20,000 Die Every Year From Cancer

Cancer is also known by the medical term malignant neoplasm. It is a disease which presents itself in a host of different ways, in a host of different areas of the body, and kills hosts of people every year. What is the real risk of you developing cancer, and what can you do to identify cancer symptoms, and even help work towards a cure for cancer?

Cancer is basically the uncontrolled growth of certain types of tissue or cells. They invade on cells that are adjacent to them, impairing their normal function (this is especially dangerous in the case of heart cancer, brain cancer, and lung cancer). Cancers can also spread to areas of the body other than their original location, through the lymphatic system or the circulatory system. There are benign forms of tumors, which do not invade their surrounding tissue, and do not spread to other areas of the body, and these are sometimes recognized as a precursor to cancer.

Cancer is incredibly prolific worldwide, and there has never been a singular cause or single best treatment identified. It has been estimated that cancer causes around 13% of all deaths worldwide -as the title suggests, it has recently been found that cancer kills 20,000 people each day. As you read this article, there will be hundreds of people the world over, dying from cancer. While 12 million people every year are diagnosed with some form of cancer, approximately 7.6 million of those die.

It is expected that this year, there will be around 2.9 million people in the developed world that die of cancer, out of 5.4 million new cases of diagnosed cancer. In the developing world, around 4.7 million people will die of cancer, out of 6.7 million new cases.

If you are a woman in the developed world, the form of cancer you are most likely to get is either breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. Women in the developing world were found to be far more likely to contract cervical cancer or stomach cancer, both of which are caused by viruses.

Men in the developed world most frequently have prostate, lung or colorectal cancer, while those in the developing world are more likely to get stomach, lung or liver cancer. The reason for the much greater incidence of stomach cancer in both men and women in the developing world is that it is caused by a bacterium Helicobacter pylori, while the greater incidence of cervical cancer in women is attributed to the prevalence of the human papillomavirus.

Since cancer symptoms vary among the different types, it is important to have any niggling health worries checked out by a professional. Be aware of your family medical history, and know the symptoms of cancers to which you might be susceptible. Sometimes seemingly unimportant things, like shortness of breath or lack of energy, can signal cancer. Other common cancer symptoms include lumps or swellings, which could indicate a tumor, enlarged lymph nodes, bone pain, weight loss , poor appetite, persistent coughs, or excessive sweating, especially night sweating. A symptom of heat cancer is an irregular heart beat.

The cure for cancer remains the holy grail of medicine. However, there are some breakthroughs in recent times which hold much promise for specific types of cancers, including lung cancer and skin cancer. Keep yourself abreast of developments, and ask your health professional if any of them may be pertinent in your case.