Esophageal cancer facts Readers Comments 2 Share Your Story Difficulty swallowing and cough are symptoms of esophageal cancer. The esophagus is a muscular tube-like structure (about 10 inches long in adults) that connects the mouth to the stomach and is the first part of the gastrointestinal tract. Cancer or malignant cells are abnormally formed or...
What are the early warning signs of pancreatic cancer? Pancreatic cancer does not show early signs and symptoms, and only starts to show warning signs in once it has grown. Pancreatic cancer does not show its signs and symptoms in its early stages. Only when it has grown large enough, it begins to exhibit its...
Blood tests are often used in combination with other tests to detect pancreatic cancer At present, there is no single screening test that can identify or provide an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Blood tests are therefore often used in combination with other clinical assessments and tests to diagnose pancreatic cancer. Certain substances in the...
What is a bone marrow transplant? Doctors use special tools to extract bone marrow for bone marrow transplantation. Bone marrow consists of the cells that populate the internal space of your bones. The marrow manufactures three types of blood cells – red blood cells that transport oxygen, platelets that help your blood clot, and white...
CLL is treated when the disease is in the intermediate to advanced stages Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is slow-growing leukemia that progresses over many years. Many patients in the early stages of CLL do not have any symptoms and do not require immediate treatment. The disease is monitored regularly, and treatment is started when CLL...
What is extracorporeal photopheresis? Extracorporeal photopherisis is a process by which blood is removed from the body, seperated into components, and the white blood cells are treated with medication and light before returning to the bloodstream. This helps improve lymphoma and other conditions. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a therapeutic procedure for advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma...
Introduction to colon and colorectal cancer screening and surveillance Readers Comments 2 Share Your Story The colon, also known as the large intestine or large bowel, constitutes the last part of the digestive tract. The colon is a long, muscular tube that receives still-undigested food from the small intestine. It removes water from the undigested...
Colon cancer prevention facts Colon cancer often begins as a benign growth known as a polyp. It is recommended that most people have a screening colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50. Colon cancers maybe both preventable and, if detected, still curable if found at an early stage and promptly treated. Screening for colon...
Stages of thyroid cancer The staging system most often used for thyroid cancer is the TNM system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). Like other cancer, thyroid cancer has stages. Stages used to describe thyroid cancer are based on the type of thyroid cancer and the patient’s age. The different types of thyroid...
What is the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) blood test? Readers Comments 8 Share Your Story The most abundant plasma protein found in the human fetus is alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). AFP is a protein normally made by the immature liver cells in the fetus. Healthy, nonpregnant adults have very low levels of AFP in the bloodstream (undetectable to about...