Healthoma

Q. I am 55 and have been smoking forever. Is it too late to give it up to reduce the risk of Lung Cancer?

A. No. It’s never too late to give up smoking to reduce lung cancer risk and other related complications.

You also need to know one fact that it takes a smoker 15 years to come to a stage where his/her risk factors can come down to that of a non-smoker. It’s not to discourage you but to open your eyes to the harms caused by smoking.

Q. How to Avoid Skin Cancer?

A. The best way to avoid skin cancer is to avoid exposure to direct sun. A sunscreen lotion, umbrella, proper eye care should be a top priority for people who have to spend a lot of time in the sun. People who come in contact of direct sun during the course of the day are at an increased risk than people who stay indoors.

Continue reading “FAQs Regarding Avoiding Various Types of Cancer”

It has not been established as to what causes ovarian cancer. It refers to a malignant growth in one or both ovaries. Ovarian cancer has few early warning signs or symptoms so it is generally found only when you have medical tests for other illnesses or maybe a surgery like a hysterectomy.

While the cause of ovarian cancer cannot be determined there are a few risk factors that must be considered. Genetic factors are a main risk factor as if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer you are more at risk.

Certain women carry mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene and are seen to be at high risk for developing ovarian cancer and that too at a very early age. Older women and women who have never had children are at risk.

If you already have a history of say breast or colon cancer then the chances of you developing ovarian cancer are also higher.

Continue reading “Outing Ovarian Cancer”

Also known as cancer of the testes and germ cell tumor, testicular cancer cannot be prevented but its early detection helps the treatment to be successful.

Some risk factors for the possibility of testicular cancer are having an un descended testicle or an abnormal development here. A telling factor is if this cancer has affected males in your family.

Men with Klinefelter’s syndrome have smaller testicles and this is also a risk factor. Researchers have also found that white males are at higher risk of developing this cancer. Men who have already had testicular cancer are at risk of having the other testicle also affected.

Continue reading “Testicular Cancer Set Straight”

One of the ways to treat cancer is chemotherapy. While undergoing chemotherapy a patient may face certain side effects.

Anemia is one of them. Chemotherapy leads to anemia and anemia reduces energy level and may affect the patient’s ability to get the maximum benefit from the cancer care and treatment that he/she is undergoing.

Anemia means to have lower-than-normal number of red cells in the blood. Red blood cells are important because of their role in carrying oxygen from the lungs to all the cells in the body.

And since when cancer cells have started to multiply the RBC is not able to handle oxygen supply properly.

Some of the primary signs of anemia are shortness of breath, generally feeling week and dull and fatigue, pain the chest, headache, inability to concentrate, dull skin, loss of sex drive etc.

Continue reading “How to Manage Chemotherapy Induced Anemia?”

Treating cancer involves removing and/or destroying cancer cells from the body. This can be achieved by several methods – Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, going under surgeon’s knife, hormone therapy and biological therapy.

Which type of treatment to take or choose depends upon number of factors, like the type of cancer, stage of cancer and age of the patient have an important role to play.

Hormone Therapy is applied in combination with Radiotherapy or Chemotherapy. And it’s generally applied when a person is affected with breast or prostrate cancer.

To reduce the amount of estrogen or testosterone in the body one either goes for removal of the affected parts by way of surgery or takes chemo.

Continue reading “Which Option Should One Choose While Treating Cancer”

The incidence of nasal cancer is quite rare and men are more likely to be affected than women. It constitutes about 0.5% of cancer cases and occurs more commonly in people of lower economic status.

More cases of the disease have been observed in Asia and other eastern countries than in Western countries but perhaps due to better diagnosis the number of cases is rising all over the world.

Nasal cancer is caused by a number of risk factors. The use of tobacco in any form leads to this cancer.

The more the use, the greater the risk. If you’ve had a transplant and you’re taking antirejection drugs it will increase the risk.

AIDS also lowers your body’s immunity and increases the chances of cancer. Sometimes viral infections cause bacteria to enter the nose and change the cells into cancerous ones.

Continue reading “Nosing Out Nasal Cancer”

Researchers have speculated that you are more at risk of getting cancer once you hit your fifties 65 is the median age for all types of cancers. Mortality due to cancer is also higher for older people than younger ones.

Cancer can, of course, affect anybody, irrespective of age, but the chances of you getting it increase as you grow older.

There is a lot of guesswork about why this happens. One reason trotted out is that older people have been exposed to more carcinogens such as sun, pollution, and stress and that their cells have had longer to mutate. However, this doesn’t explain the strange genetic abnormalities found in tumors.

Continue reading “Are the Elderly More Likely To Get Cancer?”