Essay on tumors

Essay on Tumors

Point 1

Start with a brief overview of the chosen disease. Explain why you have selected this particular disease.

Point 2

Tell about the causes of the disease, people who are more likely to have it, the main disease carriers, etc.

Point 3

Describe the main symptoms of the disease in your essay and modalities (such as x-rays, CT scans, radiation, chemotherapy and etc.) used to diagnosed it. Here you can also tell about the major effects that the disease has on the human organism.

Point 4

Describe in your essay on disease the ways of preventing and treating it and what it cost to treat it. Also add survival rate of early detection. Certainly, if you want to amaze your tutor with the essay on disease, this part of the paper should be based on the most up-to-date facts.

1. Essay display subject matter will be chosen by the Essay displayer. 2. The subject matter should be pertinent to the field of radiologic technology -pathology, which includes all modalities employed in the field of Imaging for the diagnosis and/or treatment of disease. 3. Essay displays should demonstrate originality of subject matter, be of general interest and value to other technologists and non technologist from both practical and educational viewpoints, and be of technical excellence. 4. Essay displays should show no names or photographs that could identify the patient, institution, or department.

Criteria Point Value

1. Educational Value 0 – 40
2. Contribution to higher standards
3. Illustration of new or unusual technology or practice
4. Treatment of current technology or practice from a historical perspective
5. Value to technologists with little experience or limited facilities

2. Originality 0 – 20
3. Development of a new technique or idea
4. Improvement of existing methods of practice
5. Evidence of original investigative effort
6. Originality of display concept

3. Practical Value 0 – 20
4. Can information be used by most technologists?
5. Can the information be easily applied utilizing currently available technology?
6. Will the display concept improve current practices or standards as it is applied?

4. Technical Quality and Presentation 0 – 20
5. Organization:   Is material orderly and placed in logical sequence?
6. Visual Material:   Do visual materials effectively promote understanding of the display?
7. Text:  Is the text neat, clear, easy to read and free from errors?
8. Esthetic appeal:   Overall appearance and neatness of models, illustrations and graphics

ANSWER

Tumors

A tumor is a disease in which a mass of tissue develops in the body due to accumulated abnormal cells formed by the uncontrollable division of cells. The normal cell growth process is that current cells age and then die but are replaced by new cells. Tumor results from a disruption of this cycle where abnormal cells grow when and where the body does not need them, and unlike regular cells, they refuse to die. Tumors are generally benign, consisting of noncancerous cells, but some more dangerous tumors are malignant, making them cancerous and spread to other regions of the body. Ordinarily, tumors vary in sizes depending on the type and the area in the body and can be a large mass or a tiny speckle.

Figure 1: An Example of a Benign Tumor

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249141#types

Types of Tumors

The most significant variation of tumors is on whether they are benign or malignant. Benign tumors are harmless without dangerous effects to the rest of the body. However, they can be painful when they press nerves and blood vessels or cause an overproduction of hormones causing the body to be out of balance. Examples of such tumors are adenomas, which develop in the glandular epithelial tissue. Fibromas which grow on connective tissue or the fibrous on any organ. The most common type of fibroids is uterine fibroids in the reproductive systems of females. Haemangiomas occur in blood vessels, especially in infants but go away as they grow older. Lipomas are swellings made of movable fat cells found under the skin.

Figure 2: Lipomas Benign Tumor

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249141#types

Another form of tumor is a group classified under premalignant tumors. Such tumors are initially not cancerous but could evolve to become cancerous and therefore requires consistent monitoring. Examples include actinic keratosis, which comprises patches of thick and scaly skin that could get more dangerous on exposure to the sun. Cervical dysplasia, which often stems from infection in the reproductive system such as HPV. Metaplasia in the respiratory system where tiny growth occurs in the bronchi and common with smokers who increase risk by continued smoking. Leukoplakia which occurs in the mouth, which could also be a result of smoking or tobacco chewing.

The last type of tumors which are most life-threatening and cancerous are malignant tumors. In this situation, abnormal cells’ growth is fast and spreads to other body organs in a process called metastasis (Friberg 2015). Malignant tumors could result from a variety of cells that include carcinoma, sarcoma, blastoma, or germ-cell tumor.

Causes of Tumors

Tumors can result from genetics where a patient inherits defective genes such as the BRCA₁ and BRCA₂ mutations. Tumors can also develop from infections, as in the case of cervical dysplasia, which develops from sexually transmitted infections such as HPV. Environmental factors can also cause cancer, like air pollution causing Metaplasia in the lungs or UV rays from the sun, causing tumors on the skin. Lastly, and most common, poor lifestyle choices such as diet and drug abuse, including heavy alcohol intake and heavy smoking of tobacco. Most malignant tumors develop caused by metastasis; for instance, brain tumors could result from a premalignant tumor migrating from any region of the body to the brain.

Figure 3: Malignant Tumors

Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/cancer_101_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

Symptoms

There can be various symptoms of tumors, depending on the type. The reason for this is because tumors occur in different regions of the body.  For instance, a brain tumor’s symptoms are headaches, seizures, nausea, drowsiness, and behavioral changes such as memory loss, paralysis or weakness of the body, and speech or vision problems (Jiménez 2011). The symptoms of cancer elsewhere in the body could include unexplained weight loss, fever, fatigue, pain in the region of origins such as the stomach for colon cancer, bone for bone cancer, and testis for testicular cancer. Changes in the skin can also signify a tumor in the form of skin cancer where the skin can grow darker in hyperpigmentation, yellowish skin, and eyes, which is jaundice, red skin, or erythema, itching or pruritus, and hair growth that seems excessive.

Beyond these symptoms that seem related to the type of tumor, a change in bowel habits or bladder function, sore that cannot heal, patches in regions of the mouth or tongue, discharge or unusual bleeding, lumps on different parts of the body such as the breasts, indigestion, coughing or hoarseness and warts could be an indication of a tumor in the body (Jiménez 2011).

Prevention and Treatment

A health specialist who focuses on tumors is called an oncologist, where his or her skills could further be split into surgery, radiation therapist, or medical oncologist. The division also applies to the types of treatments of tumors, especially malignant tumors, where a surgeon performs surgery to remove the abnormal cells. A radiation therapist uses radiation to treat the cells, and a medical oncologist uses chemotherapy to destroy the malignant tumor. Diagnosis is made during screening using imaging systems designed to help identify abnormalities in the body. These imaging systems could be X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and ultrasounds. Another most recent method is endoscopy, which applies variations of the different equipment used to make a more detailed and defined tumor analysis through visualization of tissues (Dayyeh 2015). A radionuclide is used for organs where visualization is impossible, such as the bones’ lymph nodes (Dayyeh 2015). The test involves swallowing or an injection that introduces a weak radioactive substance in the body to be later concentrated on the abnormal region (Dayyeh 2015).

Figure 4: An MRI Machine used to Visualise Tumor on Body Tissue

Source: https://www.howitworksdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/mri-2813899_1280-1024×682.jpg

Tumors that are not hereditary can be prevented, or the chances of it occurring be significantly reduced. To prevent tumors, especially malignant tumors, a person needs to master their dietary behaviors and keep away from smoking or heavy alcohol consumption. It is also vital to avoid too much UV light exposure from the sun or radiations from radioactive elements and complete cover with protective equipment for people involved in handling these elements. Additionally, it is vital to avoid infections from cancer-causing pathogens. Vaccines designed to prevent Hepatitis B and HPV can be instrumental in avoiding infection caused tumors. The Sipuleucel-T has also been recently introduced by the FDA to treat prostate cancer, and although it is not a hundred percent effective, it extends the lifespan of the affected individuals. Research is still ongoing for tumors with regards to their causes, preventive measures, screening, and treatment of malignant tumors, and more revelations are expected in the new decade.

Works Cited

Dayyeh, B. K. A., Kumar, N., Edmundowicz, S. A., Jonnalagadda, S., Larsen, M., Sullivan, S., … & Banerjee, S. (2015). ASGE Bariatric Endoscopy Task Force systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the ASGE PIVI thresholds for adopting endoscopic bariatric therapies. Gastrointestinal endoscopy, 82(3), 425-438.

Friberg, S., & Nystrom, A. (2015). Cancer metastases: early dissemination and late recurrences. Cancer growth and metastasis, 8, CGM-S31244.

Jiménez, A., Madero, R., Alonso, A., Martínez-Marín, V., Vilches, Y., Martínez, B., … & Feliu, J. (2011). Symptom clusters in advanced cancer. Journal of pain and symptom management, 42(1), 24-31.