Subject: Cancer Prevention
Thesis Statement: People need to be more aware of the proper precautions that should be taken in order to reduce the risk of getting cancer.
Date: April 08, 2013
A Report Submitted by:
Number of Words: 1,545
CONCEPTION AND DEFINITION While trying to find a topic for my research report, a colleague at school suggested I should look into cancer and what actions people take to prevent raising their risk of getting it. Therefore, I have chosen to do my research report on how to reduce the risk of getting cancer.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and make it possible to invade other tissues. It is able to easily spread to other parts of the body through lymph systems and the blood. Cancer is not just one disease, but many diseases; there are more than one hundred different types of cancer. Many cancers are named after the organ or type of cell in which it starts. Furthermore, cancer is grouped into bigger categories. The first is Carcinoma, which is cancer that begins in the skin or in the tissues that line or cover internal organs. Next is Sarcoma, which is where the cancer begins in bone, fat, cartilage, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective tissues. Then, Leukemia is a cancer that starts in blood forming tissues, like bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced. In addition, there is Lymphoma and Myeloma, which are cancers that start in the immune system. Finally, there is Central Nervous system cancers, which start in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. The word cancer originated from the term ‘carcinos’ or ‘carcinoma,’ in Greek these words refer to a crab. The roman physician Celsus later translated the term into cancer, which also means crab in Latin. Cancer dates back to the dawn of history, some of the earliest evidence of cancer is found fossilized in bone tumors, human mummies, and ancient manuscripts.
The oldest description of cancer dates back to 3000 B.C. it was called the Edwin Smith Papyrus, which is a part of an ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery. The writing says about the disease, “There is no treatment.” In 1761, Giovanni Morgagni was the first to do autopsies and relate the patients’ illness to pathologic findings after death. This laid the foundation for scientific oncology, or the study of cancer. John Hunter, a famous surgeon suggested that some cancers might be cured by surgery and described how one would decide to operate. A century later, the development of anesthesia allowed surgery to flourish and cancer operations were developed. Today we are able to recognize and avoid many specific substances that cause cancer, such as coal tars, some hydrocarbons, asbestos, and radiation for a variety of sources. These sources include the sun, gamma and x-rays, and compounds in car exhaust fumes. Therefore, people need to be more aware of the proper precautions that should be taken in order to reduce the risk of getting cancer.
SIGNIFICANCE AND FEASIBILITY This subject is very important because many people are not aware of things that can cause cancer or how to take precautions to lower their risk. Many people assume cancer is mostly genetics and runs in the family, but actually only 5%-15% of all cancers are inherited. In 2013, about 1,660,290 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed, and about 580,350 Americans are expected to die from cancer. That is almost 1,600 people per day. Cancer in the second most common cause of death in the United States, accounting for nearly 1 out of every 4 deaths. Overall, about 1/3 of the most common cancers in the U. S. could be prevented through diet, physical activity, and weight management. According to experts, in 2012, 1/3 of the 500,000 cancer deaths were due to poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity. In the U.S., overweight and obesity contribute 14%-20% of all cancer related deaths. A second