Understanding Cancer

The word cancer refers to changes in the body's cells that allow these cells to grow out of control. These cells often grow very fast, crowding out normal cells in the area around the cancer. Cancer cells also have the ability to spread, ormetastasize, to other organs in the body, causing additional damage in areas of the body not connected with the original cancer site.

Cancer can occur in almost any cell. It begins when the cell's DNA, or genetic information, becomes damaged. DNA controls all cell functions, including when to divide (reproduce) and when to die. When DNA is damaged, some cells become unstable, dividing more often than normal cells or failing to die when they should. Most of the time, the body's immune system finds these damaged cells and destroys them. However, if this normal process does not happen, atumor can begin.

A tumor is a mass, or collection, of abnormal cells. Tumors can be eitherbenign or malignant.

• Benign tumors (noncancerous) can grow and expand in size, but they do not invade surrounding tissue or travel to other areas of the body.

• Malignant tumors (cancerous) are made up of cells that are very different from normal cells. These cancer cells can, and often do, invade nearby tissues. They also can travel away from the original (primary) site to other parts of the body, causing tumors in other organs (distant sites) in a process called metastasis.

Types of Cancer

A solid tumor is a localized mass of abnormal cells. Solid tumors are divided into broad categories based on the type of tissue where the cancer first occurred; carcinomas, sarcomas, and lymphomas are examples of solidtumors. Table 1-1 shows different types of cancer and where they originate.1 In addition, cancers are defined by the type of cell or organ where they came from. For example, a cancer beginning in the colon is called colon cancer or coloncarcinoma. Cancers originating in certain cells found in the skin are called basal cell carcinomas

Not all cancers, however, form solid tumors. Cancers of the blood or bone marrow (hematologic malignancies), are often referred to a "liquid tumors" because they do not form a defined mass of abnormal cells like solid tumors do. Examples of liquid tumors include leukemia and multiple myeloma.

Table 1-1: Types of Cancer¹

Type of Cancer	Cell Type of Origin
Carcinoma	Skin or tissues that line or cover internal organs
Sarcoma	Bone, cartilage, fat muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue
Central nervous system cancer	Tissues of the brain and spinal cord
Lymphoma	Cells of the immune system
Leukemia andmyeloma	Blood forming tissue, such as the bone marrow

Causes of Cancer

Although every patient and family member wants to know what may have caused their cancer, the reason a particular person developed cancer is, in many cases, not well understood.

Cancer occurs because normal cells become abnormal due to harmful mutations in one or more genes.4 While the reasons that cells become abnormal are not completely understood, certain known risk factors increase the chance that genes will become mutated. Still, not all people who have risk factors will develop cancer—in fact, most people with a particular risk factor do not develop cancer. On the other hand, some people who have no known risk factors will get cancer. Separate risk factors may combine over time to cause normal cells to become abnormal.

Known Risk Factors for Cancer

Below are some known risk factors for cancer.

• • An individual person's risk of cancer increases with advancing age, even though many cancers can develop at any age.
• • Some gene mutations that increase the risk of cancer can be passed from parent to child.
• • Menopausal hormone therapy with estrogen and/or progestin can increase the risk of breast cancer.
• • Infection with some viruses and bacteria can increase the risk of cancer. Even so, cancer is not contagious. Examples of viruses and bacteria that can increase the risk of cancer include:
• o Infection with certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major cause of cervical cancer.
• o Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus is associated with an increased risk of lymphoma.
• o The Helicobacter pylori bacterium can cause some kinds of stomach cancer.
• • Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, sunlamps, and tanning booths can cause skin damage that increases the risk of skin cancer.
• • Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as radon gas, x-rays, and radioactive fallout, can increase the risk of many kinds of cancer. The risk of cancer from low-dose x-rays is very small.
• • Exposure to chemicals such as benzene, metals such as nickel, or substances such as asbestos has been shown to increase the risk of cancer.
• • Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or being overweight may increase the risk of developing many kinds of cancer.
• • Having more than two alcoholic drinks per day over many years may increase the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, or breast.
• • Tobacco smoking increases the risk of developing cancer in the lungs, throat, voice box, mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, stomach, pancreas, or cervix. People who smoke are also more likely to develop a cancer of the blood cells called acute myeloid leukemia. Use of snuff or chewing tobacco increases the risk of developing cancer of the mouth.

Treating Cancer

Because cancer is a complicated disease that takes many different forms, it is treated in many different ways. Treatment is tailored to the specific needs of the patient.

Cancer treatments vary depending upon four main factors:

• Type of cancer

• Stage of cancer

• Your overall condition

• Goal of treatment

Your doctor will determine the stage and grade of your cancer. Learn aboutstaging and grading of cancer.

The goals of cancer treatment also vary:

• Cure

• Prolong life

• Reduce unwanted symptoms or effects of the cancer

Your doctor may recommend one or more treatments, also referred to asmodalities, to achieve your goals. Increasingly, it is common to use several treatments at the same time or in sequence in order to prevent both local recurrence and recurrence throughout the body. This is referred to as a multi-modality treatment. Modalities include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, biological therapy, and hormone therapy. Chemotherapy is one of the best ways to help you achieve your treatment goals. Find out about treating cancer with chemotherapy.

Your doctor may also discuss combining your chemotherapy with other treatments. Learn about treating cancer in other ways.

Reasons to Be Optimistic

As you move beyond the initial shock of learning that you have cancer to begin the journey of surviving cancer, you have many good reasons to be optimistic. Science and medicine have made—and continue to make—tremendous progress in treating cancer and in making treatments more manageable, both physically and emotionally. Chemotherapy is one of the most significant advances in the history of medicine. For millions of people, it helps treat their cancer effectively and helps them enjoy full, productive lives. However, chemotherapy is not without side effects and risks. Learn about managingchemotherapy side effects

No one would call having cancer or undergoing chemotherapy a normal experience, but by proactively managing your treatment with your doctor, including potential side effects, you can help ensure that your life stays as close to normal as possible.

Don't forget: You are not alone. Fighting cancer is a team effort that involves family, friends, and your healthcare team.

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Mesotheloma : What You Need To Know About Mesotheloma

What Is Mesotheloma?

Mesotheloma is a type of cancer that affects the inner lining of the lungs commonly referred as pleura. Mesotheloma is a rather rare type of cancer that affects only about one in every 50,000 of the general population on the average. Although mesotheloma is rare, it is often hard to diagnose in its early stages, and far too often medical practitional have overlooked its causes and symptoms as its symptoms that it shows are quite similar to other lung ailments such as pneumonia.

Causes of Mesotheloma

What are the causes of mesotheloma? Mesotheloma is usually caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos where the tiny asbestos particles that floats within the air is inhaled into the body. People who are normally affected are those who worked in the manufacturing sectors that involves the use of asbestos.

As asbestos is a great insulator and a rather flexible material, it is often used in building materials such as roofs, cements as well as flooring materials. Although asbestos has been a great material, its use has been reduced and controlled since the last several decades after findings have shown that asbestos is lethal and is the main cause of mesotheloma. And also because the first symptom of mesotheloma only start to develop after a time span of about 20 to 50 years, its use has ever since been very widespread and therefore many people have been killed by mesotheloma.

How Does Asbestos Causes Mesotheloma

Asbestos inhaled over time causes the pleura, which is found all over the lungs, and in the covering the chest cavity could result in the accumulation of water in the internal linings of the lungs. Most exposed people never know they have water acumulation in their lungs as they shows no symptoms at all initially.

However, over time the water in the lining of the lungs becomes sticky and tend to stick together with the chest cavity causing pleural thickening. A thickened pleural prohibits the free movement of the lungs when one breathe in and out resulting in some degree of loss in lungs functionality, thereby causing breathing difficulties as well as shortness of breath.

Also as time passes, the asbestos in the pleura acts as an irritant and causes the growth of deformed malignant cells which then reproduce very rapidly and attack on other mesothelial cells. Eventually, this malformed cells becomes what is known as mesotheloma cancer.

Symptoms Of Mesotheloma

Generally the symptoms of mesothelioma could include one or more of the followings:

* Acute Shortness Of Breath
* Severe Cough
* Pain In The Chest
* Appetite Loss
* Easily Fatique


More severe symptoms where the cancer cells could have spread to other organs or other part of the body. Symptoms may include:

* Trouble Eating And Swallowing
* Blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
* Eyes and skins turns yellowish
* Swelling of the neck area and face

Mesotheloma Diagnosis and Treatment

Mesotheloma diagnosis can be overwhelmingly difficult as its symptoms are similar to other lung ailments. However, successful early diagnosis of mesotheloma greatly improves the chances of survival. Also thanks to the advance in research and technology, there are now many treatments available for mesotheloma ranging from the traditional surgery, immunotherapy to radiation as well as chemotherapy.

Despite of the many available form of treatments, chemotherapy has been proven to be the most successful in treating early stages of mesotheloma. The success rate has been more than 70% for the treatment of stage I and stage II mesotheloma in prolonging the life to 5 years or more.

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TIPS TO ELIMINATE STRESS

Almost everyone must have experienced stress, but would anyone be able to handle it well? Not necessarily. There are some people who already have the means to overcome the stress they experience, some others may be too protracted so that the impact of increasingly severe stress. Many of the experiences that offer a variety of ways to cope with stress, and of course that all is not necessarily suitable for everyone. Basically we have to maintain a balance ourselves in many ways to avoid stress, here are some tips that maybe you can try when you start feeling signs of stress and a sense of "emptiness" in living your activity. These tips my friend synthesis of various experiences and great people I ever met in this life.

• Look at water in the pond

The pool is meant here is the fish pond. Try to imagine when poked your head above water pool, what can you see? 1. You'll see the fish swimming freely. Now the analogy yourself such as fish. Basically, you have freedom, you are free to find happiness, then for what you continue to dissolve in grief and burden. 2. Crystal clear water you can see, hear and feel the coolness gemericiknya, this can help relax your mind. 3. You can see the shadow of your face, see that your face is so cute, so too bad if the sadness and fatigue are always visible.

• Sleeping with a different position than usual

There may be no direct relationship with stress, but how this can be tried because it can change the mood to rest and to provide a new atmosphere

• Eat your favorite foods

This method is mostly done, nobody likes to eat sweets when stressed, nobody likes to eat and there are also many who eat spicy food when strees. This interrupted individual taste. What is clear for some people to eat their favorite meals are able to restore their morale.

• Mop floors

A bit odd really. But this way I found to someone. Maybe your friends can try it. Originally by ngepel own room, rooms so clean, fragrant and comfortable to live in, this can enhance our mood and spirit for the rest we can get back. But it would be very useful also when the rooms of others were also in pelkan too ... hehehe. Add a reward!

• Walk away

Walking here in the context of walking alone. According to sources I encountered while walking we can express our resentment if we're upset or introspection. Many things also that we can meet when walking, may meet with people who are not more fortunate than us so it can add a sense of gratitude, or can also meet the wise man who actually gave us a lot of new spirit. Can also meet old friends so we can reminisce with the beautiful things first. Anyway the important moment is the moment of introspection, with introspection, we can find an appropriate way to address our problems.

• Create article

This is even stranger. People were told to write the stress instead? Where can! Upss wait, it is the tips that I dug from a successful writer. It turned out that by writing some of our feelings will channeled through the text. Feelings of sadness, anger, resentment will disappear after the write. I was different again, when I'm sad, upset, angry I write it in the form of a letter, but the letters keep me save it, and if one day I read the letters big enough to make me laugh, good laugh at myself and laugh events that occurred at that time.

• Look at photos of our parents

Parents are indeed remarkable spirit. Be thankful friend if both your parents are still there, because they can be the spirit for you. Surely you do not want to disappoint them though right? Make a friend's apartment away from their parents, these tips might be helpful to mengambalikan your spirit. I am inspired by the film 3 idiot, because I'm watching? I've watched it 9x. very inspiring ... but of course must be able to filter out the good, the good and the bad we take our raw waste. Ok.

• Rest, eat, and exercising regularly

Usually stress induced by our conditions of stable sodium absorption ratio, usually appear when the condition of our body fatigue. The hard workers who spend their everyday work, especially for those of you who run an Internet business, of course you all night vigil in front of the computer to work. There are times when you must pay attention to your body condition, with adequate rest in bed, maybe you can reduce tension in front of the computer. Sports are simply too important to stretch the muscles of our body. In addition to the sports we can maintain fitness and staminakita so it does not easily tired and stressed. This diet is also very important to be maintained, late meals and foods that do not meet nutritional needs can also trigger stress.

• Vacation

There are times when we need a holiday, whether with friends or family. You can also anywhere depending on individual taste. Vacation here you can eliminate fatigue on routine activity that you do.

• Prayer

Tips for last when all the ways you have to do is pray. Pray to God that provided health care, bring myself to Him, pray, and always say thanks for all the abundance of His blessings. It has a big influence so that you avoid the attack of severe stress.

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Can stress cause physical disorders in the human body?

Stress not only contains the ability to destroy the quality of our lives both mentally and emotionally, but stress can cause a number of serious physical disorders that are associated with recurrent stress and chronic stress. Most people do not understand this fact and thus continue to wear down both their bodies and mind not knowing how to deal with the root cause – stress.

For many people who leave stress untreated for years and years in their life, disorders like high blood pressure and diabetes begin to materialize and cause sickness. These two physical ailments can typically be taken care of with stress reduction techniques, but others are more serious which may lead to death.

One such serious disorder is heart disease. When a man or a woman has a sudden heart attack, it is often preceded by some sort of stressful event. For example, you will find statistics that show many more heart attacks in areas where there has been a large stressful event such as an earthquake, where hundreds or thousands of lives were affected by it.

Another heart related ailment that is stress related is called Angina. Angina is a heart muscle pain that is caused by a deficiency of oxygen reaching the heart muscle cells. When there is an increase in oxygen demand that coincides with narrowed cardiac arteries for example, angina is the result.

If you are living a very high stressed life or dealing with chronic stress problems then another physical ailment that you are in danger of is called diabetes mellitus. Chronic stress has been shown to precipitate insulin resistance. This contributes to the onset of diabetes.

Chronic stress also causes serious problems with the digestive system. In fact, digestion may be paused during the “fight or flight” response, and ongoing stress impedes its progress. The fight or flight response can come in the form of any type of event where your mind is in great fear.

When this happens, blood concentrations of sugars and fats rise during the stressful event, which puts a demand on the pancreas to supply insulin. Over time, the body becomes insulin-resistant.

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Holistic Drug Treatment Options

Drugs can be abused in many different ways and there is no typical scenario for all drug addicts. The types of drugs that are abused are countless and can include both street drugs and prescription drugs. Drug addicts are found in all parts of society, but regardless of the social background of an addict, recovering from an addiction is very hard. Traditional drug treatment programs, such as the well-known 12-step program, focus on the belief that substance addiction is a disease. This belief typically sets addicts up for failure because the first lesson taught in a treatment session is that addiction is a disease over which they have no control; therefore they believe that they can never become drug-free without lifelong support and treatment. Holistic drug treatment takes a completely different approach to the addiction, and offers freedom from such dependent thinking.

Holistic drug treatment was developed with the idea that addiction is not a disease, and that if addicts are ready, they can conquer their addictions. With the guidance and support of well-trained, experienced staff members at a Narconon holistic drug treatment center, addicts are able to regain control of their lives. Narconon is one the most successful holistic drug treatment centers in the nation, with a proven success rate of 76% of graduates choosing to remain drug-free after 5 years, while conventional treatment programs can boast a success rate of only 15-20%.

The Narconon holistic drug treatment program has great success because of the alternate approach to defeat drug addiction. Students begin the program with holistic drug detox, which rids their bodies of the residuals left behind from the drugs they’ve consumed. Such drug residues, if not removed from the body, can trigger drug cravings even years after the drug was last consumed, which can lead to a relapse. Removing the drug residues through holistic drug treatment reduces the chance of confronting future cravings.

In addition to holistic drug detox, the Narconon drug rehab program will teach students how to deal with the pressures of everyday life, how to practice self-control, and ultimately, how to defeat their addiction to drugs.

The purpose of the Narconon rehab program is to assist students in starting a new, drug-free life. Every student is unique and will require a different amount of time to satisfactorily complete the holistic drug treatment program. For this reason the Narconon program does not follow a strict timeline. While students in this program typically take 3-6 months the complete the program, the duration is entirely dependent on each student and their individual progress. Since the Narconon program is dedicated to the success of the addict, all portions of the rehabilitation treatment are included in the flat rate, regardless of the duration of time spent in rehab. That allows the addict and their loved ones to be able to focus on what is important during this very important process in their lives; recovery from the addiction.

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Holistic Alcohol Treatment and Rehab

Alcohol addiction is real and for those with the addiction, it may appear difficult to escape. However, when an alcoholic chooses to seek help, it may feel as if the options are limited. There are different schools of thought regarding the classification of alcoholism, and whether or not it is a disease. Most commonly, addicts subscribe to the belief that alcoholism is a disease that is beyond their control. Most rehab programs subscribe to the disease belief, which limits the choices for an alcoholic that seeks treatment, because a disease cannot be “cured”, it can only be “managed”. Holistic alcohol rehab is centered on the belief that alcoholism is not a disease and that a person who wishes to conquer his addiction can do so and is only limited by the barriers that he himself puts there.

Holistic alcohol treatment was developed to provide the opportunity for alcoholics to defeat their own addictions, without the crutch of claiming the inability to control their “diseases.” In traditional treatment programs that focus on the disease concept, graduates have a low chance of success because they are taught as their very first principle, that alcoholism is a disease over which they have no control. This immediately puts them on a path of apathy and despair. If they do not continue to attend meetings or receive treatment, they will be unable to control the urges and will surely relapse. At holistic alcohol treatment centers students begin their recovery with detoxification and are then taught how to understand and control their urges. Any student that chooses to attend alcohol rehab at Narconon participates in a holistic alcohol detox that removes as many residual chemicals from the body as possible, which means that the graduate is less likely to face recurrent cravings. Upon completion of holistic alcohol treatment, the former addict is equipped with the skills to successfully live an alcohol-free life.

Holistic alcohol rehab provides a powerful means for an alcoholic to overcome his addiction for good. Rather than treating alcoholism as a disease that controls the addict, holistic alcohol recovery relies on teaching clients to take responsibility for their own actions, to control their own decisions without reacting negatively to the stresses of life, and to learn to live life with hope for the future. Holistic alcohol treatment has documented success rates that far exceed the success rates of traditional disease-based alcoholism treatment. Narconon is a leader in the field of alcoholism treatment with 76% of its graduates choosing to remain off drugs and alcohol and become again happy and productive members of society.

If you are ready to conquer your alcohol addiction and to live alcohol-free for good, holistic alcohol rehab at a Narconon facility will teach you the skills you need to be successful.

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Can Holistic Addiction Treatment Work? What makes Holistic Addiction Treatment different?

It’s the same old story, yet another celebrity has entered rehab, again, or been arrested, again. Lindsey Lohan, the Olsen twins, Amy Winehouse, Brittney Spears, the list is endless. It seems a day doesn’t go by without at least one celebrity getting arrested for drug or alcohol abuse, or entering treatment for the umpteenth time. It seems addiction and entertainment have become intertwined. But you know better. You know addiction is no laughing matter and it’s more than just another headline to you. When addiction hits home, when the ugliness of drug or alcohol abuse become personal, you need real answers and real solutions, not just another empty promise.

A popular and common method of Addiction Treatment is to use drugs to combat drugs. Basically, in a medically supervised setting, clinical staff use a variety of drug therapies to combat the effects of withdrawal. But there is another approach, a more natural, highly effective approach that cleanses the system of drug residues while offering a step-by-step system for learning positive behaviors, replacing negative, addictive patterns with positive, life-changing techniques, which arm the recovering addict with the knowledge and certainty to lead a happy, addiction-free life.

The key is a holistic Drug Addiction treatment program that addresses the whole person, including the reasons, thought processes and methods of addiction, not just the chemical dependency. The Narconon program does exactly that. Through the program, the substance abuser undergoes a holistic detoxification process and learns to communicate effectively with others, defining a set of personal ethical standards to become a responsible and contributing member of the community. If that sounds like a tall order, it is. And it’s not an easy road. But the Narconon program has met with success time and again.

The program starts out with detoxification in a social setting where participants, called “students,” take part in a non-medical, drug-free program of prescribed exercise, sauna and vitamin and mineral supplements. This first step serves to remove the student from the negative environments that encourage substance abuse, discontinue use of alcohol and other drugs, and begin the process of ridding their bodies of all toxic drug and alcohol residues. Students are closely monitored throughout the process and staff members keep track of withdrawal symptoms, vital signs and even hours of sleep and food and fluid intake. The staff offers techniques to improve comfort, reduce symptoms and increase awareness. Students don’t move on to the rest of the program until they are free of physical symptoms of acute withdrawal.

Once the detox process is complete, students move into a series of classes designed to examine the old behaviors, thought processes and lifestyle choices that led to addiction. In the process, students learn new ways of thinking and living, with a focus on personal responsibility as each student takes an active part in drafting their own recovery plan. This is not a one-size-fits-all Drug Addiction Treatment. Instead, the Narconon program is highly personal, with staff members working with students through group and individual activities. Students work through a series of “courses” which teach important life skills, and encourage the students to create their own set of values and ethics based on social “norms.”

The Drug Rehab program doesn’t stop there, since the focus is on effective and addiction-free reentry to society. The reentry plan is a therapeutic contract that specifies strategies that will be applied by the student once he returns to society. The first step of the reentry program is an assessment of the student’s participation in the detox and life course processes. Next, the focus is on involving family and loved ones, establishing healthy relationships. Third in this Dynamic Assessment is helping the student evaluate and understand the availability of drug-free individuals in their community, as well as resources for drug-free groups, further establishing healthy, addiction-free social behaviors. This is also the stage where work experience, skills and assessments of vocational abilities are done and an action plan created for seeking further training if needed, and ultimately, employment. Next, students make plans to engage in volunteer work and finally the plan addresses housing, transportation and financial needs.

When the graduate leaves the Narconon center, they are fully prepared to enter their new life, addiction free. But the care doesn’t stop there. Staff members from the Department of Success follow up on a regular basis, ensuring the graduate has continued support. Should the graduate not move successfully into their new life, the staff is there to help, addressing each situation on an individual basis. In serious cases, the graduate is encouraged to return to the center to work through the difficulties.

With the Narconon program, you aren’t going to find a cookie-cutter answer to addiction treatment. Instead you will find the most effective drug rehab program in the world, with a program that saves lives, doesn’t kick their participants out if they aren’t “cured” in 28 days, doesn’t replace one addiction with another, but instead treats the whole person, body mind and soul in a non-sectarian, non-judgmental environment. The end result? Graduates who have successfully achieved the stated goal of the Narconon program: A drug free individual contributing to society and leading a happy, drug-free life.

About the Author:

Karina Kaufman writes articles on drug addiction treatment. For more information on the Narconon program, and the New Life Detoxification program, visit www.drugrehab.net. If you plan to reproduce this article, please include the link above.

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