Leukemia and its Types

The frightening factor about the smoking practices is that around seventeen percentages of death in USA is caused due to the unhealthy smoking practices and moreover thirty percentage of cancer occurrence is due to smoking, more or less the statistical data is true in several other countries also. To be numerically exact these figures includes around three million people round the globe who are dying only because of smoking practices. The worst case scenario in this effect is that passive smokers who inhale the tobacco oriented products in the air are also subjected to cancer. It is proves that a non-smoker who lives with the smoker have greater risk of getting cancer when compared to the people who live with non-smokers. Smoking habits not only subject lung cancer but it is also responsible for the mouth cancer, pharynx, oesophageal, and bladder and kidney cancer.  The problem is the carcinogens in the smoke which are inhaled affect the lungs which are then excreted through the kidney which is also being affected.

Cancers are caused due to various reasons. Incidence of cancers varies depending upon the population in that region. Geographical region also differentiates the cancer causes as it might be due to exposure to solar radiation and the varying practices of diet. Of course diet factor is one of the causes but still it is complex as vitamins, fibres and other agents are involved in the food consumed. The other biological reasons are the sex hormones, increasing age and family history of cancer may affect the person. The unhealthy lifestyle practices like smoking tobacco also causes cancer. Bio chemical analyses provide additional information for epidemiological studies by identifying the people at risk. Molecular epidemiology can be used to identify the causative agents for the occurrence of cancer. The causes of cancer also determine the region of infection and moreover the type of the cancer is also determined.

Pancreas is a vital gland which lies in the interiors of the abdomen pitched in the gap between the spine and stomach. Pancreas is responsible for insulin secretion and little other enzymes which control normal digestion and bowel movement.  Insulin plays a key role in maintaining blood sugar level in control.

When the cells of the pancreas divide in an unregulated manner then the condition is pancreatic cancer. The cancer of the pancreas could spread to the lymph nodes and the liver as well when they start metastases.

The pancreas could be divided into three parts vertically which are head, body and tail. Most pancreatic cancer occurs in the head of the pancreas. Most times the cancer originates in the ducts and is termed as pancreatic adenocarcinom. People who fall in the age group above sixty are majorly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer incidence is higher in people who smoke more than thrice a day. Also it is becoming predominant in women due to their acquired smoking habits. People with high exposure to chemicals, pesticides, drugs, metals and other core industrial environments tend to have a high chance of acquiring pancreatic cancer.

The composition of the blood could be broken down as

· Leukocytes – that forms the resistance force of the body. Also called as White Blood Cells

· Erythrocytes – These are oxygen carriers that transport oxygen throughout the body. These are called Red Blood Cells

· Thrombocytes – These are also called platelets and are responsible for the clotting quality of the blood.

All the blood cells are produced in the bone marrow of the ribs or femur or basically any larger bone for that matter. The body has a mechanism in place that just finds the need for the corresponding cells and releases them into the blood stream.

When these blood cells are produced abnormally then the condition is called Leukemia. The leukemia cells look abnormal than the normal ones and also lead to congestion t o other cells. The disease could be acute which develops rapidly or chronic which develops little slowly without disrupting the normal body functioning.

The leukemia could also be classified based on the type of infected WBC. If the cancer is found in lymph cells it is lymphocytic leukemia or if in myeloid cells it is myelogenous leukemia.

Apart from surgical approach there are a number of local treatments available for liver cancer.

· Cryosurgery:

This is a best approach for tumors that can be located physically without any magnification or by ultrasound. The procedure is operative and involves freezing the cancer cells to death. A probe which is cooled with argon or liquid nitrogen is inserted into the liver to get in contact with the tumor cells to destroy them. This method has minimum side effects.

· RFA:

RFA is nothing but Radio Frequency Ablation. Here the tumor cells are subject to some charge. The probes which carry electrodes are inserted into the liver to destruct the cancer mass.  This is a clinical procedure and does not require an operation.

· Ethanol Injection:

Ethanol injections are nothing but doses of alcohol which are injected in the tumor cells. The cancer cells are killed when they are exposed to ethanol. This is effective when the patient has a number of small tumors. In a wider observation RFA is preferred over ethanol.

· Chemo:

If metastases have started then always the best approach is chemotherapy. In chemotherapy the drug is administered intravenously and it identifies and kills the cancer cells in the blood stream.