Notes

CANCERS: Welcome. As we get started, do you know what causes cancer? Section one. Today, we're going to start by describing the causes and types of cancers. Later, we're going to explain methods for treating cancer and recognize the importance of early detection. Finally, we're going to identify behaviors that put an individual at risk for developing cancer. Shall we get started? Well, what is cancer? Cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably. Take a look at this image. You've probably heard about the word "tumor," or what a tumor is. Not all tumors are cancerous, but cancer manifests in the shape of tumors in a lot of cases. There are many types of cancers that affect different areas of the body. That's why their names. You've probably heard about lung cancer, prostate cancer, and skin cancer. So where they manifest themselves, that's the name of the cancer. Now, what causes cancer? There's no one cause for all the types of cancers. But we'll talk about carcinogens and we're going to talk about risk factors. First, carcinogens. These are agents that increase the likelihood of developing cancer. UV ray exposure-- the sun-- too much, it can increase the chances of developing the skin cancer. And the chemicals that come in the smoke, smoking cigarettes, second-hand or directly smoking cigarettes, those are carcinogens. There's like 70 of them in the smoke. So those, inhaling them, can also increase the chances of developing cancer. Now, risk factors. Some of them, we have control of. Some of them, we don't. Things we do, things we are supposed to, those are things, some of them, that can increase the chances of developing cancer. We talked about tobacco and sunlight already. Ionizing radiation, certain chemicals, viruses and bacterias too, hormones, genetic predisposition-- bad genes, bad chromosomes too, they can increase the chances of developing cancer. But also poor diet and lack of exercise. Do you have control over those too? Think about it. Now, naming. We mentioned that the names of the cancer are commonly because of the area where they manifest themselves. But also, let's talk about classification. Cancers can also be classified according to the type of tissue that the cancer affects. That's where we're going to spend our time on now. Lymphomas, leukemias, sarcomas, and carcinomas are the different classifications for cancer. Let's describe each of them. Well, lymphomas are type of cancers that affect the immune system. The lymphatic cells, they are in charge. They have certain roles in the immune system. They clean, essentially, the unwanted cells. And they are across the entire body. Well, they generate lymphatic cells. Those cells can start growing out of control. That triggers tumors. That is the cancer itself. Some of the symptoms. Swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, fever, night sweats are some of the symptoms of this type of cancer. Now, leukemia, known as blood cancer. These are cancers affecting the bone marrow and the blood, white blood cells typically. The symptoms of it are going to be very similar to the lymphomas. It can be classified in lymphocytic and myelogenous, depending on the white blood cell types that are generating or causing the cancer. Now, carcinomas. These are cancers of epithelial tissues. Examples of epithelial tissues is going to be glands, skin, or organ linings. So it can be external layers or it can be internal layers within the organs too. These are the most common type of cancers among adults, and they include skin, breast cancer, prostate, lung, and colon cancer. Have you heard of this? Lastly, sarcomas. And let me show you a tumor here. These are cancers of supportive or connective tissues. These are going to be bones, cartilage, the fat, and the muscle in our body. There's two main categories. Soft issue, which is not very common-- and when it happens, it happens mostly in children-- and the bone sarcoma. Bone sarcoma comes with a lot of pain. Now, summarizing. We described what cancer is, some of the causes, like carcinogens, and risk factors and the different classifications for cancer, as you can see. Now, important, and we're going to talk about it later, is treating cancer, and the importance of early detection on the patient.

Hello and welcome again. Let's talk about cancer again. Do you know how is cancer treated? Section two. Earlier, we described the causes and types of cancer. Now it's time to explain methods for treating cancer and recognize the importance of early detection. Later, we're going to identify behaviors that put an individual at risk for developing cancer. Let's continue with this discussion. Cancer treatments-- the three most common methods of cancer are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. You've probably heard of this already. Other methods are immunotherapy and hormone therapy. Let me describe them to you. Chemotherapy is a treatment for cancer that uses drugs, chemicals, to destroy rapidly dividing cancer cells. It can be used in combination with other cancer therapies too. The administration of these drugs can be orally, or it can be through injections across different parts of the body. Now think also of the side effects of these treatments. The side effects of chemotherapy can be fatigue, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell count, hair loss, and pain. These are very aggressive treatments which body is going to react to. Another treatment is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is another cancer treatment in which cancer cells are irradiated to kill them and to stop their growth. Look at this machine. It's sending radiation to a certain part of the body, killing the cancer. There's also internal methods, where they administer a solid object or a solution that has radiation close to the area where the cancer is at in order to essentially kill it. More than 50% of cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy or a combination of different treatments. Now, radiation therapy, it takes time. It's going to take longer than chemotherapy, for example. Some side effects that come with radiation therapy are diarrhea, [? loss, ?] nausea, and vomiting, too. Now surgery-- well, it can be used for diagnostic or treatment purposes. What this entails is the tumor is removed as well as the surrounding tissue. Diagnostics? Well, the doctors are going to get to the tumor and see if it's cancerous or not. Or if they can remove it, well, they're going to remove it. But this doesn't remove an entire cancer manifestations if a cancer has already spread. That's why sometimes it may not be the only method that needs to be used to eliminate the cancer. Now, immunotherapy is another therapy. And it stimulates an individual's immune system to attack cancer cells. So, essentially, it's boosting the immune system so it goes and targets the cancer cells. And it uses antigen vaccines or antibody medications. Hormone therapy-- well, certain caners are going to be fed by certain hormones, making them grow faster bigger. So hormone therapy, what it does, it essentially blocks the hormones from getting to that cancerous area. It essentially stops the production of the hormones. Or it removes the organ that generates those hormones in order for the cancer not to be fed with those hormones. Early detection-- let's talk about that. Early detection increases the chances of curing it. Why? Well, cancer starts growing, and it reaches a stage where it's going to start spreading out. That state is metastasis. If we are able to identify and treat that cancer in a single point, rather than a cancer that has spread throughout the entire body, the chances of curing it are significantly higher. So summarizing, cancer treatment methods, we talked about the most common ones-- chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery. We also talked about immunotherapy and hormone therapy, which worked on some cancers as well. Now, in the next section, we're going to talk about certain behaviors and things we do that increase the risk of developing cancer.

Hello and welcome again. As we continue talking about cancer-- do you know if [? can ?] behavior impact the development of cancer? Section three. Earlier in this lesson, we described the causes and types of cancer. We also explained methods for treating cancer, and we recognize the importance of early detection. Well now, we're going to finish by identifying behaviors that put an individual at risk for developing cancer. Are you ready to finish? Behavior and cancer-- well, some of the activities that increases the chances of developing cancer are smoking, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, consuming a high-fat diet, having unprotected sex, and alcohol consumption. I'm going to tell you why, and what type of cancer these develop. Smoking-- in the US, roughly 30% of cancer-related deaths are caused by smoking. Some of the cancers that are triggered by smoking is going to be lung cancer, larynx cancer, oral cavity, and [? it so ?] [? follows. ?] Why? Well, smoking contains many thousands of chemical in it other than tobacco. Some of these, up to 60, are considered carcinogens, which increase the chances of developing certain cancers. The increased length of time during your life and the amount of the smoking that you do, or people do, or have done, increases the risk of developing a smoking related cancer. So keep this in mind if you should be exploring the option of smoking. Ultraviolet radiation-- well, exposure to UV rays is the greatest cause of skin cancer and other melanomas. UV radiation exposure can come from exposure to the sun, but also from artificial sources like tanning beds and heat lamps. So if you're one of those individuals that like to use a tanning bed here and there, think about the consequences. A high-fat diet-- diets high in fat can increase the risk of some type of cancers. Here's a list of them. We have breast cancer, colon, prostate cancer, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer. Well, on the other side, if you follow a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and fibers, you're going to reduce the risks of developing cancer. Unprotected sex-- well, unprotected sex, or sex itself, is not going to give you cancer, but some sexually transmitted diseases and infections are going to increase the possibility of developing cancer. Diseases like human papillomavirus, HIV, and chlamydia are going to increase the possibilities of developing cancer. Why? Example, HIV-- well, that's going to affect your immune system. If you have a compromised immune system, it's not going to be able to identify and fight those cancer cells. Chlamydia in women, if they had it or if they have this disease, well, the chances of developing cervical cancer is going to increase. Alcohol, lastly-- alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cancers of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, liver and breast. Well, some of these are very similar to the cancers that are triggered by smoking. So if you combine these two activities, you increase the chances of developing certain types of cancers tied to both. Now, summarizing. We talked about the things that increase developing cancer. Smoking, drinking alcohol, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and also consuming a high-fat diet, and unprotected sex can directly or indirectly increase the chances of developing cancer. Now, allow me to summarize the lesson. We start defining cancer and what are the carcinogens and the risk factors. We talked about the names and the classification of different cancers, like lymphomas, leukemias, carcinomas, and sarcomas. We talked about cancer treatment and detection, too. We talked about chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery as some of the treatments for cancer. We also talked about immunotherapy and hormone therapy, which work on a specific type of cancers. And we also addressed that early detection is important, especially if the cancer has not reached the stage of metastasis, which is when it starts spreading to other parts of the body. And lastly, we talked about certain things that increase the risk of developing cancer. Smoking and alcohol, ultraviolet radiation, high-fat diet, and unprotected sex are going to increase the possibilities of developing cancer. So as you get older in life and you're faced with this alternative to do certain things or not do certain things, think about how you can compromise your health and increase the possibilities of developing cancer should you, let's say, start smoking. Think about it. Think how you can impact your life with the decisions that you make, and how you can influence others as well.