Download 07-Cancer Diagnosis-Treatment teacher

SNC2D Biology: Cells, Tissues and Living Systems
Cancer: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment
1. Prevention: Cancer Screening
 Means checking for cancer even if there are no symptoms
 Pap Test
o checks for cervical cancer
o starts around age 18
 Breast self examination
 PSA test
o For testicular cancer
 Mole Observation
o ABCD
o Assymetry, Border, Colour, Diameter
Reducing your risk
Lifestyle Choices
 Avoid smoking
 Healthy diet
 Exercise
2. Diagnosis
Imaging
 Colonoscopy
o Endoscopy of the colon
 X-ray
 MRI
 Ultrasound
Examining cells
 Obtained if medical tests show any abnormalities
 Blood or a sample of tumour cells is removed surgically and examined under a
microscope.
SNC2D Biology: Cells, Tissues and Living Systems
3. Treatment Options


Depend on the type of cancer
Treatments can include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or a combination of
these.
Chemotherapy
 Cancer cells grow in an uncontrolled way. Chemotherapy drugs slow or even
stop the cancer cells from growing, multiplying or spreading to other parts of your
body.

Chemotherapy is a powerful treatment affecting the whole body, so healthy cells
can also be damaged. This damage to healthy cells causes side effects. The
damage is mostly temporary and the healthy cells will repair themselves.
Radiation
 is the use of a certain type of energy (radiation) from xrays or gamma rays, to destroy cancer cells.
 Radiation in high doses targets cells in the area being
treated by damaging the DNA in their genes, making it
impossible for them to grow and divide.
 During radiation therapy, both cancer cells (which are
growing in an uncontrolled way) and healthy cells are
affected, but most healthy cells can repair themselves
afterwards
Biophotonics
 Uses light beams to detect and treat cancer
 Very sensitive
 Pioneered at the University of Toronto
 Fewer side effects than radiation.
The goals of therapy are to:
Destroy the cancer
Chemotherapy, by itself or with another treatment, is given to destroy cancer cells in the body.
Shrink a tumour before other treatments
Sometimes chemotherapy is given to shrink a tumour before surgery or radiation therapy
Destroy cancer cells after other treatments
Chemotherapy is often given in addition to surgery or radiation treatment to destroy cancer
cells that may have been missed by the surgery or radiation.
Read more: http://www.cancer.ca