7 Insightful Pointers to Learn About Cancer & Its Types

Just the word ‘cancer’ can make you shake in your boots, such is its ability to terrify. However, no matter what sort of cancer you have, whether recovery chances are good, or it is terminal, there are a variety of options that can offer you comfort if not fight the disease. Some treatments themselves wreak havoc on the body, but there are therapies that go along with them to counteract the negative side effects. Cancer is a huge and scary world, and at times it can be difficult to understand. We’ve tried to demystify cancer and make it easier to deal with.

1. Not all Types of Cancer are Death Sentences

A lot of people think that when their cancer doctors diagnose them with the disease, they are going to die. Nevertheless, if the disease is diagnosed early and you proceed with the correct treatment, that doesn’t have to be the case.

2. You have several Treatment Options

Depending on what sort of cancer you’re diagnosed with, you may be presented with one treatment option as offering you the optimal chances. For example, radiation therapy is used to treat many different types of cancer, while the surgical option is best if the cancer is concentrated in one part of your body.

3. Skin Cancer is a Bigger Deal Than You Think It Is

When confronted with the statistic that one in five people will experience a form of skin cancer in their lives, it’s easy to think of this as inevitable and ‘just a part of life’. However, this is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths, killing more than two people every hour. Prevent skin cancer by taking the obvious precautions, such as wearing sunblock and protecting your skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

4. Breast Cancer Isn’t Just For Women

When you think of a ‘breast cancer survivor’, you probably conjure to your mind a woman. The truth is, while men are more sparingly affected, they do still get diagnosed with this. It is rare, for cancer to form in the breast tissue of men, but it does happen, and it can also strike at any age, though it is slightly more common in older men.

5. A Lot of Cancer Is Preventable

Globally, it is estimated that around thirty to fifty per cent of cancer cases, whether they end in full recovery or not, are preventable cases. It takes a lot of courage to stick to a healthier lifestyle to prevent getting cancer, but there are some vital steps you can take, such as not smoking, not drinking to excess, engaging in a healthy, regular exercise routine, eating nutritiously and the like. Preventing cancer is not easy, but it can help you to live a healthy life.

6. Cancer Might Cause Other Health Issues

As if going through cancer weren’t enough, there are several different kinds of ailments that your cancer can cause. For example, due to the side effects of your chosen treatment, you may experience malnutrition. Certain types of cancer, like breast or prostate cancer, can cause the cancerous cells to leech into bones and cause rib fractures or cause ribs to metastasize.

7. Even Healthy People Can Get Cancer

It is so easy to think that just by staying healthy and avoiding things known to cause cancer, they won’t get this disease. That’s just not true. A lot of cancers spring up out of nowhere, cells mutating into cancerous versions of themselves. Colorectal cancer, one of the most painful and the second biggest cause of cancer death among both men and women, strikes the healthy as well as the unhealthy. Just know that there’s no way to be sure you’ll never get cancer, so it’s good to educate yourself about it.