Cancer is the general name for a large group of diseases. It occurs when cells in the body grow and divide out of control.Our bodies are made up of millions of cells. Layers of cells form tissues. Normal cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly way. This process helps keep our bodies healthy.
Cancer cells grow and divide too quickly. The process usually starts when something damages the genetic structure (DNA) inside the cells. Instead of dying in an orderly way, cancer cells keep growing, lump together and form an extra mass of tissue. This mass is called a malignant tumor. As a malignant tumor grows, it damages nearby tissue. A malignant tumor can take a long time (up to 30 years) or a short time (2 or 3 years) to cause symptoms.
Cancer can begin in one part of the body and spread to other parts. This is called metastasis (me-tas-ta-ses). During metastasis, cancer cells travel through the body. In the new location, cancer cells create a new malignant tumor and grow out of control.
Not all tumors are malignant. Some are benign, which means they aren’t cancerous. Benign tumors usually aren’t life threatening. They can usually be removed and rarely come back.
Since, cancer is the uncontrolled growth of the cells as a result of mutation- i.e. alteration of the DNA, resulting in the cell losing its ability to function in a disciplined manner.This undisciplined, disorganized, uncontrolled, growth of the cancer cells causes the destruction of healthy cells, and eventually death of the affected person. What causes alteration of the cell’s DNA? The cells are affected by what is known as carcinogens.
Cancer is the second biggest cause of pre-mature deaths in the world today after heart attacks. Surprisingly, both heart attack and cancer have faulty lifestyle, wrong diet & lack of exercise as major causative factors.
Every 45 seconds, someone in America has a stroke. Every 3 minutes, someone dies of one.
Stroke killed an estimated 163,538 people in 2001 and is the nation’s third leading cause of death, ranking behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
• In 2004 the estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke is $53.6 billion.
• Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. About 500,000 are first attacks, and 200,000 are recurrent attacks.
• From 1991 to 2001 the death rate from stroke declined 3.4 percent, but the actual number of stroke deaths rose 7.7 percent.
• Each year about 40,000 more women than men have a stroke. Because women live longer than men, more women than men die of stroke each year. Women accounted for 61.4 percent of U.S. stroke deaths in 2001.
• The 2001 death rates per 100,000 population for stroke were 56.5 for white males and 85.4 for black males; and 54.5 for white females and 73.7 for black females.
• About 4.8 million stroke survivors are alive today.
• In 1999, more than 1.1 million American adults reported difficulty with functional limitations, activities of daily living, etc., resulting from stroke.
• From the early 1970s to early 1990s, the estimated number of non-institutionalized stroke survivors increased from 1.5 to 2.4 million.
• In the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study, among ischemic stroke survivors who were at least 65 years old, these disabilities were observed at six months post-stroke:
– 50 percent had some one-sided paralysis
– 30 percent were unable to walk without some assistance
– 26 percent were dependent in activities of daily living (grooming, eating, bathing, etc)
– 19 percent had aphasia (trouble speaking or understanding the speech of others)
– 35 percent had depressive symptoms
– 26 percent were institutionalized in a nursing home
What are the types of Stroke?
If we consider an isolated blood vessel, blood flow to the brain tissue can be hampered in two ways:
1.The vessel clogs within (ischemic stroke)
2.The vessel ruptures, causing leblood toak into the brain (hemorrhagic stroke)
Ischemic stroke accounts for about 83 percent of all cases. It results from an obstruction, typically a blood clot.These clots are called a cerebral thrombus or cerebral embolism.
Hemorrhagic stroke accounts for about 17 percent of stroke cases.It results from a weakened vessel that ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding brain.The blood accumulates and compresses the surrounding brain tissue. The two types of hemorrhagic strokes are intracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Ischemic strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. The underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty deposits lining the vessel walls. This condition is called atherosclerosis.
These fatty deposits can cause two types of obstruction:
Cerebral thrombosis refers to a thrombus (blood clot) that develops at the clogged part of the vessel.
Cerebral embolism refers generally to a blood clot that forms at another location in the circulatory system, usually the heart and large arteries of the upper chest and neck. A portion of the blood clot breaks loose, enters the bloodstream and travels through the brain’s blood vessels until it reaches vessels too small to let it pass. A second important cause of embolism is an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation. It creates conditions where clots can form in the heart, dislodge and travel to the brain.
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures.Two types of weakened blood vessels usually cause hemorrhagic stroke: aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
An aneurysm is a ballooning of a weakened region of a blood vessel. If left untreated, the aneurysm continues to weaken until it ruptures and bleeds into the brain. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a cluster of abnormally formed blood vessels. Any one of these vessels can rupture, also causing bleeding into the brain.
Transient ischemic attacks, also called TIAs, are minor or warning strokes.In a TIA, conditions indicative of an ischemic stroke are present and the typical stroke warning signs develop. However, the obstruction (blood clot) occurs for a short time and tends to resolve itself through normal mechanisms.
Even though the symptoms disappear after a short time, TIAs are strong indicators of a possible major stroke. Steps should be taken immediately to prevent a stroke.
What is Stroke?
Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain.A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die. Clots that block an artery cause ischemic strokes.This is the most common type of stroke, accounting for 70-80 percent of all strokes.Ruptured blood vessels cause hemorrhagic or bleeding strokes.
When part of the brain dies from lack of blood flow, the part of the body it controls is affected.Strokes can cause paralysis, affect language and vision, and cause other problems.Treatments are available to minimize the potentially devastating effects of stroke, but to receive them, one must recognize the warning signs and act quickly!
