Cancer Treatments And Breakthroughs
Cancer is not a single disease. It includes a large group of varied disorders that share major traits. The first sign of cancer is an enlargement of the area. The tumor then infects other cells near it, and if it's really advanced, these cells may break away from the tumor and spread the cancer throughout your body. Although many people believe that your survival rate is low if you're diagnosed with cancer, patients usually have high recovery rates. There are many different types of treatment that doctors can give to their patients. The three main types are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Surgery is quick, usually effective, and it accounts for the most cures. Many doctors must ...
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these cases, surgery alone is basically useless. Radiation therapy is another option, and many doctors prefer this in many cases. When a patient receives radiation therapy, gamma rays are sent in to treat the region that the tumor is in. Patients usually receive five to eight weeks of treatments every day, but they don't have to stay in the hospital. Radiation works because when the high amount of rays treat the tumor, it will cause enough damage to the cells to kill them. Radiation does damage the healthy tissue, but they can recover easily. So, radiation therapy can kill the cancerous tissue, while the healthy tissue can still function. It can destroy microscopic tissue that surgery could miss, and it's safer for older patients that could have trouble recovering. Although radiation therapy sounds like a good idea, it has some negative points. It sometimes doesn't treat all of the cells that are damaged. Also, just like surgery, it is useless if the cancer has already spread ...
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used only to extend a person's survival, and reducing the person's symptoms (Hellman & Vokes). Now that we have more knowledge of this disease, many people have came up with different ways of treating it. Different drugs are being introduced to the market, and doctors are hopeful. One drug was recently praised for its ability to cure cancer in mice. For this drug to work, you need to understand how tumors grow. To get nutrients, tumors get part of the blood supply. This drug cuts off the blood supply, which causes the tumor to shrink. The efforts of Dr. Michael O'Reilly and Judah Folkman finally paid off after years of experimenting and research. When they tested it, they had mice ...
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Cancer Treatments And Breakthroughs. (2008, August 1). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Cancer-Treatments-And-Breakthroughs/87654
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"Cancer Treatments And Breakthroughs." Essayworld.com. August 1, 2008. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Cancer-Treatments-And-Breakthroughs/87654.
"Cancer Treatments And Breakthroughs." Essayworld.com. August 1, 2008. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Cancer-Treatments-And-Breakthroughs/87654.
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