Cancer
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, below the Adam's apple. The thyroid makes and stores hormones that help regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and the rate at which food is converted into energy. Thyroid hormones also help children grow and develop. The thyroid uses iodine, a mineral found in some foods and in iodized salt, to make several of its hormones.
Renal cell cancer, also called renal adenocarcinoma, or hypernephroma, can often be cured if it is diagnosed and treated when still localized to the kidney and to immediately surrounding tissue. The probability of cure is directly related to the stage or degree of tumor dissemination. Even when regional lymphatics or blood vessels are involved with tumor, a significant number of patients can achieve prolonged survival and probable cure.
What is cancer ?
Cancer is one of several disorders which can result when the process of cell division in a person's body gets out of control. Such disorders produce tissue growths called 'tumors'. A cancer is a cer-tain kind of tumor.
Cancer attacks one in every four people.
Normal Cell Division
National TB Control Programme
1. National TB Control Programme:
The NTP is an approach within the national health system to control TB.
2.The Aims of the NTP:
The Aims of the National
Tuberculosis Control Programme are;
(i) to decrease the spread of TB infection in the community, thereby expediting the elimination of TB from society,
In the study of cancer, never have the concomitant factors that can transform a healthy cell into a malignant cell been so well understood as they are today; for this, we have mainly molecular biology, genomics and post-genomics to thank. Today we are at last beginning to understand the underlying mechanisms by which cancer develops. This scientific and medical progress has led to changes in our therapeutic arsenal, holding out strong hopes that one day we will be able to eradicate the disease or at least the suffering it causes.
Veronica had a mammogram on the advice of her GP; she had been unwell for months and had pain in one breast. She had to wait three months for an appointment - she was 45, too young to have been invited for routine breast screening. After the mammogram, she was recalled for a scan and a biopsy. Then she was told she had "ductal carcinoma in situ" (DCIS).
It is hard to say precisely how many lives Sir Richard Doll has saved in his career, but a million may considered a conservative estimate. The true figure probably lies in the steel filing cabinets in a small office at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford of among the stacks of medical journals that surround round him, soon to be packed in crates and transported to a sparkling new glass and concrete home in a different part of the city. Sir Richard does not plan to visit the new building very often - he doesn't drive, and the new place isn't within walking distance.
Experts W110 study the causes of cancer believe that a large number of cancer deaths could be prevented by making sensible changes to our diet. In fact, many scientists believe that up to 70 percent of all cancers are caused by diet-related factors.
Dietary Fat and Cancer
Magnitude of the Problem
- 500,000 new cases identified each year
- 80% of the new cases occur in developing countries
- At least 200,000 women die of cervical cancer each year
- Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide
- YET-Cervical cancer is a preventable disease
Relative percentage of common cancers
Cervix 12
Breast 30
Oral cavity 13
Ovary
Leukaemia/Lymphoma 5
Oesophagus 4
Others 31
What is cervical Cancer?
- It is a cancer of the Female reporductive tract
The potentially curable nature of lymphoma, often even in advanced stages, sets this malignancy apart from many others. However, a significant number of patients will suffer a relapse following successful initial treatment. Of these patients, many will respond well to further treatment to salvage a cure. Unfortunately, many others will perish from the disease.
Even as some scientists are seeking to understand how cancer works, in order to treat it more effectively, others prefer a more robust approach. They are exploring ways of killing cancer cells by heating them up without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. Although various such treatments have been tried in the past, advances in medicalimaging technology (which allow surgeons to see inside a body without opening it up) and improvements in the treatments themselves, mean that such treatments are receiving more and more attention.
November 28 2005 Monday
Lung cancer develops when toxic substances such as tobacco smoke damage lung cells. The cells lose their ability to regulate growth, so they divide and multiply at an abnormal rate. In time, a mass of cells called a tumour develops. When this tumour turns malignant or cancerous, it starts to invade and destroys surrounding tissue.
The Cancer Institute, National Healthcare Group (NHG) and the National University Hospital under NHG have successfully performed the first
Kidney cum Bone Marrow Transplant in Asia.
Patient's story
Mr Koh Hock Heng, 43 years old, had been suffering from biopsy proven IgA nephropathy since 1990, which led to end stage renal failure in 2001.
Globally, cancer is a growing problem. From 2000-2005 a significant rise in the number of cases is anticipated worldwide. At present, from a world population of 6 billion about 10 million cases are diagnosed annually with 6 million deaths. However, 50 per cent will occur in developing countries, which have 5 per cent of the resources to treat it. This figure will rise to 20 million by 2020 from a world population of 12 billion, with 12 million deaths. Of these 20 million cases, 70 per cent will occur in developing countries.
Reducing the risks of developing cancer :
Most lung cancers occur in smokers, but nonsmoker Dana Reeve's situation isn't as uncommon as it appears.
Like Reeve, widow of "Superman" star Christopher Reeve, 1 in 5 women diagnosed with the disease never lit a cigarette, doctors say. Yet they share an unfortunate stigma with cancer patients who smoked.
"The underlying assumption is, you were a smoker and you caused this, therefore you're not going to get my sympathy," said Tom Labrecque Jr., who started a foundation to raise awareness after his nonsmoker father died several years ago of the disease.
If slowing down isn't your cup of tea, consider this - slowly drinking and holding green tea in your mouth for a few seconds at a time keeps high levels of antioxidants in your mouth and throat. Scientists believe this could be why green tea drinkers get fewer oral and esophageal cancers than other people. What a great reason to relax over a cup.
The body is composed of trillions of cells, and in most tissues, they are gradually but constantly renewed. This is normally a controlled process, so that overall, just enough new cells are produced to replace the old, dead ones. Problems can occur when new, abnormal cells are formed whose multiplication cannot be controlled by the body.
What is Cancer?
Q: What is Cancer?
A: Cancer is a large group of diseases characterised by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.
Q: What Causes Cancer?
The Facts
Normal cells have a life cycle in which they grow and replace themselves in a controlled manner. When cells start to grow abnormally and uncontrollably, cancer develops.
Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not die and replace themselves. They continue to grow and multiply as abnormal cells, quickly forming a mass of tissue called a tumour. Cancer cells may travel to various parts of the body where they may replace normal cells and tissues.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in children after congenital abnormalities and road traffic accidents. In Singapore approximately 100 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.
Common Types of Child Cancer
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children. It occurs in about 60 per cent of all childhood cancers. This is followed by brain tumours which occurs in approximately 20 percent of cases.
Other Cancers Seen In Children Are:
Neuroblastoma a cancer of specialised nerve cells
