Cancer Case

The final project topic I chose to discuss for this assignment will be on Cancer. I chose this topic because I lost my mother to lung cancer within a four day period. The doctors were unable to figure out my mother's sickness until after she passed. My mother was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, in which there was no treatment that could be done to slow the cancer down or prevent further complications. The second leading cause of death in The United States is Cancer, but thanks to improvements in cancer screening and treatment survival rates are increasing (American Cancer Society, 2012). There are many types of cancers affecting individuals and their families every day and getting a better understanding of how cancer forms, the risks, and signs and symptoms plus having a good support group is important.

Cancer can be located anywhere in the body from blood, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and sex organs which is caused by cell mutation or damage from free radicals (American Cancer Society, 2012).Untreated cancer that is not caught could spread throughout the body and cause serious illness or death. There are many kinds of cancers such as breast, lung, prostate, cervical, and colon but all cancers start because abnormal cells grow out of control. Cancer is the general name for a group of more than 100 diseases with many possible causes such as hereditary; lifestyle such as the use of tobacco, diet, physical activity, different types of radiation and chemicals and certain types of infections(American Cancer Society, 2012). A person who has weak immune system such as a diabetic or someone who experiences psychological factors tumor cells are more likely to develop cancer (American Cancer Society, 2012).

Cancer is not an easy disease to live with and many patients worry about how they will care for their families, take care of the finances that come from cancer treatments and bills, or the ability to work or continue their daily activities. Members of the health care team such as doctors, nurses and any other team member can answer questions about working, treatments and activities. The University of Arizona's Cancer Center is one of the largest centers in the country that helps prevent and cure cancer (Cancer Prevention, 2012). The center offers many programs for patients and families to learn more about the cancer and prevention as well as risks and protective factors. Some types of cancer can be found before the symptoms even begin. Therefore those that don't have symptoms need to go be screened and the University of Arizona is a place that is highly recommended for low costs and some free screenings (Cancer Prevention, 2012).

Cancer does have risks and there are factors that can be avoided but then there are risks that cannot. Smoking and inheriting the genes are big risk factors for some types of cancers, but only smoking can be avoided (Cancer Prevention, 2012). Getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet may help be protective factors for certain types of cancers. There is always a chance of getting cancer even if you avoid the risk factors and increase the protective factors. Taking the first step into prevention of cancer will help increase many preventable cases.

There are many treatment options available to individuals with cancer along with support groups. The most common treatment for individuals is surgery which could help diagnose, treat and help prevent cancer (Cancer Prevention, 2012). Surgery often offers the greatest chance for cure and most people with cancer will have some sort of surgery. Another treatment that is offered for cancer is chemotherapy, which is the use of medications and drugs to help treat cancer and most people become afraid of using it until they understand what it does and helps calm them down. The use of chemotherapy will give the patient a sense of control over their treatment which also helps keep a patient from having any fears. One other treatment that is used a lot is radiation treatments which helps damage or destroy cancer cells and is the most common used along with other treatments. There are many other treatments to use to help with the fight against cancer such as target therapy, immunotherapy, hypothermia and blood or bone marrow transplants (Cancer Prevention, 2012).

There are many people who are either fighting cancer or lost someone to cancer. Support groups are located throughout many states and encourage family members to join and help loved ones or learn to cope