Tumor is characterized as an abnormal growth of cells in the body. A tumor may or may not be malignant. Brain tumor is characterized by tumorous or abnormal growth of cells in the brain. Benign tumors are not harmful and they usually do not invade into other parts of the body. If the tumor begins in the brain and does not metastasize, it is known as primary tumor. But the tumor that originates in some other body part and reaches the brain is secondary tumor. Brain tumors are common. Knowing about the risk factors and causes of the brain tumor, can help in preventing the disease.

Causes and Risk Factor of Brain Tumor

Brain tumor causes are not clearly understood. Medical experts can seldom explain what causes tumor growth in one person and not in another. However, the following causes and risk factors are suggested to be closely related to brain tumor.

Gender

Being a male is a risk factor of brain tumor, as this disease is common in males than in women.

Race

Brain tumor is common in Caucasian people than African-American People.

Genetics

Around 5% brain tumor cases are related to family and genetic conditions. People with a family history of brain tumor may have high risk of developing this disease. Someone with a family history of gliomas is also likely to develop brain tumor.

Aging

With the degeneration of neuro cells, there is a possibility that disorders related to brain may arise. Research studies reflect that most of the brain tumors are determined in elderly people, above70 years old. However, there are certain types of brain tumors, which are commonly found in children. Brain tumor is second most common types of cancer found in children.

Mutation

A genetic defect, mutation or deletion of certain tumor suppression genes can be related to brain tumor.

Radiation and Chemical Exposure

In our environment, exposure to ionizing radiation and chemical exposure is a significant risk factor of brain tumor. Following are the deadly chemicals and radiation associated with brain tumor.

• Nuclear Radiation – Workers working in a nuclear factory have higher risk of developing brain tumor
• Vinyl Chloride – People working in a plastic industry are exposed to this organochloride, vinyl chloride. This chemical compound is highly toxic, carcinogenic and flammable. Exposure to vinyl chloride can develop brain tumor.
• Acrylonitrile – People working in textile industry or a plastic industry can be exposed to acrylonitrile chemical. People with such exposure are likely to develop brain tumor.

Brain tumor is a tumor that develops in the brain. However, a brain tumor may be primary that originates in the brain itself. Secondary brain tumor is characterized as tumor that spreads to the brain from other parts of the body. Secondary tumors are common than primary brain tumors. Apart from the above given brain cancer causes and risk factors, weakened immune, previous cancer, use of hair dye etc. are some additional risk factors of brain tumor.

Lung cancer prevention is a significant way to avoid serious disorder in lungs. Lung cancer is responsible for most number of deaths due to cancer. Average number of cases occurring annually worldwide are quite high in comparison to other forms of cancerous developments. Lung cancer treatments are effective in curing the disorder effectively only for first few stages. Chances of effective control over tumor cells decrease as the tumors progress to advanced phases. Hence, prevention of lung cancer is the key to avoid such severe health complications.

What is Lung Cancer Prevention?

Prevention of lung cancer is  a mixed pattern of both medical and non-medical ways to prevent initialization and growth of tumor-cells in lungs or other areas of victim's body. These methods are effective to prevent both occurrence and recurrence of tumor-growth. Having a good understanding of causes or risk factors of lung cancer is very important in undergoing effective prevention methods to control tumor cells.

Cell abnormalities can be usually made out by certain unusual changes in body. Weightlessness, appetite loss, and frequent infections in lungs or other chronic lung disorders are some of the basic symptoms or early signs of the disease and should be examined with extreme care. Some may also experience severe problems in normal breathing and pains in lung region. Chest pains, excess and unnatural sweating, and coughing out blood are some other conditions indicating start of tumorous growth in lungs and should be checked through medical experts.

Medical ways to prevent cancerous disorder of lungs are many and help in avoiding or controlling tumor-formation considerably. Undergoing regular medical exams to trace any form of cell abnormalities can be very helpful to prevent abnormal cells from turning malignant and avoiding pre-cancerous tumors to turn into cancerous ones. Intake of medically prescribed drugs to keep immune system strong is one of the basic medical methods useful to prevent lung cancer. Other methods include undergoing surgery to remove pre-cancerous tumors. Combination of various therapies can also be executed under proper medical attention if preventing or curing tumors by such methods is feasible.

Non-medical methods to prevent cancer of lungs focus mainly on daily habits and lifestyle of a person. Restricting smoking is the basic step mandatory to prevent cancerous development in lungs.  Smoking is a leading cause of the disease and amounts to more than 80% of overall cases. Statistics for year 2000 recorded one of the highest numbers for the smoking as a cause of the disorder. More than 91% of men and 71% women detected for cancer of lungs had habit of smoking. Latest figures state that 87% of people detected for lung cancer in the United States of America have habit of smoking.

Exposure to asbestos, radon gas, uranium, mustard gas, and vinyl chloride should be avoided as they are important risk factors. One must also stay away from consuming water rich in arsenic content. People having any of their family members suffering from cancerous infection of lungs or of any other areas should be very conscious about non-cancerous lung disorders, especially the ones that are chronic in nature.

Lung cancer prevention is possible only when a person possesses strong immune system. Having nutritious diet is extremely important in preventing abnormal behavior of cells. Immunotherapy or  biological therapy is an important way of strengthening natural resistance of a person to fight non-cancerous or cancerous diseases of lungs.     

Kidney cancer is a cancerous disorder that initiates in cells and tissues of kidney. It can be of various forms and may occur at any age. Most common form of kidney cancer is Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) and refers to cancerous growth in renal cells. Other major cancer of kidney is urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) and starts mainly in the urothelial cells. Cancer of kidney can be primary or secondary and can lead to cancerous growth in various other regions if tumor identification and elimination is not done in time.

Kidney Cancer in Detail

kidney is a vital organ of human body and plays an important role in filtration of blood. It also helps in formation of urine by removing wastes and water from blood. This urine is then stored into renal pelvis for further draining. Most cases of cancer of kidneys occur in this area and are detected mainly in adults over 40 years and is more common in males. The disease is completely treatable if detected and cured in early stages.

Cancer of kidneys occurs due to a variety of factors and can lead to overall malfunctioning of and mis-coordination between various organs in long-run. Various kidney cancer causes are responsible for development of tumors in kidney. Such risk factors can be related to basic lifestyle or medical background of the victim and need to be monitored carefully. Smoking, obesity, tobacco chewing, and high blood pressure are the basic causes instigating cancerous growth in kidney and adjacent areas and causing weakening of healthy tissues to fight infection. Disorders like Von Hippel Lindau Disease (disorder affecting blood vessels in various areas of the body), polycystic kidney disease,   and horseshoe kidney are some other major causes leading to cancerous generation in kidneys. People who undergo dialysis on frequent basis have high chances of suffering from cancerous infection in kidney.

Prime kidney cancer symptoms include pains in abdomen, weight loss, swelling near testicles, blood in urine, and fatigue. Most prominent early sign for cancer of kidney is formation of tumor or lump in areas of or near kidneys. Kidney cancer diagnosis can be undergone by various means. Abdominal CT (Computed Tomography) scan, liver function test, urine test, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan, Intravenous Pyelogram (IVP), ultrasound, full-body or partial biopsy, renal arteriography, and Complete Blood Count (CBC) are some of the main diagnostic methods for the disorder.

Kidney cancer survival rate is fair in first three phases of the disorder but drops considerably in the last one. People suffering from first kidney cancer stage have more than 81% chances of survival while those going through second stage have 74% probability to survive. Even in third stage, more than 53% people manage to survive while the rate drops drastically to just 8% in the last phase.

Kidney cancer treatments are of various types and focus mainly on treating tumors with least side-effects. Surgery is executed in initial phases while other therapies like chemotherapy, biological therapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy are executed in advanced stages. Overall focus of treatment is on strengthening immune system of victim to fight cancerous infection effectively and prevent re-growth of tumors in kidney or other areas of body.

Kidney cancer is a serious disease and can impact overall body functioning severely. It can also lead to cancerous infection in other areas and may cause serious physical and mental sufferings to the victim. Early diagnosis and timely treatment is very important to keep cancerous growth under control.   

Radiation therapy/chemotherapy is the most common type of treatment for cancer. It is a treatment where high power X ray is used and these rays are targeted towards the tumor to eradicate the cancer cells. In the process of chemotherapy treatment both healthy as well as cancerous cells are harmed but the purpose of the chemotherapy is to preserve the healthy cells and to erase the cancerous cells. However there are side effects that result from these treatments as the chemotherapy cannot differentiate between the normal and cancerous cells. Lot of improvements have been made in chemotherapy treatment but chemotherapy side effects are still not erased fully.

Benefits & Negatives of Chemotherapy

EBRT

Effects- in this treatment the rays are directed towards the cancer area only so few healthy cells are affected from the treatment. The time for treatment is just ten min in which only one minute is used for the radiation. It is a painless procedure.

Side effects- The side effects of this treatment are not lifelong, some of the general symptoms are frequent urination, difficulty in copulation, loose stools and rectal bleeding.

Radioactive seed implants

In this treatment a higher dose of radioactive treatment is prescribed but the side effects are not intense. The time taken for the radioactive seed implant is two hours, other than that other treatment time does not take that long.

One must wear condom during copulation to prevent the radiation seed to contaminate the partner’s body. There can be painful urination but not always but the person going through treatment must stay away at least 6 feet from pregnant lady and children during the first six months.

Hormone therapy

It can be prescribed from outside directly into the skin or into the muscle. It is injected once in every three to four months.

Erectile dysfunction, hot flashes and reduced sexual drive are some of the common side effects.

Cryotheraphy and Chemotherapy

The treatment used in this kind of therapy can be a positive as well as negative both at the same time. When the therapy is used it eradicates the cancer cells and reduces the possibility of surgery but it causes bladder muscle and rectum damage.

One must consult doctor to know more about the cancer treatments and their side effects.

The treatment depends on the type of cancer and its stage. In the initial stages, it is very easy to cure lung cancer. There are many different types of treatments available for lung cancer. The treatments mentioned here can be opted for in combination or individually. The treatments which are usually undertaken for small cell cancer therapy are as follows:

· Surgery

· Radiation therapy

· Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the most important treatment for small cell lung cancer. This cancer is also referred as oat- cell cancer. It is the most aggressive tumor which spreads to all parts of the body. This cancer corresponds well to the chemotherapy treatment.

In case of lung cancer, chemotherapy uses the cytotoxic (cell killing) medications to kill cancer cells or make them less active. Chemotherapy is used to treat small cell lung cancer because this cancer tends to spread beyond the lung when it is diagnosed. This treatment is either opted for after the surgery or relives the symptoms of the cancer in patients who cannot undergo surgery.

The chemotherapy drugs can reach these cancer cells anywhere in the body and also circulate in the blood stream. It is thus useful for treating the cancer cells that have spread to other parts of body and cannot be easily detected through scan. The drugs involved in chemotherapy are given either through a catheter placed in a large vein or by directly injecting into the vein.

However, for treating small cell lung cancer, surgery is usually avoided as this type of cancer has the tendency to spread quickly. In some cases, surgery is used to obtain the samples of tissues to determine the type of lung cancer present in the body.

The side effects of chemotherapy treatment largely depend on the dosage of the drugs and type of drugs that were used for the treatment. Majority of the side effects are temporary. Some common side effects of this treatment are fatigue, hair loss, vomiting, mouth sores and nausea.

This therapy affects both the normal cell and cancerous cells which results in unpleasant side effects in the body. This would basically help in early diagnosis and provide the essential treatment as soon as possible.

Apart from these, the follow up care is also required. The patient should undergo regular check-ups in order to find out any reoccurrence of the cancer, new cancer developing or any changes in the health.