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Cancer

Prevention

According to nutritionists and epidemiologists from leading universities in the United States, a person can reduce the chances of getting cancer by following some simple guidelines:

  • Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits
  • Exercising regularly
  • Avoiding excessive weight gain
  • Avoiding tobacco (including second hand smoke)
  • Avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol
  • Avoiding the midday sun (between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.) when the suns rays are the strongest
  • Avoiding risky sexual practices
  • Avoiding known carcinogens in the environment or work place.

See also Gene therapy; Immunology; Nuclear medicine; Radioisotopes in medicine; Stem cells.


Resources

Books

Haskell, Charles M. Cancer Treatment. 5th. ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 2001.

Rosenbaum, Ernst H. MD, et al. Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy. 4th. ed. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2002.

Steingraber, Sandra. Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment. Vintage Books, 1998.


Periodicals

Brookes, Anthony, "Rethinking Genetic Strategies to Study Complex Diseases," Trends in Molecular Medicine (November 2001): 512–6.


Other

National Institutes of Health. "National Cancer Institute." (February 5, 2003).<http://www.nci.nih.gov/>.

Lata Cherath

Micheal Sullivan

KEY TERMS

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Benign

—A growth that does not spread to other parts of the body. Recovery is favorable with treatment.

Biopsy

—The surgical removal of a small part of a tumor. The excised tissue is studied under the microscope to determine whether it is benign or malignant.

Bone marrow

—A spongy tissue located in the hollow centers of certain bones, such as the skull and hip bones. Bone marrow is the site of blood cell generation.

Carcinogen

—Any substance capable of causing cancer by mutating the cell's DNA.

Chemotherapy

—Use of powerful drugs to kill cancer cells in the human body.

Epithelium

—The layer of cells that covers external and internal surfaces of the body. The many types of epithelium range from flat cells to long cells to cubed cells.

Hormone therapy

—Treatment of cancer by inhibiting the production of hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen.

Immunotherapy

—Treatment of cancer by stimulating the body s immune defense system.

Malignant

—A general term for cells that can dislodge from the original tumor, invade and destroy other tissues and organs.

Metastasis

—The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another.

Radiation therapy

—Treatment using high-energy radiation from x-ray machines, cobalt, radium, or other sources.

Sore

—An open wound or a bruise or lesion on the skin.

Tumor

—An uncontrolled growth of tissue, either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

X ray

—Electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, and very high energy.

Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Calcium Sulfate to Categorical imperativeCancer - The History Of Cancer As A Known Disease, The Genetics Of Cancer, Types Of Cancers