The human body is full of wonders. It is made of many processes which sustain it and make it strive over time. The body is composed of trillions of cells that grow, divide, and die as its usual cycle. However, when a cell process creates an abnormal development, making damaged cells grow and multiply, it affects the healthy and normal cells and tissues surrounding, making it difficult for the body to perform its natural workflow. This is called cancer. It’s a mutation of cells that forms tumours or lumps of tissue which can be cancerous or non-cancerous. 

A cancerous tumour, also referred to as malignant, can spread or invade nearby tissues and organs in the body, called metastasis. Malignant tumours often come back even after removal. On the other hand, when a tumour is benign, it does not invade other tissues or organs. But this kind of tumour often forms a larger mass which can be life-threatening, like the ones that grow in the brain. Benign tumours usually don’t grow back when removed. In cases where asbestos exposure has led to the development of malignant tumors such as mesothelioma, seeking asbestos compensation can provide financial support for medical expenses and other related costs

Types of Cancer

Carcinoma

This most common type of cancer starts in the epithelium or the lining of internal body organs like the liver or kidneys. This type of cancer has three forms:

  1. Carcinoma in situ: only confined to the layer of tissue;
  2. Invasive carcinoma: cancer cell growth that has spread beyond the primary tissue layer to surrounding tissue;
  3. Metastatic carcinoma: cancer cells have affected other organs.

Common Types of Carcinoma:

Basal cell carcinoma

This type of skin cancer is the most common as cancer cells develop slowly in the basal cell layer of the skin or the bottom layer of the epidermis. Basal cell cancers rarely metastasise to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Squamous cell carcinoma

This type of carcinoma of the skin grows on squamous cells in the epidermis. Squamous cell carcinoma has a higher chance of invading fatty tissue beneath the skin and may spread even to other organs.

Renal cell carcinoma

This is the most common kidney cancer, which may form in one or two kidneys. The tumours developing in renal cell carcinoma often cause blockage in the tubules.

Ductal carcinoma in situ

This is the common cancer of the breast wherein cancer cells are limited to the lining of the milk ducts. This usually does not affect the duct walls and their surrounding breast tissue.

Invasive ductal carcinoma

This type of breast cancer occurs in the milk duct that invades local breast tissue and can metastasise to other body parts.

Sarcoma

This type of cancer occurs in bones and the muscles or soft tissues. The areas where sarcoma grows are usually on body structures that connect, support and surround the organs such as the muscle, blood vessels, fat, tendons, nerves, and the lining of your joints. There are two main types of sarcoma; bone and soft tissue sarcomas. 

There are more than 50 types of soft tissue sarcoma, and here are some of the most common.

Common Types of Soft Tissue Sarcoma 

Adult fibrosarcoma

This type of sarcoma commonly affects the legs, arms, or trunk. While it can grow in infants and people of any age, it is commonly diagnosed in people between 20 and 60.

Angiosarcoma

This type commonly starts in blood vessels or lymph vessels. This commonly develops in body parts that have been treated with radiation, such as the breast and limbs.

Epithelioid sarcoma

This type of cancer often affects teens and young adults. It starts in tissues in the upper extremities, like under the skin of the hands, forearms, feet, or lower legs.


Synovial sarcoma

This is a tumour growth of the soft tissue around the joints, often appearing on the hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder. Although adults may have this, it occurs commonly in children and young adults.

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS)

This type is often found in the extremities, such as arms or legs, and occurs in older adults. This type of cancer tends to metastasise in nearby tissues, affecting different body parts.

Medical Intervention for Cancer

Cancer treatment comes in different kinds, and the intervention you might undergo will depend on the type of cancer and its severity. Often, cancer treatments come in combination, but there are also instances when a patient will only have to undergo one kind of treatment. Here are the different kinds of cancer treatment:

Chemotherapy 

Chemotherapy is used to stop or slow the cancer cells’ growth, shrink tumours, and lessen the chance it will return, resulting in curing the condition. It can be given in different ways, such as oral, intravenous (IV), injection, intrathecal, intraperitoneal (IP), intra-arterial (IA), or topical.

Hormone Therapy

Also known as endocrine therapy, hormone therapy aims to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells that use hormones to grow. You can do hormone therapy in three different ways. It can be given orally, through injections, and by surgery which removes the organ that produces hormones.

Heart framing from fingers on woman chest with pink badge to support breast cancer cause PS: you can change the ribbon color to red to support AIDS cause as both using same symbol

Immunotherapy 

It is a biological therapy to help your immune system fight cancer, which uses substances made from living organisms. Immunotherapy is done in different ways, such as using immune checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell transfer therapy, monoclonal antibodies, treatment vaccines, and immune system modulators.

Radiation Therapy 

This therapy focuses on treating cancer via the use of high doses of radiation which damage the DNA of cancer cells beyond repair, causing them to stop multiplying and eventually die. This treatment uses two types of methods; External beam radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy.

Adjunctive Treatment for Cancer

While there is much information about herbal preparations that can treat or cure any type of cancer, there is no herbal medicine that can replace the conventional treatment. However, adjunctive therapies can be used as a complement to mainstream cancer treatments. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration identifies most herbs as generally recognised as safe or GRAS. But as with any medical intervention, keep in mind to get approval first from your oncologist before incorporating or trying any of these herbal preparations.

Medical Cannabis

Medicinal marijuanas UK [valid where legal] could be a potential remedy for some of the typical side effects experienced after cancer treatment. The active compounds in cannabis, known as cannabinoids, have become popular for their potential therapeutic effects, including the management of inflammation, anxiety and stress and sleep regulation. 

According to preliminary research, cannabinoids like CBD may help reduce cancer treatment-related side effects such as nausea and vomiting and decreased appetite. In addition to this, CBD is used by many people due to its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties which may provide widespread relief to cancer patients.

Astragalus 

This flowering plant is used in traditional Mongolian medicine. Based on the ​​2022 clinical study published by the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, this plant may help reduce platinum-based chemotherapy agents’ side effects like cisplatin and carboplatin, which are amongst the most effective chemotherapy drugs for mesothelioma. In addition to this, astragalus has been found to improve cancer patients’ physical function and appetite and reduce fatigue, pain, nausea and vomiting.

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