My Medical Choice. MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56.
She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was. We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me.
I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman. Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. Photo Life comes with many challenges. Sarcoma. Classification[edit] Tissue[edit] Sarcomas are given a number of different names based on the type of tissue that they most closely resemble.
For example, osteosarcoma resembles bone, chondrosarcoma resembles cartilage, liposarcoma resembles fat, and leiomyosarcoma resembles smooth muscle. Grade[edit] In addition to being named based on the tissue of origin, sarcomas are also assigned a grade (low, intermediate, or high) based on the presence and frequency of certain cellular and subcellular characteristics associated with malignant biological behavior. Types[edit] (ICD-O codes are provided, where available, along with the relevant edition.) Treatment[edit] Liposarcoma treatment consists of surgical resection, with chemotherapy not being used outside of the investigative setting. Epidemiology[edit] Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common form of sarcoma, with approximately 3,000–3,500 cases per year in the United States.[11] References[edit] External links[edit] Sarcoma at DMOZ. Is Cancer Contagious? A healthy person cannot “catch” cancer from someone who has it.
There is no evidence that close contact or things like sex, kissing, touching, sharing meals, or breathing the same air can spread cancer from one person to another. Cancer cells from one person are generally unable to live in the body of another healthy person. A healthy person’s immune system recognizes foreign cells and destroys them, including cancer cells from another person. Cancer transfer after organ transplant There have been a few cases in which organ transplants from people with cancer have been able to cause cancer in the person who got the organ. Still, recent studies have shown that cancer is more common in people who get solid-organ transplants than in people who don’t – even when the donor doesn’t have cancer.
Cancer transfer during pregnancy Even if a woman has cancer during pregnancy, the cancer rarely affects the fetus directly. Germs can affect cancer risk. Viruses. Cancer. Cancer The causes of cancer are diverse, complex, and only partially understood.
Many things are known to increase the risk of cancer, including tobacco use, dietary factors, certain infections, exposure to radiation, lack of physical activity, obesity, and environmental pollutants.[2] These factors can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults within cells to cause cancerous mutations.[3] Approximately 5–10% of cancers can be traced directly to inherited genetic defects.[4] Many cancers could be prevented by not smoking, eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains, eating less meat and refined carbohydrates, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, minimizing sunlight exposure, and being vaccinated against some infectious diseases.[2][5] Cancer can be detected in a number of ways, including the presence of certain signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging.
Definitions There is no one definition that describes all cancers. Signs and symptoms Causes. Cancer by Any Other Name Would Not Be as Terrifying.