Cancer refers to the range of diseases characterized by the development of abnormal cells that have divided uncontrollably. In addition to this, cancer can also destroy and infiltrate normal body tissues. If left untreated and neglected, cancer could spread throughout a person’s body. Cancer is known as the second leading cause of death in the world. If you look it up, cancer is caused by DNA changes in a person’s body.
If people’s cells are normal, it is expected that a person’s genes will regulate cells’ growth, maturity, and death. However, genetic changes can happen at any time and different levels. There are instances when a loss or gain of entire chromosomes or even a single point mutation could affect one DNA nucleotide that could lead to abnormal changes in cells.
If this happens, one of two broad categories of a person’s genes could be affected. One is oncogenes which are genes that can cause cancer. Before cancer has developed, these genes are normal. However, if these genes are expressed extravagantly, it could mean that a person has cancer because the genes have already mutated. Eventually, cancerous changes will be noted in all the tissues in the body.
Another way that a person’s genes could be affected is when the body’s tumor suppressor genes malfunction. If this happens, the body will find it very hard to inhibit cell division and prevent the survival of cells that already have damaged DNA. Tumor suppressor genes are normally disabled for patients who have cancer. This is caused by genetic changes that are caused by cancer-promoting factors. In addition to this, the cells of a person with cancer have already undergone significant changes that have transformed normal cells into cancer cells.
Cancer Screening and Diagnosis
One of the best things about early screening and diagnosis for cancer is that it gives a person more chances to be cured. Therefore, individuals diagnosed with cancer should immediately talk to their doctors about intervention programs for cancer to effectively fight the disease.
In some cancers, research shows that early screening tests can save the lives of many people because of early diagnosis. On the other hand, there are also types of cancer that will require screening tests only if the patient has an increased risk for more health complications. In the past, it was challenging to determine intervention plans for cancer patients because the technology back then was very restrictive.
Nowadays, science has made significant improvements in the different methods to diagnose or screen different types of cancer. For instance, cell-based assays have enabled doctors and other health care providers to detect different kinds of cancer in very early stages. This way, patients have bigger chances of recovering and surviving this deadly disease.
Science has also paved the way towards enhancing cancer diagnosis procedures such as laboratory tests, physical exams, imaging tests, and biopsies. The purpose of cancer diagnosis is to enable doctors to determine how far along the cancer is and the prospective treatment plans that could work for every patient depending on the type of cancer that has been detected.
Even if there is no foolproof way to cure cancer, many patients have benefited from early cancer screening and diagnosis because they were able to take part in health care intervention programs that have helped them battle cancer more effectively. These intervention programs have also helped patients with cancer deal with the side effects of cancer treatment so that they can live as normal a life as possible.
In the future, it is expected that science will be able to pave the way towards more effective health care intervention plans for cancer patients so that they will become more capable of fighting off the disease. Innovations in healthcare technology have also made it easier for doctors to make cancer treatment procedures more bearable for patients. However, it is still very difficult to guarantee that patients will achieve ultimate recovery from cancer. Therefore, science and innovations in healthcare technology still have a long way to go when dealing with cancer and all related health complications.
Investing in Optimism
Despite the contributions of science and innovations in healthcare technology, there is still a long way to go to come up with foolproof ways to cure cancer. However, treatment methods and techniques for cancer have evolved significantly over time. As a result, more patients recover from cancer and live normally after their battle with the disease. In the future, it is expected that scientists and researchers will be able to come up with more promising ways to treat and cure cancer. All people have to hold on to right now is optimism and believing that there will eventually be an ultimate cure for this disease.
