Cancer

Question 1

What is cancer?

Answer 1

Cancer is an uncontrolled proliferation of cells that can arise from any cell type in the body. This occurs when normal cell division controls are not working.

Question 2

What is the inital stage of cancer identified as?

Answer 2

Dysplasia - this is when there are abnormal cells within a tissue or organ but these cells are not yet cancerous

Question 3

What type of condition is cancer?

Answer 3

A genetic condition

Question 4

How does cancer occur in the body?

Answer 4

Cells can mutate, which is usually picked up on normal cellular mechanisms causing these cells to die. When cancer occurs, it is a failure of these mechanisms.

Question 5

What does the term ‘malignant’ mean?

Answer 5

the word malignant is used to describe harmful masses or tumors that are cancerous and that grow and spread disease.

Question 6

What does metastasise mean?

Answer 6

Metastasis is a pathogenic agent’s spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host’s body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor.

Question 7

What are benign tumours?

Answer 7

Benign tumors are those that stay in their primary location without invading other sites of the body. They tend to grow slowly.

Question 8

How are cancers classified (named)?

Answer 8

By the tissue that they arrise from

Question 9

What type of tissue does ‘Carcinoma’ arise from?

Answer 9

Epithelial tissue (tissue of surfaces and linings in the body)

Question 10

What type of tissue does ‘Adenocarcinoma’ arise from?

Answer 10

Glandular or ductal epithelium

(glandular tissue is commonly found in the breast, lung, stomach, colon, pancreas, prostate, uterus, and cervix and ductal epithelium is found in the breast)

Question 11

What type of tissue does ‘lymphoma’ arise from?

Answer 11

Lymphatic tissue

(lymphatic tissue are cells and organs that make up the lymphatic system, such as white blood cells (leukocytes), bone marrow, and the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes.)

Question 12

What type of tissue does ‘leukaemia’ arise from?

Answer 12

Blood tissue

Question 13

What type of tissue does ‘sarcoma’ arise from?

Answer 13

Connective tissue

Tissue that supports, protects, and gives structure to other tissues and organs in the body

Question 14

What type of tissue does ‘myeloma’ arise from?

Answer 14

Plasma tissue

Question 15

What are the 6 common signs and symptoms of cancer?

Answer 15

Unexplained weight loss
Oedema or a lump
Unusual bleeding (vagina/bowel ect) 
Persistent cough or fever 
Changes to a wart or mole 
Pain

Question 16

What are 7 common risk factors for cancer?

Answer 16

Smoking 
High Alcohol Consumption
Radiation
Nutrition - low fibre, high red meat intake
Obesity
Occupational hazards
Air pollution

Question 17

What is chemotherapy?

Answer 17

non-selective cytotoxic medications that act on rapidly reproducing/diving cells in the body

Question 18

What are cytotoxic medications?

Answer 18

Cytotoxic drugs (sometimes known as antineoplastics) describe a group of medicines that contain chemicals which are toxic to cells, preventing their replication or growth, and so are used to treat cancer.

Question 19

Whats a negative to using chemotherapy?

Answer 19

not just the cancerous cells are affected. Rapidly dividing normal cells are effected resulting in unwanted effects such as loss of hair.

Question 20

What is radiation therapy?

Answer 20

A therapy used to reduce the cancer cell growth without damaging surrounding tissue (is delivered externally or internally via implant)

Question 21

Is radiation therapy used in a curative way or a palliative way.

Answer 21

It can be used for both - to reduce the tumor size and to reduce pain.

Question 22

What is generally involved in surgery for cancer?

Answer 22

The removal of an entire tumor or a part of it - reducing a part of it would be effective for chemotherapy. Surgery can also be used for palliative care to relieve symptoms or slow tumor growth, delaying onset of symptoms.

Question 23

What is hormone therapy?

Answer 23

Therapy which blocks tumors that are hormone dependant - these are usuall;y cancers in the reproductive organs

Question 24

What is immunotherapy?

Answer 24

Stimulation of the bodys immune system

Question 25

What is gene therapy?

Answer 25

Where genetic material is put into cancerous cells in order to replace missing or damaged genes.

Question 26

What is neoadjuvant treatment?

Answer 26

Treatment given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, which is usually surgery, is given. For example, having chemotherapy prior to surgery

Question 27

What is Adjuvant treatment?

Answer 27

When you receive treatment such as chemotherapy after having a surgery

Question 28

What is palliative care?

Answer 28

End of life care for individuals and their whanau when the cancer (and other conditions) is life limiting

Question 29

What is palliative care concerned with?

Answer 29

The quality of life not the length of time left