The Different types of Cancer

Cancer of the Lung

The lungs are two large organs located in the chest cavity. They extend from just under the collarbone to the bottom of the rib cage. Like any other organ, the lungs can become cancerous. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States; it is the leading cause of cancer death. Approximately 170,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States and 155,000 people die each year from lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in men. in the late 1980s it became the most common cause of cancer deaths in women. Lung cancer is the only major type of cancer that has become more common in the last 30 years.

One of the most interesting recent developments in lung cancer treatment is a new strategy to find lung cancers ( while they are still small and more treatable) in smokers. Several ongoing large research studies of smokers are examining whether yearly computers tomography ( CT) scan can find lung cancer before they grow large.

Cancer of the Esophagus

The esophagus is a long muscular tube that carries chewed food from the mouth to the stomach. The part of the esophagus closer to the mouth has the same type of tissue lining as does the mouth, and the part closer to the stomach has a lining more similar to that of the stomach.

Cancer of the esophagus comes in two major types. Cancers that arise in the upper two- thirds of the esophagus ( close to the mouth) are called squamous cell carcinomas and are like lung cancer, highly associated with smoking. They are also associated with alcohol use. Cancers that occur lower down in the esophagus, closer to the stomach, are usually cancers that arise from the small glands lining this area. These cancers are called adeconcarinomas.

Most people eith either type of cancer of the esophagus will require some form of surgery. Unless they are extremely small, cancers of the esophagus can only be cured by surgery. Even if surgery does not cure the cancer, it can prevent blockages of the esophagus later on. These blockgages can be debililitating and delterious to a person's quality of life. In addition to surgery, many people with esophageal cancer receive a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. Particularly in adeconcarinoma of the esophagus, new types of chemotherapy may work more effectively than other older types.

Cancer of the Stomach

The stomach is a large muscular pouch near the bottom of the rib cage that produce acid and uses the acid and a grinding action to help digest food. It is connected to the esophagus at one end and to the small intestine at the other.

Stomach cancer, most of which are adenocarcinomas, are related closely to adecarcinomas of the lower esophagus. the two types of cancer are treated in similar ways. Interestingly, while some of the causes of cancer of the esophagus have been determined, the causes of stomatch of stomach cancer remain more mysterious. The comsumption of large quantities of smoked or slated meats and fish seems to be a risk factoe for gastric cancer, why this occurs remains unclear. There also is some evidence that infection of the stomach with a cerain type of backterium might be a risk factor for gastric cance.

Cancer of the Breast

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American women and the second most frequent causes if cancer death. Approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diognosed each year in the U.S and 41,000 people die each year from breast cancer. Almost all breast cancers are adenocarcinomas. There are two subtypes of adenocarcinomas breast cancer, ductal carcinoma and lobour carcinoma.

Cancer of the Pancreas

The Pancreas is an organ about the size and shape of a bottle of hot sauce that is located in the abdomen, next to the stomach. Down the center of the organ is a small tube that carries the chemicals made by the pancreas into the small intestine. This tube, called the pancreatic duct, joins another tube, called the common biliary duct, which carried bile from the liver into the intestines. The chemicals made by the stomach that has helped to digest the food:. they neutralize the acid produced by the stomach that has helped to digest the food; they break down the food passed from the stomach into the intestines to a form that the bosy can use more easily and they help the bosy to store sugar- a process handled by the chemical insulin. People with a pancreas that doesn't produce insulin become diabetic.

Cancer of the pancreas is difficult to cure; this is not because the cancer growth quickly but because it is extremely difficult to diagnose when it is still curable by surgery.

Cancer of the Head and Neck

Cancer of the head and neck are a large group of tumor with some common features. The first common feature is the cell of origin - the cell that becomes cancerous. Most head and neck cancers, regardless of exactly which structure they arise in, come from the cells that line the mouth, nose, sinuses, and throuat. These cells are called " squamous cells". and the cancers that arise from them are called "squamous cells carcinomas"

A final common feature of these cancers is the role of tobacco and alcohol. The use of these two substances over long periods may lead to field cancerization , which eventually leads to full- blown cancer.

Cancer of the Kidney

The Kidneys are a pair of organ located in the back of the abdomen, near the bottom of the rib cage. They help regulate the amount of water in the body and remove some toxins and medications from the circulation. Up to 40 percent of the blood that the heart pumps with each beat travels to the kidney so that it can be filters and urine can be produced. This urine passes through tubes called ureters into the bladder and then out of the body through the urethra.