As time pass by, more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer. What is even worse is that a large number of this population is not able to recover and eventually succumb to the disease. Cancer is considered as one of the most deadly diseases nowadays. In 2008, roughly 12.7 million cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide and 7.6 million of these died because of the disease. This accounts to 13 % of all the deaths annually with lung cancer topping the list at 1.3 million death cases. This makes invasive cancer the leading cause of death in the developed countries and second in developing nations. But what is really the cause of cancer and what do cancer lumps feel like?
Learning More about Cancer
Cancer is medically known as malignant neoplasm. From the root word neo, which means “new”, cancer is described as the abnormal growth of new cells in the body. This is a class of diseases wherein the cells display an uncontrolled growth that eventually intrudes and destroys the adjacent tissues and can also metastasize to the nearby organs or locations of the body through the blood or the lymphatic system. These properties of cancer differentiate it from benign tumors, which are not capable of spreading or invading other organs.
Cancer is caused by many factors and some of these include the change in lifestyle and diet of many people. However, old age is still recognized as the most significant risk factor in developing cancer due to the fact that most diagnosed patients with this disease are already over the age of 65. Nevertheless, cancer can strike anyone at any age. In fact, children can also experience certain types of cancers such as leukemia, brain tumors and lymphomas.
Dealing with Cancer and its Lumps
Cancer is a very hard disease to treat or manage. Aside from the expensive medical and/or treatment procedures, there are still no medicines or methods that could guarantee 100% cure or relief from this disease. This is why prevention and early detection are still the best ways in order to avoid cancer from worsening and spreading throughout the body. One way of detecting cancer early is by identifying the indicative symptoms of the disease. As we all know, all of us should be aware of the things that are considered normal and abnormal in the body in order to detect anything that is not right. This includes detecting all the lumps and the bumps that can occur both inside and outside of the body as a sign of cancer. These lumps are recognized as possible indicative signs of neoplasm growth in the body. These abnormal growths can be located anywhere in the body.
A certain type of cancer is called sarcoma. Sarcoma can form or develop in all the soft tissues of the body such as those in muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels and even fats. Most of these lumps can be felt with the use of palpation. Palpation is considered one of the four techniques used in body assessment. Through palpation, we are able to recognize abnormal growth or lumps found all over our body.
Description of Lumps
Lumps are usually painless; however, this does not apply to all types of cases. In addition to this, the location of the lump as well as the type of the cancer can also affect the description of these abnormal growths in the body. Nevertheless, most lumps are hard, painless and are gradually increasing in size. Tumors also vary in size depending on the time it was detected. Some tumors can start very small with a size of 1 to 2 centimeters; however, these can grow very large and can be over 21 centimeters big. These lumps can also grow very slow or very fast depending on the type of case. However, identifying it as benign or malignant is quite hard to do just by feeling or touching it. This is why letting a doctor or a physician examine the condition is always ideal in order to diagnose the situation properly and provide immediate and appropriate interventions. Lumps can always be detected using several types of diagnostic exams. Aside from physical assessment, biopsy, CT scan and X-rays are considered some of the most reliable procedures in diagnosing the condition. In line with this, early detection is valuable in hindering the condition from worsening. Chemotherapy and radiation sessions are common interventions against cancer. Surgical removal of the lump or the affected organ can also be done. Nonetheless, none of these techniques can guarantee 100% success against cancer.
In case the cancer is on the breasts, which is also a common type of cancer in women, BSE or breast self examination can be done in order to detect the lumps in the bosom area. Breast cancer lumps are very hard to touch and can often feel like a marble. However, some lumps can be very difficult to feel and locate. Other cases of breast cancer can develop rash like appearances on the breasts, which is also indicative of malignant growth.
These are just some of the things that we should know about cancer as well as the important facts regarding the lumps that can be produced by this particular disease. Cancer is not an easy health problem to deal with, which is why immediate action against it is required. So don’t wait and act now!
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