All about Cancer: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

A 2020 report by the National Cancer Registry Programme estimated that the number of cancer cases is likely to rise from 13 lakh in 2020 to about 15 lakh by 2025 (1).
While stats and figures on cancer have always been concerning, information on the disease can be greatly beneficial for its patients and their families.

So, without further ado, let’s get into this comprehensive guide on cancer.

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What is a cancer disease?

Cancer is a name assigned to a collection of various related diseases. In all kinds of cancer, some of the body’s cells start to divide without stopping, thereby spreading to surrounding tissues. Therefore, it can begin at almost anywhere in one’s body, given that it is made up of a trillion tissues. Even though breast cancer can transfer from its place of origination to other parts of the body, this form of cancer is still known as breast cancer.

Types of cancer you must know about

There are more than 200 types of cancer known to us presently. Listing down each of the different types of cancer can be extremely challenging.

So, here is a rundown on the general categories with a list of the more specific types of cancers in each category:

Sarcoma

This cancer begins in the cartilage, bone, fat, blood vessels, muscle, or other supportive or connective tissues. Here are the types of Sarcoma cancers:

Osteosarcoma
Liposarcoma
Synovial sarcoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Angiosarcoma
Fibrosarcoma

Carcinoma

It is the type of cancer that begins in the human skin or in tissues that cover internal organs.

So, alongside one’s skin, this cancer is caused in the lungs, pancreas, ovaries, and colon. Some of its types are as under:

Epithelial
Basal cell carcinoma
Melanomas
Adenomas
Papillomas

Lymphoma and myeloma

These are the kind of cancers that begin development in the cells of the human immune system. Named below are the types of this cancer:

lymphoproliferative lymphomas
B-cell lymphomas
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphomas
T-cell lymphomas

Leukaemia

Leukaemia begins to develop in blood-forming tissue, like the bone marrow. As a result, it allows a large number of abnormal blood cells to enter the blood. Some of its types are mentioned below:

Myelogenous leukaemia
Hairy-cell leukaemia
Lymphoblastic leukaemia
T-cell leukaemia
Myelogenous leukaemia

Central nervous system cancers

These cancers originate in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. Here are the types of this cancer:

Gliomas
Primitive neuroectodermal tumours
Pituitary adenomas
Meningiomas
Primary CNS lymphomas

Moreover, there are some common cancers in men, women, and children. Highlighted below are these types of cancer:

Types of Cancer in Men

Colorectal, prostate, and lung cancer are the most common ones in adult males. Prostate cancer primarily affects men aged 65 years or older.

Lung cancer is so common among men because of their smoking habits. Smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and other unhealthy lifestyle practices are responsible for causing colorectal cancer among men.

Types of Cancer in Women

Breast cancer is extremely common in Indian women. As per reports around 27% of all reported cancers in females correspond to breast cancer.

Similarly, cervical cancer cases are all too common as well. The chances of facing ovarian cancer are at their highest when women are aged between 40 and 45 years.

Types of cancer in children:

Leukaemia is the most widespread type of cancer affecting children. Other common occurrences include brain tumours and lymphomas. Fortunately, around 80% of cancers afflicting children are curable.

Symptoms of cancer in women and men

Symptoms of cancer in men and women depend upon the type of cancer, location, and the region where cancer cells have spread.

For instance, breast cancer can result in a lump in the breast, whereas metastatic breast cancer indicates signs of extreme fatigue (if spread to lungs), pain (bones), or seizures (brain).

However, the American Cancer Society presents several warning signs and early symptoms of cancer in the body.

Alteration in bladder or bowel habits
Abnormal bleeding or discharge (such as a sore that oozes material and will not heal)
A sore throat that does not heal
Difficulty swallowing or chronic indigestion
Thickening or lump in body parts like testicles or breasts
Nagging hoarseness or cough
An evident change in the colour, thickness, shape, and size of a mole or wart.
Unexplained and sudden weight loss or loss of appetite
Persistent nausea, vomiting, or fatigue
Recurring infections
Low-grade fevers (may or may not be persistent)
A new and unusual kind of pain in parts of the body

When experiencing any of these common symptoms of cancer, it should prompt an individual to seek medical attention at the earliest.

Many cancers will indicate some of the above-mentioned general symptoms but have one or more symptoms that are more specific to the cancer type.

For instance, lung cancer has the general symptom of pain, with the pain being located in the chest.

Additionally, patients may experience unusual bleeding, especially when they cough. This type of cancer also results in extreme fatigue and shortness of breath.

As there are numerous types of cancer with several non-specific, and in some cases more specific signs, an ideal way to learn about symptoms is to research.

You can learn about common symptoms of cancer for a specific body part by tapping into online resources, such as this guide.

To gain a better understanding, we always suggest that you consult a medical healthcare professional whenever you suffer from one or more of the symptoms listed above.

Additionally, annual screening tests should also ensure quick detection of cancer, thereby improving your chances of recovery.

A closer look at cancer cells

At this point, you must be wondering what cancer cells are and how they differ from normal cells. Cancer cells differ from normal cells so that they can grow out of control and become invasive.

Additionally, cancer cells are less specialised than normal cells. This means that while normal cells mature into specific cell types with distinct functions, cancer cells do not. Therefore, they continue to divide perpetually.

Further, as cancer develops, this growth eventually disrupts the orderly process of cell division. Cells increasingly become more and more abnormal, damaged, or old cells manage to survive, while new cells are formed when not needed.

As a result, these extra cells constantly divide, which may ultimately lead to growth formations in masses of tissues called tumours.

While many cancers form solid tumours, blood cancer, like leukaemia, usually does not form any solid tumours. Moreover, cancerous tumours are malignant, implying that they can invade or spread into nearby tissues.

Additionally, with the growth in tumours, cancer cells may break off and travel to different parts of the body via blood and form new tumours at a distant location from the original tumour.

On the other hand, benign tumours do not undergo such a spread. When removed, benign tumours cannot grow back, unlike malignant tumours.

What are the general causes of cancer?

Many factors can cause cell abnormalities that are linked to cancer development. Some causes of cancer disease still remain unknown, while other cancers have lifestyle or environmental triggers. In fact, cancer may even develop from more than one known cause. Additionally, some cancers can be influenced by an individual’s genetic composition.

Therefore, in most cases, it is nearly impossible to trace cancer to the initiating event that caused it. However, research provides a number of likely causes that alone or alongside other factors lead to the development of this disease. Given below is a list of major or main causes of cancer:

Exposure to chemical or toxic compounds: Presently, there exist 66 potential carcinogenic chemicals, such as benzene, tobacco smoke, nickel, benzidine, asbestos, vinyl chloride, etc. Exposure to these products can mutate cells and cause cancerous growth.
Pathogens: Many bacteria can be possible agents, such as HPV, EBV, hepatitis viruses, Merkel cell polyomavirus, Helicobacter pylori, etc.
Ionising radiation: Radon, UV rays from sunlight, uranium, radiation from beta, gamma, alpha, and other X-ray-emitting sources.
Genetics: Several specific cancers are linked to human genes, such as ovarian, prostate, breast, skin, colorectal, and melanoma.

Regardless of the underlying cause, cancer always causes the degeneration of cells. However, you must note that the above is not an all-inclusive listing as specific causes routinely get added as technology progresses and research advances.

Diagnosis of cancer

Some cancers can be diagnosed by way of routine examinations. The first step of early diagnosis of cancer is taking a physical exam and presenting an accurate medical history to a healthcare professional.

Subsequently, the medical caregiver will arrange a number of tests to determine the type of cancer and its location on or in one’s body.

Moreover, caregivers will require several blood studies to gain additional information, such as electrolyte levels and a complete blood count.

Then, healthcare professionals use imaging studies, like CT scans, X-rays, endoscopy, ultrasounds, and MRI scans, to detect abnormalities in the body.

These tests act as a resourceful tool for accurately localising these abnormalities and therefore present presumptive evidence for the diagnosis of cancer.

In the case of a definitive lab diagnosis of cancer, a tissue sample is taken out in a procedure known as a biopsy. A pathologist then analyses this sample and examines if it is cancerous and the type of cancer.

Ultimately, the specialist estimates how extensive the cancer is in the body by determining the stage of the disease.

Here, localised cancer is referred to as an early stage. When cancer spreads from the site of origin to other issues, it is known as an advanced stage. The table below highlights the various stages of cancer:

Stage of cancer	Implication
Stage 0	Carcinoma in situ or no cancer, only the presence of abnormal cells that can potentially be cancerous.
Stage I	Cancer is small and confined to just one area. This is an early stage of cancer.
Stage II & III	Cancer is larger and has grown into surrounding tissues or lymph nodes.
Stage IV	Cancer has spread to other and distant parts of the body. This is called metastatic or advanced cancer.

Understanding which test helps in the diagnosis of cancer is critical when you suspect affliction with the condition.

Treatment for cancer

The treatment of cancer depends upon the type of the disease and its stage in the body. In some cases, cancer’s diagnosis and treatment may take place at the same time when a patient’s cancer is surgically removed for the biopsy of the tissue.

Additionally, patients may receive a unique protocol or treatment for their cancer. However, most treatments entail one or more of the following components:

Surgery to remove the tissue
Chemotherapy
Radiation treatment for cancer
A combination of the above treatments

Patients generally undergo variations of these treatments for curing their disease. In the case of a patient who cannot be cured by surgery, he/she will receive a combination therapy, i.e., the composition of which entirely depends on the type and stage of cancer.

Furthermore, healthcare professionals may suggest a patient to undergo palliative therapy. This is a medical care or treatment to reduce the symptoms of this disease when the patient cannot be cured. It uses the same treatments described above to improve and extend the quality of life of a terminally ill patient.

Other risk factors

Recently, several other risk factors of cancer have been found to increase the chance of cancer development in one’s body (1). The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies red meat, like lamb, beef, and pork, as potential causes of cancer.

Additionally, their list of carcinogenic items also includes processed meat, such as preserved, salted, cured, and smoked meat. Other risk factors of cancer include lack of exercise, obesity, hormonal imbalance, and chronic inflammation.

Prevention of cancer

Most experts assert that many cancers can be prevented, or their risk can be reduced. Cancer prevention, thus, begins by avoiding its potential causes.

First and foremost, to prevent any kind of cancer, it is advised to stop (or better, never start) smoking tobacco. Moreover, avoiding excessive sunlight and carcinogenic toxins and chemicals can significantly reduce the chance of developing cancer.

Individuals working in close contact with cancer-causing agents (such as X-ray technicians, chemical workers, asbestos workers, and ionising radiation researchers, etc.) must follow the prescribed safety precautions and minimize exposure to these compounds.

Furthermore, alongside professional medical assistance, a patient can try supplementary treatment using natural remedies for cancer.

Substances like broccoli, ginseng, green tea, soybeans, grapes, lycopene, and aloe vera, along with a balanced diet, can greatly improve one’s health when battling this disease.

Frequently Asked Questions

All

What cancer does to the body?

This disease allows cells to divide uncontrollably. As a result, this abnormal development of cancer cells leads to tumours, damage to the immune system, and several other impairments that can be fatal.

Which is the most painful cancer?

Cancer spreading to the bone can be the most painful. Such a type of cancer is often referred to as osteosarcoma. A tumour pressing on nerves around the bones releases chemicals that irritate its surrounding area, which causes pain.