Cancer is a big killer. With Breast cancer awareness month coming to a close, I thought it pertinent to state some basic facts about the top Cancers in the world.
Cancer though not a contagious disease kills more people than even heart attack. The disease affects people of all ages though older people are more prone than younger people. Some of the causes of cancer are radiation, chemicals and viruses. Different people have different controls over exposure to agents of cancer.
Among the top 10 forms of cancer are:
- Lung cancer
The main risk factor is cigarette smoking and tobacco products. It mainly affects individuals of ages 55-65. There exist two categories of lung cancer.
a. Small cell lung cancer
This form of lung cancer usually spreads very fast.
b. Non-small cell lung cancer
It is the common form of cancer.
- Skin cancer
It is categorised into two:
a. Non-melanoma which is the form that is mainly curable.
b. Melanoma is more serious since it is less curable.
- Prostate cancer
This is the most commonly diagnosed form among gents (except cancer) and the second usual cause of demise. It forms in the prostate glands responsible for producing seminal fluids that provides medium for sperm transport. The type that forms in confined areas is easily cured. The other type usually spread. DRE and PSA screenings assist to early detect the disease.
- Colorectal cancer
This is the third common form of cancer in both gents and ladies. It grows in the last few inches of colon/ large intestine near the anus. It usually starts as small tumour referred to as polyps which can be detected if early screening is carried out.
- Kidney cancer
The main risk factor here is tobacco. It usually spread from one kidney to another. However, it can spread to other organs such as lungs, bones and livers. The common methods of treatment include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
The main symptoms of this form of cancer are swollen lymph nodes, weight loss and fever. The type depends on the white blood cells affected as well as the rate of spread of the cancer.
- Endometrial cancer
This is the uterine corpus form of cancer occurring in the uterus lining. It is characterised by abnormal bleeding. Treatment depending on cancer stage includes chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and hormonal methods.
- Thyroid cancer
The main symptom is a lump in the neck. The proportion of women amongst thyroid cancer victims is about 75%. Surprising enough, this cancer is the fastest-increasing in both women and men.
- Bladder cancer
It is characterised by presence of blood in urine. Surgery alone or with combination with other treatments is used in 9 out of 10 cases.
- Breast cancer
Breast cancer is ranked as the second after lung cancer killer of women. However it can also occur in men. This cancer forms in the mammary glands or milk ducts. With the exception of skin cancer this is the most often diagnosed cancer among ladies.
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