Week 3; Cancer Care Flashcards
Malignant cells
BNORMAL, SERVE NO USEFUL FUNCTION, AND ARE
HARMFUL TO NORMAL BODY TISSUES. MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION IS WHEN A NORMAL CELL CHANGES INTO A CANCER CELL.
CANCER REFERS TO
A GROUP OF COMPLEX DISEASES
WHOSE MANIFESTATIONS DEPEND ON THE AFFECTED
BODY SYSTEM AND THE TYPE OF CELLS INVOLVED.
Cancer cells often have these characteristics
1) ANAPLASIA – LOSS OF SPECIFIC APPEARANCE OF
THEIR PARENT CELLS, CANCER CELL BECOMES MORE
MALIGNANT, IT BECOMES SMALLER AND ROUNDED,
LOOK ALIKE UNDER A MICROSCOPE
2) LARGER NUCLEAR-CYTOPLASMIC RATIO - NUCLEUS
LARGER THAN NORMAL CELL
3) SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS LOST
4) LOOSE ADHERENCE – EASILY BREAK OFF FROM TUMOR
Migration of cancer cells
DO NOT BIND TIGHTLY TOGETHER, ALLOW HEM TO
SPREAD (METASTASIS). INVADE OTHER TISSUE CLOSE BY OR REMOTE FROM ORIGINAL SITE
Metasitasis
CELLS MUST PENETRATE BLOOD VESSELS TO SPREAD TO DISTANT ORGANS AND TISSUES. BLOODBORNE
METASTASIS IS THE MOST COMMON. CELLS ALSO TRAVEL THROUGH LYMPH TO INVADE OTHER TISSUES AND ORGANS. METASTASIS OCCURS WHEN CANCER CELLS MOVE FROM PRIMARY LOCATION BY BREAKING OFF FROM THE ORIGINAL GROUP AND ESTABLISHING IN REMOTE AREAS.
Breast cancer screening
SCREENING ANNUALLY AGE 45 OR EARLIER DEPENDING ON RISK. LIMITATIONS OF BREAST SELF-EXAM
s/s of breast cancer
BREAST LUMP OR THICKENING THAT FEELS DIFFERENT FROM THE SURROUNDING TISSUE, CHANGE IN THE SIZE, SHAPE OR APPEARANCE OF A BREAST, CHANGES TO THE SKIN OVER THE BREAST, SUCH AS DIMPLING, NEWLY INVERTED NIPPLE, PEELING, SCALING, CRUSTING OR FLAKING OF THE PIGMENTED AREA OF AREOLA OR BREAST SKIN, REDNESS OR PITTING OF THE SKIN OVER YOUR BREAST, LIKE THE SKIN OF AN ORANGE
PROSTATE AND TESTICULAR CANCER SCREENING
PSA TESTING, DIGITAL EXAM
PROSTATE AND TESTICULAR CANCER
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF CANCER. MANY PROSTATE CANCERS GROW SLOWLY AND ARE CONFINED TO THE PROSTATE GLAND, WHERE THEY
MAY NOT CAUSE SERIOUS HARM. SOME TYPES
GROW SLOWLY AND MAY NEED MINIMAL OR EVEN
NO TREATMENT, OTHER TYPES ARE AGGRESSIVE.
PROSTATE CANCER S/S
PROSTATE CANCER MAY CAUSE NO SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS IN ITS EARLY STAGES.
PROSTATE CANCER THAT’S MORE ADVANCED MAY CAUSE:
* TROUBLE URINATING
* DECREASED FORCE IN THE STREAM OF URINE
* BLOOD IN THE URINE
* BLOOD IN THE SEMEN
* BONE PAIN
* LOSING WEIGHT WITHOUT TRYING
* ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
PANCREATIC CANCER DX
- BY SYMPTOM AND TESTING, NO SCREENING
- RADIOLOGY – CT, MRI, PET, ULTRASOUND
- BIOPSY
- CARCINOEMBRYONIC ANTIGEN (CEA) AND CA 19-9, ARE ELEVATED IN PEOPLE WITH PANCREATIC CANCER.
HOWEVER, BLOOD TESTS DON’T ALLOW FOR EARLY
DETECTION OF PANCREATIC CANCER, BECAUSE THESE
LEVELS MAY NOT RISE UNTIL PANCREATIC CANCER IS
ADVANCED, IF AT ALL.
PANCREATIC CANCER S/S
JAUNDICE. AS PANCREATIC CANCER BLOCKS DUCT THAT RELEASES BILE INTO THE INTESTINE (COMMON BILE DUCT), DARK URINE, LIGHT COLORED STOOLS, AND ITCHING, ABDOMINAL PAIN (CAUSE A DULL ACHE
IN THE UPPER ABDOMEN), BACK PAIN, BLOATING, EARLY FULLNESS WITH MEALS, AN UNCOMFORTABLE
SWELLING IN THE ABDOMEN, NAUSEA/VOMITING
COLON CANCER
GUIDELINES GENERALLY RECOMMEND THAT COLON CANCER SCREENINGS BEGIN AROUND 50. YOUR DOCTOR MAY RECOMMEND MORE FREQUENT OR EARLIER SCREENING IF YOU HAVE OTHER RISK FACTORS, SUCH AS A FAMILY HISTORY OF THE DISEASE.
S/S OF COLON CANCER
A PERSISTENT CHANGE IN YOUR BOWEL HABITS, INCLUDING DIARRHEA OR CONSTIPATION OR A CHANGE IN THE CONSISTENCY OF YOUR STOOL, RECTAL BLEEDING OR BLOOD IN YOUR STOOL, PERSISTENT ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT, SUCH AS CRAMPS, GAS OR
PAIN, FEELING THAT YOUR BOWEL DOESN’T EMPTY COMPLETELY, WEAKNESS OR FATIGUE, UNEXPLAINED WEIGHT LOSS
Common sites of metastasis for breast cancer
BONE, LUNG, LIVER, BRAIN
Common sites of metastasis for lung cancer
BRAIN, BONE, LIVER, LYMPH NODES, PANCREAS