Cancer in the Body

 

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer develops when the body’s normal control mechanism stops working. Old cells do not die and instead grow out of control, forming new, abnormal cells. These extra cells may form a mass of tissue, called a tumor. Some cancers, such as leukemia, do not form tumors.

Cancer may occur anywhere in the body. In women, breast cancer is one of the most common. In men, it’s prostate cancer. Lung cancer and colorectal cancer affect both men and women in high numbers.

There are five main categories of cancer:

One>>  Carcinomas begin in the skin or tissues that line the internal organs.

Two>>  Sarcomas develop in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle or other connective tissues.

three>>  Leukemia begins in the blood and bone marrow.

Four>>  Lymphomas start in the immune system.
Five>>  Central nervous system cancers develop in the brain and spinal cord.

Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells. Normally, human cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old or become damaged, they die, and new cells take their place.  SOURCE:  NIH:  National Cancer Institute

It is possible for cancer to be in the body for years...  in some sort of dormant state...  before deciding to start growing...  and, when that happens...  becoming alive...  scientists are not sure why that happens or what triggers that process...  I remember my Oncologist, 13 years ago telling me that my non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma could have been in my body laying dormant for a long as 10 years of more.  And, without a reason to check for cancer...  nothing is done until it starts to grow and become active.

It would be nice if at some point-in-time, we could go to our family doctor and have a blood test performed and/or other simple tests like that performed to see if cancer in dormant inside us.  It would also be nice, it that cancer could be destroyed or removed before it becomes active.  I am sure there is research being conducted to better treat cancer patience but is there research being conducted to PREVENT CANCER FROM OCCURING IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Conflicting Oncological Opinions

ONLY TWICE in my Cancer Pilgrimage have there been conflicting opinions as to how my cancer treatments should proceed.  The first conflict, was not really a conflict I suppose as much as it was different approaches.  I had temporarily relocated (for work) to KY from TN and the Oncologist in KY decided to give me a cocktail of 3 drugs instead of the 1 drug my TN Oncologist had been ordering.  This new cocktail was:  Rituxan, Fludara, and Cytoxin that I was given two days in a row, every month.  I experienced severe nausea and vomiting and had to be taken to the ER two day after my last day of treatment to get my vomiting under control.

When I returned to TN, my former Oncologist was rather annoyed at what had taken place in KY but since he could do nothing about it, simply proceeded with giving me monthly infusions of Rituxan only.  A couple of years after returning to TN, we discovered Melanoma on the bottom of my left foot which seemed like an odd place.  At first, we thought it was simply a wart.

From the research that my wife and I conducted, there was a possibility but it was not conclusive that the infusions of Fludara or Cytoxin that I had been given in KY could have caused my body to become more susceptible to Melanoma.

Our first thoughts were these:  Would you not have thought that Oncologist would have know about this risk and if so, why did the Oncologist in KY bring it to my attention?

This brings me to my SECOND CONFLICT OF OPINIONS when after my Melanoma had moved from my foot to my groin (four years later) and that it was inoperable because of its location and extensiveness, it was decided to have Opdivo/Radiation treatments simultaneously AND CONTINUE taking my IMBRUVICA pills daily for my Lymphoma.

The opposition's opinion was that the two treatments would conflict with one another.  At the time that this was being discussed, I did not know that my Lymphoma had turned aggressive and that my Oncologist really had no other choice but to treat both cancers at the same time and HOPE FOR THE BEST.

Fortunately for me, the best happened as the two treatments worked in harmony and did not conflict with each other and both my cancers were halted from their continued growth.  Today, I can feel the dead cancer cells in my groin with my fingers and sometimes if I drive for long periods of time or just sit, I can feel them pressing against something even though the pressing is in way hurting.