Open Access Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine
Opinion(ISSN: 2644-1217)
Basic Health Series: Cancer Volume 1 - Issue 1
Uqbah Iqbal* and Simon Smail
School of History, Suite P4, Level 31, AIA Cap Square Tower, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, 50100 Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Received: October 10, 2018; Published: October 15, 2018
*Corresponding author: Uqbah Iqbal, Life Planner, School of History, Suite P4, Level 31, AIA Cap Square Tower, Jalan Munshi
Abdullah, 50100 Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This book explains cancer. The name of cancer is not only used
to describe one disease, but also for all types of diseases comprising
at least 200 different diseases. Many types of cancer can be cured
quite easily if the initial treatment is given. More than half of existing
cancer can be treated now though others are difficult to treat
when in severe stages. All cancers have some of the same features.
First, some cells in one part of the body begin to grow in irregular
ways. The cells divide and multiply very fast. This results in the
accumulation of abnormal cells called tumors. Second, abnormal
cells can spread to other nearby tissues. Sometimes the cells can
also spread to other parts of the body far from the original cancer
cells. Third, the cells themselves have an abnormal structure. Some
tumors are called benign and not cancerous. Normal mumps are
benign tumors. Something that tumors will become cancerous only
when the cells function abnormally. Most tumors may be triggered
by a chemical or a virus called a carcinogen. This carcinogen
interferes with DNA-controlled substances.
When cancerous cells produce tumors, they will continue to
divide very quickly. The tumor will grow bigger. Cancer cells will
also spread to other parts via tissue or grow in other parts of the
body, across the natural division of one type of tissue to another. For
example, cancer that starts in the lungs can spread into the muscles
or bones in the chest wall. This means that if a tumor is untreated, it
will become large and weighs up to several kilograms. Cancer cells
sometimes spread into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream,
the cancer cells will break down and move in blood circulation to
other parts of the body. New cancer tumors will begin to grow in
other places. This is called metastasis. The same situation can also
occur if cancer cells are present in the lymph vessels. Lymphatic
salts are a type of drainage system for the body. Cancer will attack
one in three people in a population, although some types of cancer
are more serious than others. Cancer can attack individuals at
any age level, although in infants and children it is rare. Cancer is
more common in middle-aged adults. Parents have the highest risk
of developing cancer. The outcome of a cancerous half consists of
individuals over fifty.
There are many types of cancer. In addition, there are also
many factors that cause cancer. Sometimes certain types of cancer
are inherited in a family. Some individuals may be born with higher
risk of developing cancer when adults grow up. Nevertheless, most
cancers are now caused by many different carcinogens and any one
of these carcinogens may cause cancer. For example, tar in cigarette
smoke is now known to cause at least nine out of ten lung cancers.
But carcinogenes rarely cause cancer only once exposure to
chemicals. Cancer is more likely to be due to repeated exposure and
for long periods of exposure to chemicals. The duration of exposure
to carcinogens and cancer can take a very long time, maybe ten
years or more. Carcinogens are not only found in cigarette smoke,
but it also exists in the chemicals used and possibly in certain foods.
Irradiation in the form of X-rays or from radioactive substances
may also act as a carcinogen. Some types of cancers may occur on
the skin, though it is also a common place for benign proteins such
as moles and small growths called papilomas.