What is Cancer? 🤔
- Cells grow out of control! 📈📈📈
- Form a TUMOR (mass of tissue)! 🔴
Two Types of Tumors 📊
- Benign 😊: NOT cancer! Doesn't spread! ✅
- Malignant 😨: IS cancer! Can spread! ❌
Metastasis 🦀
- Cancer cells break away! 💔
- Travel through blood/lymph! 🩸
- Spread to other body parts! ➡️🫁🧠🦴
10 Risk Factors ⚠️
- Age (older = higher risk) 👴
- Tobacco 🚬 (#1 preventable cause!)
- Too much sunlight ☀️
- Radiation ☢️
- Chemicals 🧪
- Viruses/Bacteria 🦠
- Hormones 💉
- Family history 👨👩👧
- Alcohol 🍺
- Poor diet/No exercise/Obesity 🍔🛋️
How Doctors Find Cancer 🔍
- Lab tests (tumor markers) 🧪
- Imaging: X-ray, CT, MRI, PET, Ultrasound 📷
- Biopsy (take tissue sample) 🔬
Treatment Options 💊
- Surgery 🔪: Remove tumor!
- Radiation ☢️: Kill cancer cells!
- Chemotherapy 💊: Drugs that kill cancer!
- Hormone therapy 💉: Block cancer-feeding hormones!
- Biological therapy 🧬: Help immune system fight!
Key Takeaways 🔑
- Cancer = uncontrolled cell growth! 📈
- Malignant tumors spread, benign don't! 🦀 vs 😊
- Many risk factors are PREVENTABLE! ✅
- Early detection saves lives! 🔍💪