Cause and Effect Essay
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are an estimated two hundred and fifteen cancers in the world. Liz Szabo, a reporter from USA Today, recorded a total of 18.2 million patients whom have been diagnosed with cancer. Since cancerous patient rates continue to increase, new studies have been tested in order to discover treatment for cancer. Two treatments are responsible for being most effective in cancer research are chemotherapy and stem cells.
The two more recent treatments have provided researchers with a greater understanding of cancer (including the sources) and effective ways to prevent illness. Even though both treatments are effective, they are very complex and controversial. Cancer is life altering and people are diagnosed for some type of the disease every day. Since those numbers of cancerous patients are increasing, the number of people who get treatment increase.
“Today, about one in every twenty-six Americans have had cancer,” reported Szabo. Cancer has become more prevalent in due to unhealthy lifestyles people have. “Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrollable growth, invasion of adjacent tissues, and sometimes metastasis (spreading to other locations in the body)” (Carson-DeWitt). This graph shows the projected increase for patients ever diagnosed with cancer from the year 2005 to 2020. Cancer has increased over the years due to causes such as genetics, smoking, radiation, viruses, alcohol, poor diet, and lack of physical activity. Some researchers are worried there won’t be enough doctors for the number of incoming cancer patients. Cancer has taken the lives of many patients starting at 114,186 deaths in 1930 to 556,902 in 2003. Due to prevention, early detection, and improved treatment, survivor rates having increased with the rate of population in that time frame. Cancer has affected men and women differently because of different bodily reactions. Because of this, women tend to have a higher death rate then men.
According to MedicineNet.com, “Breast cancer is the leading cancer for women in the U.S. Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer. Prostate cancer is the leading cancer for men in the U.S. It is followed by lung cancer.” The most common cancer between men and women is lung cancer: “The American Cancer Society’s most recent lung cancer statistics in the United States for 2009 include an estimated 166,900 men and 103,350 women will be diagnosed with lung cancer” (Cancer 101). This is a total of 220,250 people with lung cancer. The previously mentioned treatments (chemotherapy and stem cells) have helped to treat lung cancer in numerous ways.
Chemotherapy drugs are given intravenously or in conjunction with radiation therapy or surgery. Chemotherapy may cause patients to vomit, become nauseated, lose hair, and get mouth sores. Irwin H. Krakoff, an M.D. at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer center discusses the effects on cells: Unfortunately, though many substances have been found to interfere with the growth of cells, the use in chemotherapy has been limited by the fact…. that such substances…. attack both normal and malignant tissue. But certain chemicals, when used cautiously, are able to impair the growth of neoplastic cells without irreparable damage to normal cells.
According to an article weighing the risks and benefits of chemotherapy, the benefits of chemotherapy are; “it can reduce the number of cancer cells that spread to other parts of the body, reducing the likelihood that cancer will return and potentially prolonging life. It can also be used before surgery to shrink larger tumors, making less invasive surgery possible” (Bonadonna). An anonymous patient tells about the effect chemotherapy has had on their his with lung cancer:
The chemo has messed with my nervous system and parts of my body feel numb and other parts burn for no reason. I have 2 or 3 more scheduled chemo treatments, but I’ve been told that my lung cancer is treatable, but not curable and I honestly don’t know if I can spend the rest of my life feeling so miserable. Chemotherapy is like having the flu for 90 percent of your waking hours. It is like the worst flu imaginable. My brother sent me an article stating, The word chemotherapy is linked to healing although its origins derive from the deadly mustard gas used in World War II. Today it is used as a powerful tool as part of cancer treatment”. It’s no wonder we get so sick. It’s a poison. But the choice is ours. Living a life of being sick 75 to 90 percent of the time, or not living at all.
About 75 percent of cancer patients use chemotherapy despite the difficult side effects. In an article discussing the costs of chemotherapy, Kate Savage, a chemotherapy expert, states, “the cost of chemotherapy depends on the types of drugs and duration of treatment; it also depends on how often the treatment is given and where you are taking it.” By the end of treatment, chemotherapy could cost 30,000 dollars or more. With the costs of the treatment being so high, some patients often struggle financially to pay off medical bills. Although, chemotherapy has negative side effects and can be expensive, it continues to be a common way to treat patients. A newer treatment still getting tested is the use of stem cells on cancerous patients.
Stem cells have the capability of developing into many different cell types in the body during growth. They can renew themselves through cell division and become a part of organs or tissues with specific functions. John Dick first discovered stem cells in certain types of leukemia in 1997. According to an article written by Nicholas Wade in the New York Times: “at the heart of every tumor, some researchers believe, like a handful of aberrant stem cells that maintain the malignant tissue. The article explains further, “biologists are not yet sure how cancer stem cells are generated.”
Stem cells are used in bone marrow transplantation and blood stem cell transplants in order to repair stem cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. Recent research suggests that stem cells can refurbish dead tissue. Stem cells are primarily found in embryonic cells. Scientists are experimenting the full extent of stem cells and so far, have been successful with their results. Stem cells are indeed beneficial and with more discoveries made in the future they could be the new treatment towards cancer.
Stem cells are being studied in order to figure out if scientists can transport them to a damaged area and direct them to grow to new tissue. Since this is a controversial issue, research is moving slowly. People want to know more about the use of stem cells and what they one day could be capable of, but those questions cannot be answered before many experiments have been preformed on stem cells. Hospital staff has become more aware of what stem cells are capable of and the release of new technology is constantly competed for since they want to treat their own patients to the fullest extent of possibly getting rid of the cancer.
Although stem cells have been proven to be helpful, they also have caused a worldwide controversy. Thomas F. Lee from St. Anselm College explained the debate regarding the ethics of destroying human embryos for research. The Department of Health and Human Services banned funding for research projects in fear that they would be killing human embryos. In 2006, Congress passed legislation for funding on all new cells. Majority of people are beginning to think that the benefits of using stem cells outweigh the negatives in the research.
Cancer has become the second-most killer disease today, killing about seven to eight million people every year in the world. It refers to a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected. The disease harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by this abnormal cell division in the blood stream).
In other words, cancer is the result of cells that uncontrollably grow and do not die. They differ from normal cells in the body which follow an orderly path of growth, division, and death. Cancer also begins to form when the process of programmed cell death called apoptosis breaks down. Unlike regular cells, cancer cells do not experience programmatic death and instead continue to grow and divide, leading to a mass of abnormal cells that grows out of control.
More dangerous or malignant tumours form when two things occur: one, a cancerous cell manages to move throughout the body using the blood or lymph systems, destroying healthy tissue in a process called invasion, and second, that cell manages to divide and grow, making new blood vessels to feed itself in a process called angiogenesis. When a tumour successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading the and also destroying other healthy tissues, it is said to have metastasized a serious condition that is very difficult to treat.
Tumors can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous or circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function. Tumours that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign. Cells can also experience uncontrolled growth if there are damages or mutations to DNA, therefore, damage to the genes involved in cell division. Four key types of gene are responsible for the cell division process: oncogenes tell cells when to divide, tumour suppressor genes tell cells when not to divide, suicide genes control apoptosis and tell the cell to kill itself if something goes wrong, and DNA-repair genes instruct a cell to repair damaged DNA.
Classes of substances that are directly responsible for damaging DNA, promoting or aiding cancer are carcinogens. Tobacco, asbestos, arsenic, radiation such as gamma and x-rays, the sun, and compounds in car exhaust fumes are also examples of carcinogens. When our bodies are exposed to these carcinogens along with other food chemicals in our diet, free radicals are formed that try to steal electrons from other molecules in the body. Theses free radicals damage cells and affect their ability to function normally.
Cancer can also be the result of a genetic predisposition that is inherited from family members. It is possible to be born with certain genetic mutations or a fault in a gene that makes one statistically more likely to develop cancer later in life. Age is an important risk factor for cancer as the number of possible cancer-causing mutations in our DNA increases with age. As we age our bodies can’t absorb vitamins and minerals and we lose capacity to develop ATP which supplies our organs with energy.
Cancer occurs when a cell’s gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage and unable to commit suicide. Similarly, cancer is a result of mutations that inhibit oncogene and tumour suppressor gene function, leading to uncontrollable cell growth. When cancer spreads, or metastasizes, additional symptoms can also present themselves in the newly affected area depending on the location where it has spread. If cancer spreads to the brain, patients may experience vertigo, headaches, or seizures. Spreading to the lungs may cause coughing and shortness of breath. Additionally, the liver may become enlarged and cause jaundice and bones can become painful, brittle, and break easily.
As cancer cells use the body’s energy and interfere with normal hormone function, it is possible to present symptoms such as fever, fatigue, excessive sweating, anemia, and unexplained weight loss. Since all these symptoms are common in several other maladies as well, it becomes difficult to detect the disease in the very first diagnosis.
Cancer is classified into 5 broad groups. Carcinomas are characterized by cells that cover internal and external parts of the body such as lung, breast, and colon cancer. Sarcomas are characterized by cells that are located in bone, cartilage, fat, connective tissue, muscle, and other supportive tissues. Lymphomas are cancers that begin in the lymph nodes and immune system tissues. Leukaemia is cancer that begins in the bone marrow and often accumulates in the bloodstream. Adenomas are cancers that arises in the thyroid, the pituitary gland, the adrenal gland, and other glandular tissues.
Cancers that are closely linked to certain behaviors are also the easiest to prevent. For example, choosing not to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol significantly lower the risk of several types of cancer most notably lung, throat, mouth, and liver cancer. Skin cancer can be prevented by staying in the shade, and protecting ourselves with a hat and shirt when in the sun, and using sunscreen. Diet is also an important part of cancer prevention and oncologists recommend diets that are low in fat and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Hepatitis B vaccines prevent the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver cancer.
Once a diagnosis is made, the next step is to find out how far the cancer has spread and determine the stage of the cancer. The stage determines which choice will be available for treatment and informs prognoses. There is no single one treatment for cancer, and patients often receive a combination of many therapies and / or palliative care including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, or gene therapy. In recent time many cancer patients are becoming more engaged in the natural alternative as we hear more and more cancer patients become NED (no evidence disease.)
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