170 likes | 312 Views
Understanding Cancer. What is Cancer?. Cancer is a group of more than 100 diseases that develop over time Involve the uncontrolled division of the body’s cells Cancer is the 2 nd leading cause of death in the US. What is Cancer?.
E N D
What is Cancer? • Cancer is a group of more than 100 diseases that develop over time • Involve the uncontrolled division of the body’s cells • Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death in the US
What is Cancer? • More than 2,300 years ago, Hippocrates observed that the veins off of some breast tumors looked like limbs of a crab so the Latin word for crab was eventually used for all tumors
What is Cancer? • Tumor: mass of cells • May remain within the tissue in which it originated (in situ or benign cancer) • May begin to invade nearby tissues (invasive or malignant cancer) • Cells can move through the blood or lymph system and create tumors elsewhere in the body (metastatic cancer)
What is Cancer? • Stages of tumor development: • Mutation • Hyperplasia • Dysplasia • In situ cancer (benign tumor) • Invasive cancer (malignant cancer) • Cells can move through the blood or lymph system and create tumors elsewhere in the body (metastatic cancer)
What is Cancer? • The type of cancer depends on it’s location • Each type of cancer has its own growth rate, prognosis, and treatability
How Likely are You to get Cancer? • Lifetime Risk • The probability that you will develop cancer • Men have a one in two lifetime risk • Women have a one in three lifetime risk • Relative Risk • Your individual risk based on genetics and risk factors
Surviving Cancer • Incidence Rate: • The number of new cases per 100,000 people • Mortality Rate: • The number of deaths per 100,000 people per year • Survival Rate: • The proportion of patients alive at a given point after their diagnosis of cancer • The chance of surviving cancer increases with earlier detection and treatment
Cancer in Children • Cancer in children is relatively rare; only 14.1 cases per 100,000 children under the age of 15 • However, after accidents, Cancer is the second leading cause of childhood death in the US. • Leukemias and cancers of the brain and nervous system account for more than ½ the cancers among children.
Preventing Cancer • Levels of cancer prevention • Individual behavior changes is critical • Health care providers – provide both counseling and screening • National level – government regulations to minimize public exposure to known carcinogens • International level – actions of developed countries can effect the incidence of cancer worldwide