Continuing our series on listing out Cancer alphabetically today, we explain to you the types of Cancer starting from the alphabet C.
Cancer With C Alphabet
1) Carcinoid Tumour
A slow-growing tumor, a type of neuroendocrine tumor which means they originate from the neuroendocrine system. Carcinoid tumors are the most common type of tumor that is malignant and affect the appendix, small intestine, stomach, and rectum.
Compared to other malignant tumors, Carcinoid tumors have a very slow growth rate. Doctors are not sure how cancer affects the human body, however, it is to be noted that the tumor might have caused due to
a) Genetic Disease: If you have multiple endocrine neoplasia diseases, it can pass down to your progeny.
b) Ethnicity: It is to be noted that more African-Americans are in the risk of Carcinoid Tumour than the ethnic Americans.
c) Age: Age is one factor where you can notice the onset of Carcinoid Tumour which usually affects ages above 45+.
Symptoms: Carcinoid tumors are slow malignant tumors having a slow growth rate.
They affect commonly in the gastrointestinal tract (GI Tract), hence some of the common symptoms include pain in the belly, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, blood in the stool, loss of weight.
Some carcinoid tumors can affect the lungs where you might get a continuous cough, wheezing, etc.
Diagnosis: Carcinoid Tumour can be diagnosed by
i) Biopsy where the section of skin is removed and checked under a microscope by a specialist.
ii) Blood and Urine tests: Sample of Blood and Urine tests are taken and the specialist will
check for any hormone release generated by cancer such as serotonin and 5-HIAA.
iii) Endoscopy: A thin tube with a camera is inserted in the GI tract of the patient and the doctor examines if you have a tumor growing in the GI tract, nowadays, you can also get a capsule endoscopy where a capsule can be swallowed by the patient and it has a tiny camera.
This allows the doctor to examine most parts of the Small intestine for any indications of cancer.
iv) Colonoscopy: A thin tube is inserted through the rectum and colon and a sample of tissue is collected to be checked under a microscope. This will allow the specialist to detect any tumor presence.
v) Radionuclide scanning: A sample of a radioactive substance is injected into the body. The substance is attracted to the tumors which in turn show us where the carcinoid tumors are present in the human body.
Apart from the above, common cancer-detecting treatments such as X-Ray, MRI, CT Scan can be undertaken to detect the tumor inside the system.
Treatment: Once your doctor confirms the detection of carcinoid tumors, he might
schedule surgery to remove the tumor. Along with the tumor, some of the surrounding tissues might also be surgically removed preventing the spreading of tumors.
a) Radiation: High energy X-Ray is used to kill cancer cells which are done external to the Sometimes, the doctors can also implant radioactive seeds near the tumor cells, this might have side effects in the body.
b) Chemotherapy: This process is done before the surgery so that the tumor cells can
shrink and can be surgically removed, sometimes chemotherapy can be administered
after surgery so that they won’t be any further growth of tumor cells.
c) Chemoembolization, Radioembolization: This treatment is for liver cancer. For Chemoembolization a small tube is inserted and chemo drugs are delivered directly to the organ, and radioembolization is when many tiny beads of radioactive substances are inserted to the liver which gets stuck in vessels near to the tumor cells. This will emit radiation and kill off the cancer cells.
d) Hormone Therapy: You will be injected drugs such as octreotide and lanreotide which stops the tumor cells from producing more hormones.
e) Immunotherapy: A drug is prescribed to you which makes the body’s immune system fight cancer.
f) Targeted Therapy: Specific drugs are given where it aims for the genes, proteins or any other substances that help the growth of the tumor.
Prevention: Cancer can be prevented by changes in diet, keeping yourself fit, regular checkup, checkup with oncologist if you notice any cancerous symptoms.
2) Cervical Cancer
cancer which arises from the cervix is called Cervical Cancer. This is due to abnormal growth of the cells that will spread to the rest of the body. Cervix is the lowest portion of women’s uterus which is connected to the vagina.
It is slow-growing cancer, however, when left untreated the same might spread to other organs of the body such as lungs, liver, rectum, bladder, etc.
Most women in their late 20’s to early ’30s might develop the precancerous changes however the average age where cancer affects a person is during the late ’40s.
Causes of Cervical Cancer include Human Papillomavirus (HPV), early sexual contact, multiple sexual partners, smoking, birth pills increase the risk. Women who have been diagnosed by HPV are at a higher risk of getting Cervical Cancer.
Symptoms: Typically Cervical Cancer is a slow form of cancer, it does not show any symptoms when it begins. However, after some days, you might get symptoms such as Pain in Abdomen near to the cervix, vaginal bleeding which is abnormal, pelvic pain, bowel obstruction, etc.
Diagnosis: An early diagnosis can be conducted for people who might suffer from Cervical Cancer. You can undergo HPV Testing, Pap smear test where the cells from the cervix are collected and are analyzed under a microscope by a specialist.
Colposcopy: Similar to Pap smear test or biopsy, colposcopy test involves a special microscope called colposcope to inspect the cervix area. A harmless dye is stained which makes the cells easier to see, later they are biopsied.
The microscope called colposcope which can magnify the images allows easier identification of cancerous cells. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure: this involves an electric loop of wire to be inserted to take the sample of the cervix.
Conization: this also involves the removal of cervical tissue where a small portion of cone-shaped tissue is removed for diagnosis.
Treatment: Similar to cancer treatment for other types of cancer, even cervical cancer is treated the same way.
i) Radiotherapy: High energy rays are directed towards the cancer cells and the surrounding cells are also removed. This can be done externally or internally.
External radiation is through large machines where the beam of rays is aimed at the pelvis. During the last stages of the treatment, an extra dose might be provided so that there is no further risk of developing cancer in the future.
This is usually done in larger hospitals because of the reason for the use of external machines which are large. The internal form of radiation is done where a capsule having radioactive materials is placed directly to the cervix.
The rays emitted by the capsule kills the cancerous cells and this can be done both Inpatient and Outpatient type.
ii) Chemotherapy: The use of powerful drugs is undertaken to kill cancer cells. Anti-cancer drugs are provided to kill cancer cells. Drugs are provided to the bloodstream which kills any cancer cells as Cervical Cancer usually spreads to other parts of the body.
Prevention: Get tested regularly after 20 years of age for Pap smear, HPV Virus.
Limit the use of birth control pills and get tested for STD’s such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV, and Syphilis. Vaccination is available to protect women from contracting HPV. Quit smoking.
3) Colorectal Cancer
Also known as Bowel Cancer, Colorectal cancer is cancer that spreads in Colon and Rectum. These are the parts of Large Intestine. They usually begin as a small polyp which can be detected by colonoscopy. Cancer does not show any symptoms when it begins.
Usually, colorectal cancers affect old age however other risk factors include smoking, drinking, high intake of fat, sugar, red meat, processed meat, obesity and drinking less water. Streptococcus gallolyticus is associated with colorectal cancer.
Symptoms: The symptoms of colorectal cancer include
i) Changes in Bowel Movement, constipation, diarrhea.
ii) Blood in stool
iii) Frequent feeling of going to restroom however you will not feel the bowel movement.
iv) Loss of weight, nausea, vomiting.
v) Bloating
vi) Rectal Bleeding
vii) Pain in the abdomen, pain while passing down the stool.
Diagnosis:
Colorectal Cancer can be diagnosed by Colonoscopy where a sample of tissue is taken and a specialist will examine under a microscope for possible cases of cancer.
Medical imaging: cancer can be detected via CT scan, PET scan, and MRI were the
presence of metastases can be determined.
Staging: Based on both radiology and pathological finding. Based on the TNM System where you can consider how much cancer has spread to various parts of the body.
Histopathology: It is the process where the tissue is taken for analysis from a biopsy or surgery. A pathology report with a description that includes microscopical characteristics of tumor tissue is noted on how it has spread to various other surrounding tissues etc.
Treatment:
a) Surgery: If the cancer is its early stages, surgery will be recommended. It may be removed via colonoscopy. Some of the surrounding tissue might also be removed to mitigate the possible spread of cancer.
b) Chemotherapy: The use of powerful drugs is undertaken to kill cancer cells. Anti-cancer
drugs are provided to kill cancer cells. Drugs are provided to the bloodstream which kills any cancer cells as Cervical Cancer usually spreads to other parts of the body.
c) Radiotherapy: High energy rays are directed towards the cancer cells and the surrounding cells are also removed. This can be done externally or internally. External radiation is through large machines where the beam of rays is aimed at the pelvis.
During the last stages of the treatment, an extra dose might be provided so that there is no further risk of developing cancer in the future. This is usually done in larger hospitals because of the reason for the use of external machines which are large.
d) Immunotherapy: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are found to be useful for different types of colorectal cancer.
Prevention:
i) Colorectal Cancer can be prevented by regular checkups with doctors.
ii) Exercise regularly, do not follow a sedentary lifestyle Drink lots of water.
iii) Limit the usage of alcohol intake, smoking, eating processed foods, fatty foods.
iv) Once you reach your age above 40+ kindly go for regular checkups so that cancer can be cured early if you find.
