Mens Natural Health

Archive for the ‘Cancer Specialist’ Category

The bladder is a hollow organ in your pelvic area that stores urine. When a cancer begins in the cells lining the inside of the bladder, it is called bladder cancer. Although it usually affects older adults, it can occur at any age. Since most of these cancers are easy to detect at an early stage, successful treatment is easier for such types of cancer. Let’s have a look at the types, causes, and risk factors before we go onto the symptoms and treatment of bladder cancer.

Types, causes, and risk factors of bladder cancer

There are three main types of bladder cancer and they begin in different bladder cells. Following are the types of this cancer:

Transitional cell carcinoma – This cancer occurs in the cells that line the inside of the bladder and is the most common type of bladder cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma – These cancers appear in cells that grow in the bladder in reaction to an infection. Adenocarcinoma – This cancer begins in the cells that form the glands secreting mucus in the bladder.

The causes of this type of cancer are not clear. However, there are certain factors that increase your risk of getting this type of cancer:

Although it can occur at any age, it usually occurs after the age of forty. Whites are at a higher risk of getting this cancer as compared to the other races. This type of cancer is found more in men than in women. Smoking increases your risk since all the harmful chemicals accumulate in the urine and damage the lining of the bladder. Chemicals such as arsenic and others increase the risk of this cancer since the kidneys filter these harmful chemicals from the bloodstream and move them into the bladder. Anti-cancer drugs and radiation therapy for cancer used in the treatment of a previous cancer also increase your chances of getting bladder cancer. A personal or family history of cancer increases your risk. Recurrent or chronic urinary infections increase the risk of squamous cell bladder cancer.

Symptoms of bladder cancer

Following are some of the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer:

The urine changes color to dark yellow, bright red, or brown Blood may be detected in the urine during a lab test The individual urinates frequently Urination may be painful Presence of or recurrence of urinary tract infections Pain in the abdomen Pain in the back

Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer

A cancer specialist is called an oncologist and you should consult one after reading this article if you suspect you have this type of cancer. A physician may use a cystoscope (a narrow tube inserted through your urethra), a biopsy (a sample of the cells is taken), or blood and imaging tests to diagnose if you have the cancer. Additional tests may also be required to determine the stage of the cancer.

The treatment options available for bladder cancer include surgery, biological therapy (in which a drug is administered directly into the bladder), chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

There is no guaranteed way of preventing this type of cancer. However, there are certain precautions that can help you decrease the risk of getting cancer. These include quitting smoking, avoiding exposure to harmful chemicals, drinking water throughout the day, and choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Is the medical profession doing enough to help cancer survivors live a full and happy life?

Once they (the medical profession) have slashed/burnt and poisoned you, it seems as long as you’re alive, that’s okay by them. The quality of that life and the late effect problems encountered, seem to receive very little attention, certainly not the sort of attention that should reflect the often chronic and devastating effects survivors are facing. You are on your own, left without support, scared, often in pain and not knowing which way to turn.

The impression is, that once the job is done (we are still alive with no apparent cancer), we simply get tossed back to our family GP who is left trying to cope with undocumented and complicated chronic issues. Part of the problem appears to be that no one wants to admit cancer treatments can cause the sort of late effect problems patients are left with. There is a closing of ranks around the issue, which is somewhat scary and very frustrating if you happen to be the patient.

Being sent from one specialist to the next, to get a diagnosis, is not uncommon. No single medical professional, wants to start naming names and pointing fingers towards the treatments as a cause. This leaves patients feeling like we somehow must be imagining it, or that we are odd or unusual in some way but that is not the case. Recent research by the University of Michigan, for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, shows that more than 40% of cancer survivors are in chronic pain.

Survivor’s like Lance, whose Live Strong campaign is shining a light on quality of life issues, is a start but we all need to get on board this train. We need to stop pretending that it’s okay, that it was a fair trade and we are fine with it. In some people, one life threatening condition has simply been swapped for another life threatening condition OR more frequently, for a life altering and disabling one.

There are an alarming number of survivors (and I use this word in the sense that we have survivor cancer treatments’), who need our issues taken seriously. Many of us are left to find our own way forward. Our family doctors can hand out a few pills but many of us are turning to alternative treatments and therapy to make life bearable. Some are quietly suffering in pain because they cannot take the hypochondriac label that is being hung around their neck, or they are self medicating with drink and or drugs.

This has to change!

We are all still people; we do not want to beg for someone to listen, for someone to actually hear what it is we are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. We need support. We need the cancer professionals to turn some of their attention to what is happening to us because of their treatments. We need them to acknowledge the damage done both long and late-term to our radiated bodies or to the damaging effects chemo has on our Central Nervous Systems and Brains. We need them to start taking some responsibility for what they are doing, not just to our cancer, but to US the people behind the cancer.

We have to stop looking at this as a fight against cancer, because that is a fight against ourselves and any fool can see that is a no brainer. We need to change how we look at cancer and how we treat the people who have it.

It is simply not acceptable to eradicate cancer cells at any cost and then wash your hands of the consequences’.

Now I ask you, do YOU think that the medical profession is doing enough to help cancer survivors lead a full and happy life?

Surgery

The time needed to heal after surgery is different for each person. Patients are often uncomfortable for the first few days. However, medicine can usually control the pain.

Clinical trials
A clinical trial is a controlled experiment that is used assess the safety and usefulness of treatments for hum disease and health problems. Generally, patients rece either the state-of-the-art standard treatment or a n therapy that may offer improved survival and/or cai fewer side effects. Participation in clinical trials provic essential information on the effectiveness and risks o new treatment.

Patients should cons their personal doctors and cancer specialists for detail information about appropriate treatment options.

It is common to feel weak or tired for some time after surgery.

Surgery for colorectal cancer sometimes causes constipation or diarrhea. The health care team monitors the patient for signs of bleeding, infection, or other problems requiring immediate treatment.

Radiation therapy
Side effects of radiation therapy for colorectal cancer include mild skin irritation, nausea, diarrhea, rectal irritation, the urge to defecate, bladder irritation, fatigue, or sexual problems. These often go away after treatments are completed.

Some degree of rectal and/or bladder irritation may be a permanent side effect. This can lead to diarrhea and frequent urination. If a patient has these or other side effects, they should be discussed with their doctor. There may be ways to lessen them.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells but also damage some normal cells. Doctors and other health care providers can help patients avoid or minimize side effects, which will depend on the type of drugs, the amount taken, and the length of treatment. Side effects of chemotherapy may include fatigue, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, loss of hair, hand and foot soreness, swelling and rashes, and mouth sores.

Because chemotherapy can damage the blood-producing cells of the bone marrow, patients may experience low blood cell counts. This can increase the chances of infection (due to a shortage of white blood cells), bleeding, or bruising after minor cuts or injuries (due to a shortage of blood platelets).

There are remedies for many of the temporary side effects of chemotherapy. For example, antiemetic drugs can prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting, and hemotopoietic drugs can improve the levels of white and red blood cells. Persons receiving chemotherapy should talk with their doctor if they have any unrelieved side effects.

Most side effects disappear once treatment is stopped. Hair grows back after treatment ends, though it may look different.

Pain
Having cancer does not have to mean having pain. For patients with pain, there are many different medicines, ways to receive the medicine, and alternative methods that can relieve pain. Pain may occur during or after treatment but should not be a constant feature after healing occurs. When a person is free from pain, he or she can sleep and eat better, enjoy the company of family and friends, and continue with work and hobbies.

There are many different medicines and methods available to control cancer pain. The method of pain control used will depend on the source of the discomfort. Doctors routinely seek information and resources necessary to make individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer as comfortable as possible. If a patient experiences persistent pain and the doctor does not suggest treatment options, the patient should ask to see a pain specialist or ask the doctor to consult a pain specialist. Pain specialists may be oncologists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, other doctors, nurses, or pharmacists. A pain control team may also include psychologists and social workers.