What do you think a creative approach to cancer diagnosis or treatment might be? Cells are building blocks of the organism (Campbell, Reece, 2012). There are billions of cells in human organism, which carry different functions, and groups of cells can be organized in a way, that they build organs and systems of organs with their unique structure and role in a body (ibid. ). For example, white blood cells carry innate immune response function, while bone cells carry organ supporting function (ibid. ).
Both of these cells have very different structure, but also there are a lot of similarities between them, in terms of internal cell organization, which include common organelles, such as nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi body and etc (ibid. ). Moreover, all of the cells in the human body have one essential common characteristic – genetic material within their nuclei (ibid. ). When this genetic material becomes damaged, the cell usually dies, but sometimes it starts to divide without any control and form a lump, called tumor (Cancer Research UK website, 2012).
Disease, when the tumor is formed is called cancer (ibid. ). It is very dangerous disease, which if not treated at time, can lead to the death of the whole organism (ibid. ). Cancer from one organ can be spread within the human organism, forming tumor there, and therefore another type of cancer, via bloodstream or lymphatic vessels (ibid. ). There are about 200 types of known types of human cancers, for example lung cancer, cancer of the pancreas, which are named for the place they develop.
This disease every year kills a lot of people around the world, for example according to the Global Cancer Statistics, 13% of all human deaths, which is 7. 9 million people, died from different types of cancer (Jemal, Bray, Center, Ferlay, Ward, Forman, 2011). There is many cases, which together can lead to the cancer development by increasing risk of genetic material damaging, and therefore tumor forming (Anand, Kunnumakkara, Kunnumakara, Sundaram, Harikumar, Tharakan, Sung, Aggarwal, 2008).
These risk factors include smoking, lack of physical activity, obesity, radiation and some inflectional diseases (ibid. ). Additionally, about 5-10% of the cancer are transformed by the heredity (ibid. ). Cancer can be detected in human organism by using the following procedures: screening tests, medical imaging and microscopic examination of the tissue sample of the host organism, which include blood tests, X-rays, CT and MRI scans and endoscopy procedure (ibid. ).
In a lung cancer carcinoma usually starts in epithelial cells of the lungs, and if it remains untreated, transfers to other parts of the body by the metastasis, which is parts of the tumor, transported by the bloodstream or lymphatic vessels. Lung cancer is one of the most widespread types of cancer, and the mortality from this type of cancer in 2008 was 1. 38 million people (Ferlay, Shin, Bray, 2010). Lung cancer, as the other ones develops from the damage of the genetic material, which include inability to apoptosis and DNA repair. The most common cause of this type of cancer, which is the cause of 80-90% of this type of cancer is tobacco smoking (Horn, Pao, Johnson, 2012).
Smoke of the cigarette contains over 60 known carcinogens, including radioisotopes from the radon decay sequence, and such chemicals as nitrosamine, and benzopyrene. Furthermore, nicotine was found to be suppressor of the immune response, which also makes good environment for tumor growth (Sopori, 2012). Moreover, air pollution can also be a causative factor of the lung cancer development, especially for the people with the genetic predisposal to the tumor growth (Alberg, Samet, 2010).
Finally, there are huge number of factors, which could together lead to the carcinoma, which are different types of radiation, nickel compounds and etc (ibid. ). There are some methods of treating lung cancer, but another important thing is its prevention, which is smoking ban, which nowadays become popular in many developed countries. For example India introduced a ban for public smoking in 2008 (Pandey, 2008). According to the World Health Organization (2008), these bans helped to reduce tobacco consumption by 16%, and therefore lung cancer percentage has decreased too.
In terms of treating cancer, there are some standard procedures, such as surgery, which is cutting the tumorous tissue by the surgery methods, radiotherapy, which is usage of the radiation in order to kill the carcinoma and chemotherapy, which is usage of the hazardous chemicals in order to kill the whole cell population in the tumor (ibid. ). All of these procedures are used to treat any types of the cancer diseases, but all of these therapies are effective only on the early stages of cancer, when no metastasis started to develop (Arriagada, Goldstraw, Le Chevalier, 2002).
Before the therapy, place, where the tumor is accumulated is detected by the diagnosis procedures, which were mentioned earlier, and then the most appropriate treatment is chosen in order to defeat the carcinoma cells (ibid. ). To conclude, cancer is one of the most dangerous diseases all over the world, and methods of treating them, which exist now, are not effective in the latest stage of the cancer development, when the metastasis are presented. More attention should be paid to the in time diagnosis methods and prevention therapy, such as smoke ban, air cleaning, and propaganda of healthy lifestyle.
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Campbell, Reece. (2011) Biology. Cell types. Retrieved 06. 10. 2012 Cancer Research UK website. Accessed October 29, 2012 Ferlay, J; Shin HR, Bray F et al. (2010). Estimates of worldwide burden of cancer in 2008: GLOBOCAN 2008. Retrieved from International Journal of Cancer 127 (12): 2893–2917, October 29, 2012. Ferlay, J; Shin HR, Bray F et al. (2010). “Estimates of worldwide burden of cancer in 2008: GLOBOCAN 2008”. International Journal of Cancer 127 (12): 2893–2917. Retrieved October 29, 2012. Global Cancer Statistics website. Accessed October 29, 2012.
Horn, L; Pao W, Johnson DH (2012). Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine (18th ed. ). McGraw-Hill. Retrieved October 29, 2012. Jemal A, Bray, F, Center, MM, Ferlay, J, Ward, E, Forman, D (February 2011). “Global cancer statistics”. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians 61 (2): 69–90. Retrieved October 29, 2012. Pandey, G (2 October 2008). “Indian ban on smoking in public”. BBC. Retrieved October 29, 2012. Sopori, M (2002). “Effects of cigarette smoke on the immune system”. Nature Reviews. Immunology 2 (5): 372–7. Retrieved October 29, 2012.