other organs. Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, which are found in your bone marrow. Plasma cells produce antibodies which help fight infection. When plasma cells become myelomas they prevent the normal production of antibodies, leaving body’s immune system weakened.

Treatment options for blood cancer:

At American Oncology Institute, treatment of blood cancer is most comprehensive with one of the best skilled and most qualified team of the haematologist. The team includes Dr. Anil Aribandi, Dr. Parinitha Gutha & Dr. S.K. Gupta who are highly qualified and are trained from institutes in India and the UK. Blood cancer treatment is designed after a detailed assessment of the patient considering factors such as type of the blood cancer, the stage it is in etc

Common treatments are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and in some cases if required stem cell or bone marrow transplant.

In chemotherapy anti-cancer drugs are used to fight cancer cells. In radiation therapy, high energy of radiations is given to kill cancer cells. Its use is dependent on the location of the cancer cell or the tissue involved. Accordingly, radiation is targeted either to kill the cancer cell or shrinks cancerous tissue.

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Most common cancer's affecting women

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women. However, there are some cancers that frequent most commonly among women. The reasons for this vary from cancer to cancer. It is yet to establish the reason behind this. There are women in India, who still do not have access to the proper medical care through which the early diagnosis of the cancer is possible. Let us read through the most common cancers among women.

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer amongst the women across the world. 14% of all cancer diagnoses are the patients of the breast cancer. Though studies suggest that the genetic factors could be the reason for the breast cancer, it is important for every woman to get tested for the breast cancer. There are several patients who are the first generation diagnosed with the breast cancer. Several campaigns are being conducted across the country to create the awareness. It is compulsory for the women who are above 25 to have the complete information on the breast cancer. Though breast cancer among men is not common, there are a few rare cases where male breast cancer is diagnosed.

Cervical Cancer

HPV or Human Papilloma Virus causes cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among the Indian women. However, the diagnosis of cervical cancer, particularly among the rural women, unfortunately, happens at the later stages.Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among Indian women which accounts for 10% - 12% of the new cancer cases diagnosed each year. However, its awareness is rather appallingly limited. Women who have crossed the age of 30 are recommended to get screened once in every 5 years for the early detection.

Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer is another common cancer among the Indian women. According to the survey reports in 2013, 14- 16% of the cancer cases attributed to the stomach cancer in India. The stomach cancer is likely to show lethal effects due to late diagnosis. It is very important to consult the doctors and discuss if you find something out of routine.

Oral Cancer

There is a huge disparity between the number oral cancers in the world and in India. Indian women are more frequently diagnosed with the oral cancers compared to the women who are from the other nationalities. Oral cancer among the women in India accounts for 3% of the all the cancers diagnosed annually.

Though the numbers of the mortality rate of cancer diagnosed have gone up, chances of survival of the patients who are diagnosed early are higher compared to the patients who are diagnosed when the cancer is at the advanced stages. 

At American Oncology Institute (AOI), diagnosis of cancer is done by using some of the most sophisticated equipment available in India and the US. Similarly, the imaging and therapy systems used are the most advanced available in Hyderabad. Our diagnostic and cancer treatment equipment offer most effective and affordable ways for the treatment of cancer.

Cancer Treatment with Radiation Therapy

The discovery of the x rays in 1985 by Wilhelm Rontgen has left a lasting impact on the field of medicine, particularly to cure the life-threatening diseases like Cancer. Three years after its discovery, the systems were devised to use X-rays, initially for diagnosis and within 3 years the high-energy x rays were used to treat Cancer, non-surgically using radiation therapy.

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It is over 100 years since the medical practitioners have started using radiation therapy to successfully treat the cancer patients, yet there are people who attach a sense of taboo towards the treatment without understanding its purpose.

How does radiation Therapy work?

All cells in our body grow and reproduce or divide. The individual cells in our body have limited span and they are replaced with the new cells. However, some cells grow faster than the rest and divide faster. These cells are the cancer cells and the radiation prevents the cell growth or the reproduction process by changing the cell’s DNA. The radiation therapy is a non-surgical process where only cancer affected area is targeted.

How do Oncologists use the radiation therapy?

Cancer treating doctors can use radiation therapy by considering several factors. Some of the important factors are listed below

-         In the Early stages of cancer, the radiation therapy is used sometimes only to shrink the tumors to a negligible size or use radiation to disappear the cancer cells.

-         In some cases, where the cancer is in the advanced stages, the radiation is sometimes used on the patient before the surgery to shrink the tumor to remove it easily.

-         In some cases, the radiation therapy is recommended after surgically removing the tumors to keep cancer cells from growing.

-         In some cases, radiation therapy is combined with the chemotherapy to cure cancer.

The radiation therapy largely benefits to the people who are diagnosed with cancer in the early stages and the cancers that are likely to spread to the other parts of the body. Radiation therapy is also used to diagnose and eliminate the undetected cancer cells with a potential to harm the body. In some cases like throat and lung cancers, radiation therapy is used to alleviate swallowing or breathing problems caused because of the location of the tumor.

Types of radiation

 a. External Beam Radiation Therapy

As the name indicates, the radiation beams start outside the body and are then directed into the affected areas of the body. Higher doses of radiation could be suggested if the cancer cells are deep in the body tissues. Depending upon the requirement the oncologist may increase the number of beams and the amount of radiation for each beam. X rays, gamma rays, protons rays etc. are a few examples for External Beam Radiation Therapy.

Image Guided Radiation therapy

This is used to track the behavior of the tumor because they can shrink and move during the treatments. Image guide radiation helps the Oncologist track the position of tumor cells and their behavior after the radiation. This helps the oncologists to adjust and reposition the radiation target to the affected area.  There are four types if Image guide radiation therapy.

-         Gamma Knife

-         Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

-         True Beam CT guided radiation therapy

-         View Ray MRI guided radiation therapy 

        

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy and Proton Beam Therapy are two other types of external beam radiation therapies.

        b. Internal radiation implants

A small sized radioactive“seeds” are introduced into a tumor directly or placed closed to the tumor cells. This procedure is ideally used to treat the prostate cancer but the procedure can be recommended for the other cancers as well.

The kind of treatment solely depends on the diagnosis reports of the patients. Accordingly, the doctor prescribes the dosage and the type of the radiation. The patients should participate a counseling session before the treatment to discuss the medical history and importantly have the mapping done to precisely locate the tumors or determine the location of the cancer cells.

Prostate Cancer Treatment Could Cure Men For Whom There Was No Hope

A breakthrough in treatment for prostate cancer could cure thousands of men whose disease was thought to be incurable, research suggests.

The Institute of Cancer Research said the findings were a “great leap forward” which could help around 3,000 men a year for whom there would otherwise be little hope.

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The pioneering study, with The Royal Marsden, found that the highly targeted form of radiotherapy, which shapes radiation beams to tumors, could stop the disease in its tracks.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with 47,000 diagnoses a year.

Depending on how far the disease has spread, and how aggressive it is, men are offered hormonal treatment, surgery, radiotherapy or a combination of treatments.

But when cancer has spread to the pelvis, conventional treatment becomes too risky, as it can damage the bowel.

The new study found that intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) was able to give a high dose of radiation directly to cancer cells while protecting surrounding healthy tissue, thereby cutting down on side-effects.

In the new study on 447 men, 71 percent of patients with prostate cancer were alive and completely free from disease five years after treatment with IMRT.

When the trial began, many of the patients were considered incurable, researchers said.

And just eight to 16 percent of those in the trial suffered issues with their bladder or bowel.

The trial found that IMRT could safely be given to the pelvis - a common site for prostate cancer cells to spread - to help stop the disease going further.

After an average of 8.5 years of follow-up, 87 percent of men were alive, according to the study, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

Since the trial began in 2000, the treatment is increasingly offered to some patients by major cancer centers, but until now the benefits for those thought incurable has not been known.

Study leader David Dearnaley, professor of uro-oncology at the ICR and consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden, said: "Our trial was one of the first of this revolutionary radiotherapy technique, which was pioneered by colleagues here at the ICR and The Royal Marsden.

"This technique has already proven to be a game-changer for men with prostate cancer and the work done here has already been carried forward into later-stage phase II and phase III trials.

"I'm excited to see this treatment become available to every man with prostate cancer who could benefit from it.”

Changes in use of the treatment had meant a “complete revolution” in the way it was delivered, with doses now delivered in just two minutes, in a “giant leap forward” in radiotherapy treatment, he said.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the ICR, said: "Radiotherapy is often seen as perhaps old-fashioned and crude compared with other cancer treatments - but nothing could be further from the truth.

"Radiotherapy today has been enhanced far beyond recognition since its first use over a century ago and is now a highly precise, incredibly sophisticated treatment.

"It's great to see this long-term evidence of the degree to which precision radiotherapy has transformed outcomes for men with prostate cancer."

Dr. Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK said the findings were “promising” but called for larger randomised trials to produce definitive answers about the benefits of the treatment and its suitability for different cases.

At American Oncology Institute, we provide a complete spectrum of cancer treatments for both adults as well as children. Our world-class centers of excellence cover all cancer treatment programs including Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Hematology, Blood & Bone Marrow Transplant and more.

SOURCE: THE TELEGRAPH

Treatments and Side Effects for Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and stomach. At this late stage, ovarian cancer is more difficult to treat and can be fatal.

Common symptoms of ovarian cancer may include: Persistent abdominal bloating, indigestion or nausea, changes in appetite, often a loss of appetite or feeling full, feeling of pressure in the pelvis or lower back, frequent urination, changes in bowel movements, increased abdominal girth and loss of energy

Risk factors include gender (women), age (55 years or older), family history, child bearing status (women who deliver after the age of 30), obesity etc.

Ovarian cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages. Later stages are associated with symptoms, but they can be non-specific, such as loss of appetite and weight loss.

Surgery and chemotherapy are generally used to treat ovarian cancer.

Know more about Ovarian cancer, click here

Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the common cancers in women but is difficult to detect and hence is often referred to as a silent killer. Ovaries are two small organs present on either side of a woman’s tummy. Ovaries produce and store eggs. In ovarian cancer, the abnormal cells grow on or in the ovaries. These cancerous cells have the ability to spread to other organs of the body. It usually affects women above the age of 50 but can also affect younger females. Ovarian cancer symptoms are not very obvious and they are usually overlooked. Here’s everything you should know about the condition.

What are the causes of ovarian cancer?

Usually, women above the age of 65 develop ovarian cancer but it is also observed in younger women. There is also a higher chance of developing the condition if any of your family members has ovarian cancer or breast cancer. According to some studies, higher risk of ovarian cancer was observed in those who have undergone fertility treatment. Hormone replacement therapy also ups the risk of developing ovarian cancer. The risk of developing the condition is higher in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Endometriosis and obesity are other causes of ovarian cancer.

What are the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer?

During the initial stages, signs or symptoms are not distinguishable. The symptoms are often confused with those of irritable bowel syndrome. However, in ovarian cancer, the symptoms are persistent and gradually worsen. Early symptoms include lower abdomen pain, pain on the lower part of the body, backache, pain in the pelvis region, frequent urination, Pain during sex, indigestion, weight loss, nausea, breathlessness and change in bowel movement. You may also experience bloating and tiredness. Consult your doctor immediately if the symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks.

What are the treatments available for ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer treatments include chemotherapy, surgery and a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is also used some times to treat the condition. In chemotherapy, chemicals are used to kill the cancerous cells. It is used for cancer cells that cannot be removed by surgery. Usually, three to six chemotherapy sessions are required. In most of the ovarian cancer cases, surgical removal of cancerous tissue is carried out. It is usually the first treatment for the patient. The affected ovary and the fallopian tube are removed during the procedure.

Know more about Cancer Treatment & Cancer Hospital in Hyderabad India.

Source: India.com