Cancer Journal of Clinical Oncology

Question: Discuss about the Cancerfor Journal of Clinical Oncology. Answer: Introduction Cancer is the uncontrollable division of cells and eventually spread to tissues and other parts of the body. There are two hundred types of cancer depending on the type of cell affected initially. The normal follow the orderly cell cycle for growth, division and apoptosis but in cancer cells, they divide uncontrollably to form masses called tumors. They grow and could travel to different parts of the body. The tumors that stay at the place of its origin are benign in nature and those tumors that travel to different parts of the body are metastasized. They travel through blood and lymphatic systems and could settle at a secondary location. They invade new blood vessel and healthy tissues managing to divide and grow. They are caused due to hereditary and environmental factors including sedentary lifestyle. The treatment for cancer includes surgery or radiation in combination with chemotherapy called adjuvant chemotherapy. According to World Health Organization, 14 million new cases of cancer and 8.2 million deaths reported in 2012. Cancer is one of the non-communicable diseases that accounts for the 80% of the deaths worldwide along with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and respiratory diseases. Therefore, cancer is a major health issue among the populations worldwide. Cancer: a Major Health Issue Cancer is considered one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. According to World Health Organization, the expected number of new cases in cancer would increase to 70% in the next twenty years. The World Cancer Research Fund International, the estimated new cases of cancer would increase to 24 million by 2030 (Siegel, Miller and Jemal 2015). According to the third edition of Global Cancer Facts and Figures, 8.2 million cancer cases meaning about twenty-two thousand deaths in a day (seer.cancer.gov 2015). One in every four person is affected by cancer. By 2030, the global burden of cancer would increase to 21.7 million new cases and 13 million deaths due to cancer as reported by Global Cancer, third edition (Www.cdc.gov 2015). This increase would cause due to the lifestyle adaptations elevating the cancer risk. As a result, cancer is becoming a major health issue among people worldwide. The people need to know about cancer and the risk factors that are posing a threat and ca using the future cancer burden. According to National Cancer Institute, in 2013 the mostly affected population is the Africans followed by the Americans, Hispanics (International Agency for Research on Cancer 2013). The white women are highly affected by cancer followed by Africans, Hispanics, Asian and American Indian. There are 1,685,210 new cancer cases diagnosed in United States followed by Africans, Asians and Central and South Americans accounts for 70% of the cancer worldwide (surveillance.cancer.gov 2015). The reason for the Africans to develop the risk of cancer is due to their geographical area. According to Globocan 2015, the cancer occurs in low and middle-income groups. In the low-income countries, 80% of the cancer cases are diagnosed at a later stage, therefore, palliative care is the only option for the treatment (Ferlay 2015). Denmark ranks the highest in overall cancer rate and Australia ranked the third among the countries affected by cancer as estimated by World Cancer Research Foundation. Major Interventions There are three areas where the interventions were implemented for cancer. The prevention, early detection and psychological intervention in surviving cancer patients are the three interventions. Prevention It is the most important intervention that is cost-effective and used as a long-term strategy to control cancer. The sedentary lifestyle and suboptimal diet are the major causes of cancer risk in the population especially in United States. The prevention strategies are beneficial in cancer prevention along with other diseases that share same risk factors. Modifying the diet, doing physical exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle would reduce the risk of cancer. The implementation of cancer awareness programs with updated guidelines, policy-making and community strategies would make people aware of the cancer as a major health issue (Bray 2015). The physicians are encouraged to impart knowledge regarding the risk factors that cause cancer and recommend facts regarding nutrition, physical exercise and conduct programs to make the community aware of the cancer risk and ways to reduce the primary risk of cancer. Tobacco use is the most common and accounts for 31% of the total cancer deaths among men. The alcohol use, dietary factors, physical inactivity and cancers due to infections are the main areas where awareness programs have been implemented. The primary prevention would reduce the global cancer risks. The effectiveness of cancer prevention programs helped to reduce the mortality rate in lung cancer by creating awareness regarding the tobacco and alcohol use. The cervical cancer vaccines and the screening tests for breast cancer helped to reduce the global cancer burden. The Hepatitis B vaccine in Taiwan helped to reduce the mortality rate in liver cancer and campaigns for cancer prevention reduced the carriers for the human papiloma virus (Stewart 2015). The vaccination programs in school and providing Gardasil free of cost reduced the cancer risk in the targeted population covering around 93%. The most effective prevention method was taken in Brazil and Thailand where the price hike in tobacco showed a decline in smoking and related cancer risk. The prevention for skin cancer in Australia reduced the risk for cancer in the targeted population for two consecutive summers providing them information about protection from sun. The screening tests involve the informed consent from the individuals with respect for autonomy and welfare of the participant in part of a screening test. The ethical questions arising about the risk and benefits of the various screening tests in cervical and breast cancer also involves informed precautions regarding the screening tests. The benefits and risks in chemo preventive drugs in randomized trials, counseling of patients who are at low level of risk, risk notification and in screening of genetic markers involve the ethical practices in cancer prevention. Early Detection It involves the screening tests in the asymptomatic populations along with the awareness about the early symptoms that increases the chances of cure. It also consists of the surveillance and research. For the early detection of the cancer, the information regarding the data on burden of cancer, the prevalence among the population groups mentioned in the population and hospital-based registers are helpful. The delivery of education and outcomes of the screening tests by the community physicians is helpful in the early detection of cancer. The early detection in cancer would increase the chances of survival in the patients rather in the people whose cancers would not occur until the symptoms appear. The effectiveness of cancer detection declined in the number of deaths due to cancer. For example, in United States, due to screening with Pap smear and screening for breast cancer with mammography and prostate cancer with protein specific antigen screening has significantly reduced the number of deaths due to cancer (Lindsey 2015). The early detection would also make people aware of the symptoms associated with the various types of cancer that would be helpful in the early diagnosis (Trikalinos 2014). According to World Health Organization, the early detection is helpful when the screening programs are demonstrated to people in the right way especially covering the target population. The concept of one-on-one and group education is helpful in the screening of the cancer involving the early detection (Sabatino 2012). The group education involves educating the group members about the benefits of cancer screening and ways to overcome the screening barriers. The group education showed a n increase in the screening of breast cancer with mammography. In one-on-one education, the health professional provides information about the different screening benefits of cancer in person. There are ethical practices in early cancer detection. In the screening programs for early detection also involves the informed consents from the people and educating them about the risks and benefits regarding the screening tests (Carter 2016). Along with the screening procedure, the person has the right to know about their medical condition accurately. The ethical practice in screening is involved with an intention of delivering minimum harm to the individuals. The ethical practice in screening also takes into account that psychological wellbeing along with physical health (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2013). During the screening programs, support is provided keeping autonomy of the people in consideration. Psychological Intervention The aggressive treatment procedures in cancer has brought into consideration the management of the surviving cancer patients in dealing the side-effects of chemotherapy, nausea, vomiting and their mental health. The non-pharmacological intervention in dealing with the surviving patients is crucial. The psychological intervention is important for the surviving cancer patients to frame their life in a positive way that would be more meaningful and feel comfortable with their physical condition (Breitbart 2015). It is aimed at increasing the chances of survival of the patients so that they could respond well to the treatment and improve their quality of life. They are also helpful for the cancer patients to maintain a healthy relationship with their family and friends and appreciate their lives. The effectiveness of the psychological intervention has involved yoga and meditation in the surviving cancer helped them to cope up with the physical problems of nausea, vomiting and side effects of the chemotherapy (Moyer 2014). The behavioral therapy is applied with psychological intervention that helped to cope up with anxiety, stress related with the surgery or other medical health issues. It also helped the cancer patients with invasive treatments in improving their quality of life and coping with the pain. It also provided them the sense of self-control when they feel vulnerable. It provides them a balance of mind and in dealing with the trauma associated with the surgery in a positive way. The psychologists follow the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, responsibility, justice, integrity and respect for the persons integrity and dignity (Archer, Buxton and Sheffield 2015). The psychologists strive with an aim of safeguarding the patients welfare and minimize harm. They are aware of the professional responsibilities and are concerned about the scientific conduct. They also seek to promote honesty, truthfulness in the practice of psychology in cancer patients. They are aimed at providing justice and fairness to the cancer patients and equal access of treatment for all the patients. They practice the respect for the dignity and rights of the individuals. They practice the rights to confidentiality and privacy of the individuals seeking psychological assistance. Among all the three interventions, the early detection of cancer is the most effective. It may reduce the global cancer burden. The early detection helps to reduce the premature deaths and morbidity due to cancer (Brocklehurst 2013). It is also helpful in cases of early stages of cancer that would increase the chances of survival and aggressive treatments in the later cancer stages (Bretthauer and Kalager 2013). It helps to eliminate the deaths due to cancer and reduce the number of people prone to disease. It is also helpful in cases where they there are no symptoms yet. It ensures good quality of life by reducing the treatment procedure when detected at an early stage. As a result, the recovery time would be less and better chances of survival (Bower 2014). It is also helpful in cases by finding the chances in the body that would develop cancer. Therefore, the early detection in cancer is an important intervention and steps taken in this direction could help to reduce the deaths du e to cancer worldwide. Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. It is a health issue among the populations suffering from cancer. There are millions of people worldwide diagnosed with cancer and half of them eventually die. There are about 14.2 million new cases since 2012 and 8.2 million deaths as reported by the worldwide cancer statistics (Saika and Sobue 2013). The premature deaths, loss of productivity causing economic burden, the cost of treatment and ensuring the quality of life in the surviving cancer patients are major issues taking a toll at the population level. The interventions are implemented in the areas of prevention, early detection and psychological therapy to reduce the cancer burden. There are new areas in prevention and early detection of the cancer that would be helpful in providing the individuals the best care. Therefore, steps implemented in this direction could help to reduce the globally rising cancer burden. References Archer, S., Buxton, S. and Sheffield, D., 2015. The effect of creative psychological interventions on psychological outcomes for adult cancer patients: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Psycho?Oncology,24(1), pp.1-10. Bower, J.E., Bak, K., Berger, A., Breitbart, W., Escalante, C.P., Ganz, P.A., Schnipper, H.H., Lacchetti, C., Ligibel, J.A., Lyman, G.H. and Ogaily, M.S., 2014. 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