BRAIN BREAST LUNG CANCER

• Most cancers occur in people over 65 years of age, with higher rates in men than in women, and are more prevalent in industrialized sectors and nations.
• Oncology deals with the study, detection, treatment, and management of cancer.
• An oncology nurse specializes in treating and caring for people who have cancer.
• Age is the most outstanding risk factor for cancer, with the risk increasing progressively with age.
• Approximately 77% of people diagnosed with cancer are over age 55.
• Population-based studies have been conducted in the UK on lung cancer, Japan on stomach cancer, China on liver cancer, the US on colon cancer, and Canada on leukemia.
• Cancer is an abnormal growth characterized by a continuing, purposeless, unwanted, uncontrolled, and damaging growth of cells that differ structurally and functionally from normal cells from which they developed.
• Proliferation is the rapid reproduction by cell division.
• Metastasis is the spread or transfer of cancer from one organ or part to another directly connected.
• Cancer is not a single disease with a single cause, but a group of distinct diseases with different causes, manifestations, treatments, and prognoses.
• Normal cells have limited cell division, divide for 1 or 2 reasons: to develop normal tissue or to replace lost or damaged normal tissue, undergo apoptosis, have a finite life span, show specific morphology, and perform specific differentiated functions.
• Cancer cells have a rapid or continuous cell division, do not respond to signals for apoptosis, have anaplastic morphology, do not serve any useful purpose, adhere loosely together, are able to migrate, grow by invasion, and are not contact inhibited.
• Hormonal factors contributing to breast cancer include early menarche (before 12 years old), nulliparity, first birth after 30 years, late menopause (after 55 years old), and hormone therapy (formerly hormone replacement therapy).
• Other factors contributing to breast cancer include exposure to ionizing radiation during adolescence and early adulthood, obesity, alcohol intake (beer, wine, or liquor), and high-fat diet (controversial, more research needed).
• Factors contributing to breast cancer that cannot be prevented include gender, aging, genetic risk factors (inherited), family history, personal history, race, menstrual cycle, and estrogen.
• Exogenous estrogen and hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) increase the risk of breast cancer by 30% with long-term use.
• Oral Contraceptives (OCs) slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, and the risk returns to normal once the use of OCs has been discontinued.
• Lifestyle risks for breast cancer include oral contraceptive use, not having children, hormone replacement therapy, not breastfeeding, alcohol use, obesity, high-fat diets, physical inactivity, and smoking.
• Other risk factors for breast cancer include radiation exposure, breast disease (Atypical Hyperplasia, Intraductal carcinoma in situ, Intralobular carcinoma in situ), obesity, diet (fat, alcohol), and exposure to chemicals.
• Genetic factors contributing to breast cancer include BRCA-1, BRCA-2, P53, Rb-1, Her-2/neu, c-erbB2, c-myc.
• Protective factors against breast cancer include regular vigorous exercise, pregnancy before age 30 years, and breastfeeding.
• The beginning of cancer growth is marked by the formation of a neoplasm, also known as tumors.
• Bone marrow is a site of distress to the immune system due to food, which destroys enzymes, and the pancreas, which doubles its size in trying to keep up with the demand.
• Exhaustion is a symptom of a compromised immune system.
• A vulnerable climate to the formation of cancer genetics includes autosomal dominant, where a father with the condition has a 50% chance of having a child with the condition, and autosomal recessive, where a carrier mother has a 25% chance of having a child with the condition.
• Prevention of cancer can involve primary prevention, which involves assisting patients to avoid known carcinogens and adopt dietary and lifestyle changes, and secondary prevention, which involves regular screening programs.
• Steps to reduce cancer risks include eating more vegetables, increasing fiber intake, and reducing fat intake.
• Regular screening does not reduce cancer incidence, but can greatly reduce some types of cancer deaths.
• Screening programs include yearly mammography for women older than 40, clinical breast exam for women older than 40, breast self-exam for women 20-39, colonoscopy at age 50, fecal occult blood test for all ages, prostate specific antigen test and digital rectal exam for men over 50, pap smear and pelvic exam for women 18-70, and warning signs of cancer include changes in bowel/ bladder habits, a sore that does not heal, unusual bleeding/ discharge, thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere, indigestion or difficulty swallowing, obvious change in a wart or mole, nagging cough/ hoarseness, unex
• Benign tumors cannot spread by invasion/ metastasis and only grow locally, while malignant tumors are capable of spreading by invasion and metastasis and the term "cancer" applies only to malignant tumors.
• Diagnosis of cancer involves history and physical exam, radiology, endoscopy, and biopsy.
• Excisional biopsy is the most common type of biopsy.
• Invasion and metastasis are key stages in cancer growth, where cancer cells invade surrounding tissue and blood vessels, and are transported by the circulatory system to distant sites.
• As the tumor becomes larger, painful sensations of the face may occur on the same side, resulting from the tumor's compression of the 5th cranial nerve.
• Stereotactic radiotherapy is often preferred over open craniotomy for treating tumors.
• Pituitary adenomas, which make up 10% to 15% of all brain tumors, cause symptoms due to pressure on adjacent structures and hormonal changes.
• Metastatic tumors can be melanoma, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, or colorectal cancer.
• The etiology of brain tumors can be race, age, exposure to radiation, chemical exposure, or family history.
• Pathophysiology of brain tumors can lead to loss of hearing, tinnitus, vertigo, staggering gait, painful sensations of face, headache, visual dysfunction, hypothalamic disorders, sleep disorders, appetite disorders, temperature disorders, emotional disorders, and increased intracranial pressure (ICP).
• Clinical manifestations of brain tumors can produce both focal or generalized neurologic signs and symptoms.