Prostate Cancer Prognosis Helps In Deciding The Course Of Treatment
If you are suffering from prostate cancer then ask your doctor for prostate cancer prognosis as it will help you in many ways as you will not only know about the extent of the disease but also know about your survival chances in the next five to ten years after completion of treatment. Every male of fifty years and above are vulnerable to prostate cancer as the chances of contacting this disease begins only after this age.
In fact, prostate cancer relates to the growth of malignant tumor or nodules in the prostate glands, which is a part of men's sexual organ. This disease is mostly diagnosed in aging men, that is men who are fifty years or above in age. Therefore, if you have celebrated your fiftieth birthday and have developed this disease then you can undergo prostate cancer prognosis to know your future survival chances.
It is true that most of the people ignore the initial danger signals given by the body. However, if you pay due attention towards these warnings given by the body then you can ward off the chances of suffering from any kind of major problem in the future. To attain a fit and healthy life forever, you should maintain an annual check up system of your body.
This check up will help your doctor to foretell about any kind of internal ailment in your body and help you to eradicate it in the initial stage with the help of proper treatment. Moreover, you will get to know about the lifestyle that you have to follow and the medication that you have to take to remain fit and healthy for your entire life span.
If you are a male and you want to get protection against prostate cancer then you can take prostate cancer vaccine, which will provide the protective shield against this disease. However, if you have any kind of family history about cancer and feel that you can inherit this disease genetically then you should take prior precaution by taking potent vaccines.
Prostate cancer vaccine tests have also proved beneficial for men who were suffering from metastatic that is the fourth stage of prostate cancer, as the vaccine has the potential to destroy the cells that produce malignant tumors in the prostate gland. Therefore, you can easily take this vaccine if you have any kind of doubt about developing prostate cancer.
Nevertheless, you should ensure that FDA approves prostate cancer vaccine that you are taking, as this will ensure that you are taking the vaccine, which has undergone proper clinical testing before coming in the market. Moreover, FDA approved vaccine will always be safe and effective as it has to pass through strict standards of measurements for ensuring that it is safe for human use.
Thus, if you want to lead a healthy and happy life and free yourself from the tension of the pain and suffering attached with prostate cancer you should always go in for the related tests. This will provide mental and financial relief to your family members as prostate cancer prognosis will help in knowing the future status, which will give you the opportunity to prepare for the future.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Prostate Cancer - Do Vitamins Help
Prostate Cancer - Do Vitamins Help
Prostate cancer is the foremost common cancer among men in the United States and is a chief reason for cancer death. In recent times, many dietary risk factors are examined relating to their tie to prostrate cancer. Some researches have shown that larger intakes of dairy product, meat, fat and lower consumption of tomato product, selenium, lycopene and vitamin E have all been linked to elevated prostate cancer threat.
Until lately there was little evidence that way of life factors such as diet had any effect on prostate cancer threat. Now, a new research suggests there may be some profit in eating vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli .
Studies reveal that particular vitamins, minerals and natural products offer protection against cancer. Let's have a look at some of the most well-known vitamins, whilst presenting perhaps a few less important-famous naturally occurring products.
New studies have shown that vitamin E (found in leafy green vegetables, nuts and fortified cereals) notably beside Selenium, could have a protective part against prostate cancer. Vitamin E helps fight free radicals that play a task in the beginning of cancer and may lower a person�s risk of prostate cancer.
There have been a variety of studies to show that vitamin D, if it is deficient might add to your chance of prostate cancer. So certainly, supplements may be suggested. But you should get your vitamin D levels examined by your physician to work out exactly how deficient your vitamin D levels are and applicable suggestions may be created on how you'll supplement this.
Vitamin C besides many other benefits is also a weak diuretic, making urination easier for men with an enlarged prostate.
Some researchers reported some years ago that the usual intakes of tomato products -- particularly tomato sauce , was associated with a decreased chance of prostate cancer amongst more than 40,000 participants of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. In a recent study that followed the same group of men for many more years the researchers were hoping to learn more information regarding the precise types of foods or nutrients that seem to afford the men some protection from prostate cancer.
Few things in medicine research are getting simpler the additional you inspect them, and the utilization of vitamins, minerals, and herbal and botanical supplements to prevent or deal with prostate cancer isn't any exclusion. Up to date medical research, as an example, counsel that supplements of single nutrients like vitamins B, C, and E and the mineral selenium do not, as thought formerly , forestall chronic or age-connected diseases together with prostate cancer or different types of cancer.
The one rational deduction we may perhaps make from it is to eat a healthy diet. Start with a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables (eight to ten portions of food a day); whole-grain breads and cereals; beans; low-fat poultry and meat; non-fried fish; and low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese.
Prostate cancer is the foremost common cancer among men in the United States and is a chief reason for cancer death. In recent times, many dietary risk factors are examined relating to their tie to prostrate cancer. Some researches have shown that larger intakes of dairy product, meat, fat and lower consumption of tomato product, selenium, lycopene and vitamin E have all been linked to elevated prostate cancer threat.
Until lately there was little evidence that way of life factors such as diet had any effect on prostate cancer threat. Now, a new research suggests there may be some profit in eating vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli .
Studies reveal that particular vitamins, minerals and natural products offer protection against cancer. Let's have a look at some of the most well-known vitamins, whilst presenting perhaps a few less important-famous naturally occurring products.
New studies have shown that vitamin E (found in leafy green vegetables, nuts and fortified cereals) notably beside Selenium, could have a protective part against prostate cancer. Vitamin E helps fight free radicals that play a task in the beginning of cancer and may lower a person�s risk of prostate cancer.
There have been a variety of studies to show that vitamin D, if it is deficient might add to your chance of prostate cancer. So certainly, supplements may be suggested. But you should get your vitamin D levels examined by your physician to work out exactly how deficient your vitamin D levels are and applicable suggestions may be created on how you'll supplement this.
Vitamin C besides many other benefits is also a weak diuretic, making urination easier for men with an enlarged prostate.
Some researchers reported some years ago that the usual intakes of tomato products -- particularly tomato sauce , was associated with a decreased chance of prostate cancer amongst more than 40,000 participants of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. In a recent study that followed the same group of men for many more years the researchers were hoping to learn more information regarding the precise types of foods or nutrients that seem to afford the men some protection from prostate cancer.
Few things in medicine research are getting simpler the additional you inspect them, and the utilization of vitamins, minerals, and herbal and botanical supplements to prevent or deal with prostate cancer isn't any exclusion. Up to date medical research, as an example, counsel that supplements of single nutrients like vitamins B, C, and E and the mineral selenium do not, as thought formerly , forestall chronic or age-connected diseases together with prostate cancer or different types of cancer.
The one rational deduction we may perhaps make from it is to eat a healthy diet. Start with a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables (eight to ten portions of food a day); whole-grain breads and cereals; beans; low-fat poultry and meat; non-fried fish; and low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Proscar- Fabulous Cancer Treatment
Proscar- Fabulous Cancer Treatment
Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases after Heart attack by which most people die. Uncontrolled and malignant growth of cells and tissues are the cause of cancer which spreads from one part of the body to the other attacking nearby cells to spread the malignancy ultimately causing death to the affected person.
Proscar- Fabulous Cancer Treatment
Today we will discuss about a drug developed by Merck & Co. Inc. for treatment of Prostate Cancer.
Before going to the subject, let us understand what cancer is and what Prostate Cancer is.
Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases after Heart attack by which most people die. Uncontrolled and malignant growth of cells and tissues are the cause of cancer which spreads from one part of the body to the other attacking nearby cells to spread the malignancy ultimately causing death to the affected person.
Cancer can occur at any part of the body. When the lungs are attacked we call it Lung Cancer. When the skin is attacked we call it as Skin Cancer. When women Breasts are attacked we call it Breast Cancer. However there may be Breast Cancer for male persons also.
One type of Cancer which is special for male person is known as Prostate Cancer. It is the Cancer of the Prostate gland which is a male organ.
Let us now have some knowledge about Prostate Gland of a male a person. The Prostate is a chest nut type gland present in males. Male persons above 50 have the tendency of benign enlargement of the Prostate. The enlarged gland squeezes the urethra restricting urine to pass through. This problem leads to problem in urination.
Some times the problem becomes so acute that surgical removal of Prostate is required.
Some times the enlargement of Prostate may be cancerous also.
American Cancer Society has found that 75 % of Prostate Cancer is curable.
Proscar- whose generic name is Finasteride, is used to shrink the enlarged Prostate to neutralize the problem of urination. Thus surgery for Prostate enlargement may be avoided.
Proscar is a white crystalline powder which is practically insoluble in water and is oral pill to fight Prostate Cancer.
Also Proscar is prescribed by some doctors as a protection measure against Prostate Cancer.
It was found that different men have different responses to Proscar. Some times it acts very fast to give relief to urinary problem. For some, the effect may be delayed upto 6 months even a year before getting result. For some men it is not at all effective. So a doctor should monitor the effect of Proscar on a man with Prostate enlargement problem.
The medicine may be taken with a meal or between the meals.
Generally side effects of Proscar can not be anticipated. A doctor should be immediately reported if any kind of side effect is noticed or felt.
Some of the recorded side effects are decreased amount of semen per ejaculation, decreased sex drive, impotence etc.
The drug is very much effective in treating Prostate enlargement and also can be used as a preventive measure against Prostate Cancer.
Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases after Heart attack by which most people die. Uncontrolled and malignant growth of cells and tissues are the cause of cancer which spreads from one part of the body to the other attacking nearby cells to spread the malignancy ultimately causing death to the affected person.
Proscar- Fabulous Cancer Treatment
Today we will discuss about a drug developed by Merck & Co. Inc. for treatment of Prostate Cancer.
Before going to the subject, let us understand what cancer is and what Prostate Cancer is.
Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases after Heart attack by which most people die. Uncontrolled and malignant growth of cells and tissues are the cause of cancer which spreads from one part of the body to the other attacking nearby cells to spread the malignancy ultimately causing death to the affected person.
Cancer can occur at any part of the body. When the lungs are attacked we call it Lung Cancer. When the skin is attacked we call it as Skin Cancer. When women Breasts are attacked we call it Breast Cancer. However there may be Breast Cancer for male persons also.
One type of Cancer which is special for male person is known as Prostate Cancer. It is the Cancer of the Prostate gland which is a male organ.
Let us now have some knowledge about Prostate Gland of a male a person. The Prostate is a chest nut type gland present in males. Male persons above 50 have the tendency of benign enlargement of the Prostate. The enlarged gland squeezes the urethra restricting urine to pass through. This problem leads to problem in urination.
Some times the problem becomes so acute that surgical removal of Prostate is required.
Some times the enlargement of Prostate may be cancerous also.
American Cancer Society has found that 75 % of Prostate Cancer is curable.
Proscar- whose generic name is Finasteride, is used to shrink the enlarged Prostate to neutralize the problem of urination. Thus surgery for Prostate enlargement may be avoided.
Proscar is a white crystalline powder which is practically insoluble in water and is oral pill to fight Prostate Cancer.
Also Proscar is prescribed by some doctors as a protection measure against Prostate Cancer.
It was found that different men have different responses to Proscar. Some times it acts very fast to give relief to urinary problem. For some, the effect may be delayed upto 6 months even a year before getting result. For some men it is not at all effective. So a doctor should monitor the effect of Proscar on a man with Prostate enlargement problem.
The medicine may be taken with a meal or between the meals.
Generally side effects of Proscar can not be anticipated. A doctor should be immediately reported if any kind of side effect is noticed or felt.
Some of the recorded side effects are decreased amount of semen per ejaculation, decreased sex drive, impotence etc.
The drug is very much effective in treating Prostate enlargement and also can be used as a preventive measure against Prostate Cancer.
Philosophy and Cancer Treatment
Philosophy and Cancer Treatment
Around the tenth century in Europe - after the so called 'Dark Ages' - women, the original stewards of the land (men did 'animal husbandry'), were dispossessed of it by the new patriarchies of the Church and State. This male hierarchy hid the things they were most afraid of, namely the fact that it is women who hold the key to the processes and powers of life. They took them as their own, decreeing laws about how we should behave to impose control and inventing 'original sin'. Allied to this there came a prolonged persecution of women, especially any of those involved in healing. Some sources estimate about 5 - 9 million women were destroyed across Europe during this persecution. Essentially the role of women as healers and midwives was discouraged and 'home-making' and its many associated skills is still regarded as a 'worthless' career according to our primarily fiscal values based on GDP.
When a patriarchy takes over a matriarchy as a fundamental paradigm shift, one of the main things that happens is that 'healing' and 'spirituality' are separated out as an instrument of control. The world of spirit and physic were separated and became even more so during the great male 'Age of Reason' that began with Descartes and continued with Newton, the tail-end of which many are presently clinging to in desperation and a degree of applied self-interest.
Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) was a central influence on the 17th century revolution that began modern science and philosophy. His 'Method of Doubt' was published in 1637: "I resolved to reject as false everything in which I could imagine the least doubt, in order to see if there afterwards remained anything that was entirely indubitable".
The philosophy of 'Cartesian dualism' became part of our science, where the mind and the body are seen as essentially separate. The 'self', the conscious being that is 'me' was seen as essentially non-physical. Misguidedly (it was not Descartes intention) this philosophy contributed to the mechanistic and rational philosophy of the universe adopted by our culture. Descartes was one of the first people to suggest that phenomena could be understood by breaking them down into constituent parts and examining each minutely. His view of the human body as a machine functioning within a mechanistic universe took prevalence within the 'Age of Reason'.
"Consider the human body as a machine. My thought compares a sick man and an ill-made clock with my idea of a healthy man and a well made clock".
This attention to analytical detail is still at the heart of our scientific research methodologies. As a result Western medicine has produced 'World saving' vaccines and antibiotics. It has created drugs and surgical techniques that do utterly amazing things. It has virtually eliminated all the serious communicable diseases (in the First World) such as leprosy, plague, tuberculosis, tetanus, syphilis, rheumatic fever, pneumonia, meningitis, polio, septicaemia. There are very few women dying in childbirth compared to the past. Western medicine has been, and is, a triumph in the face of these problems which worried us back then the way cancer and heart disease worry us today. Even the big medical problems of the of 1930's and 40's have literally vanished.
The age of infectious disease has given way to the age of chronic disorders. The major killers today are heart and vascular disease, chronic degenerative diseases and cancer, largely incurable and increasing in incidence. The strategies that worked so well for all but eliminating acute infectious diseases just don't seem to work for chronic and degenerative conditions.
"The prevalence of asthma, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, immune deficiency syndrome, HIV and a host of other debilitating conditions is increasing. Conventional biomedicine - so strikingly successful in the treatment of overwhelming infections, surgical and medical emergencies and congenital defects, has been unable to stem the tide of these conditions". James Gordon M.D., Washington, D.C.
Even during the time of Sir Isaac Newton the human body was viewed as an intricate biological machine. The Universe was an orderly, predictable but divine mechanism, a 'grand clockwork'. Although hundreds of years have passed, Western scientific medicine still holds the same basic philosophy, but are more sophisticated in studying biological mechanisms at a molecular level.
The first Newtonian approaches were essentially surgical. The body was seen as if it were a complex plumbing system. If it went wrong the offending piece was removed or bypassed. These days instead of using knives, drugs are often used to do more or less the same things.
Humans though are far more than walking sacks of chemicals. The animating life-force central to other medical systems is an energy that is not addressed by modern scientific methodology and there are no Western medical models that explain what it is and what it does. It is misguided by the concept that all illnesses are cured by physically repairing or eliminating abnormal cells. This is partly due to a conflict between 'Western' and 'Eastern' philosophies and has its roots in the division of science and religion along with the destruction of folk medicine in both U.S. and Europe.
Cancer cannot be treated effectively under a philosophy of reductionism. Scientific cancer research has failed to find a cure because it is looking in the wrong places with the wrong tools. Cancer needs to be understood as a 'whole' disease in relation to each individual's experience and the culture of which they are part. It has multiple causes that vary with each patient. The strategies that worked so well for tackling acute infectious diseases are inappropriate for dealing with chronic and degenerative conditions. Cancer patients can be at best increasingly 'patched up' by orthodox treatments but at spiralling health care costs.
Around the tenth century in Europe - after the so called 'Dark Ages' - women, the original stewards of the land (men did 'animal husbandry'), were dispossessed of it by the new patriarchies of the Church and State. This male hierarchy hid the things they were most afraid of, namely the fact that it is women who hold the key to the processes and powers of life. They took them as their own, decreeing laws about how we should behave to impose control and inventing 'original sin'. Allied to this there came a prolonged persecution of women, especially any of those involved in healing. Some sources estimate about 5 - 9 million women were destroyed across Europe during this persecution. Essentially the role of women as healers and midwives was discouraged and 'home-making' and its many associated skills is still regarded as a 'worthless' career according to our primarily fiscal values based on GDP.
When a patriarchy takes over a matriarchy as a fundamental paradigm shift, one of the main things that happens is that 'healing' and 'spirituality' are separated out as an instrument of control. The world of spirit and physic were separated and became even more so during the great male 'Age of Reason' that began with Descartes and continued with Newton, the tail-end of which many are presently clinging to in desperation and a degree of applied self-interest.
Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) was a central influence on the 17th century revolution that began modern science and philosophy. His 'Method of Doubt' was published in 1637: "I resolved to reject as false everything in which I could imagine the least doubt, in order to see if there afterwards remained anything that was entirely indubitable".
The philosophy of 'Cartesian dualism' became part of our science, where the mind and the body are seen as essentially separate. The 'self', the conscious being that is 'me' was seen as essentially non-physical. Misguidedly (it was not Descartes intention) this philosophy contributed to the mechanistic and rational philosophy of the universe adopted by our culture. Descartes was one of the first people to suggest that phenomena could be understood by breaking them down into constituent parts and examining each minutely. His view of the human body as a machine functioning within a mechanistic universe took prevalence within the 'Age of Reason'.
"Consider the human body as a machine. My thought compares a sick man and an ill-made clock with my idea of a healthy man and a well made clock".
This attention to analytical detail is still at the heart of our scientific research methodologies. As a result Western medicine has produced 'World saving' vaccines and antibiotics. It has created drugs and surgical techniques that do utterly amazing things. It has virtually eliminated all the serious communicable diseases (in the First World) such as leprosy, plague, tuberculosis, tetanus, syphilis, rheumatic fever, pneumonia, meningitis, polio, septicaemia. There are very few women dying in childbirth compared to the past. Western medicine has been, and is, a triumph in the face of these problems which worried us back then the way cancer and heart disease worry us today. Even the big medical problems of the of 1930's and 40's have literally vanished.
The age of infectious disease has given way to the age of chronic disorders. The major killers today are heart and vascular disease, chronic degenerative diseases and cancer, largely incurable and increasing in incidence. The strategies that worked so well for all but eliminating acute infectious diseases just don't seem to work for chronic and degenerative conditions.
"The prevalence of asthma, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, immune deficiency syndrome, HIV and a host of other debilitating conditions is increasing. Conventional biomedicine - so strikingly successful in the treatment of overwhelming infections, surgical and medical emergencies and congenital defects, has been unable to stem the tide of these conditions". James Gordon M.D., Washington, D.C.
Even during the time of Sir Isaac Newton the human body was viewed as an intricate biological machine. The Universe was an orderly, predictable but divine mechanism, a 'grand clockwork'. Although hundreds of years have passed, Western scientific medicine still holds the same basic philosophy, but are more sophisticated in studying biological mechanisms at a molecular level.
The first Newtonian approaches were essentially surgical. The body was seen as if it were a complex plumbing system. If it went wrong the offending piece was removed or bypassed. These days instead of using knives, drugs are often used to do more or less the same things.
Humans though are far more than walking sacks of chemicals. The animating life-force central to other medical systems is an energy that is not addressed by modern scientific methodology and there are no Western medical models that explain what it is and what it does. It is misguided by the concept that all illnesses are cured by physically repairing or eliminating abnormal cells. This is partly due to a conflict between 'Western' and 'Eastern' philosophies and has its roots in the division of science and religion along with the destruction of folk medicine in both U.S. and Europe.
Cancer cannot be treated effectively under a philosophy of reductionism. Scientific cancer research has failed to find a cure because it is looking in the wrong places with the wrong tools. Cancer needs to be understood as a 'whole' disease in relation to each individual's experience and the culture of which they are part. It has multiple causes that vary with each patient. The strategies that worked so well for tackling acute infectious diseases are inappropriate for dealing with chronic and degenerative conditions. Cancer patients can be at best increasingly 'patched up' by orthodox treatments but at spiralling health care costs.
Ovarian Cancer Treatment
Ovarian Cancer Treatment
Ovarian cancer, a condition characterized by an overgrowth of malignant cells in one or both of the ovaries, is one of the deadliest and under-recognized cancers affecting women. Every year, there are more than 25,000 women that suffer from this deadly disease. Half of them are most likely to die within a period of five years.
Early Detection: Improves Ovarian Cancer Treatment
The sad thing about ovarian cancer is that during the early stage, there are usually no signs and symptoms that tell you about this disorder. Symptoms start to show up when the cancer is already widespread, making ovarian cancer treatment too difficult.
However, there are women who are lucky enough to detect the symptoms early on; hence, diagnosis is hastened up and ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately. Tests such as pelvic and rectal screening, ultrasound, x-ray and laparoscopy may help a doctor detect tumors in the ovaries.
At present, almost 75 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are not treated immediately due to late detection of the cancer. Experts say that when detection of the cancer is made early and when ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately, women diagnosed with the disease have 90% survival rate since the cancer can be easily treated in its early stage.
Diagnosis and Ovarian Cancer Treatment
When symptoms finally show up and the doctor suspects that a patient may have ovarian cancer, laparoscopy is conducted to confirm diagnosis. It is a direct visual examination of the abdominal cavity, the ovaries, the exterior of the fallopian tubes and the uterus using an instrument that is inserted just underneath the navel.
Upon confirmation of ovarian cancer, the doctor explores the extent of the cancer and submits the patient for surgery. The surgeon removes the growth or much of the malignant tissue. In most cases, the whole ovary or both of the ovaries and the fallopian tubes are removed as they the malignant cancer cells have already affected these areas. This kind of surgery is called salpingooophorectomy. If the malignant cells affect the uterus, hysterectomy is conducted (surgical removal of the uterus).
Surgery is usually ensued by radiotherapy, which is the use of high energy radiation to destroy malignant cancer cells in the body and shrink remaining tumors, which may later on become malignant. This procedure may be done using an external machine or a radioactive material put inside the body near the malignant cells.
The patient also undergoes chemotherapy, whereby the patient is given anti-cancer drugs to help hasten up ovarian cancer treatment. Drugs may be administered orally (through the mouth), intravenously (through the veins) or through the muscles (by means of injection of a needle.
Most anticancer drugs given to the patient have chemical compounds that are toxic to the malignant cells; thus, growth of the cancer cells is reduced or stopped. These anticancer drugs are called cytotoxic drugs. Other anticancer drugs used are synthetic forms of sex hormones such as androgen drugs and progesterone drugs.
In most instances, different kinds of anticancer drugs are prescribed in combination in order to speed up ovarian cancer treatment. However, not all ovarian cancer patients are given with the same anticancer drugs. The drugs given to a patient depends on the extent or stage of development of the ovarian cancer and her general health condition.
Ovarian cancer, a condition characterized by an overgrowth of malignant cells in one or both of the ovaries, is one of the deadliest and under-recognized cancers affecting women. Every year, there are more than 25,000 women that suffer from this deadly disease. Half of them are most likely to die within a period of five years.
Early Detection: Improves Ovarian Cancer Treatment
The sad thing about ovarian cancer is that during the early stage, there are usually no signs and symptoms that tell you about this disorder. Symptoms start to show up when the cancer is already widespread, making ovarian cancer treatment too difficult.
However, there are women who are lucky enough to detect the symptoms early on; hence, diagnosis is hastened up and ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately. Tests such as pelvic and rectal screening, ultrasound, x-ray and laparoscopy may help a doctor detect tumors in the ovaries.
At present, almost 75 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are not treated immediately due to late detection of the cancer. Experts say that when detection of the cancer is made early and when ovarian cancer treatment is given immediately, women diagnosed with the disease have 90% survival rate since the cancer can be easily treated in its early stage.
Diagnosis and Ovarian Cancer Treatment
When symptoms finally show up and the doctor suspects that a patient may have ovarian cancer, laparoscopy is conducted to confirm diagnosis. It is a direct visual examination of the abdominal cavity, the ovaries, the exterior of the fallopian tubes and the uterus using an instrument that is inserted just underneath the navel.
Upon confirmation of ovarian cancer, the doctor explores the extent of the cancer and submits the patient for surgery. The surgeon removes the growth or much of the malignant tissue. In most cases, the whole ovary or both of the ovaries and the fallopian tubes are removed as they the malignant cancer cells have already affected these areas. This kind of surgery is called salpingooophorectomy. If the malignant cells affect the uterus, hysterectomy is conducted (surgical removal of the uterus).
Surgery is usually ensued by radiotherapy, which is the use of high energy radiation to destroy malignant cancer cells in the body and shrink remaining tumors, which may later on become malignant. This procedure may be done using an external machine or a radioactive material put inside the body near the malignant cells.
The patient also undergoes chemotherapy, whereby the patient is given anti-cancer drugs to help hasten up ovarian cancer treatment. Drugs may be administered orally (through the mouth), intravenously (through the veins) or through the muscles (by means of injection of a needle.
Most anticancer drugs given to the patient have chemical compounds that are toxic to the malignant cells; thus, growth of the cancer cells is reduced or stopped. These anticancer drugs are called cytotoxic drugs. Other anticancer drugs used are synthetic forms of sex hormones such as androgen drugs and progesterone drugs.
In most instances, different kinds of anticancer drugs are prescribed in combination in order to speed up ovarian cancer treatment. However, not all ovarian cancer patients are given with the same anticancer drugs. The drugs given to a patient depends on the extent or stage of development of the ovarian cancer and her general health condition.
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