Lecture 1 Flashcards
Lecture 1:
What is Cancer?
A group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth & spread of abnormal cells
Lecture 1:
Why is cancer so hard to cure?
Due to hundreds of cancerous diseases it is hard to cure as all cancer types are different and if spread is not stopped, cell death will occur
Lecture 1:
What are mutations & their impact on the body?
Mutations cause damage to DNA & cells which causes cancer
- mutations are caused by smoking, poor diet, & decreased physical activity
Lecture 1:
What is Prevalence?
A measure of the proportion of people in a population affected with a particular disease at a given time (eg; how many people in this class have a cold)
Lecture 1:
What is Incidence?
The number of new disease cases reported in a population over a certain period of time (eg; how many people have had a cold this year)
Lecture 1:
What is a cancer survivor?
Anyone after diagnosis
Lecture 1:
What happens Pre-Cancer diagnosis?
Pre diagnosis entails Prevention - screening to try & catch cancer early
Lecture 1:
What are the 5 steps of Post-Diagnosis?
1.) Pre-Treatment
2.) Treatment
3.) Rehabilitation
4.) Palliation
5.) Survival
Lecture 1:
When discussing cancer treatments, what are 4 examples?
1.) radiation
2.) chemotherapy
3.) surgery
4.) immunotherapy
Lecture 1:
What is Palliation?
The end of life care provided to cancer patient if treatment does not work
Lecture 1:
What is Cancer Staging?
Staging describes the extent to which the cancer has spread - how big the abnormal cell growth is
- stage 1, 2, 3, or 4 (4 = worst)
Lecture 1:
In the TNM Staging System, what does each letter stand for?
T = extent of primary tumour
N = Lymph node involvement - more involved means worse cancer is
M = Absence or presence of metastases (spread) - has it spread to other parts of body
Lecture 1:
Define Type 1 cancer
I = superficial cancer limited to organ of origin with no lymph node involvement & no metastases
Lecture 1:
Define stage 4 cancer
IV = advanced cancer with distant metastases present as tumours are growing elsewhere in the body
Lecture 1:
What does “In Situ” mean?
Cancer present only in layer of cells where it is developed
- can happen in breast cancer
- easy to treat but not commonly found
Lecture 1:
In Canada, What was the Incidence of Cancer in 2024?
Approximately 247,100 new cases - cancer is huge & growing disease
Lecture 1:
What are some reasons why Canada & the US are world leaders of cancer?
- countries that lack technology may not be aware or able to report cancer cases
- polluted environments cause increased lung cancer
-cancer surpassed heart disease as leading cause of death in Canada
Lecture 1:
Who is most at risk for cancer?
Anyone can get cancer
- 90% of diagnoses are in people 50+
- most cancers (95%) DO NOT result from inherited genes
Lecture 1:
How many Canadians die from cancer?
1 in 4 Canadians die from cancer
- 86,700 Canadians died from cancer in 2023
Lecture 1:
What is the 5-year Survival Rate?
A common benchmark for cancer that is a means percentage of people diagnosed with cancer who are alive after 5 years compared to non-cancer populations of the same age, sex, & race
*overall 5-year survival rate = 64%
Lecture 1:
What is the Overall cost of Cancer care to the Canadian healthcare system?
$7.5 billion per year
- also cost of productivity loss, private expenses, etc
*cost will likely increase with the aging population
Lecture 1:
What are lung, prostate, breast & colorectal cancers responsible for?
Responsible for a disproportionate share of burden in terms incidence & mortality
- 52% of new cancer cases & 55% of cancer deaths
Lecture 1:
What types of cancer are considered the “big 4”
Majority of research is done of the “big 4”
1.) lung cancer
2.) prostate cancer
3.) breast cancer
4.) colorectal cancer
Lecture 1:
How is Years of Life Lost (YLL) from cancer calculated?
Take their life expectancy at their age and then subtract their age of death
