Cancer types, diagnosis and treatment

Mirza Ghalib, the unparalleled poet of Urdu, wrote a strange philosophical poem in the nineteenth century:

The heart of every drop is the creator of Anna Bahr

We belong to him, what do we ask?

Here a drop of water claims to be an ocean. The drop itself may or may not be the ocean, but it must be the interpreter of the ocean. Similarly, a grain of sand represents the entire desert. If a human being is examined, the whole body is a collection of innumerable cells.

A single cell of the human body expresses the characteristics of the whole human being. If cells die, life ends. Sometimes it happens that these cells change their shape and start increasing rapidly in number. This altered behavior of the cells gives rise to the disease, which is called cancer. It is beyond any doubt that cancer can be cured forever with timely diagnosis and quality treatment.

Before discussing the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, it is important to understand the cause and overall process of the disease. As mentioned earlier, cell is another name for the basic unit of life. Cells have a specific life span. Cells are produced according to nature’s plan. Complete a life cycle and expire. Dead cells are replaced by new cells. This process continues and human life also continues.

In cancer, this process takes a completely different form. Without the need and desire of the body, countless new cells are born and their size also starts to increase. The cells that were better to be destroyed remain in their place and together with new cells, form a tumor or a tumor. Tumor is called a tumor in English. Another name for this tumor is cancer. Or cancer. Tumor can develop in any part of the body like brain, liver, kidney, bladder and stomach etc.

There are basically two types of cancer, which are distinguished from each other on the basis of conditions, symptoms and severity. Cancers that are harmless or less dangerous are called benign. Common people are now familiar with the term benign tumor. The second type of cancer is called Anaadi Cancer in Urdu.

It is evident from this name that this cancer hates human life and causes the destruction of the body. In English, this type of cancer is called Cancer Malignant. A benign tumor stays in one place, but due to its growing size, the function of that part of the body or nearby parts may be affected. In such a case, this type of tumor is removed through surgery or surgery and the person is able to lead a normal healthy life.

On the other hand, malignant cancer does not only affect the part of the body where it is present, but the cancerous cells can spread to other healthy parts of the body through various means. This migration of cancer cells is called metastasis. For example, the effects of liver and stomach cancer can reach the human brain. In this way, cancer develops in another place, which is called secondary cancer or Cancer Secondary.

Currently, according to an estimate, there are around two million cancer patients worldwide. About 55 percent of them are male and 45 percent are female.

Proportionally, the most common types of cancer are breast cancer, lung cancer, colon and rectal cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, respectively. , including thyroid cancer and bladder cancer. There are many more types of cancer, but we have mentioned the ten types that are most common in the world. It should be noted that the above mentioned review has been done without gender and age classification. More than one million people die of cancer every year in the world. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide after heart disease. The total number of cancer patients in Pakistan is between 15 lakh to 20 lakh and every year around one lakh people reach the threshold of death due to cancer.

The diagnosis of cancer cannot be made on the basis of symptoms alone because most of the symptoms are very general and we face them often. For example, swelling or swelling in any part of the body, coughing, coughing up blood, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, weight loss, fatigue, body aches, diarrhea or constipation, rectal bleeding. , the appearance of a new mole on the body or a change in the old mole, wound and ulcer not healing, goiter in the chest of women, loss of appetite, night sweats, change in the habit of urinating, etc. . It is true that the above mentioned symptoms are general in nature, but their continuous presence requires that a specialist should be consulted.

It is appropriate on this occasion to mention the five most common types of cancer in Pakistan.

Breast cancer

It is the most common cancer in Pakistan. A large number of women suffer from this disease. If this disease is diagnosed in the early stage, there is a ninety percent chance of complete recovery. The disease begins with the formation of a lump in the breast. Women should continue to examine their own breasts and in case of any doubt should consult a specialist doctor. 14.5 percent of all cancer patients are related to this disease.

Cancer of the lips and mouth

In terms of proportion, this cancer is second in Pakistan. 9.5 percent of patients are suffering from this disease. It usually happens to people who use paan, chalia, gutka, tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol a lot. The initial symptoms of this disease are varied, such as the formation of blisters on the lips or inside the mouth that cannot be healed in any way. The appearance of white or red spots in the inner part of the mouth, tooth movement, pain in the mouth, difficulty in swallowing, chewing and opening the mouth, etc. Despite treatment, 40 to 50 percent of patients die. Even the surviving patients have to live a difficult and painful life.

Lung cancer

About six percent of the total cancer patients in Pakistan are suffering from lung cancer. The cause of this cancer is as clear as day, i.e. smoking. Ninety percent of people suffering from this disease are addicted to smoking. In the majority of patients, the onset of the disease is asymptomatic. Other patients complain of cough, hemoptysis, shortness of breath and weight loss. Another problem with many smokers is that they feel the need to “benefit” their family and friends from their bad habit. They are in such a way that the people sitting in their “righteous company” have to voluntarily inhale their smoke to their lungs. This process is called passive inhalation and is just as dangerous to the lungs as regular smoking.

Esophageal cancer

A large number of people in Pakistan are suffering from esophageal cancer. Proportionally, this number is 5.7 percent. Symptoms of this cancer include difficulty swallowing, heartburn, hunger and weight loss. Frequent use of tobacco and drinking alcohol are said to be the cause of this disease.

Colon and rectal cancer

In terms of the number of patients, this cancer has the fifth rank in Pakistan and 4.8 percent of the patients are facing this deadly disease. During this disease, people complain of diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, fatigue and weight loss.

We have stated in the previous lines that cancer cannot be diagnosed based on symptoms alone. For cancer diagnosis, the patient generally has to go through four stages.

1. Physical examination

2. Laboratory tests

3. X-ray, ultrasound and CT scan etc

4. Biopsy

All of these steps are important, but the final diagnosis of cancer is a biopsy, in which a small sample is taken from the affected area and examined under a microscope to confirm the presence or absence of cancer. . Along with the diagnosis, it is very important to know the severity and spread of the cancer, whether the cancer is confined to one place or other organs are also affected by it. We must remember that one-third of deaths can be controlled with timely diagnosis.

After knowing the severity and spread of the cancer comes the stage of regular treatment. There are many modern methods for treating cancer today, but the following three methods have been most commonly used over the years.

Injury or surgery

Through surgery, the cancer is removed completely or a large part of it from the body. Surgery may result in complete eradication of the cancer.

Chemotherapy

This is another well-known method of treatment, which uses drugs specially formulated for cancer. These medicines have certain side effects, but they have to be tolerated to achieve the main goal.

Radiotherapy

In this treatment method, powerful rays similar to X-rays are used to kill cancer cells. There are such treatment centers in many major cities of Pakistan. The modern version of the same treatment is the CyberKnife system, which is more reliable and effective. It uses robots and targets cancer cells directly.

In addition, some other methods are used to treat cancer, including bone marrow transplant or bone marrow transplant, hormone therapy, cryoablation (elimination of cancer cells through extreme cold), radiofrequency ablation (Radiofrequency). Ablation) (destroying cancer cells by heating with electrical energy), Immunotherapy (elimination of cancer by activating the human immune system), Gene Therapy (replacing defective genes with healthy ones) and dynamic gene transfer into the body) are involved.

Depending on the severity and extent of the cancer, one or more of the above methods may be used for treatment.

Health experts say that if we change our lifestyle, cancer patients can be reduced by forty percent. There are five factors listed below, which can be controlled to a significant extent by paying attention to them.

Smoking and use of tobacco should be stopped.

* Alcohol consumption and other habits of addiction should be abandoned

Use more vegetables and fruits in the diet

Overweight and obesity should be controlled

Regular exercise should be started by abandoning inactivity.

To avoid such expensive and difficult methods for cancer treatment, we should adopt a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, it is important to live according to Islamic principles. The path of moderation should be adopted in one’s attitudes and affairs. Anger, anger, jealousy, malice, hatred and other negative emotions should be avoided. Allah Ta’ala should be turned to in every situation, not only in times of trouble. Regular reading of Quran and prayer should be organized. By adopting this way of life, we get inner satisfaction and the internal system of our body is correct. In this way, it helps us to stay safe from various diseases and if we still get a disease, it gives us courage and courage. It is fortunate to face the disease together.

(The author is a public health specialist and psychiatrist practicing in Islamabad. Also, Central General Secretary of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA).)