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Saturday, 23 June 2018

Cancer Metastasis Research Is Able To Tell Us A Lot About How These Dangerous Cells Work

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By Timothy Stevens


Cancer is a scary diagnosis. When patients hear the bad news that the disease is spreading, or metastasizing, most understand their time may be limited. Researchers know a lot about what cancerous cells can do, and they are learning more every day. Cancer metastasis research has a long way to go though. Discovering how to contain the cells and destroy them before they can move is still in the future.

Metastasizing is what you don't want cancerous cells to do. This phenomenon is one of the things that makes the disease so serious. Affected cells can move anywhere on a person's body. They may not attack a neighboring organ as you would suppose. Cells use blood and lymph nodes to travel to far parts of the body. When they do this, cancers are considered stage four. When cancers move to other organs, they aren't renamed. They retain the name of the primary cancers.

Cancerous cells spread in a variety of ways. They may grow into, or attack normal tissue that is nearby. Cells may travel through the bloodstream to get to other parts of the body. The cells can stop anywhere in the blood vessels, invade the walls, and grow into small tumors. This creates new blood vessels and a blood supply that makes its possible for the new tumors to keep growing.

Cells can go anywhere, but there are certain organs that seem to attract specific cancerous cells. The lungs, liver, and bones are the most likely to be affected when cancers metastasize. The brain, liver, and lungs are the organs breast cancers usually move to. The adrenal glands can be infected by kidney cancers. Melanoma usually travels to the skin, brain, bones, lungs, muscles, and liver.

There are certain signs and symptoms that indicate cancerous cells have metastasized. If you suddenly have shortness of breath, the cells may have traveled to a person's lungs. Fractures indicate the disease has infected the bones. When the cells spread to the brain, people can experience dizziness, seizures, and headaches.

When diseased cells start traveling, it is hard to control them. Treatment will vary according to the primary cancer, the treatments a patient has already had, and the physical health of a patient. Doctors try to contain the cells and slow their growth. Relieving the symptoms is a primary concern. If the treatments are successful, the patient's life can be prolonged.

Treatments are not always successful, and sometimes the cells can not be controlled. People who get this diagnosis have a number of options. They can opt for a continuation of the treatment hoping tumors can be contained or shrink. Many patients choose palliative care to relieve side effects and symptoms and improve the quality of their lives.

This is the time to make end of life decisions, if that has not already been done. A diagnosis of metastasized cancer is hard to hear. It is one great reason everyone should live their lives as though each day is the last.




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