"Not Beyond Us". The 2015 edition of the World Cancer Day gave us this encouraging and meaningful tagline. The events conducted on 4 February took a positive and proactive approach to the fight against
cancer, highlighting that solutions do exist across the continuum of
cancer, and that they are within our reach. The focus for the current year will revolve around the following 4 factors.
- Choosing healthy lives
- Delivering early detection
- Achieving treatment for all
- Maximizing quality of life
What is Cancer?
A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. There are several main types of cancer, more than 100. Carcinoma is a cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs. Sarcoma is a cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue, such as the bone marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood. Lymphoma and multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system. Central nervous system cancers are cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. Also called malignancy.
Origins of Cancer
Our understanding of the origins of cancer has changed dramatically over the past three decades, due in large part to the revolution in molecular biology that has altered the face of all biomedical research. Powerful experimental tools have been thrust into the hands of cancer biologists. These tools, including newly devised and implemented technologies that permit the interrogation of entire genomes, have made it possible to uncover and dissect the complex molecular machinery operating inside the single cell, normal and malignant, to understand its operations, and to pinpoint the defects that cause cancer cells to proliferate abnormally.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells. The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. There are several main types of cancer, more than 100. Carcinoma is a cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs. Sarcoma is a cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue, such as the bone marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood. Lymphoma and multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system. Central nervous system cancers are cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. Also called malignancy.
Origins of Cancer
Our understanding of the origins of cancer has changed dramatically over the past three decades, due in large part to the revolution in molecular biology that has altered the face of all biomedical research. Powerful experimental tools have been thrust into the hands of cancer biologists. These tools, including newly devised and implemented technologies that permit the interrogation of entire genomes, have made it possible to uncover and dissect the complex molecular machinery operating inside the single cell, normal and malignant, to understand its operations, and to pinpoint the defects that cause cancer cells to proliferate abnormally.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells. The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
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| Courtesy :- American National Cancer Institute |
Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.
Where are we today?
- Benign tumors aren't cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
- Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis.
Where are we today?
It is for sure a long road before each and every battle against Cancer can be won. But more and more progressive research is helping patients across world to have better chances of getting rid of this menace. The Charged Particle therapy is fast growing in terms of popularity.
Standard radiation treatments, which have already been around for decades, send X-rays straight through the tumor and out the other side of the body, damaging healthy tissue both coming and going. But protons and ions—atoms stripped of electrons—slow when they hit the body and come to a stop, depositing most of their destructive energy at their stopping point. If you tune a beam of protons or ions so they stop inside a tumor, you can deliver the maximum dose of radiation while sparing healthy tissue and minimizing side effects. This makes it ideal for treating children, whose developing bodies are particularly sensitive to radiation damage, and for cancers very close to vital tissues such as the optic nerves or spinal cord.
India's Position
There are no charged-particles based Cancer treatment facilities in India. As per a Boston Consulting Group study, 70-80% of cancer patients are diagnosed late when treatment is less efficient and 60% of them do not have access to quality cancer treatment. Out of 300+ cancer centres in India, 40% are not adequately equipped with advanced cancer care equipment. This study further suggests India will need at least 600 additional cancer care centres to meet the requirements by 2020.
A report quotes Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial Hospital as saying that annually, nearly 5 lakh people die of cancer in India. As per WHO Report 2005, this number is only expected to rise to 7 lakh by 2015. Globocan 2008 report shows that in India, cancers of lung and mouth in men and cervix and breast in women are the biggest killers.
Ignorance among public, delayed diagnosis and lack of adequate medical facilities has given cancer the dubious distinction of being a ‘killer disease’. However, fact remains that if cancer is detected in its early stages, it can be treated and individual can lead a healthy life.
Government has been urged to bring Cancer under the ambit of "notifiable diseases" so that more adequate and cheaper care can be afforded to all and sundry. Chemotherapy remains the most used Cancer treatment strategy in India. Some scientists, at Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Kolkata, are trying to use Neem for the prevention of growth of tumor cell in mice. Let us hope this research can benefit humans in sometime to come.
Till then, keep spreading the awareness about Cancer.
Standard radiation treatments, which have already been around for decades, send X-rays straight through the tumor and out the other side of the body, damaging healthy tissue both coming and going. But protons and ions—atoms stripped of electrons—slow when they hit the body and come to a stop, depositing most of their destructive energy at their stopping point. If you tune a beam of protons or ions so they stop inside a tumor, you can deliver the maximum dose of radiation while sparing healthy tissue and minimizing side effects. This makes it ideal for treating children, whose developing bodies are particularly sensitive to radiation damage, and for cancers very close to vital tissues such as the optic nerves or spinal cord.
India's Position
There are no charged-particles based Cancer treatment facilities in India. As per a Boston Consulting Group study, 70-80% of cancer patients are diagnosed late when treatment is less efficient and 60% of them do not have access to quality cancer treatment. Out of 300+ cancer centres in India, 40% are not adequately equipped with advanced cancer care equipment. This study further suggests India will need at least 600 additional cancer care centres to meet the requirements by 2020.
A report quotes Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial Hospital as saying that annually, nearly 5 lakh people die of cancer in India. As per WHO Report 2005, this number is only expected to rise to 7 lakh by 2015. Globocan 2008 report shows that in India, cancers of lung and mouth in men and cervix and breast in women are the biggest killers.
Ignorance among public, delayed diagnosis and lack of adequate medical facilities has given cancer the dubious distinction of being a ‘killer disease’. However, fact remains that if cancer is detected in its early stages, it can be treated and individual can lead a healthy life.
Government has been urged to bring Cancer under the ambit of "notifiable diseases" so that more adequate and cheaper care can be afforded to all and sundry. Chemotherapy remains the most used Cancer treatment strategy in India. Some scientists, at Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Kolkata, are trying to use Neem for the prevention of growth of tumor cell in mice. Let us hope this research can benefit humans in sometime to come.
Till then, keep spreading the awareness about Cancer.
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