Nov 30
As you’re likely aware, cancer is a deadly disease which claims millions of lives each year and which, unfortunately, even with hundreds of organizations from places all over the world racing to find a cure, doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. As you might suspect there are hundreds of websites offering information and advice about cancer, but rarely will you find the grounding information in an understandable and non-medical format. From learning about what cancer is to how you could get it, cancer is certainly a common topic. This article is an introduction to cancer in non-medical terms which will help you learn the basics about this horrific disease.
What is Cancer?
With so much written about cancer over the last couple of years we can easily get confused with the tricky medical terms and information overload. In the simplest terms cancer is any one of a very large number of diseases where your body’s cells don’t work the way they should. Normally the cells in your body have a complete life cycle: they are born, they grow and then they die to make way for new cells. With cancer your normal cells change and then grow in an uncontrolled way (i.e. they don’t die like they are supposed to) then they clump together with other nearby cancerous cells to form tumors (pronounced: too-mers). Some of these tumors eventually are able to attack and destroy the normal cells around them thereby damaging your body’s healthy tissues. And that in a nutshell is what cancer is, but how do we get cancer in the first place?
What Are My Chances of Getting Cancer?
First of all you should know that anyone can get cancer. It doesn’t matter how old you are, your gender, what your ethnic background is or where you live. The truth is at this point doctors still don’t know for sure why some people get cancer and others don’t. Now lets dispel a myth: As far as we know you can’t catch cancer from someone else, it’s not contagious like a cold or flu bug. That being said, there are certain lifestyle choices and other factors that can increase your risk of getting cancer. Unhealthy habits like not eating healthily, drinking too much alcohol each day and smoking cigarettes or cigars could greatly increase your risk of getting certain types of cancer. And there are a number of other things that can lead to getting cancer as well: spending too much time in the sun without sufficient sun protection; repeatedly having severe sunburns; or just having a family history of cancer can put you at risk as well.
In closing, cancer is actually a group of many related diseases that all have to do with abnormal growth in our cells. It’s not contagious, but there are certain things, some that you can control and some that you can’t, which could increase your risk of getting cancer. I hope this brief introductory article has helped you understand just what cancer is and some of the ways that you could be at risk of getting it. And finally I would just like to say my thoughts and prayers are with you if you are (or you know someone who is) suffering with one of these horrible diseases and I hope you find solace with the loved ones with you.
I hope this helps you understand more about 1healtharticles.com/find/health/conditions-and-diseases/cancer/ cancer.
Have a super day!
Mark Meyers
P.S. Thanks for reading this article. I hope you’ve learned something new. I run an an informational health based website that is stuffed full of all manner of 1healtharticles.com/find/health health tips and advice. To take advantage of this great free information please check out my site at:
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Nov 30
Each day a huge number of men (something in the region of 13,000 in the US alone) call to see their doctor with a variety of problems associated with urination and come away having been told that they are suffering from an enlarged prostate.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH, to give it its proper medical names, is an extremely common and treatable problem seen in many men over the age of 65 and is suffered by as many as half of all men in their sixties and ninety percent of men in their seventies and eighties.
But what causes this condition which is a simple part of the natural aging process and is as common as your hair turning grey with age?
The simple answer is that, despite all the advances in modern medicine, we don’t know. We do, however, have enough evidence to start to unravel the mystery.
Men are more likely to suffer from BPH if their father, or a brother, has suffered from an enlarged prostate. This suggests that there is, at least in part, a genetic component to the problem.
One theory here is that genetic instructions given to the cells of the prostate to control its growth during puberty are again activated in later life and either cause further growth in their own right or make the cells of the prostate more sensitive to hormones which promote growth.
We also know that men who have their testes removed at an early age (before puberty) do not suffer from BHP. There is therefore a link between the aging of the testes and the development of an enlarged prostate.
Although the exact role played by the testes is not clear we know that men produce both the male hormone testosterone and small quantities of the female hormone estrogen throughout life. With increasing age however the quantity of testosterone present in the blood decreases although the level of estrogen does not fall in the same proportion. The theory, supported to some extent by research carried out on animals, is that the higher proportion of estrogen present in the prostate promotes the activity of other hormones which are responsible for cell growth.
Although this theory has been around for some time now researchers have found it somewhat difficult to explain satisfactorily the link between the theory and the fact that the removal of the testes before puberty results in a failure to develop the problem of an enlarged prostate.
The final, and perhaps at present most credible, theory is that an enlarged prostate is caused by the presence of a hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
We know that DHT plays a crucial role in the development of the sex organs during pregnancy and that it is also largely responsible for the development of facial hair, the deepening of the voice and the development of the prostate during puberty.
DHT is derived from testosterone and is found in the prostate where it is believed to play a role in the growth of the prostate gland. However, as testosterone levels drop with age the body’s ability to produce DHT does not appear to diminish and indeed DHT accumulates in the prostate and continues to promote growth. It is also interesting to note that men who lose their ability to produce this hormone derived from testosterone do not develop enlarged prostate glands.
Although it may be some years yet before researchers uncover the exact cause of BPH. While it is almost certainly the result of hormonal changes resulting from the aging process, the precise nature of these changes and the effects which they trigger remain something of a mystery today.
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Nov 30
Like it or not, humans are vain creatures. One of the top fears of a cancer patient, beyond the thought of losing life, is the concern over losing hair. Since cancer treatment is half medicine and half attitude, overcoming the vain concerns is key in most treatment plans. Here’s where good wigs can come into play, but for many, the expense is great.
Through American Cancer Society sponsorship programs and even through agencies like Locks of Love, anyone can get involved in helping make sure high-quality wigs get to the patients who need them. Wearing a wig is maybe not the same as having a full head of one’s own hair, but if a high quality wig is offered, the only one who is likely to know the difference will be the person wearing it. Plus, wigs can even be fun, whimsical and fantastic for those who don’t face treatment.
Wigs of today are not the same as they were in years gone by. High quality wigs look natural, mimic genuine colors and are fitted correctly to a person’s head so a natural appearance is presented. Super high quality wigs can cost hundreds of dollars though, so for the cancer patient, the expense can be prohibitive.
Youngsters who have faced hair loss can be helped through organizations such as Locks of Love or Wigs for Kids. Locks of Love provides wigs made of human hair for optimum natural appearances. There are even programs tailored especially for adults and those who face hair loss for other medical reasons.
Supporting agencies that provide wigs to those in need is fairly simple for anyone to do. Most American Cancer Society branches, for example, take donations for their wig programs. The branches provide fittings and wigs free of charge to patients who cannot afford them. Everything from a $1 to $1,000 and beyond helps and just about every penny donated stays local, and monies can even be earmarked for set programs.
Locks of Love takes donations of money and hair. Donors of hair all over America and beyond give to this program by growing their locks to a set length and having them chopped for the wig creation organization. The hair is then shipped to the agency, which processes it for use in wigs for youngsters who need them.
When people look good, they tend to feel good. For the cancer patient, attitude can be half the battle. The horrors of the disease alone can be hard for some to face, but the hair loss that goes along with it can be a blow that’s hard for many to take. To get involved in donating full wigs, hair or money to the cause, check with agencies such as Lock of Love or the American Cancer Society for programs in your region.
A wig might seem like a simplistic thing to give a cancer patient, but it’s not. In fact, the little bit of self-esteem it returns to the person can make all the difference in the world.
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