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Health & Medicine CANCER FACT by Cosmas O. Okoro,
Ph.D.
Cancer is a word
that instills deep-seated fear because we immediately associate it
with grave illness and a high mortality rate. Almost all of us know
someone whose life has been blighted by cancer diagnosis, and who
has suffered the prolonged pain of the illness. Cancer patients are
forced to tolerate a tough treatment regime with all the
accompanying side effects and subsequent problems. Few people are
fortunate enough to escape the distress of cancer over their
lifetime, since the frightening statistics would suggest that the
vast majority of us will either experience it first hand, or have a
loved one afflicted. However, as we advance our understanding of
the mechanisms involved in causing and propagating cancer, we are
gradually uncovering a host of new leads and hopes for cures.
Scientists and clinicians diligently and continuosly harness such
intelligence and powerful resources, laboring to convert them into
practical strides forward, giving us hope for a future where cancer
is not a death sentence, but a curable disease.
Cancer is a
collection of a number of rather disparate diseases, all
characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells,
which invade and disrupt tissues, beginning locally and then
spreading through the body to extend the reach of their destructive
behavior. Both external causes (e.g. chemicals, radiation, viruses)
and internal factors (e.g. hormones, immune conditions, inherited
genes), acting either alone or in combination, may be responsible
for the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis. Furthermore,
many years can pass between cause and detection, and with some types
of cancer, there exists the obstinate problem of detecting malignant
growths early enough for intervention to stand any chance of
success.
The global impact
of cancer cannot be overstated. It constitutes a major public
health problem with an ever growing worldwide occurrence. In 2003,
approximately 1.34 million people were diagnosed with cancer (not
including basal and squamous skin cell cancers) and more than half
a million patients died from the disease in United States alone.
The only condition attributed with more deaths per annum is
cardiovascular disease, which is responsible for one in every four
deaths in the industrialized world. The American Cancer Society
estimates that men have slightly less than a one in two lifetime
risk of developing cancer; for women the risk is slightly more than
one in three. Quite apart from the personal suffering caused by
this high incidence, there is an immense financial cost to both the
individual and society as a whole in the form of direct medical
expenses and lost productivity. One cannot place a dollar figure
on the emotional and physical effects of living with a chronic
disease. The continued search for a potent, safe and selective
chemotherapeutic agents is a worthwhile undertaking. The success of
this venture will translate into a major unburdening for society,
not to mention the lives saved.
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