Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Common Cancer Types

By Allan Tan

Many cancer types are named after the part of the body that they affect. If someone is diagnosed with cancer, the person was likely told a medical name for the cancer, the stage of the cancer, and possibly other characteristics of cancer.

The names of some cancer types make it easy for the general public to understand what part of the body that cancer type affects. Breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, and kidney cancer are examples of cancer types that are easily understood.

Some cancer types do not have names that are as obviously related to the part of the body that they affect. The type of cancer that usually starts in a mole or other pigmented tissue is not called mole cancer. It is called melanoma.

The name of the cancer can be considered a category of cancer. Each general type of cancer may actually have several different types. For example, small cell and non-small cell are the two main types of lung cancer.

Some families have high rates of incidence of a specific cancer type. Cancer types can also develop by a carcinogen that contributes to the development of that cancer type. Many carcinogens only affect the development of one cancer type like smoking and lung cancer or sun exposure and skin cancer.

The most common type of cancer is nonmelanoma skin cancer. There are more than 1 million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer anticipated this year.

There is more than one kind of nonmelanoma skin cancer. The type of skin cell that the cancer affects is usually included in the in the name. The elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most susceptible to nonmelanoma skin cancer.

The stage of the cancer can also describe the type the cancer by how severe that cancer is in the general idea of the typical prognosis for that stage. The cancer may be described as stage one to stage four depending on how much damage the cancer has done and if the cancer has spread or is restricted to a tumor.

Other factors that may be considered part of the cancer type are how destructive the tumor is, whether or not the cancer involves the lymph nodes, and if the cancer has metastasized. Other specific information about the tumor may also be considered part of the cancer type.

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